After thinking for a while, Mo Tiange shook her head and pushed this question to the back of her mind. Which one was correct? She would just have to see for herself; it was the only path forward anyway.
Just as she was about to put away the jade slip to rest and regulate her breathing, she suddenly sensed Xiaohuo's spiritual qi fluctuations. She quickly turned to look, only to see Xiaohuo running farther and farther away, already some distance from her.
At that moment, Xiaohuo was battling an extremely thick vine. Logically, Xiaohuo was already a Fifth-Rank spirit beast. Even if this vine had developed demonic power, it was still a plant. Especially after Xiaohuo's mutation, which granted it the True Solar Fire, ordinary demon beasts shouldn't be able to match it. Yet, for some reason, this vine showed no fear of the True Solar Fire, merely dodging slightly before fiercely sweeping towards Xiaohuo instead.
Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Mo Tiange stood up.
"Xiaohuo!"
Hearing her voice, Xiaohuo spat out a mouthful of True Solar Fire, forcing the vine back, then turned and ran back to her.
Mo Tiange flicked her wrist, a white light swirling around as the Heaven-Earth Fan appeared in her hand. She then cautiously approached the vine.
This vine was extremely thick, several times thicker than any she had seen before. At a glance, she couldn't even find its roots. Its lush, coiled branches and leaves were layered upon each other, resembling a towering tree.
True Solar Fire was an excellent fire for alchemy and artifact forging, capable of melting many hard substances. How could this vine, merely a plant that fed on demon beasts for their spiritual energy, be unafraid of it?
She thought for a moment, then summoned her flying sword, aiming to slice at the vine's branches and leaves.
Before the flying sword could reach it, the vine moved, its branches swaying as if trying to evade. Mo Tiange flicked her sleeve, pushing with her spiritual qi, and the flying sword shot straight forward. This time it struck true, but the result was only a shallow sword mark left on the vine.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange frowned slightly. Although she wasn't particularly skilled with flying swords, this one was a magical treasure bestowed upon her by Dao Lord Jinghe, renowned for its extreme sharpness. Yet it couldn't cut through this vine?
"Xiaohuo, use your spells to burn it!"
Xiaohuo, hearing her command, obediently leaped forward and spat out True Solar Fire once more.
This time, the vine's movements were more pronounced. Its branches and leaves thrashed wildly, sweeping out several gusts of fierce wind that pushed the True Fire back.
However, Mo Tiange still noticed scorch marks on the tips of the branches and leaves.
The True Solar Fire was still effective, just not as potent as expected. But relying on it alone to repel this vine still wouldn't work.
After a brief consideration, Mo Tiange had an idea.
She retrieved the Stone Sculpture Puppets from her Qiankun Bag. Since obtaining them, she had rarely used these puppets in combat, largely because her own advancement had been so rapid. However, these puppets possessed immense strength and could be quite useful in certain situations.
She now directed the two puppets to walk towards the vine. Sensing the spiritual energy, the vine's branches lashed out and entangled them. The two puppets halted and simultaneously swung their stone swords. The swords came down, yet still only left two shallow wounds on the vine. Immediately after, the flexible branches wrapped around the puppets and lifted them up.
Xiaohuo grew anxious, whimpering twice. It had developed a bond with these two puppets during their time together in the Void Heaven Realm.
Mo Tiange smiled, comforting it. "Don't worry."
Although the Stone Sculpture Puppets were immensely strong and incredibly hard, the vine was also extremely tough and its branches agile, perfectly countering them. Relying on the puppets to sever the vine was impossible.
However, that wasn't Mo Tiange's intention when she brought them out.
After coiling around the two puppets until they couldn't move, the vine flung them backward. At that moment, Mo Tiange saw, amidst the tangled branches and leaves behind, a huge pouch-like structure resembling a large mouth.
As the branches brought the puppets closer, this large mouth opened. The branches tossed the puppets inside, the mouth closed, and began to undulate as if swallowing.
Witnessing this scene, Mo Tiange smiled slightly. With a thought from her divine sense, a bulge suddenly protruded from the large pouch. The vine's branches and leaves began to tremble as if in pain. The trembling grew increasingly violent, even causing the large pouch hidden deep within to contort.
Suddenly, with a *rip* sound, a hole tore open in the large pouch. The stone sword of a Stone Sculpture Puppet poked out from within, oozing green liquid.
"Xiaohuo, spells!"
Xiaohuo leaped up and spat out True Solar Fire. Simultaneously, Mo Tiange's flying sword shot forth, aiming to take advantage of the vine's branches blocking the True Solar Fire. It flew through the gaps, heading straight for the large pouch behind.
This time, the flying sword plunged in smoothly up to its hilt. More green liquid flowed out. Then, the two Stone Sculpture Puppets burst out from within the large pouch.
The large pouch was now no longer recognizable as a pouch; tattered and full of holes, it resembled a sieve.
More and more green liquid flowed from it. The vine's movements grew slower and slower until, finally, it hung limply and moved no more.
Xiaohuo immediately cheered with a few happy cries, rushing forward to start gnawing on the pouch.
Mo Tiange also walked over to examine this peculiar vine.
If these vines could be considered demonic, then this one's cultivation level was clearly higher than the others. Its branches were even difficult for the True Solar Fire to burn through.
She thought for a moment, then manipulated her flying sword to slice at a branch. Although she couldn't cut it off immediately, by continuously using the flying sword to chip away, she eventually managed to sever two pieces.
