After Qin Xi and Mo Tiange left, the forest fell into silence.
Lei Dongqing rubbed his bald head and looked at Daoist Kumu. "What's gotten into Qin Shoujing? He's never been this kind-hearted before."
Madam Feng sneered. "I'm afraid he has some feelings for that junior sister of his. Who would have thought Qin Shoujing would have such a day!"
"Madam Feng!" Lei Dongqing glanced at her sideways. "Are you just jealous because you couldn't seduce him yourself?"
Madam Feng continued to sneer. "What does it matter to me if Qin Shoujing has peerless talent, exceptional cultivation, and unparalleled handsomeness?"
"Don't you feel even a little bit of envy?" Lei Dongqing, seemingly unaware of the danger, pressed on.
Madam Feng grew angry. "Old Man Lei, get lost! I'm not that bored!"
While the two of them bickered, the other three remained silent.
After a long while, Daoist Kumu finally gathered his thoughts and looked at Jing Xingzhi. "I wonder what Fellow Daoist Jing thinks?"
Jing Xingzhi had been lost in thought. Now he shook his head. "I can't guess Qin Shoujing's intentions. Since he's unwilling to accept, we can only leave it at that."
Daoist Kumu and Tong Tianyun exchanged a glance, both feeling frustrated. They were well aware of Qin Shoujing's capabilities; even back in the day, he had been the strongest among them in terms of cultivation. And now? A Core Formation Great Perfection cultivator was far more formidable than a Core Formation mid-stage one. When they had invited Qin Shoujing this time, they had actually felt uneasy in their hearts. After more than eighty years, who knew how strong he had become? That night when they saw him spar with Jing Xingzhi, they had secretly asked Jing Xingzhi about it, but Jing Xingzhi had said nothing. However, judging by his expression, it was clear he was greatly wary of Qin Shoujing. Now that Qin Shoujing had left, their team's strength was significantly affected, and they didn't know if they could pass the remaining trials.
Tong Tianyun understood Daoist Kumu's thoughts and whispered via sound transmission, "It's better that he left. Otherwise, we'd have to be on guard against him."
Daoist Kumu nodded imperceptibly. That was true. Qin Shoujing was indeed a great asset, but if he turned against them, it would be troublesome.
Clearing his throat, Daoist Kumu raised his voice. "Everyone, since those two Fellow Daoists have other ideas, we shouldn't force them. From now on, only the five of us will continue on this path."
"We know that," Lei Dongqing said, curling his lip. "No choice. Old Daoist, let's find a place to rest first. We're fewer in number now, and everyone's injured."
Among them, only Madam Feng was seriously injured. His words were clearly spoken with her in mind.
Hearing this, Madam Feng's expression softened somewhat, and she also looked at Daoist Kumu.
Daoist Kumu's eyes flickered with hesitation, but he quickly made a decision. "Alright, let's get out of here as soon as possible and find a safe place to rest temporarily." No matter what, their strength was lacking now, and Madam Feng... could not be lost.
Once out of the forest, Qin Xi summoned his Feiyun and, holding Mo Tiange close, flew low to the ground. Only after traveling several hundred li did Mo Tiange stir and lift her head. "Is it safe now?"
Qin Xi stopped the Feiyun, released her, and said expressionlessly, "It's safe. First, regulate your breathing. In a while, your Spiritual Qi will flow smoothly again."
"Mm..."
Mo Tiange looked around. They were currently in a gentle grassland. Remarkably, this place was filled with pure Spiritual Qi. There was no demonic energy, so the wild grass grew luxuriantly, a vibrant, normal green.
She casually chose a spot, sat down, and began to meditate.
The Eight Immortals Pill was actually a pill that aided cultivation, refined from eight rare spirit herbs. When taken, the Spiritual Qi appeared chaotic, but this was actually due to the pill's medicinal power impacting the meridians. As long as one meditated and regulated their breathing properly for a while, the medicinal power would settle.
Earlier, Mo Tiange had taken the Eight Immortals Pill, and they had casually smeared some blood from the Wind-Born Beast corpses on her, making it look as if she had been attacked by a demon beast. Upon closer inspection, it would be easy to see she wasn't truly injured, but due to the difference between men and women and Qin Xi's presence, Kumu and the others naturally didn't scrutinize her closely.
As Mo Tiange began to regulate her breathing, Qin Xi raised his hand and summoned the Three Yang True Fire Sword. With a flick of his wrist, the sword transformed into thousands upon thousands of crimson sword lights that leisurely circled around the two of them, layer upon layer, forming a sword array around them.
When Mo Tiange finished regulating her breathing and opened her eyes, she was greeted by this dazzlingly beautiful display of sword light. She secretly marveled in her heart. No wonder there were so many sword cultivators; not only were they strong in combat, but their sword techniques were always more magnificent than other spells.
Seeing she had finished, Qin Xi, who had also been meditating nearby, opened his eyes. "Done?"
"Mm." She had completely dissolved the medicinal power of the Eight Immortals Pill. Her meridians felt incredibly smooth.
Qin Xi stood up. "Then let's go."
Mo Tiange silently rose and followed him.
Qin Xi was very familiar with Kumu and the others' planned route and deliberately avoided it, choosing a different direction.
"Since we're not traveling with them, we might as well take a shortcut."
Mo Tiange was somewhat puzzled. "Senior Brother, if we can take a shortcut, why did we travel with them in the first place?"
Qin Xi was silent for a moment before replying, "That path grows a patch of spirit grass, the main ingredient for refining Qingyun Pills."
