The sky above Clear Spring Peak was cloudless for thousands of miles. Spiritual Qi drifted ethereally.
Mo Tiange stood suspended in the air with her eyes closed, her palms facing each other. A faint stream of Spiritual Qi circulated back and forth between her hands.
This Spiritual Qi was faint at first, but gradually grew thicker, finally converging into an intense orange hue.
Mo Tiange's brow was deeply furrowed, as if she was enduring something. Before long, this mass of Spiritual Qi suddenly surged violently, enveloping her entire body and forming a Spiritual Qi shield.
Mo Tiange opened her eyes and let out a long breath.
After obtaining this Yang Spiritual Qi, a true Hunyuan had finally appeared within her body. Unfortunately, this Spiritual Qi was truly scarce, only allowing her to cast some minor spells. This was one such minor spell recorded in the Taiyuan Records, called the Hunyuan Single Qi Art.
This art used Spiritual Qi for defense, consuming very little Spiritual Qi yet offering quite good defensive capabilities. If used skillfully, it could absorb a significant amount of attacks during combat. When Foundation Establishment and above cultivators fought, their magical instruments often carried Spiritual Qi attacks, so they would all employ Spiritual Qi shields during combat. This Hunyuan Single Qi Art was also a type of Spiritual Qi shield, but it consumed far less Spiritual Qi than ordinary ones.
Just as she was practicing over and over, Mo Tiange's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Intuitively, she looked into the distance.
Qin Xi felt the Spiritual Qi within his body churning wildly, completely uncontrollable. Abruptly, his meridians were severely injured, and he violently vomited a mouthful of blood.
In mid-air, a humanoid figure shrouded in black mist descended, letting out two cold laughs. "Qin Shoujing, how is it? The taste of being entangled by demonic Qi isn't pleasant, is it?"
Qin Xi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up unsteadily. Though his face was pale, his gaze was composed. "It's nothing much."
Stopping several zhang away from him, the figure heard this and laughed heartily. "Truly worthy of being Qin Jinghe's disciple, tough enough!"
Even so, with a wave of his hand, a stream of black mist coiled towards Qin Xi again. With no room to retreat, Qin Xi watched as he was about to be entangled when suddenly, two streams of fiery light shot from his hands, actually forcing the black mist back a bit.
"Huh?" The figure was greatly surprised at the sight. "You can actually repel my Primordial Demonic Qi?"
Qin Xi smiled faintly. A longsword flickering with fiery light suddenly appeared in his hand, its aura astonishing and Spiritual Qi imposing. With this sword in hand, even severely injured, he possessed a certain imposing manner.
"The Three Yang True Fire Sword, so this is the Three Yang True Fire Sword?" the figure muttered to himself, his tone tinged with interest. "You, junior, are quite interesting. Being able to repel my Primordial Demonic Qi counts as a rare treasure. Unfortunately, you are destined to fall by my hand today! Heh heh, this old man appreciates talent. You are somewhat of a figure. Let's see if your Three Yang True Fire Sword can harm this old man."
Qin Xi remained silent. The fiery light on the longsword in his hand grew brighter as it floated up and hovered before him.
Gazing at this sword, a flash of killing intent passed through his eyes as he looked up at the monster shrouded in black mist.
Seeing this look, the figure grew even more excited, awaiting what he considered the junior's desperate final strike.
The Three Yang True Fire Sword slowly rose, its flames growing fiercer. Qin Xi closed his eyes to gather his Qi, seemingly about to strike—
Suddenly, his hand seals changed. The Three Yang True Fire transformed into a mass of raging flames, shooting fiercely towards the figure, while he himself instantly turned into a streak of escaping light, fleeing in the opposite direction.
The figure raised his hand and waved, extinguishing the flames that had rushed before his eyes in an instant—where was the power from before? Seeing the escaping light receding into the distance, his expression immediately changed. "Qin Shoujing! You junior are truly cunning and treacherous!"
This kid had never intended to fight him head-on; he had just made him think so. As a result, he took advantage of the moment of negligence to escape instantly.
