Before Perfected One Yanglin could finish his lament, he saw the sky filled with the heavenly phenomenon of Nascent Soul formation, startling him so much his jaw nearly dropped. Just as he was wondering why—since no one in the sect had recently gone into seclusion to form their Nascent Soul—he received a summons from the First Supreme Elder. He could only hurriedly order his disciples to investigate before rushing off to meet the First Supreme Elder.
"Greetings to the Supreme Elders." The moment he entered the cave abode of First Supreme Elder Liu Dingyuan, he was pinned by the gazes of four Nascent Soul Elders. Perfected One Yanglin felt his heart tremble with fear. Four Nascent Soul Elders, two of them late-stage cultivators—even if they weren't deliberately releasing their pressure, a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator like him found it hard to remain calm and composed.
The Tiandao Sect originally had seven Nascent Soul Elders. One perished in Tianmo Mountain a decade ago, another was severely injured and was currently in seclusion, and of the remaining five, only one was absent. It seemed the appearance of this Nascent Soul formation phenomenon had also shaken the upper echelons of the Tiandao Sect.
"No need for formalities," said Liu Dingyuan, seated at the head. He appeared young, looking only about thirty, with a three-inch beard beneath his chin. Wearing a Daoist crown and robe, he looked every bit the transcendent immortal.
But this was merely appearance. Perfected One Yanglin knew this First Supreme Elder actually cultivated demonic arts. He could be amiable when in a good mood, but when displeased, he was extremely irritable.
So, despite being told to skip formalities, Perfected One Yanglin still respectfully bowed and asked, "May I ask why the Supreme Elders have summoned this disciple?"
"Does that even need asking?" Among the four Nascent Soul Elders, the most hot-tempered, Fairy Fengqing, spoke up. She glanced outside, her phoenix eyes slanting upward. "Such a huge commotion—surely you, the Sect Leader, aren't unaware?"
Perfected One Yanglin certainly knew the reason; he had only asked out of courtesy. He hadn't expected to be wrong again, so he could only answer with a bitter expression, "This disciple truly doesn't know! Our sect has five senior brothers and sisters at the late Core Formation stage, two of whom are approaching Core Formation perfection. But neither of those two senior brothers mentioned attempting Nascent Soul formation... I was just wondering who it could be and only had time to send people to investigate."
Hearing this, the four Nascent Soul Elders exchanged glances. Of course, they knew these things too, but some miscellaneous matters were clearer to the Sect Leader, hence they had summoned him to ask.
"Esteemed Supreme Elders," Perfected One Yanglin ventured boldly, "this disciple noticed that the location of the heavenly phenomenon is at the North Peak. The North Peak connects to Tianmo Mountain, and no sect disciple has established a cave abode there. Therefore, this disciple dares to speculate that it is not someone from our sect, or... there is some hidden circumstance."
After all, he was the Sect Leader; these words showed considerable insight. The four Nascent Soul Elders listened and turned their gaze toward the late-stage cultivator, Liu Dingyuan. Liu Dingyuan stroked his beard and said, "That is indeed very possible. We all know the situation of the Core Formation cultivators in our sect—none are at a good time for Nascent Soul formation. Yet the location of the phenomenon is the North Peak... In my opinion, it's most likely not a cultivator from our sect."
"Senior Brother Liu!" Fairy Fengqing frowned. "Who would dare to form their Nascent Soul within the territory of our Tiandao Sect? That's far too bold! We are, after all, the number one sect in Tianji, with so many Nascent Soul cultivators in the sect, and with Senior Brother Liu and Senior Brother Buyan presiding. How dare he?"
Liu Dingyuan shook his head. "We'll know what's going on soon enough. No need to rush."
A long silence followed. The heavenly phenomenon still hadn't dissipated; the spiritual energy in the sky grew even more abundant, golden light dazzling, spiritual radiance dancing.
Suddenly, Fairy Fengqing let out a surprised "Huh!" and stood up abruptly!
"Senior Brothers, look!"
The other three Nascent Soul cultivators looked up together. They saw auspicious clouds at the horizon, red as fire, forming a shape like a phoenix! Then, a clear cry reached their ears, like the call of a phoenix!
