"Who are you, and why are you residing within Mu Zong's body?" With Mu Jinzhu's cultivation level, she instantly discerned that the woman suspended in the void was merely a projection formed from spiritual thought, causing her expression to darken considerably, a deep sense of shame welling up inside her.

Though she shared no direct blood ties with Mu Qingyi, she had watched her grow since childhood, attending to her daily needs for nearly a century, yet never realizing that Mu Qingyi beside her had long been manipulated by another's spiritual thought. If not for the "Spiritual Treasure Essence Qi" forced out by Mu Zu, she would still be completely oblivious.

However, from this, she could also deduce that the entity behind the spiritual thought must be immensely powerful; otherwise, it would have been impossible to control a Heavenly Spirit expert like Mu Qingyi without detection.

"Who am I? Why don't you go ask that immortal old man? Heh heh heh heh..." The woman laughed coquettishly a few times, her voice suddenly turning icy cold, "That old immortal plotted quite well, actually sending such a little brat to sneak attack me. Detestable! Detestable! Detestable—" With three pronouncements of "detestable," each one sharper than the last, by the final cry, the sound was piercing enough to cause pain in the eardrums of everyone nearby.

"Whoa!"

Gasps erupted all around. Those who had been momentarily flustered by the sudden turn of events vaguely understood the situation. The "immortal old man" the woman spoke of must undoubtedly be Mu Zu. It was presumed that Mu Zu had discovered her control over Mu Zong and thus commanded Mu Kong to launch a surprise attack with the "Spiritual Treasure Essence Qi" to force her out.

Yet, the information revealed in the woman's words was too sparse, leaving the crowd rife with suspicion. Given Mu Zu's capabilities, if he had detected Mu Zong's manipulation, he could have simply intervened directly to expel the entity. Why resort to using another's hand, risking unforeseen complications?

"How dare you show disrespect to Mu Zu!"

Mu Jinzhu let out a cold snort, her gaze fixed on Mu Qingyi, who writhed in agony upon the high platform, yet she dared not act rashly. Although this entity's spiritual thought had detached from Mu Qingyi, a profound connection still bound her to Mu Qingyi; any impulsive move on her part might inadvertently harm Mu Qingyi.

The woman scoffed, "What if I disrespect him? He is your Mu Zu, but he is certainly not my Mu Zu! Heh heh heh heh. If it weren't for this damnable little scamp poisoning the well, perhaps in a few more years, that old immortal would have been completely controlled by the 'Dark Blood Spirit Worms' I refined. Then, eliminating him would have been child's play!"

"'Dark Blood Spirit Worms'? What kind of things are those, daring to try and control Mu Zu?"

"Listening to her words, Mu Zu has already been afflicted by her 'Dark Blood Spirit Worms'! How is that possible? Given Mu Zu's power, how could he fall victim to her schemes?"

"No wonder Mu Zu hasn't shown any signs of activity for so many years, even when taking the children to awaken their bloodlines, it’s not as easy to see the old man as it used to be!"

As soon as the woman’s voice faded, a commotion erupted around the venue. The expressions of the crowd shifted dramatically, their gazes unable to conceal their rising fury.

"Blustering nonsense!"

Seeing the woman’s arrogance, Mu Lengxing responded with a cold chuckle.

The woman laughed, "Whether it’s blustering or not is beside the point for now. I'm rather intrigued by this little fellow named Mu Kong right now. The passage leading to the center of the Yin Ruins is heavily guarded, and all the sentinels have been controlled. Every time a bloodline awakening occurs, they accompany the participant inside. How did this little brat manage to slip past their eyes, contact that old immortal, and successfully extract the 'Spiritual Treasure Essence Qi'?"

As she spoke, the woman’s eyes gazed remotely toward Nie Kong. Though her face was wreathed in smiles, the deep-seated resentment in her gaze intensified, yet she deliberately held back from making a move.

"I—I—I—"

Nie Kong was about to speak when he suddenly recalled a sentence Mu Zu had mentioned. He quickly glanced left and right, noticing that the markings atop the nine tall pagodas in the Grand Manifestation Hall were faintly flickering. Understanding dawned upon him instantly, his expression shifting, and he shouted, "Not good! This creature is stalling for time!"

"Finally discovered? Too late now, I suppose? Heh heh..."

A cascade of bell-like, crisp laughter echoed through the heavens and earth. Nine dense streams of black qi shot out from the pagodas, hurtling toward the woman floating in the void.

Almost simultaneously, the woman’s form rapidly inflated, instantly transforming into a mass of black mist that tightly merged with the nine black streams. Immediately after, the very light above the Grand Manifestation Hall was obscured, plunging the surroundings into dimness, rendering all figures indistinct.

Watching the black fog descend like a crushing tide, some of the lower-ranking Half-Spirit tribesmen couldn't help but cry out, stirring a small flurry of panic around them. However, they were not ordinary folk and quickly regained their composure, their gazes turning to Mu Jinzhu, the highest-cultivated among them in the Grand Manifestation Hall, and the Five City Lords.

"Jade Snow Emperor Flame, manifest!" Mu Jinzhu commanded coldly. A phantom image of pure snow-white light emerged, then began to expand at a speed almost impossible for the eye to track.

In just a few short seconds, a colossal white tree, requiring more than ten adult men to encircle, pierced the darkness and stood tall in the center of the vast grounds. Its branches stretched wildly, the dazzling white of its leaves blinding the eyes—it was Mu Jinzhu's "Jade Snow Emperor Flame Tree" Heart Manifestation.

"Whoosh—!"