However, though the figure was hopping mad with anger, he didn't take it to heart. This Qin Shoujing was, after all, only a Core Formation cultivator. No matter how clever or cunning he was, the gap in strength was too great; there was no need to worry.
Therefore, after locking onto him with his divine sense, he leisurely transformed into a black cloud and chased in the direction of his escape.
But the more he chased, the more he felt something was wrong. This Qin Shoujing had almost escaped to the edge of his divine sense, nearly losing the target several times. How could a Core Formation cultivator's escape technique have such speed?
He was utterly perplexed, but his heart grew even more furious. Immediately, he activated his escape technique with full force, closely pursuing from behind.
Mo Tiange hesitated for a moment. Several streaks of light had already risen into the sky above Taikang Mountain.
Yellow was Dao Lord Zhenyang, red was Dao Lord Jinghe, blue was Dao Lord Miaoyi, and azure was Dao Lord Xuanyin.
The four Nascent Soul Dao Lords instantly escaped to the sky above, looking into the distance together.
Dao Lord Zhenyang's expression changed first. "Not good, it's that old fellow Songfeng!"
Dao Lord Jinghe's face turned ashen. "He dares to come kill his way to our Taikang Mountain!"
Dao Lord Zhenyang frowned and immediately said, "Junior Brother Jinghe, come with me. Junior Sister Miaoyi, Junior Brother Xuanyin, you two stay here to provide support!"
Miaoyi and Xuanyin only acknowledged with a "yes" before they saw the two highest-ranking Nascent Soul Dao Lords of the Profound Clear Sect vanish in an instant.
Mo Tiange, watching from afar, pondered. What exactly had happened? Why did Master and the other uncles and aunts look so grave?
Just as she was hesitating whether to approach, Dao Lord Miaoyi waved her over.
Mo Tiange was delighted and quickly flew forward. "Uncle-Master Miaoyi, Uncle-Master Xuanyin."
Miaoyi's expression was kind as she asked, "Tian Ge, do you have some business staying here?"
Mo Tiange and Dao Lord Xuanyin were from the same branch, so there was no need for formality. Although Dao Lord Miaoyi didn't interact with Clear Spring Peak very often, she had always been kind to juniors like them. Hearing her question, Mo Tiange spoke frankly. "Uncle-Master Miaoyi, my heart is pounding fiercely. Has something major happened?"
Hearing this, Miaoyi looked slightly surprised but quickly replied, "There is indeed a major event. However, with your Master and Uncle-Master Zhenyang here, there's no need to worry. You should return to avoid getting caught up in it."
With four Nascent Soul cultivators present, there was indeed no place for her to intervene. Mo Tiange had no choice but to comply. "Yes."
After she descended, Miaoyi glanced at Xuanyin and said, "Junior Brother Xuanyin, your junior sister's perception is quite sharp."
Xuanyin had been closing his eyes to spread his divine sense. Now he opened them but didn't respond directly, instead saying, "How did that demon Songfeng chase him all the way to our Taikang Mountain? Our Profound Clear Sect is, after all, one of the top sects in Tianji. He has quite the nerve!"
Miaoyi smiled. "Didn't he come to cause trouble during your Nascent Soul ceremony? That old fellow Songfeng relies on his formidable combat skills; he probably dares to barge into even the Heavenly Dao Sect."
Xuanyin shook his head and sighed. "I wonder if Master and Senior Brother Zhenyang will make it in time to save Junior Brother Shoujing."
"That depends on his luck." After saying this, Miaoyi also fell silent. Both of them spread their divine sense, observing the situation in the distance.
None of the cultivators below the Nascent Soul level in the Profound Clear Sect knew what was happening, but the two of them were very clear about the life-and-death escape not far away.
How could a Core Formation cultivator escape unscathed from the hands of a late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivator? They both knew in their hearts that if they were not careful, or if Dao Lords Zhenyang and Jinghe failed to be cautious, Qin Shoujing's life would be forfeited.
