The moment the Spiritual Qi vortex rushed toward them, everyone reacted differently.
Nie Wushang, wearing her gloves, punched the ice plain. With a thunderous boom, snow mist erupted from the ice, actually forming a barrier around her.
Yong Ruyu and Qiu Chengruo each took out a jade ring. As they crossed them, the two rings merged into one, emitting a dazzling radiance from the point of intersection, forming a powerful protective shield that enveloped the two of them securely.
As for Mo Tiange, she reached into her Qiankun Bag, pulled out the white silk handkerchief, and gave it a light flick. The handkerchief transformed into mist, surrounding her completely.
Of course, these were merely self-preservation measures. An Ancient Era trial would not let them pass so easily.
After stabilizing themselves within the blizzard, the four of them each employed their own methods, engaging the wind and snow that attacked them.
At first, although Mo Tiange was cautious, she did not pay it too much mind. They had just entered the trial grounds, so logically, this stage should not be too difficult. However, not long after, she grew increasingly astonished.
This wind and snow seemed to possess intelligence, actually adjusting the direction and force of its attacks based on the changes in the spiritual aura around her.
Ancient Divine Abilities were indeed extraordinary.
After exchanging blows for a few moments and pushing the wind and snow back several zhang away, Mo Tiange shook her sleeve and summoned the Taiji Bagua Diagram. Then, with a turn of her wrist, she called forth the Heaven-Earth Fan.
The cold wind grew increasingly violent. Ice shards and snowflakes clattered against the Spiritual Qi barriers around the four of them, carrying a powerful momentum.
The four held their breath and focused their spirits, battling the invisible snow and wind giant. The wind and snow grew fiercer, as if an unseen hand was subtly manipulating it. The four of them, who had been handling it with ease at first, gradually became somewhat flustered.
Yong Ruyu and Qiu Chengruo were at the early-stage of Core Formation. Although their combined strength surpassed that of ordinary cultivators, it was only on par with a mid-stage Core Formation Cultivator like Mo Tiange. As for Mo Tiange and Nie Wushang, although they were not yet at the point of being unable to cope, their spiritual auras were slowly becoming disordered...
"Steady your minds!" Realizing this, Mo Tiange shouted, "We need to join forces!"
No matter what, joining forces would allow them to support each other, making the situation better than fighting alone and preventing them from being overwhelmed.
Nie Wushang had developed a certain rapport with Mo Tiange over these past days. Without a word, she immediately moved closer to her. But to their surprise, Yong Ruyu and Qiu Chengruo also moved toward them decisively and without the slightest hesitation.
While Mo Tiange found this slightly strange, she also felt quite reassured. When traveling together, the fear wasn't mutual wariness, but the inability to cooperate at critical moments. Although these two had slightly lower cultivation, they were both intelligent individuals. Their combined strength was considerable, so at the very least, they wouldn't hold her and Nie Wushang back.
As the four converged, the surrounding wind and snow immediately intensified. However, with each person only needing to guard one direction, it became much easier than before.
Mo Tiange unfurled the Heaven-Earth Fan. Countless flower petals and branches flew out from the fan, entangling with the wind and snow in front of her.
As her cultivation grew, she had gradually explored several uses for the Heaven-Earth Fan. Within the fan, there were not only mountains and rivers but also flowers, birds, fish, and insects—all of which could be materialized. As long as her power was sufficient, she could manifest them as means of combat.
Seeing this technique, Yong Ruyu glanced at her in surprise.
Now that the four had joined forces, Mo Tiange had some capacity to spare. Noticing his look, she couldn't help but ask, "Fellow Daoist Yong, is something wrong?"
Yong Ruyu shook his head and said, "It's nothing. It's just that Fellow Daoist Qin's Magical Treasure is truly formidable. The control over Spiritual Qi has reached an extremely refined level. Even though we Yunzhong Cultivators are famously skilled at controlling Spiritual Qi, reaching such a degree is not easy. I was merely somewhat surprised."
She was not a Yunzhong Cultivator, something she had mentioned when they met in Tianxue City. It wasn't strange for Yong Ruyu to have such thoughts.
But Mo Tiange just smiled without further explanation. This Magical Treasure originated from Mo Yaoqing's conception. Mo Yaoqing was originally a Yunzhong Cultivator, and a genius of that caliber at that. She had her own set of ideas regarding Spiritual Qi control. After Mo Tiange refined this treasure according to her conception and slowly explored along Mo Yaoqing's line of thinking, she naturally made significant progress in Spiritual Qi control as well.
Under the combined efforts of the four, the unseen hand manipulating the snow and wind vortex gradually weakened.
Just as the four were slightly relaxing, the snowflakes swirling around them suddenly condensed into blocks of ice and came crashing down.
"Watch out!" It was Nie Wushang who shouted. Then she leaped into the air, throwing two punches skyward.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange's heart tightened—not just because of the ice blocks, but also because of Nie Wushang's strength. Her fists striking mid-air became almost a blur. Relying solely on the force of her fist technique, she intercepted these ice blocks.
A Martial Cultivator. So this was a Martial Cultivator. What formidable strength.
In the past hundred years, Mo Tiange hadn't seen many Martial Cultivators, and none who had cultivated to the Core Formation stage. During her wanderings with Second Uncle, she had once met a Martial Cultivator. That Martial Cultivator, like Second Uncle, was already over two hundred years old but remained stuck at the early Foundation Establishment stage. He said that Martial Cultivators were somewhat stronger in combat than ordinary spell cultivators, but their advancement was much more difficult. Those who could cultivate to Core Formation were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. He had arduously cultivated for over two hundred years. Relying on martial prowess alone, many mid-stage cultivators were no match for him, and he could even contend with late-stage cultivators. Yet, he saw no hope of advancing. He believed that if a Martial Cultivator advanced to Core Formation, they would become even stronger. But he had no such opportunity.
