Elder Liang watched City Lord Mei with a pounding heart, not daring to speak.
As the lord of a city, City Lord Mei was considered a decent person. He usually entrusted the management of Xingluo City to them, the elders, never doubting them, and was not harsh on his subordinates. However, demonic cultivators who practiced demonic arts were often more volatile in temper than righteous path cultivators. If something went wrong, he would not be polite with them—even if this matter had little to do with them, the elders. In this world, there was a term called "taking it out on others."
By the end, City Lord Mei's face was filled with rage. He clenched his palm, and a mass of demonic energy blasted out, leveling a small hill not far away.
The spell of a Nascent Soul cultivator, even casually performed, was astonishingly powerful. The loud explosion startled several Core Formation elders of Xingluo City nearby, who looked at City Lord Mei with fear.
Fortunately, this time City Lord Mei did not take his anger out on them. After taking a deep breath, he relaxed and slowly said, "It seems I must personally deal with these juniors."
Among the elders of Xingluo City, Elder Liang could be considered City Lord Mei's number one confidant. Hearing this, he promptly asked, "City Lord, what happened?"
City Lord Mei glanced at the mirror in his hand. "Those juniors are trying to break the restrictions I set."
"What?" Elder Liang exclaimed in surprise. "They're only at Core Formation. How can they break the City Lord's restrictions? Isn't that like an egg striking a rock?"
Elder Liang's words held no hint of flattery, yet they subtly praised City Lord Mei, pleasing him—though only momentarily.
Indeed, Core Formation cultivators should, in theory, find it difficult to break a Nascent Soul cultivator's restrictions. The difference in realm was not so easily bridged. However, if someone among them was highly proficient in formations, that was another matter.
"Hmph. These juniors are different from ordinary Core Formation cultivators. Hard to say if our luck is good or bad." If he could devour them all, the Origin Demon's power would rapidly expand—that would naturally be good luck. But if variables arose because of these few, his losses would be great.
Although this "Ancient" secret land was fabricated by him, the things inside were genuine. He had moved them from a real Ancient secret land and placed them in this Maze Cave to nurture the Origin Demon. If it were destroyed just like that... Hmph, he could not allow such a thing to happen.
Mo Tiange gazed silently at the scattered few sitting before her, deep in thought.
In the end, they had not found the last person. The cave was too vast, with too many branching paths. With their pill consumption excessive, they could no longer continue the search.
Among the eight of them, Jin Shi and his two brothers had exhausted their pills. Yong Ruyu and Qiu Chengruo were not much better off; they had suffered excessive losses during earlier encounters with the puppets, leaving them injured. Now, only she, Nie Wushang, and Jian Xin retained their full strength.
Under these circumstances, Jian Xin made a suggestion: since time did not permit, they should burn their bridges and break out of the cave.
Hearing this suggestion, Mo Tiange frowned deeply. It wasn't that the suggestion was completely unfeasible, but breaking the cave was easier said than done. The monster was within this cave, the crisis right before them. Before they could break the cave, the monster would likely find them.
Nie Wushang, however, was quite pleased with the suggestion. The current deadlock of being unable to advance or retreat had stifled her; she preferred to gamble.
As for the others, with no other choice, they tacitly agreed with Jian Xin's opinion.
Since that was the case, Mo Tiange could only accept it. Although she felt this matter was not easy to handle, the facts were clear: there was no other way. This might be a clumsy method, but at least they could try it—might as well take the gamble.
Just as she was thinking this, Jian Xin opened his eyes and asked, "Is everyone rested enough?"
The others stopped their meditation. Yong Ruyu nodded. "I have no issues."
Mo Tiange and Nie Wushang also nodded.
Mu Xi hesitated before saying, "Brother Yu Gui and I... we have no pills left..." At this point, he glanced worriedly at the others' reactions.
In the current situation, having no pills meant they could no longer recover their Demonic Qi. Once their Demonic Qi was exhausted, they would be useless to the team...
Mo Tiange understood Mu Xi's concern. She glanced at Jian Xin and the others, then said calmly, "Let's take one step at a time. We'll deal with it when the time comes."
Jin Shi glanced at his two brothers and sighed helplessly. With insufficient strength and pills, the three brothers had lost their voice in this small team. A day ago, fifteen Core Formation cultivators had entered this place—ten demonic cultivators and only five righteous path cultivators. Yet now, all the righteous path cultivators were alive, while only three demonic cultivators remained, and they were in a passive position... It had to be said that although demonic cultivators were powerful, their adaptability fell short compared to righteous path cultivators.
"Let's go." Jian Xin stood up first, leading the group toward one of the passages. Among those present, his cultivation was the highest, and he appeared decisive in handling matters. Unconsciously, he had become the leader.
