The mound trapping Xiaofan transformed back into a small black clod of earth and fell to the ground.
With Tian Zhiqian's death, the Spirit-Trapping Formation also lost its effect. Mo Tiange sighed, walked over to pick up the clod, patted Xiaofan's head, and tossed it a pill. "You can't eat people. Have this instead."
Xiaofan swallowed the pill and asked, "Master, did I lose the fight?"
"Your cultivation is still a bit lacking right now. It's normal that you couldn't win." Mo Tiange stroked its head. Xiaohuo was too mischievous, Feifei was now the supreme ruler, only Xiaofan was the most well-behaved.
After comforting Xiaofan, Mo Tiange looked up. Tian Can stood with his arms crossed, watching Ling Yunhe with a thoughtful expression. Ling Yunhe stood silently before the corpses of Tian Zhiqian and Ling Yunfei, not moving a muscle.
Mo Tiange couldn't help but smile mockingly. Ling Yunfei and Tian Zhiqian truly couldn't be considered clever. They had such an intimate relationship with Ling Yunhe, yet they still underestimated him. Even splattered with half his body covered in black water and bearing injuries, he was still Ling Yunhe, a top cultivator of the Jiuyan Sect. How could he be trapped by a mere Spirit-Trapping Formation and wait helplessly for death? The reason she intervened was precisely because she knew Ling Yunhe couldn't possibly lose his ability to resist so easily. Since that was the case, she might as well conveniently do him a favor.
As for these two, they had probably grown too accustomed to being protected by Ling Yunhe and overlooked this issue. After a Spirit-Trapping Formation was deployed, it would continuously drain the spiritual energy of the cultivator who set it up. Tian Zhiqian had used two Spirit-Trapping Formations and was also using formation techniques to fight Tian Can and Xiaofan. How could he possibly maintain a perfect effect indefinitely? It wasn't long before Ling Yunhe could break free. And before that, the Dantian and meridians in his body had already been protected by Mo Tiange's pills. The black water had corroded half his body; although the injury was severe, it was merely external damage and didn't fundamentally affect his strength. Yet Tian Zhiqian and Ling Yunfei thought he was so grievously injured that he was at their mercy and rashly launched their attack.
After standing for a long while, Ling Yunhe's gaze finally shifted. He gathered a stream of spiritual energy in his palm and pressed it against his wound. The bleeding slowly stopped.
Then, he turned and nodded to Tian Can and Mo Tiange, saying calmly, "Fellow Daoists, thank you."
Tian Can was the first to speak. He chuckled lightly and said, "Fellow Daoist Ling, don't you think you're thanking us too early? How do you know Fellow Daoist Qin and I won't make a move against you?"
Ling Yunhe gave a bleak smile and shook his head. "If the two of you had such intentions, why would you have helped me earlier? Wouldn't it have been better to wait until we were both weakened?"
Tian Can's smile faded as he looked deeply at Ling Yunhe. "You're not a bad person. It's a pity your judgment isn't the best."
Ling Yunhe wanted to laugh upon hearing this but ultimately didn't. He lowered his head, looking at the corpses of Tian Zhiqian and Ling Yunfei, and remained silent for a long moment. Half an hour ago, these were still his most trusted brother and closest friend. Now they were two corpses, and moreover, he had personally struck them down.
Did he regret it? Of course not. Since they had chosen betrayal, this was the consequence they had to bear. Although he valued sentiment deeply, he would not be soft-hearted toward those who betrayed him.
"Fellow Daoists," Ling Yunhe's gaze gradually grew resolute. He slowly raised his hands and gave a light bow. His injuries were somewhat severe now, forcing even his movements to be gentle. "This great kindness of yours, Ling will remember it in his heart. I invite you both to meet at the Ling family mansion in three months. At that time, Ling will naturally repay you."
