Whatever City Lord Mei intended to do, they were now the turtle trapped in the jar. To escape alive, they would have to either climb out of the jar or smash it to pieces.
But neither climbing out nor smashing the jar would be easy. The one who had set the trap was far superior to them in cultivation, and they were already inside the jar, utterly passive.
Mo Tiange even thought that City Lord Mei might be watching them from outside right now, just like watching fish in a tank. No matter how they swam, they couldn't escape his grasp.
This feeling was truly unpleasant, but the fact remained that their opponent's strength surpassed theirs. For now, aside from enduring, there was nothing else they could do.
"Fellow Daoist Qin," Yong Ruyu asked in a low voice, "what do we do now? That monster..."
"That monster isn't the problem," Nie Wushang replied. "According to what these fellow daoists said, no matter how we flee, we'll eventually be found. If that's the case, running further is pointless. Moreover, its movement speed is slow. Even if we can't defeat it, we can still run. So, we might as well wait here, see what this thing is about. If it doesn't work, we can plan our escape later."
"Mm." Mo Tiange agreed. Listening to the three demonic cultivators' description, if the monster truly couldn't be avoided, this was the only way. "What do you three fellow daoists think?"
Jin Shi said, "Your decision suits us perfectly." The three brothers had arrived here with unstable auras and insufficient Demonic Qi within them. They desperately needed to rest for a while, even if just to take a few pills to replenish their Demonic Qi.
Since no one objected, the seven of them each found a relatively safe spot to rest temporarily.
"Fellow Daoist Mo."
Sitting back-to-back with Nie Wushang in the tunnel, Mo Tiange heard Nie Wushang's voice transmission.
"Hmm?" On the surface, she was still meditating and regulating her breath, but she responded softly.
"Could City Lord Mei's goal be related to that monster?"
Nie Wushang's words made Mo Tiange pause. She thought for a moment and asked, "Why do you say that?"
"That monster—City Lord Mei must know of its existence. If so, why did he trick us into coming here? To have us exterminate it? Obviously not. According to those three, we're probably no match for this thing."
Hearing this, a flash of insight struck Mo Tiange. "You mean he lured us here to feed that monster?"
"Mm, it's possible," Nie Wushang said. "If this monster is a pet he's raising, then he needs to find food for it periodically."
"..." Mo Tiange immediately felt a chill run down her spine. If that were the case, they weren't even the fish; they were the earthworms tossed into the tank for the fish to prey upon.
"This..." After thinking for a while, she steadied herself. "It's not impossible. If this is the truth, then how do we explain the Demonic Crystals and this environment where Spiritual Qi cannot recover? Also, if it's just about feeding, he could have just abducted passing rogue cultivators from Xingluo City. Why target Core Formation cultivators from prominent backgrounds? Wouldn't that just needlessly offend those major powers?"
Nie Wushang fell silent, seemingly in thought. After a moment, she replied, "The monster moves very slowly. So, only when we can't recover our Spiritual Qi will we eventually be consumed. As for why he's targeting even those well-connected Core Formation cultivators, I think it's because he can only do this once, and just as we originally guessed, the benefits are immense—so immense he can completely disregard the consequences. As for the Demonic Crystals, I can't explain that."
After all, this was just their speculation. Without sufficient information, it was impossible to account for everything.
A while later, still not receiving a response from Mo Tiange, Nie Wushang couldn't help but ask, "What about you? What are you thinking?"
"...I'm thinking about whether that monster can actually be destroyed."
Nie Wushang perked up at this. "Do you have an idea?"
"Devouring, absorbing Demonic Qi... Logically, Spiritual Qi should be the same, right?"
"Mm, so if we encounter it, our Spiritual Qi will be devoured too."
"What about Death Qi?"
Nie Wushang was taken aback. "This..."
Mo Tiange sighed. "If only Ling Yunhe were here, it would be easy." Ling Yunhe's spirit beast, the vulture, was covered in Death Qi. No matter how powerful this monster was, it shouldn't be able to absorb Death Qi, right?
Hearing this, Nie Wushang was disappointed. "I thought you had a way to produce Death Qi."
Mo Tiange could only smile bitterly. "Where would I get Death Qi?" It was just a thought. It was a pity she hadn't gone to the Black Tortoise Temple in Carefree Valley. Otherwise, she might have discovered a stele similar to the one in the Divine Dragon Temple and uncovered the secret of Death Qi. Of course, thinking about it now was useless. Even if she had gone to the Black Tortoise Temple back then, she might not have necessarily found the secret.
Thinking of this, Mo Tiange felt a headache coming on. Did she have to rely on that move again this time? Over-reliance on the Void Heaven Realm was not a good thing.
"...Fellow Daoist Nie."
"Hmm?" Nie Wushang seemed to still be pondering the problem, responding absentmindedly.
"If there's truly no way to avoid it, I have a secret technique that can help us escape. What about you?"
"I have a few methods too... but given the current situation, I'm not sure I can pull them off." Mentioning this, Nie Wushang wasn't very confident. Although she considered herself quite capable, she was now facing a Nascent Soul cultivator. The chasm between Nascent Soul and Core Formation was not so easily bridged.
