"I don't know." Mo Tiange sighed after an unknown length of time. "I always feel like you're walking too fast, thinking too fast, and I can't quite keep up with your pace."
Qin Xi was taken aback, falling into silent speechlessness.
The two of them sat quietly for a while, each contemplating this feeling in their hearts.
They were both too strong-willed. Since embarking on the path of cultivation, they had never paused for anyone else, nor had they ever accommodated another's thoughts. Once they decided on a course of action, they would follow their own ideas through to the end. But now it was different. They had to adapt to another person's pace, consider another person's thoughts... Some things could no longer be done as they were before.
"Let me think about it," she said.
"Mm," Qin Xi responded softly.
"I... it's not that I disagree or anything," Mo Tiange said slowly after a moment. "It's just... I'm not used to this feeling yet. Do you understand?"
After a pause, Qin Xi nodded. "I understand." A moment later, he took her hand and smiled faintly. "Do you think I'm being too hasty? Not giving you time to adapt slowly?"
"A little," Mo Tiange admitted, slowly sorting through the feeling in her heart. "It's too fast. I'm having trouble adjusting. Also, I think we each have our own ideas about cultivation. Why not just continue according to our original plans? You need to form your Nascent Soul, so you'll definitely go into seclusion when we return. And I need to refine my Life-Bound Artifact and study the techniques for the Core Formation stage, slowly adapting to the various aspects of this phase. Neither of us is currently free of concerns. If... if we rush to change our current lives too quickly, wouldn't that disrupt our own rhythms?"
"..."
Seeing the sunlight finally return to Qin Xi's face, she smiled. "You mentioned cultivating the same technique. I think there are still many problems to solve. First, the gap in our cultivation levels. If we were to Dual Cultivate after you form your Nascent Soul, it would naturally be of great benefit to me, but it wouldn't be the best choice for you. Yet if, because of this, you delay forming your Nascent Soul, that's even worse. You've already reached Core Formation Perfection. Dragging it out further would only be a waste of time."
She paused, glancing at Qin Xi's expression.
"Mm," Qin Xi nodded. "You're right."
"Second, our constitutions and spiritual roots each have their own unique aspects. When choosing a Dual Cultivation technique, shouldn't we be able to leverage our respective characteristics? Otherwise, wouldn't these traits be meaningless?"
Qin Xi continued to nod. "That's also true."
But his expression was too calm, which left Mo Tiange somewhat confused. "Then what do you think?"
Qin Xi then smiled, wrapped an arm around her waist, leaned his head on her shoulder, and remained silent for a long while.
"Hey! Hey!" Mo Tiange wriggled out, unwilling to let it go. "You know I'm anxious to know, yet you still won't say?"
"Mm, so you're anxious too!" Qin Xi nodded.
"You—you know perfectly well that's not what I meant!" The originally somewhat heavy atmosphere shifted again because of his words.
Qin Xi laughed, whether from satisfaction or amusement, it was unclear. After a good while, he finally spoke unhurriedly, "Everything you said makes sense. But am I really such an unplanned person?"
"..."
Only then did Qin Xi adopt a serious expression. "Don't worry. I'm not just talking nonsense. After we return, I'll explain everything to you in detail, slowly."
Looking at his expression and listening to his words, Mo Tiange was puzzled. "Is there something I don't know?"
Qin Xi pursed his lips into a smile but didn't answer.
"Why won't you say?" Mo Tiange pressed, unwilling to give up.
"Now is not the time to talk about it," Qin Xi suddenly averted his gaze.
"You..." Just as she was about to continue questioning, the corner of her eye caught sight of Jing Xingzhi walking towards them. She quickly let go of Qin Xi's hand, inwardly berating herself. She realized her vigilance had lowered. She had been observing her surroundings with her Divine Sense, yet she hadn't sensed Jing Xingzhi getting so close—or was it that Jing Xingzhi had some special method? That wouldn't be surprising either. He was already at the late-stage Core Formation, powerful, and might have some means to evade her Divine Sense detection.
Although she had let go early, Jing Xingzhi had already seen them. As he returned now, his gaze swept over them before he suddenly said to Qin Xi, "No wonder you've been so unfriendly to me this time. So that's how it is..."
Qin Xi snorted. "Now you know."
Jing Xingzhi smiled, his peach-blossom eyes flicking towards Mo Tiange. "You should have said so earlier. If you had, I naturally wouldn't have made things unpleasant for you—why didn't you say anything? Or were you too embarrassed?"
Qin Xi's face darkened. "If you've rested enough, let's continue!"
"Heh..." Jing Xingzhi chuckled quietly, then also adopted a serious expression. "I still really want to say this: Qin Shoujing, you've finally met your match today!" Having said that, with a look of satisfaction, he strode forward.
"Wait!" Qin Xi said with a frown. "I'll take the lead."
Jing Xingzhi nodded indifferently and fell back. If they encountered a situation like before, and he were to be caught off guard, there would be no saving him. But if it were Qin Xi... as he himself had said, it would be easier to handle.
The three of them continued forward in silence.
Jing Xingzhi truly restrained himself, no longer intentionally or unintentionally trying to flirt with Mo Tiange, which allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.
After walking for a while, Mo Tiange suddenly said, "Wait."
The other two stopped. Qin Xi turned. "What's wrong?"
