Within the Tianmo Mountain expedition, the most dangerous place was the Ruins of All Immortals, and the most mysterious location within the Ruins was the Yushen Palace.
After sharing their experiences since parting, Mo Tiange, hearing that Dao Lord Jinghe had gone to the Yushen Palace, inquired about it.
Qin Xi said, "The so-called Yushen Palace is said to be the immortal manor where the Immortals rested during the great Immortal-Demon War of old. All the Immortals who fell in that battle were buried nearby, forming the Ruins of All Immortals. Within the Yushen Palace, there are many relics left behind by the Immortals. Although most are damaged, and some have Immortal aura too potent for us cultivators to use, there are also some wondrous items. Obtaining one would be a heaven-defying opportunity."
Mo Tiange knew a little about this, but this time seemed somewhat unusual.
"Besides the Yushen Palace, there must be many treasures in other parts of Tianmo Mountain, right? Why have all the Nascent Soul cultivators flocked to the Yushen Palace this time?"
Qin Xi smiled. "Naturally, they've received some news. There is a rare treasure within the Yushen Palace." At this point, a trace of doubt surfaced in his eyes as he continued somewhat uncertainly, "Master told me that a certain treasure appeared in the Yushen Palace last time. For Nascent Soul cultivators like them, it might allow them to break through a realm in one go. That's why so many Nascent Soul cultivators want to try their luck there this time."
"Such a treasure?" Mo Tiange was greatly surprised. The higher one's cultivation, the rarer the treasures that benefit one's own advancement. Thus, most Nascent Soul cultivators were stuck at the early Nascent Soul stage, a small number reached mid-stage, and those who could enter the late stage were exceedingly few—only four or five in the entire Tianji region over thousands of years. Many Nascent Soul cultivators reached the peak of their realm after centuries of cultivation but lacked the opportunity to advance further. Their master, Dao Lord Jinghe, was such a case. If such a treasure truly existed, no wonder so many Nascent Soul cultivators were heading to the Yushen Palace.
"Indeed." Qin Xi nodded, then shook his head. "But it's hard to say. Such a treasure already appeared last time. How likely is it to appear again this time? I'm truly worried about Master's journey."
Mo Tiange also nodded, her mood growing heavy. Setting aside other concerns, with so many Nascent Soul cultivators gathered, friction was inevitable... However, with Master's strength, preserving his life shouldn't be difficult.
After each pondered for a moment, Qin Xi said, "Master knows his own mind regarding his affairs. We needn't worry. Time is also getting late. Let's hurry to retrieve your father's remains and leave this place as soon as possible."
"Mm." Mo Tiange stood up. After a thought, she looked down at the mountainside covered in Heavenly Fragrance Grass. "Since we've encountered them, should we collect some of these Heavenly Fragrance Beans? They could be traded for Jade Marrow."
Qin Xi looked at the Heavenly Fragrance Beans, thinking of what she had nearly experienced, and felt displeased. "What do we need them for? I've already obtained the Jade Marrow."
"Ah?" They had only been apart for such a short time, and he already had Jade Marrow?
Qin Xi took out the Jade Marrow extracted from the Blazing Fire Jade Essence from his robes. It was crystal clear and about the size of two palms.
"Such fine Jade Marrow! Where did you get it?" Mo Tiange exclaimed in delight as she received it. This Jade Marrow was at least several thousand years old, without a single impurity—definitely top-grade. More importantly, it was sufficient in quantity; even if she failed, she could refine it again.
Qin Xi smiled. "It was a gift from the Luan-Feng Couple of the Biyun Sect. Ultimately, it was out of respect for Master's reputation."
Mo Tiange looked up with a smile. "Master's reputation is truly valuable. Such a large piece of Jade Marrow can't even be bought outside."
Qin Xi also smiled. "Now it's settled. Your Heaven and Earth Fan can finally be forged."
"Mm." The other materials had long been prepared, the Qiyun Stone was found, and now she had the thousand-year Jade Marrow. She could forge her magic treasure upon returning from Tianmo Mountain.
Mo Tiange stored the Jade Marrow in her Qiankun Bag. After resting briefly, they summoned their flying treasures and prepared to leave Lone Peak.
As they flew into the air, Qin Xi stood on his Flying Cloud, looked down at the mountainside blanketed with Heavenly Fragrance Beans, frowned, raised a hand, gathered fire spiritual energy in his palm to form a fireball, and with a wave of his hand, sent the fireball plummeting toward the peak. Flames erupted with a roar.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange cried out, "Burn them all?" These Heavenly Fragrance Grasses had taken root here for longer than the spirit grasses in her Void Heaven Realm. Wouldn't burning them be a waste?
Qin Xi snorted coldly. "Leaving them would only invite disaster!" Perhaps this thing was of great use to others, but to him, it was an unpleasant memory.
Mo Tiange thought for a moment and agreed. If not for these Heavenly Fragrance Grasses, she wouldn't have nearly experienced such a terrifying ordeal. She fell silent.
The fire grew larger, sweeping across the entire peak. Soon, all the Heavenly Fragrance Grass was ablaze, the Heavenly Fragrance Beans crackling and popping in the flames.
Seeing all the Heavenly Fragrance Grass reduced to ashes, Qin Xi put an arm around her. "Let's go."
Mo Tiange nodded. Burning them all was for the best; it brought peace of mind. That memory was something she didn't want to recall—
"By the way, what about Jing Xingzhi?" she suddenly thought to ask.
Qin Xi said calmly, "I told him to leave first." He glanced down at Mo Tiange. "I thought seeing him would make you unhappy."
"..." Mo Tiange was touched. She truly didn't want to see Jing Xingzhi again. It was thoughtful of him to have considered even this.