Mo Tiange and Nie Wushang did not object. First, they respected those with genuine ability—Jian Xin had already demonstrated his exceptional judgment. Second, they had no better ideas; Jian Xin's displayed composure helped stabilize the team's morale.
Not far along, Jian Xin stopped before a passage. "Here."
"Why here?" Nie Wushang asked. She truly couldn't sense any difference between this passage and the others.
Jin Xin did not answer immediately but turned his gaze to Mo Tiange.
Mo Tiange frowned slightly, shook her sleeve, and summoned the Taiji Bagua Diagram. Spiritual light flowed across its surface. Following the flow of spiritual energy on it, she couldn't help but let out a surprised "Huh?"
"What is it?" Nie Wushang asked.
Mo Tiange shook her head, put away the Taiji Bagua Diagram, and said, "The spiritual energy fluctuations here are more intense than elsewhere. If restrictions have been laid in this cave, preventing us from leaving, then this is likely a node."
"Oh..." Nie Wushang, not very knowledgeable about formations and restrictions, simply acknowledged.
Mo Tiange looked at Jian Xin with admiration. "Fellow Daoist Jian Xin truly possesses remarkable strength, to identify the key point at a glance!" Outwardly she showed respect, but inwardly she grew wary. She considered her own formation skills lacking in execution but believed her understanding of formations was not inferior to specialized formation masters. Yet here, hindered by her realm, she struggled to locate the cave's restrictions. This Jian Xin was actually so capable?
Jian Xin glanced at her, his gaze seeming to sense something. He smiled faintly and said, "I am not proficient in the Dao of formations; I merely possess a treasure. Previously, alone, I couldn't resist. But now with eight of us, we can give it a try." His tone then shifted. "Alright, the matter is urgent. Let's not waste any more time. That monster could come after us at any moment."
"Mm." Mo Tiange nodded, put away the Heaven and Earth Fan, and drew a flying sword from her Qiankun Bag.
"Fellow Daoist Jian Xin, what should we do?" Nie Wushang tightened her gloves and asked.
Jian Xin looked at the stone wall before him. "With our realms insufficient, we can only rely on brute force to destroy it. Everyone, just attack this stone wall. When enough force accumulates, we can forcibly break this node, causing a flaw in the entire restriction. Then, we seize the chance to escape."
"Understood." Nie Wushang nodded and threw the first punch.
The stone wall shook, emitting a loud crash as if cracked, but after a few breaths, it remained firmly in place.
"Continue," Jian Xin said. Then he shook his sleeve, and the long sword on his back unsheathed, brilliance instantly appearing as sharp sword energy swept forth.
Mo Tiange was slightly startled. Such sharp sword energy—so Jian Xin was a sword cultivator.
For some reason, sword cultivators in Yunzhong were much fewer than in Tianji. Perhaps because advancing as a sword cultivator was difficult, and cultivators in Yunzhong pursued higher realms more fervently than those in Tianji?
Her mind wandered briefly, but her hands did not stop. Mo Tiange also summoned her flying sword and slashed at the stone wall.
Seeing this, Yong Ruyu, Qiu Chengruo, and Jin Shi's trio did not stand aside. Each displayed their abilities, attacking the stone wall desperately.
They had encountered the monster several times before, escaping safely each time, but their spiritual qi had been continuously depleting. Moreover, almost every one or two hours, the monster would accurately find them. For these five, this was truly a life-or-death moment. They had either run out of pills or were injured. If they couldn't break the restriction before the monster found them, their fate was clear. As for Mo Tiange, Nie Wushang, and Jian Xin, if these five were devoured, the monster would grow stronger, making it harder for them to escape.
Everyone fought desperately, not sparing their spiritual qi.
"Big Brother, I... my Demonic Qi is almost gone..." Yu Gui put away his magic treasure and whispered to Jin Shi.
Mo Tiange hesitated, then took a jade bottle from her Qiankun Bag and tossed it to them. "These are my pills. They're not demonic pills, but you should be able to use them. Make do."
Jin Shi caught it and gave her a grateful look. "Thank you." Although demonic cultivators absorbed spiritual qi slower than Demonic Qi, without demonic pills, spirit pills could still replenish their Demonic Qi.
The eight of them, once their spiritual qi was exhausted, would sit in meditation and take pills. Once recovered, they immediately continued. With their lives at stake, no one dared to slack off for a moment.
Nearly an hour later, with a "boom," Nie Wushang threw another punch. Finally, the stone wall shook, and a glow rippled across its surface, revealing the existence of an invisible barrier.
Mo Tiange was delighted. "It's working! Let's continue!" Originally, they couldn't see this restriction, only judging by faint spiritual energy fluctuations that there should be a node here. Now, the appearance of this glow confirmed their judgment and indicated their plan was indeed feasible.
Seeing the dawn of escape, the others also showed joy and buried themselves in the task.
However, at that moment, Nie Wushang suddenly stopped. "The monster is coming."