Mo Tiange carefully observed the surrounding scenery, frowning. "Don't you think... the surroundings haven't changed at all?"
Both Qin Xi and Jing Xingzhi frowned, looking around.
Mo Tiange spoke slowly, "No, that's not right either. The surroundings have changed, but the changes are very subtle, almost indistinguishable." As she spoke, she turned her head to look again, her expression sinking. "Can you tell which way we came from?"
Qin Xi and Jing Xingzhi looked back, their expressions changing.
As far as the eye could see, the scenery was all roughly similar. Where they had come from just moments ago was now impossible to distinguish.
The three stood for a while. Jing Xingzhi asked, "Qin Shoujing, is there a Maze Formation here?"
Qin Xi shook his head. "I don't know."
"You don't know?" Jing Xingzhi found it hard to believe. "You actually don't know? Didn't your master tell you?"
Qin Xi withdrew his gaze. "My master said that anything can appear in the Ruins of All Immortals. Even if we don't encounter something this time, every time one enters, there will be subtle changes here." Having said that, he turned to ask Mo Tiange, "You're more proficient in formations. What do you think?"
During this time, Mo Tiange had been continuously observing the changes around her—eyes, Divine Sense, ears—none relaxed. Hearing his question, she merely shook her head and said, "This isn't a formation."
"What?" Both Jing Xingzhi and Qin Xi found it hard to believe. Similar scenes, confusing sights—weren't these caused by a Maze Formation?
Mo Tiange said, "A formation must have formation nodes. But use your Divine Sense to observe. Are there any Spiritual Qi fluctuations nearby?"
The two followed her suggestion and released their Divine Senses. After a moment, their expressions grew increasingly grave. Even if their formation skills were lacking, they could still tell something was wrong. The Spiritual Qi fluctuations nearby were incredibly weak!
One must know, this was the Ruins of All Immortals! Above the Ruins of All Immortals, there was so much immortal energy covering the sky. How could the Spiritual Qi be so weak here?
"Then what do you think it could be?"
"I don't know," Mo Tiange revealed a look of confusion. "It's strange. Logically, this doesn't conform to the principles of formation arrangement. It's not a formation, yet there are no hallucinogenic substances around either... I'm also confused."
Qin Xi nodded. "The things in the Ruins of All Immortals far exceed our cultivation realm. It's not strange that you don't know."
The three fell into their own silences.
After a while, Jing Xingzhi asked, "Then what should we do? We can't just stand here, can we? Do we keep going or not?"
Qin Xi thought for a moment. "Keep going." If they didn't move, they would truly be trapped here.
"Alright," Jing Xingzhi had no objections. He was a bold person too.
Mo Tiange, of course, didn't object either.
But after continuing for a while, things felt more and more off.
"Ahem, why is there such thick fog?" Mo Tiange asked curiously. The fog was not only getting denser, but it also smelled quite pungent.
No one answered her.
She didn't mind, rubbed her nose, and kept walking.
But after a few more steps, she immediately stopped.
Something was wrong. This time, it was truly wrong—there was no one in front, behind, to her left, or to her right!
Realizing this, Mo Tiange immediately spread out her Divine Sense, but for some reason, the fog actually blocked her Divine Sense and pushed it back!
Standing in place for a moment, Mo Tiange steadied her emotions, then raised her voice and called out, "Senior Brother? Senior Brother?!"
Still, no one answered her. Even an echo came from the distance.
At that moment, Mo Tiange felt a chill run down her spine.
The two cultivators who had been walking in front and behind her—one at Core Formation Perfection, one at late-stage Core Formation—had not concealed their auras. How imposing were their presences? Her Divine Sense was also extremely sharp, constantly monitoring her surroundings. Yet just moments ago, these two cultivators had suddenly vanished. Before and after their disappearance, she hadn't sensed a thing.
This was too terrifying!
She forced herself to calm down. This situation was wrong, very wrong. She needed to think...
Right! When she had asked her question, for an instant, her attention had been on the surrounding mist. It was after that instant that those two imposing presences had disappeared, and she hadn't sensed any abnormality—the fog here!
Thinking of this, Mo Tiange immediately reached into her Qiankun Bag, pulled out a jade bottle, and swallowed a pill.
This was a Clear Heart Pill, effective for calming the spirit. Generally, when one's mind was in turmoil, taking one helped to pacify and stabilize the heart. After a moment's thought, she also swallowed an Ice Clarity Pill to guard against the fog being poisonous. Then she sat down cross-legged on the spot, calming her heart and steadying her breath.
This fog definitely had a problem. It could numb a cultivator's Divine Sense without them realizing it. Otherwise, given the sharpness of her Divine Sense, there was no reason she wouldn't have detected Qin Xi and Jing Xingzhi's disappearance. But now, the two of them had vanished without a trace, and she hadn't sensed it at all.
She now had to restore the sharpness of her Divine Sense to find the two who had disappeared.
Time passed bit by bit—
A hand pressed on her shoulder, startling Mo Tiange awake.
"What's wrong with you?" It was Jing Xingzhi, frowning as he looked at her.
She was stunned for a moment, turning her head to search for Qin Xi, but heard Jing Xingzhi say, "No need to look. I searched for a long time and only saw you sitting here. I don't know where Qin Shoujing is either."