Following the compass left by Dao Lord Jinghe, the two smoothly exited the mist.
Dao Lord Jinghe had said this area was deep within the Ruins of All Immortals, with too many dangers, not a place for Core Formation cultivators like them. Qin Xi was aware of this and led Mo Tiange back toward the direction of Ten-Thousand Blades Peak.
A day later, after several close calls, they finally returned to their original route.
Reaching this point, Qin Xi breathed a sigh of relief. "There aren't many demon beasts here. If we're careful, we should arrive in about half a day."
Thinking of their destination, Mo Tiange felt a surge of excitement and nodded. "Mm."
The two followed the rocky terrain into a dense forest.
"Be careful!" Qin Xi warned. "This is Bone-Eroding Wood. The slightest touch will instantly rot you into a pile of bones."
Mo Tiange was startled. "Its poison is that potent? If taken outside, wouldn't it be terrifying to use against enemies?"
Qin Xi shook his head. "It can't be taken out. Although the Bone-Eroding Wood's poison is strong, it dissipates quickly. About a day after being unearthed, the toxicity completely vanishes. Storing it in a Jade Box is useless."
"...I see."
The two activated their protective spiritual energy and summoned defensive magic treasures, proceeding into the forest with extreme caution.
"This way!" Qin Xi led, flying close to the ground.
The area of Bone-Eroding Wood was quite extensive. Afraid of touching the leaves, it took them a long time to exit the woods.
Past the Bone-Eroding Wood forest, the scenery changed abruptly. The sky was dark and oppressive, the ground pockmarked with large and small pits. Some pits still burned with fire, casting a dark red glow on the surroundings.
Mo Tiange looked around and asked, "Why is this place like this?" The pits were all too small to be volcanoes, yet their sheer number was truly strange.
Qin Xi said, "These are traces left behind by ancient Immortals using fire-element spells."
"Fire-element spells..." Mo Tiange gazed at the endless stretch of ruins, her heart filled with longing. How powerful must a spell have been to leave such vast traces? Perhaps what lay before her was merely the casual work of a single ancient Immortal.
"Let's go, this way." Qin Xi again summoned his Flying Cloud, pulled Mo Tiange aboard, rose into the air, and slowly flew toward the right.
In the Bone-Eroding Wood forest, they could only fly close to the ground. Over this field of pits, they had to fly at a high altitude. These were fire-element spells left by Immortals, utterly incomparable to the current Three Great True Fires. Although the Three Great True Fires were powerful, they were ultimately mortal fires. These were Immortal Fires. If cultivators like them came into contact, they would certainly be unable to withstand it.
They flew for a while, still not having left the ruins, when Qin Xi suddenly began to descend.
"Senior Brother?" Mo Tiange called out. "Where are we going?"
Qin Xi said steadily, "Right below."
Mo Tiange looked down but saw only several pits blazing with dazzling firelight, with no other destination in sight.
Just as she was growing alarmed, Qin Xi's Flying Cloud continued its descent, heading straight into one of the pits.
"Senior Brother!" This was Immortal Fire! If it touched them, they couldn't withstand it!
Qin Xi held her hand, reassuring her. "It's fine, don't worry."
Just as the Flying Cloud was about to make contact with the Immortal Fire in the pit, it suddenly skimmed over the flames and headed straight for the pit wall. The Flying Cloud was extremely fast. As it was about to crash into the wall, Mo Tiange saw a cave opening in the pit wall. The Flying Cloud instantly darted into the cave.
"We're here." Qin Xi put away the Flying Cloud, looked at the cave, and sighed. "Over eighty years... I never thought I'd return to this place."
Mo Tiange scanned her surroundings. Although the cave entrance was extremely small, the interior was very spacious, with dark red rock walls all around, looking terrifying.
Was this... the place where her father had fallen? Mo Tiange involuntarily stepped forward. She hadn't gone far when she stopped.
At the back of the cave was a stone platform. On the platform lay a dried-up skeleton, clad in sparse, tattered clothing, clean of any flesh, leaving only bleached-white bones.
Gazing at the skeleton, Mo Tiange couldn't look away. She slowly moved her feet, inching forward until she stood before the stone platform, then gently knelt down.
"Father... I've finally... found you..."
Though it was merely a skeleton, bearing no recognizable trace of her father, Mo Tiange's tears fell uncontrollably. She remembered many, many things—her lonely childhood, her sickly mother, the days mother and daughter relied on each other as orphans... Back then, how she had longed for her father to return, for the family to live happily together. But he never came back, not even by the time her mother passed away.
At that time, she hadn't been without resentment toward her father, but in her heart, she always thought, perhaps Father had his own difficulties. It wasn't that he didn't want to fetch her; he must have had other matters preventing him.
She had guessed the outcome correctly but not the reason. Father hadn't failed to fetch her because of other matters, but because... he had died here.
Before his death, he had entrusted her to the only person he could trust. Unfortunately, through a series of mishaps, she wandered adrift for ten years... Finally, the person he entrusted did find her, sheltered her for decades, and even became her beloved...
Qin Xi gently knelt beside her. "Brother Ye, this is probably the last time I'll call you Brother Ye. Coming here today, it is for Tian Ge to collect your remains, and for me to give you an account. The promise I made you, I have fulfilled over these years. Tian Ge has grown up and become a Core Formation cultivator. My responsibility ends today."
He turned to look at Mo Tiange, smiled slightly, tightened his grip on her hand, and continued, "Brother Ye, that day you said if your daughter possessed a Pure Yin constitution and had spiritual roots, matters of dual cultivation would be entirely at my discretion. I understood the implication behind your words. Although the outcome today is the same, I must explain to you that Tian Ge and I are together out of mutual affection, unrelated to that. You... may rest in peace."