What later became of that Martial Cultivator, Mo Tiange did not know. He was just one person she and Second Uncle encountered during their wandering years. She understood his desolate helplessness but never had the chance to verify his words.
It wasn't until today, seeing Nie Wushang go all out, that she realized that Martial Cultivator had been absolutely right. A Martial Cultivator who had cultivated to the Core Formation stage was a terrifying existence.
If she didn't have so many spiritual treasures, if she were merely an ordinary Core Formation Cultivator, she would be no match for Nie Wushang at all.
Thinking of this, Mo Tiange gave Nie Wushang a rather complicated look. After a moment, however, she couldn't help but smile.
In befriending Nie Wushang, her goal wasn't to enjoy the pleasure of instructing her. On the contrary, she hoped to have a like-minded person with whom she could discuss and advance together. She was confident she was no ordinary Core Formation Cultivator and possessed grand ambitions and firm conviction. If that was the case, wasn't Nie Wushang's growing strength more motivation for her? A friend's strength shouldn't be a pressure that holds one back, but a driving force that accelerates progress.
"What are you spacing out for? If you don't help soon, I'll be exhausted to death!" Nie Wushang's complaining voice sounded in her ear.
Mo Tiange snapped back to reality, smiled slightly, and the aura around her suddenly intensified. She swung the Heaven-Earth Fan continuously, and countless flowers and trees knocked away the falling ice blocks.
Half an hour later, the ice blocks gradually disappeared, and the Spiritual Qi around them finally returned to calm.
The four of them let out a sigh of relief, each finding a spot to sit down somewhat unsteadily, and began recovering their Spiritual Qi.
Based on the current situation, they should have passed this stage. Ancient Divine Abilities were indeed Ancient Divine Abilities. In this trial, each of them was nearly exhausted before managing to pass. However, Mo Tiange felt something was odd. She kept feeling that although this illusion formation was sophisticated, it wasn't powerful enough. Logically, an Ancient Divine Ability shouldn't have only this level of power. Yet, if this wasn't an Ancient Divine Ability, that wasn't quite right either. She truly sensed an ancient aura within it and felt the profound subtlety of the ability... This was too strange.
Unable to figure it out, she shook her head, sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and focused on recovering her Spiritual Qi. No matter what, they were still in the midst of the trial. If they couldn't recover their Spiritual Qi promptly, it would greatly affect the trials to come.
No sooner had she thought this than she immediately realized something was wrong—
"Huh? How can this be?" Qiu Chengruo's surprised voice sounded in her ear.
Mo Tiange opened her eyes and looked at her.
Qiu Chengruo's face was pale. She glanced at Mo Tiange, then turned to look at Yong Ruyu. "Senior Brother, I... I seem unable to recover Spiritual Qi. I tried for a while just now, but the Spiritual Qi in my body didn't increase at all."
Hearing this, Yong Ruyu's expression changed. He turned to look at Mo Tiange and Nie Wushang. "What about you two, Fellow Daoists?"
Nie Wushang frowned and said, "That's right. I've been regulating my breathing for a while, but the Spiritual Qi in my body hasn't increased."
Hearing Nie Wushang's confirmation, Yong Ruyu's expression became somewhat complicated, as if somewhat relieved yet also more tense. He said gravely, "It's the same for me." Having said that, he, along with the other two, looked at Mo Tiange.
Under the gaze of the three of them, Mo Tiange also nodded. Actually, when she was meditating just now, the Spiritual Qi in her body had increased slightly, but that didn't mean she was unaffected. After acquiring Yang Spiritual Qi, she now possessed a Chaos Body. Her body formed its own internal world; even without external supplementation, it could cycle endlessly, generating life force continuously. Because of this, her Spiritual Qi recovery was faster than others', giving her some advantage in combat. But just now, she only felt her body recover some Spiritual Qi due to its internal cycle; she hadn't absorbed any Spiritual Qi from the outside at all.
As was well known, when cultivators meditated to recover Spiritual Qi, they did so firstly by absorbing Spiritual Qi from the outside for replenishment, and secondly, during the circulation of the Grand Heavenly Cycle, Spiritual Qi cycling within the meridians could itself generate a weak amount of Spiritual Qi. However, the latter produced extremely meager Spiritual Qi. Therefore, under most circumstances, cultivators absorbed Spiritual Qi from the external environment. This was also why spiritual veins were of paramount importance for a cultivator's cultivation.
But now, as they sat in meditation regulating their breathing, they simply couldn't absorb any Spiritual Qi from the outside. It was as if the surrounding Spiritual Qi had been silently stolen away.
If this were a place like the mortal world with no spiritual veins at all, such a situation would be normal. But they could clearly sense that there was abundant Spiritual Qi all around.
Bizarre. This was too bizarre. There was boundless Spiritual Qi around them, yet they couldn't absorb it, as if this Spiritual Qi was completely isolated from them.
This phenomenon, even for Core Formation Cultivators like them, felt beyond their understanding. In principle, this situation simply shouldn't occur.
What exactly was the problem? Could it be that this Spiritual Qi couldn't be absorbed?
Silence spread among the four. Each was lost in thought, yet none could figure it out.
After a long while, Mo Tiange took a breath and spoke up, "We can discuss this later. Right now, we must recover our Spiritual Qi. We can't delay any longer."
Reminded by her words, the other three seemed to awaken from a dream. They each took out pills and Spirit Stones. Since they couldn't absorb Spiritual Qi from the environment, they could only rely on external aids.