"..."
After a pause, he continued, "More than eighty years ago, I entered Tianmo Mountain with them. Both their strength and character were acceptable. Moreover, your father was acquainted with them back then. I thought you might like to meet his old friends."
"..."
He was now at Core Formation Great Perfection. No matter how powerful the Qingyun Pill's effects were, they were useless to him. It seemed the second reason was the real one.
Mo Tiange lowered her head and said nothing more. She didn't know if it was an illusion, but it genuinely unsettled her. Ever since leaving the Xuanqing Sect with him, these events that had occurred, these moments spent together... she couldn't help but doubt what she had originally believed. Hazily, she felt this was the Senior Brother Qin of old.
Some things, he didn't need to do at all. Yet he did them, and there was no reason other than concern for her. Had her original understanding been wrong? Was it not that Qin Xi was Qin Shoujing, but that Qin Shoujing *was* Qin Xi?
"It's useless to talk about this now," he sighed softly, sounding quite worried. "This time, forget about the others. Kumu and Old Man Tong clearly have ulterior motives. In that case, it's better we don't travel with them. It's best if we don't encounter them again later either."
Mo Tiange acknowledged with a sound, her head lowered, her mind elsewhere.
Qin Xi noticed and turned to stare at her. "What are you thinking about?"
"Ah?" Mo Tiange felt as if she had been caught doing something bad and was momentarily flustered. "N-nothing..."
He stared at her for a good while before turning his head back. "Focus. It's just the two of us now. We can't afford to be distracted."
"I know." Before setting out, she had resented Qin Xi for ignoring her existence. Now that they were inside Tianmo Mountain, if she didn't want to be looked down upon by him, she needed to be even more careful and cautious. Mo Tiange took a deep breath, pushed the chaotic thoughts from her mind, and followed him briskly.
After walking for a while, Qin Xi suddenly stopped, tilting his head as if listening, seemingly using his spiritual sense to examine something. After a moment, he asked, "How is your Breath-Concealing Technique?"
Breath-Concealing Technique? Mo Tiange didn't understand what he intended, but although her Breath-Concealing Technique was average, with the Concealing Spirit Pendant on her person, she could even pretend to be a mortal. She immediately withdrew the Hunyuan One Qi Art and suppressed her aura. "Is this acceptable?"
A trace of surprise flickered in Qin Xi's eyes. "What kind of Breath-Concealing Technique is this? It's so miraculous?"
Mo Tiange shook her head. "My Breath-Concealing Technique is actually quite ordinary. I have to thank Senior Brother for the Concealing Spirit Pendant. When I met my great-grandfather, he refined this pendant again. Combined with this item, I can achieve complete concealment."
"So that's how it is." With this explanation, Qin Xi understood. Refined by a Deity Transformation senior, it was naturally much more powerful than when he had first crafted it.
Mo Tiange hesitated for a moment before asking, "Senior Brother, if we completely conceal our auras, we can't even release protective Spiritual Qi. What if we encounter stray restrictions?"
Qin Xi didn't answer immediately. Instead, he swung his arm, retracting the curtain of light formed by the Three Yang True Fire Sword that had been protecting them. Then he activated a spell formula. After a while, like her, he carried no trace of Spiritual Qi on his person.
After doing this, he took out two talismans and handed one to her. "These are Spirit-Dissolving Talismans. They form a barrier around the body. Outsiders can't sense it, but it can block those restrictions."
Mo Tiange took it, nodded, and followed his instructions, attaching it to herself.
Only after doing all this did Qin Xi say, "There are people fighting up ahead. Their cultivation is only at the Foundation Establishment stage, but we have no need to invite trouble. We'll just go around them."
"Mm." Mo Tiange had no objections to this. They had their own destination; there was no need to get entangled in disputes over spirit treasures in the outer areas just for that. Right now, it was only Foundation Establishment cultivators, but later, Core Formation cultivators might pass by. If they intervened, it would be hard to shake them off later.
The two of them finished their preparations and transformed into streaks of light again, continuing to advance silently.
After a while, Mo Tiange's spiritual sense also detected it. In the distance, there were fluctuations of Spiritual Qi—two groups of people were fighting.
This was a common occurrence in Tianmo Mountain. Although the mountain held many secret treasures, it was dangerous everywhere. Cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage didn't dare venture too deep and could only try their luck in the outer areas. If they happened to spot some spirit treasure, like the ship-shaped magical treasure they had seen, it would trigger fierce competition among many.
Therefore, in Tianmo Mountain, one not only had to guard against the remaining restrictions but also against demon beasts and poisonous creatures, and, even more so, against sneak attacks from other cultivators. Calculated this way, most of the cultivators who died here perished at the hands of their own kind.
Just as they were about to quietly bypass the area, Mo Tiange suddenly stopped.
The two groups fighting consisted of six people on one side and five on the other. The group of six had four men and two women, most at the Foundation Establishment early stage, with one man and one woman at the Foundation Establishment mid-stage. Although they had one more person than their opponents, they were being suppressed because among their five opponents, four were at the Foundation Establishment mid-stage, with only one at the Foundation Establishment early stage.
At that moment, both sides were locked in fierce combat, unleashing magical instruments and spells everywhere.
Near them, Mo Tiange spotted a spirit grass, probably several thousand years old. Although they fought fiercely, they carefully avoided damaging that spirit grass. It seemed their dispute was over this very plant.
Seeing her stop, Qin Xi turned and asked, "What is it?"
Mo Tiange stared intently at the people in the field. "Look at them."