"Phoenix Heavenly Phenomenon!" Liu Dingyuan could no longer remain seated. When a cultivator formed their Nascent Soul, a heavenly phenomenon would appear, with auspicious clouds taking the shapes of various spirit beasts. When he formed his Nascent Soul, his phenomenon was a Suanni, which had already shaken East Kunwu at the time. The Suanni was one of the nine sons of the dragon, a descendant of divine beasts. Indeed, he had smoothly cultivated to the late Nascent Soul stage. But this one actually produced a Phoenix Heavenly Phenomenon—what did that signify? The phoenix was a true divine beast!
Liu Dingyuan made a decisive decision and immediately sent out a transmission talisman.
A moment later, the talisman returned. After receiving it, his expression changed drastically!
"Senior Brother Liu?" Fairy Fengqing inquired.
After a while, Liu Dingyuan's expression slowly calmed. He stood up and said, "Your Senior Brother Buyan already knows what's happening. He's on his way." His gaze swept over his three junior brothers and sisters, all still only at the early Nascent Soul stage. He sighed and said, "It's Qin Shoujing of the Xuanqing Sect. He formed his Nascent Soul in Tianmo Mountain and just broke through the restrictions to emerge."
"What?" The three Nascent Soul cultivators still looked puzzled, but Perfected One Yanglin's expression changed first.
After all, the difference in realm was vast. No matter how talented a Core Formation cultivator was, Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn't pay them much heed. Thus, the three Nascent Soul Elders weren't very familiar with the name Qin Shoujing, but Perfected One Yanglin knew it clearly.
Seeing the inquiring gazes of the three Nascent Soul Elders, Perfected One Yanglin steadied himself and explained, "The three Masters probably aren't very clear. Qin Shoujing is the disciple of Dao Lord Jinghe of the Xuanqing Sect, renowned as a genius. He formed his Core at seventy-eight, shaking Tianji at the time."
"Oh, so it's him," one Nascent Soul cultivator said. "Didn't Senior Brother Liu mention a few years ago that our Core Formation disciples were somewhat inferior to those of the Xuanqing Sect, and that included this Qin Shoujing?"
"Hmm," Liu Dingyuan said with a furrowed brow, his voice grave. "You don't handle much affairs, so you're not clear. I've kept this matter in mind since hearing a few years ago that he attempted Nascent Soul formation. His first three attempts failed, which is why he came to Tianmo Mountain. Later, he disappeared within Tianmo Mountain. I thought he had perished there. I never expected him to emerge alive, and even succeed in forming his Nascent Soul!"
Perfected One Yanglin reported, "Senior Uncle Liu, over ninety years ago, this Qin Shoujing also went to Tianmo Mountain and emerged over a decade after the restrictions closed. Presumably, he knows some secrets within Tianmo Mountain, allowing him to escape each time."
"Is that so..." Liu Dingyuan pondered for a moment, then shook his head and sighed. "Truly fate. I originally thought Heaven favored our Tiandao Sect, letting Qin Shoujing perish in Tianmo Mountain. Never did I expect that, in the end, we would still lose a move to the Xuanqing Sect. Ah!"
Hearing this, Fairy Fengqing's expression turned fierce. "Senior Brother Liu, since he's now conveniently within our Tiandao Sect, why don't we just eliminate him on the spot?"
Liu Dingyuan shook his head. "Junior Sister Fengqing, sometimes killing doesn't solve the problem. Qin Jinghe must have Qin Shoujing's Life-Soul Lamp. If he's alive, how could Qin Jinghe not know? Besides, Qin Shoujing's appearance caused such a huge commotion; the news can't be concealed. If he perished within our Tiandao Sect, would the Xuanqing Sect let us off? Now is precisely the time for our Tiandao Sect to recuperate and rebuild, not a time for conflict. Even if the title of 'Number One Sect in Tianji' is taken away, we can take it back. But our sect's disciples... we can't afford to lose any more."