The thick branches shook violently, and countless snow-white leaves scattered outwards.

Two auras, one chillingly cold and the other scorching hot, cycled through each other like lightning, instantly vaporizing the black mist surrounding the Jade Snow Emperor Flame Tree. After several minutes, a massive hole appeared within the boundless black fog, allowing the light from the ground to become slightly clearer. However, the black mist only wavered violently for a moment before the opening was sealed shut, and the woman's wild, arrogant laughter rang out again: "Heh heh, my true body is a Spirit God! Even if only a wisp of spiritual thought has reached the Yin Ruins, it is not something you can easily destroy!"

"Mu Kong, take care of yourself!"

Mu Lengxing offered a faint reminder. His Heart Manifestation then shot from between his brows—a black vine identical to the "Thousand Thorn Ink Dragon Whip." With a whoosh, Mu Lengxing’s figure merged into the manifestation, and instantly, the "Thousand Thorn Ink Dragon Whip" shot out like a drawn sword, stabbing deep into the black mist.

"Crack—!"

Like the tail sweep of a divine dragon, the "Thousand Thorn Ink Dragon Whip" lashed out diagonally, accompanied by a sharp, piercing sound. The sky-obscuring black fog was immediately split in two, revealing a rift dozens of meters wide through which brilliant light poured down.

"Hoo!"

Simultaneously, the Jade Snow Emperor Flame Tree also soared into the sky, the black mist around its leaves constantly melting away. But the fog seemed endless; in just a few seconds, not only was the Jade Snow Emperor Flame Tree enveloped, but even the rift torn open by the Thousand Thorn Ink Dragon Whip closed up.

Heaven and earth dimmed once more.

In the next instant, the black mist above the Grand Manifestation Hall again became fragmented, as the four City Lords on the high platform had also mobilized their Heart Manifestations, engaging the wisp of the Spirit God’s thought projection. Instantly, it seemed as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth cracking, mountains crumbling as mighty roars rose one after another, unleashing overwhelmingly powerful pressure that permeated the air.

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

Around the venue, people began fainting and collapsing continuously. In just a short time, the surrounding crowd thinned out considerably. Only the Half-Spirit clansmen at the level of Yu Shi Imperial Spirit and above were managing to forcibly hold on, resisting the intangible pressure descending from high above.

Nie Kong also took a deep breath. The battle in the high skies was beyond his current capacity to join, but he had far more important matters to attend to. With that thought, Nie Kong moved forward, though the speed of his progress became extremely slow under the relentless impact of the surging pressure.

"Wind Escape!"

Nie Kong crushed another spirit stone gifted by the Azure Wind Hall Master. His figure flickered, but instead of landing on the high platform, he appeared a dozen meters away from it—this deviation was due to the pressure's influence, causing the distance covered by this "Wind Escape" to shrink significantly.

After a long while, Nie Kong finally managed to ascend the high platform with great difficulty, arriving beside Mu Qingyi. By this time, Mu Qingyi had already passed out, but black qi still flickered between her brows.

"Anxiang!"

Nie Kong gently touched the center of Mu Qingyi's brow. The little creature, already prepared, cried out, "Ayaya!" and opened its small flower bud, releasing a dense cloud of purple essence that was then enveloped in green mist. This essence flowed along Nie Kong's arm and fingers, seeping into Mu Qingyi’s brow.

"Ah!"

Mu Qingyi’s body trembled slightly, and at that moment, a piercing scream echoed down from the heavens. The black mist seemed to be enduring an indescribable torture, churning and diving toward the high platform. But quickly, several massive phantom shapes appeared below, blocking the black mist's path.

The second step was to use the little creature’s "Anxiang" to counter the "Nightmare Spirit Black Demon Vine." This "Nightmare Spirit Black Demon Vine" was virtually the tether linking the spiritual thought to Mu Qingyi. It was also attached to Mu Qingyi’s Heart Manifestation. Once it was expelled, the wisp of spiritual thought would find it extremely difficult to locate a host body again in such a short time.

These two steps seemed straightforward but were fraught with immense danger.

If Nie Kong had been alone, today would not have been the optimal moment to act. But with Mu Lengxing and the others assisting, the situation changed. Although Mu Lengxing and the others were under control, the entity controlling them was not Mu Qingyi herself, but the wisp of spiritual thought clinging to Mu Qingyi’s Heart Manifestation.

That spiritual thought’s connection to its true body in the "Abyssal Pit of Perdition" had long been severed by the sealing of the Yin Ruins. Under such circumstances, without a body to sustain it, it was impossible for it to continue controlling Mu Lengxing and the others. Once driven out by the "Spiritual Treasure Essence Qi," the five City Lords would regain their freedom.

This was also one of the reasons for Nie Kong's confidence!

Originally, Nie Kong had planned to have Mu Lengxing and the others release the "Spiritual Treasure Essence Qi," but while Mu Qingyi did not seem to regard them highly, they simply couldn't get close to her. Mu Qingyi’s cultivation was too formidable; if they were too far apart, the "Spiritual Treasure Essence Qi" could not exert its surprise effect effectively.

Nie Kong had no choice but to act himself, yet thankfully, the operation proceeded without major incident. "Ayaya!" the little creature cried out with all its might, releasing another burst of purple essence from its flower bud. "Ah!"

The spiritual thought’s shriek sounded again from the sky, this time tinged with a trace of alarm. In the next instant, a deafening explosion erupted: strands of "Nightmare Spirit Black Demon Vine" phantom images frantically burst out from Mu Qingyi’s brow, merging into the massive black fog above...