Neither Mo Tiange nor Tian Can spoke. Ling Yunhe's expression was very composed at this moment, but between his brows and eyes, there was an unspoken sorrow and deep weariness. Although they had intervened for certain benefits, at this moment, both chose to remain silent.
Ling Yunhe didn't wait for their reply either. He took the Qiankun bags from Tian Zhiqian and Ling Yunfei's bodies and tossed them over, his tone still calm. "Now that this matter is concluded, Ling will return first to heal his wounds. We shall meet again in three months."
Having said that, he stored away their two corpses, shook his sleeves, stepped onto his flying sword, and slowly flew toward the exit of the outer valley.
"Fellow Daoist Ling..."
Ling Yunhe stopped but did not turn around. "Does Fellow Daoist Qin have further business?"
Mo Tiange sighed lightly, picked up the Pair Flying Swords that had fallen on the ground, and with a swing of her arm, threw them out. "These are your younger brother's natal magical treasures. Keeping them would be useless for us. Fellow Daoist Ling, keep them as a memento."
"..." Ling Yunhe held the Pair Flying Swords, silent. Having lost their master, they had already dimmed, becoming useless. He took a deep breath and stored them away. "Thank you." With that, he put the Pair Flying Swords into his sleeve and soon disappeared into the dense forest.
"I say, Fellow Daoist Tian Can, it's time we divided the spoils."
Hearing Mo Tiange's voice, Tian Can started. "Ah? Oh..."
Seeing him like this, Mo Tiange crossed her arms and tilted her head to look at him.
Tian Can felt uneasy under her gaze and glared at her. "Fellow Daoist Qin, why are you looking at me like that? Although you can be considered young and beautiful, I've never had much interest in women."
Mo Tiange nodded. "Mm. Of course you have no interest in women. Perhaps you might have a little interest in men."
Upon hearing this, Tian Can's eyes widened. "What did you say?"
Mo Tiange wore a half-smile as she circled him twice before saying, "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you? Fellow Daoist Nie?"
"..."
After a long while, Tian Can sighed, took off his bamboo hat, pulled down his face covering, and wiped his face. What was revealed was Nie Wushang's delicate features.
"When did you discover me?" she asked, reverting to her own voice.
Seeing the face she had expected, Mo Tiange smiled. "You underestimated how familiar I am with you."
Nie Wushang was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
Mo Tiange said, "Although your appearance changed, your voice changed, your weapons changed, your behavior, mannerisms, and combat style all had familiar traces. In Yunzhong, I don't have many acquaintances. A martial cultivator who felt somewhat familiar to me—the answer was too simple."
Most importantly, after that conversation, she had intuitively felt that Tian Can was a woman and still harbored a certain goodwill toward her. From that, she began paying attention to Tian Can's every move and only then discovered that Tian Can and Nie Wushang shared an indescribable similarity.
Tian Can's figure was petite, roughly matching Nie Wushang's; Tian Can was dressed entirely in black, consistent with Nie Wushang's preferred style; Tian Can covered his face, and when speaking, his mouth couldn't be seen—Nie Wushang precisely used ventriloquism; Tian Can's weapon was claw spikes. Although Nie Wushang used gauntlets, when Mo Tiange first encountered her over sixty years ago, she had been using claw spikes.
With so many suspicious points combined, the answer was practically shouting to be revealed.
"..." Something flickered in Nie Wushang's eyes, but in the end, she laughed softly. "I truly never thought... there would still be someone who remembers me..."
After a moment of silence, Mo Tiange asked, "Has the demonic energy in your body been resolved?"
Nie Wushang looked up at her and smiled. "I thought your first question would be how I advanced to the middle stage so quickly."
Mo Tiange nodded. "If you don't mind, you can tell me one by one."
"...You really aren't polite." Nie Wushang wanted to get angry but ended up shaking her head with a helpless laugh. She looked around and lifted her chin. "Let's get out of here first before talking. This really isn't a place to linger."