"Senior Brother Liu speaks sense," an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator agreed. "With Senior Brother Liu and Senior Brother Buyan here, the prestige of the Tiandao Sect remains. There's no need to rush."
Fairy Fengqing was about to say more, but Liu Dingyuan raised his hand to stop her. "They're here."
By now, the heavenly phenomenon was slowly ending. Several streaks of light flew from the North Peak of Yuheng Mountain, stopping before Liu Dingyuan's cave abode. It was none other than the Tiandao Sect's other late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, Dao Lord Buyan, along with Qin Xi and Mo Tiange.
In an instant, a smile had already surfaced on Liu Dingyuan's face. Leading his three Nascent Soul junior brothers and sisters and a group of disciples, he went out to greet them. "So it's Fellow Daoist Shoujing, the beloved disciple of Dao Lord Jinghe. I've long heard of your esteemed name."
Regardless, Qin Xi had only just formed his Nascent Soul. For a late-stage cultivator to show such courtesy was giving him ample face. Therefore, he also politely returned the greeting with Mo Tiange. "You flatter me. Greetings to all Senior Brothers and Sisters of the Tiandao Sect. This junior was forced by circumstances to form his Nascent Soul within Tianmo Mountain. If it disturbed you all, I beg your forgiveness."
"Haha, not at all, not at all." Hearing him refer to himself as 'this junior,' humbly positioning himself as a junior, Liu Dingyuan felt somewhat more comfortable. "This is also fate's arrangement. Fellow Daoist Shoujing, please come in and sit."
Qin Xi smiled slightly, giving Mo Tiange a meaningful glance, then followed Liu Dingyuan into his cave abode.
Mo Tiange understood his meaning. Since the Tiandao Sect was treating them with courtesy, there was no danger. They could enter boldly and without worry.
Inside Liu Dingyuan's cave abode, Liu Dingyuan introduced the present Nascent Soul cultivators to Qin Xi one by one. After exchanging greetings, noticing Mo Tiange always following behind Qin Xi, he asked, "And this is...?"
Qin Xi smiled. "This is my junior sister, and also my Dao companion. Her Dao title is Qingwei."
"Oh..." Liu Dingyuan was somewhat surprised. Although most male Nascent Soul cultivators took Core Formation female cultivators as Dao companions, Mo Tiange's cultivation was truly a bit low. But this was ultimately someone else's affair. Liu Dingyuan smiled and didn't say more, merely glancing at his disciples to signal they should treat Mo Tiange with equal courtesy.
Once everyone was seated and tea was served, Liu Dingyuan said, "Fellow Daoist Shoujing, not only did you escape death this time, but you also succeeded in forming your Nascent Soul. You must have many stories. I wonder if you could share them with us?"
Qin Xi smiled. "It was merely good luck. When the restrictions of Tianmo Mountain collapsed ten years ago, my junior sister and I happened to not be affected, but we were trapped inside and couldn't get out. Over these ten years, Tianmo Mountain was extremely unstable. We had no choice but to find a safe place to go into seclusion. Fortunately, I obtained some treasures within and smoothly formed my Nascent Soul, which allowed us to break free and emerge."
"Is that so? When Tianmo Mountain's restrictions collapsed back then, only a few escaped. Fellow Daoist Shoujing, you were truly fortunate."
Liu Dingyuan clearly didn't believe his words, and Qin Xi hadn't intended for him to believe. Such matters were tacitly understood by all. So, he still smiled and glossed over it, asking instead, "Senior Brother Liu, we've been trapped in Tianmo Mountain all these years. I wonder what the current situation in Kunwu is? How many escaped back then? And is my master, Dao Lord Jinghe, well?"
"Fellow Daoist Shoujing, rest assured," Liu Dingyuan replied with a smile. "Dao Lord Jinghe had good fortune. He and Fellow Daoist Huayan of your esteemed sect both escaped, and only suffered minor injuries. However, Fellow Daoist Huayan of your sect reportedly sustained quite serious injuries. I don't know how he's been these years."
"Oh, thank you for informing us, Senior Brother Liu." Hearing this news, both Qin Xi and Mo Tiange breathed a sigh of relief. At least they were alive.