After a while longer, a look of joy appeared on Dao Lord Miaoyi's face. "Junior Brother Xuanyin, let's go provide support!"
Xuanyin acknowledged, and the two also transformed into streaks of escaping light, vanishing from the sky above Taikang Mountain.
Mo Tiange stood before the Shangqing Palace, silently watching the empty sky. Her heart was restless, but she couldn't explain the reason.
Before long, figures finally appeared in the sky. Zhenyang and Miaoyi had parted ways midway. Dao Lord Xuanyin was supporting someone, closely following Dao Lord Jinghe as they descended towards Clear Spring Peak.
Mo Tiange stared intently. Seeing the disheveled figure leaning on Dao Lord Xuanyin, her eyes widened.
"Tian Ge?" Dao Lord Jinghe saw her and looked slightly surprised but immediately said, "No time, let's go!" With that, he led the way inside.
Dao Lord Xuanyin followed closely behind, supporting the unconscious Qin Xi as they entered the Shangqing Palace.
Mo Tiange also followed them in.
As soon as Dao Lord Xuanyin laid Qin Xi down, Dao Lord Jinghe immediately fed him several pills, then used Spiritual Qi to treat his injuries.
The severity of Qin Xi's injuries was evident just by looking. His robes were stained with several patches of blood, his face was ashen, his eyes tightly closed, and the Spiritual Qi around his entire body was weak and unstable.
So that earlier unease was because he was injured? Who could injure him so severely, and even alarm four Nascent Soul cultivators from the sect? Her mind was a mess, unable to figure out the reason.
Dao Lord Xuanyin noticed and said softly, "Tian Ge, if you're anxious, you might as well wait outside for a while. Don't disturb Master."
Just as Mo Tiange was about to say something, she heard Dao Lord Jinghe suddenly speak. "No, Tian Ge, come here."
Mo Tiange was startled and approached. "Master?"
Dao Lord Jinghe pointed at Qin Xi and said, "The Spiritual Qi within his body is currently in chaos. Both his meridians and dantian are severely injured. Although I've used pills and Spiritual Qi to suppress his injuries, it's very difficult to straighten out his Spiritual Qi. His meridians and dantian are injured too severely; if I use too much force, it will worsen the injuries. Only your Yin Spiritual Qi, which is mutually attractive with his and gentle in nature, might work."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange was puzzled. "Master..."
"Don't delay!" Dao Lord Jinghe's expression was grave as he barked. "Quick, use your Spiritual Qi to enter his meridians, slowly nourish them, and guide his Spiritual Qi back into the meridians. Don't worry, I'll tell you what to do!"
There was no time for detailed explanations. Dao Lord Jinghe helped Qin Xi sit up and instructed Mo Tiange to place her palms on the Lingtai acupoint on his back, infusing her Spiritual Qi into it.
Mo Tiange complied, slowly pouring her Spiritual Qi in, but her whole body shuddered.
The Spiritual Qi within Qin Xi's body was completely out of control! A cultivator's Spiritual Qi was generally controlled within the meridians. It flowed between the meridians and finally gathered in the dantian, much like blood. However, the Spiritual Qi within Qin Xi's body was currently running wild everywhere, not restrained by the meridians at all.
This situation was extremely dangerous. Cultivators cultivated both meridians and the physical body, but they always prioritized meridians over the physical body. Although the physical body was filled with Spiritual Qi, it absolutely could not withstand the dense Spiritual Qi within the meridians, especially the higher the cultivation level, the more severe this situation became!
Qin Xi was now a peak Core Formation cultivator. The concentration of Spiritual Qi within his body was no small matter. With this Spiritual Qi running wild inside him, the force had already left his internal body riddled with wounds. If he hadn't practiced body refinement techniques, he would probably have lost half his life by now.
Mo Tiange's Spiritual Qi entered his body but vanished without a trace like clay oxen entering the sea, impossible to guide at all.
The gap in their cultivation levels was too great.
"Master..." Just as she was about to ask something, she immediately discovered that her own Spiritual Qi was also out of control, being guided by a force and surging wildly into Qin Xi's body.