Mo Tiange sensed her hesitation. After a moment's thought, she asked, "My secret technique can help you too... However, I would have to knock you unconscious first. Can you accept that?"
She would absolutely never let a third person know the secret of the Void Heaven Realm, even if she had a good friendship with Nie Wushang. If she wanted to save Nie Wushang's life later, she had to ensure Nie Wushang was unconscious. She just didn't know if Nie Wushang was willing to entrust her life to her.
Nie Wushang only considered for a moment before saying, "If there's truly no way to escape, then I'll leave it to you." She paused, then shook her head with a sigh. "It's not the first time I've entrusted my life to you anyway."
Mo Tiange didn't quite understand what she meant and was about to ask further when her constantly vigilant divine sense suddenly detected a strange aura. Her back stiffened, and she opened her eyes, speaking aloud, "Something's coming. It seems to be the monster those three fellow daoists mentioned!"
Hearing this, the others jolted to their feet, Magical Treasures at the ready.
Jin Shi glanced at her with some surprise, probably not expecting her divine sense to be slightly stronger than his. After all, from appearances, Mo Tiange's cultivation was only at the early Core Formation mid-stage, even slightly weaker than his.
Soon, the others also sensed the thing approaching. Its movement speed was indeed not fast, but if one wasn't careful, it would slip out of the range of their divine sense detection.
This thing was truly bizarre.
Not long after, the monster finally appeared at the end of the tunnel.
Just as Jin Shi and the other two had described, the monster didn't appear imposing—just a strange mass of black aura that seemed like it could be easily dispersed. But having learned of its dangers from the trio, no one dared to be careless now.
Among the seven, Yong Ruyu was the first to act. He and Qiu Chengruo combined their Jade Rings, and a bright light shot out, twisting towards the creature.
The two of them, having wavered in resolve earlier and knowing their standing in the team had diminished, decided to take the initiative to test the waters, also as a show of their stance.
Their move suited the others' intentions perfectly. Jin Shi and his companions had already fought this monster and were now at a disadvantage, hoping the other four had other methods. As for Mo Tiange, she also hoped someone would test it first, so she could think of a countermeasure.
The Jade Rings of Yong and Qiu were a relatively rare set of combined-attack Magical Treasures. Compared to single Magical Treasures, this type offered more variations. Now, as the two used them, they employed a twisting motion rather than a killing blow, clearly intending to probe.
The light from the Jade Rings formed a circle, ensnaring the monster, then suddenly tightened, as if trying to twist the aura apart.
With a twist of the light, the mass of aura was easily split in two.
Just as Yong Ruyu and Qiu Chengruo were beginning to look pleased, Mu Xi already cried out, "That thing will gather back together immediately after being dispersed!"
As the Jade Ring's light dissipated, sure enough, the scattered aura slowly coalesced after the light vanished, as if it had never been struck at all.
Yong Ruyu and Qiu Chengruo both paled. This was their most powerful Magical Treasure. If that was the case, did it mean they were completely incapable of dealing with this monster?
"Senior Brother, what do we do?" Qiu Chengruo asked.
How would Yong Ruyu know what to do? His mind was in turmoil. He turned his gaze towards Mo Tiange and Nie Wushang.
Since the monster appeared, Nie Wushang had remained silent. Mo Tiange couldn't guess what she was thinking. In haste, she summoned the Heaven-Earth Fan.
With a flick of the Heaven-Earth Fan, a crane's cry echoed as an Immortal Crane shot out, swift as thunder, piercing straight through the monster and leaving a hole. But the next moment, the Immortal Crane vanished into the air, and the monster's aura slowly solidified once more, becoming whole again.
Mo Tiange's expression darkened. "Spiritual Qi..." This had also been a probing move. The Immortal Crane was just a small illusion formed from a wisp of Spiritual Qi within the Heaven-Earth Fan. Yet, not only had it failed to cause substantial damage to the monster, but the Spiritual Qi that formed the crane had also disappeared.
What Jin Shi and the others said was correct. This monster could absorb Demonic Qi and also absorb Spiritual Qi.
This was troublesome. The current situation felt like when they faced the Giant Ape in Carefree Valley, but even more terrifying. Although the Giant Ape was impervious to weapons, it still had cultivation limitations. If a Nascent Soul cultivator were here, they could kill it in one strike. If they fought desperately, there was still hope. But with this monster, they couldn't even gauge its strength.
Fleeing wasn't a solution. Here, unable to recover Spiritual Qi, their Spiritual Qi or Demonic Qi would be continuously depleted until they could no longer resist the monster.
With their current cultivation, the only way to escape this predicament was to cut the problem at its root—to get out of here.
No one made another move. The monster slowly inched closer to them.
Jin Shi and his two companions turned pale. "Fellow daoists, do you have any other ideas?"
No one spoke. The aura from the monster slowly spread out, the blackness creeping towards the group.
"Go!" Nie Wushang shouted. "We're no match for it now. Let's preserve our strength first!"
No one hesitated. Including Mo Tiange, they instantly vanished from their spots, fleeing into the distance.