By this time, Xiaohuo had already devoured the large pouch. Looking at the now green, lifeless vine, its dark, shiny eyes rolled around. Unable to resist, it took a bite. This time, however, it nearly shattered its teeth. With a pained "whimper," it jumped up, covering its mouth with its front paws and hopping around on the ground.
Mo Tiange was amused by its antics and scooped it up. "See if you'll still be so greedy!"
Xiaohuo covered its mouth for a long while before blinking, lowering its paws, and hanging its head pitifully.
Mo Tiange patted its head. "This thing is too hard for you to chew. If we want to take it away, it'll take a long time. Let's deal with it when we return." She had spent quite a while just to cut off two branches. To take the entire thing would likely take several days. Her primary goal for this trip was to find Mo Yaoqing's cave abode. She should focus on the main task first.
Putting Xiaohuo back into the Void Heaven Realm, the human and beast rested for a while before emerging to continue their journey.
Flying southeast for another two days, they encountered nothing but the vast, boundless sea with no trace of islands.
Mo Tiange searched for half a day, using her compass to compare her location. She finally confirmed that the sea map given by Wei Haolan was correct; there truly was no large island here. Perhaps over five thousand years, that large island had long since vanished into the endless sea. With no other choice, she could only continue searching for the next landmark.
And so she flew and stopped, searched for months. When tired, she entered the Void Heaven Realm to rest, playing with her two spirit beasts. When refreshed, she came out to continue flying. She took several wrong turns along the way and encountered a few sea demon beasts.
On Mo Yaoqing's route map, several of the smaller islands had already disappeared. Later on, even Wei Haolan's sea map had no records. Left with no alternative, she could only rely on her compass, slowly correcting her course bit by bit to find the right path.
Several months later, Mo Tiange began to grow restless. Although she didn't need to search for islands to rest and her spiritual qi remained full, flying every day, seeing nothing but the endless sea with no one to talk to, the mental pressure kept mounting. In an unchanging environment, it was easy to become agitated, even for a cultivator like her.
Just as she was nearing her limit, her divine sense suddenly twitched—she finally sensed spiritual qi fluctuations in the distance.
Discovering this, Mo Tiange was overjoyed. She had been circling the sea for months, nearly driven mad. If this had continued, she would have had to temporarily give up and enter the Void Heaven Realm to cultivate her mental state. Fortunately, she had finally sensed something.
According to the indications on Mo Yaoqing's route map, this was the final destination.
The spiritual qi fluctuations grew stronger and stronger. Finally, a small island appeared within her line of sight. Mo Tiange was ecstatic, relieved that this island hadn't become one of the sunken ones. If it had, her entire journey would have been in vain.
But at this moment, she became even more cautious. Mo Yaoqing had made it very clear in her jade slip that her cave abode, where she had passed away, was protected by powerful formation restrictions. Mo Yaoqing was a genius. Even the casual notes in her journal regarding formations had given Mo Tiange many insights, let alone the formation she personally set up for her final resting place. Even with the route map in hand, Mo Tiange dared not let her guard down.
As she flew closer, Mo Tiange circled several times above the small island.
It was an island about ten li in circumference, shrouded in mist and radiant clouds, with faint spiritual qi and an air of immortality. Mo Tiange could tell there should be a medium-grade spirit vein on this island, though most of the spiritual qi was restrained, with only a small amount leaking out.
Such spiritual qi wouldn't attract the attention of high-rank demon beasts, but some low-rank sea beasts lurked around the island's periphery.
The island was ring-shaped. The outermost layer was a sandy beach, followed by gradually rising small hills. Looking down from above, the azure sea surrounded a ring of white fine sand encircling a patch of greenery—a truly beautiful sight. On the highest peak in the center, Mo Tiange detected traces of a formation, consistent with the records in Mo Yaoqing's jade slip.
Confirming she was in the right place, Mo Tiange flicked her wrist. The white silk handkerchief flew from her hand, transforming into a thin mist that enveloped her completely. Gripping the Heaven-Earth Fan tightly, she slowly began her descent.
Although she had found the location, whether there was any danger remained uncertain. After all, five thousand years had passed; it was perfectly normal for changes to have occurred during that time.
Finally stepping onto solid ground, Mo Tiange first spread out her divine sense. Aside from the location of the cave abode mentioned by Mo Yaoqing, she detected no danger elsewhere. Slightly relieved, she began walking towards the cave abode.
Mo Yaoqing had said that outside her cave abode, she had set up the Seven Absolutes Formation, which she herself had created. She didn't explain how to break this formation in the jade slip, considering it a test for her descendants.
Coincidentally, Mo Tiange had obtained her journal, which contained scattered records about this Seven Absolutes Formation. Combined with her own attainments in formations, she felt reasonably confident about breaking it.
The so-called "Seven Absolutes" actually referred to the Five Elements and Yin-Yang. Each "absolute" represented one stage, and the formation consisted of these seven stages. Mo Yaoqing named this formation "Seven Absolutes" partly out of pride. She believed that for someone of her cultivation realm, integrating the Five Elements and Yin-Yang to this extent had reached the pinnacle, hence the name.
Within it, the Five Elements shifted unpredictably, sometimes clashing, sometimes generating each other. What appeared to be metal might actually be water or fire. Yin and Yang were confused; discerning whether something was truly Yin or Yang was extremely difficult without profound mastery of formations.
Therefore, the secret to breaking this formation boiled down to a single word: distinguish. As long as one could clearly distinguish the elements, breaking the formation would become easy.