Although they were already out of the dangerous inner valley, the outer valley was also filled with mixed spiritual auras. If they didn't leave quickly and encountered some troublesome creatures again, it would be difficult to handle.
Mo Tiange agreed. "Alright."
With that, the two each stored their things. Nie Wushang restored her disguise, and they left the valley together.
In this short time, Ling Yunhe had already disappeared without a trace. The large tree they had used when entering the valley showed signs of a broken restriction. Presumably, he had left safely.
He hadn't left long ago; the exit was still there. Mo Tiange and Nie Wushang didn't need to break another restriction and directly exited through the restriction opening he had broken.
Discussing their destinations, both indicated they had no specific goals, so they simply decided to travel together and head to Xingluo City nearby.
Along the way, the two talked about what had happened since they parted.
Mo Tiange expressed great surprise that Nie Wushang had advanced to the middle stage in just one year. When they parted, Nie Wushang hadn't yet escaped from Beiji Island. Even if she encountered no accidents along the way and directly found a suitable place to go into seclusion, it had only been exactly one year until now. In theory, this amount of time was simply not enough for a cultivator to form their Core. Mo Tiange herself had spent a full three years in seclusion, and adding the preparations before seclusion and the later stabilization of her realm, it took another year or two.
Regarding this question, Nie Wushang said she didn't understand martial cultivators well. Martial cultivators' advancements were more difficult than ordinary cultivators, but the advancement process itself was somewhat simpler. In their daily cultivation, they refined spiritual energy through methods like body tempering. Therefore, their Core Formation only required condensing these daily accumulated spiritual energy clusters into a Golden Core. Before this, the refinement of her spiritual energy had long met the requirements for advancement; she just hadn't had the time to go into seclusion. After stealing the treasure from the Tianyan Sect, she blended in with the cultivators heading out to sea and then found a random small island in the inner sea to hide from the Tianyan Sect's pursuit, taking the opportunity to go into seclusion for Core Formation. With that treasure temporarily suppressing the Primordial Demonic Qi in her body, Core Formation proceeded smoothly. In just half a year, she emerged from seclusion, crossed the sea, and arrived at the Dongtang Kingdom.
After reaching the Dongtang Kingdom, she took the alias Tian Can and wandered aimlessly. By chance, she encountered Ling Yunhe. Seeing her outstanding strength, Ling Yunhe invited her to join the Carefree Valley expedition.
Up to this point, Nie Wushang was still troubled by the Primordial Demonic Qi in her body. Although the Tianyan Sect's treasure temporarily suppressed her demonic energy, it couldn't eradicate it. So she took the opportunity to make a request to Ling Yunhe. Ling Yunhe agreed, and thus she joined the Carefree Valley expedition team.
To her surprise, she actually encountered Mo Tiange again in this team. She knew Mo Tiange's strength was not weak. When they first met at the Foundation Establishment stage, Mo Tiange's cultivation had clearly been weaker than hers. When they met again at Core Formation, she was already on par with her. Meeting again on Beiji Island, Mo Tiange had surpassed her in one go, advancing to the Core Formation middle stage.
Now that she herself had advanced to the Core Formation middle stage, out of curiosity, she wanted to test exactly how strong Mo Tiange was. Hence, the sudden attack outside the Ling family mansion happened.
Hearing this, Mo Tiange asked with interest, "So, Fellow Daoist Nie, what is your evaluation of my strength?"
Nie Wushang remained silent for a long time before answering, "If I can't subdue you from the very beginning, then I would most likely lose."
Having just witnessed Nie Wushang's true strength, Mo Tiange knew these words were somewhat modest but basically true. Nie Wushang's body was formidable. If they fought with speed and aggression, she would have to be careful. But if the combat dragged on, that was her own forte.
Thinking of this, Mo Tiange smiled. "In that case, Fellow Daoist Nie, it's best you don't become my enemy."
Nie Wushang glared at her. "Why would I become your enemy? That would just be asking for trouble."