"Master." Hearing Feifei's voice, Mo Tiange opened her eyes.
This was the fifth year since she had escaped from City Lord Mei and hidden within the Void Heaven Realm. During these five years, she had not ventured out. She first spent a year forcing the Origin Demonic Qi from her hands, then spent the next four years in seclusion, recuperating and healing her wounds.
A strike from a Nascent Soul cultivator was no small matter. Although she had escaped with her life, the injuries she sustained were not light. Even after these five years, she had not fully recovered. By her own estimation, she would likely need another four or five years.
Thinking of this, Mo Tiange sighed. If one were to truly analyze it, the root cause was still her insufficiently solid foundation. Back in her Foundation Establishment days, she had taken advantage of Zhong Muling's Five Spirit Fruit to leap directly from early Foundation Establishment to mid Foundation Establishment, saving over a decade of time. Later, considering her Core Formation, she patiently slowed her cultivation speed, both for the sake of her mental state and to address her overly weak foundation. Because of this, she encountered no major obstacles when she finally formed her Core.
Now, her problem was similar to back then. She formed her Core at eighty-six, and in just thirteen years, she advanced to the mid-stage. This time, although not as exaggerated as during Foundation Establishment, she had still taken advantage of dual cultivation to advance so rapidly.
A weak foundation inevitably led to an unstable cultivation state. Even though she had traveled far and wide for mental cultivation, journeying across the seas to Yunzhong, she still could not completely resolve this issue.
Now, calculating her age, she was only a hundred and six years old. Not only was she already at mid Core Formation, but she had also wasted several years healing. If such a thing were spoken of, it would be truly shocking.
After this injury, she had carefully considered it and felt it might not necessarily be a misfortune. After being injured, she had to spend time healing and recuperating to restore her cultivation to its pre-injury level. This also gave her the opportunity to slowly solidify her unstable foundation more firmly.
After all, her goal was beyond Nascent Soul—to transform her spirit and become immortal.
"Master, I was calling you, didn't you hear?" Feifei's delicate voice sounded, but its tone was utterly detestable.
Mo Tiange felt somewhat helpless. Ever since Feifei awakened, she felt she had completely lost her authority as a master. Yet, to argue about this with a spirit beast seemed rather pointless to her, so she just let it be.
"What did you want to say?" Mo Tiange asked.
Feifei raised a paw and pointed at the small cottage next door. "There seems to be some movement over there."
That cottage was precisely the one she had prepared for Nie Wushang to stay in temporarily. For the past five years since Nie Wushang devoured that Origin Demonic Qi, there had been no movement. As Mo Tiange herself needed to heal, she hadn't paid much attention. Instead, Feifei often went to check with great interest, so she had confidently left the task of watching over Nie Wushang to Feifei.
This little creature, although its personality was somewhat detestable, was extremely intelligent. There was no need to treat it as just a spirit beast. Tasks entrusted to it were basically nothing to worry about.
Five years with no change, and now there was finally movement? Mo Tiange temporarily stopped her healing, stood up, and walked towards the cottage.
Through the cottage window, Mo Tiange saw that the Origin Demonic Qi surrounding Nie Wushang seemed to have diminished significantly. Meanwhile, Nie Wushang's own aura felt more stable.
It seemed that over these five years, Nie Wushang had absorbed most of this Origin Demonic Qi. At the very least, she wouldn't suffer a backlash now.
As for the movement Feifei mentioned, after watching for a while, Mo Tiange noticed Nie Wushang's aura was deep and thick, as if she showed signs of waking.
Mo Tiange frowned.
"Master, should we throw her out?" Feifei suggested mischievously from the side.
Mo Tiange shot it a glare. In truth, whether it was Feifei, Xiaofan, or Xiaohuo, none were particularly friendly towards others who invaded this realm. Back when Qin Xi was here, Xiaofan wasn't around yet, and Feifei hadn't awakened. But even then, the two spirit beasts Feifei and Xiaohuo had been rather indifferent to Qin Xi. This time, when she brought Nie Wushang in, the attitudes of these three spirit beasts were even more obvious. Xiaohuo simply ignored her. Xiaofan occasionally complained. Feifei even suggested throwing her out from time to time.
However, she was still the master after all. They didn't dare to actually do anything. Feifei had also been taking good care of Nie Wushang.
"What else can we do?" Feifei leaped lightly onto her back, perched on her shoulder, and peered through the window. "Who knows when she'll wake up? What will we do then? This secret is no small matter, you know."
Mo Tiange reached out and flicked it, knocking it off her shoulder. "Prepare to go out."
"Huh?" Feifei was stunned for a moment. "Really throw her out?"
Mo Tiange looked at it with a half-smile. "Weren't you just urging me to throw her out? Why the sudden soft heart?"
"It's not that I'm soft-hearted," Feifei said, pursing its lips. "It's just that you, Master, are soft-hearted. You definitely wouldn't really throw her out."
"..." Having a spirit beast that was too intelligent wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Mo Tiange shook her head and used her spiritual sense to call over Xiaofan and Xiaohuo. "All of you, get into the spirit beast pouch. We're going out for a while."
Xiaohuo couldn't speak and just looked at her with puzzled eyes. Hearing this, Xiaofan cried out, "Master, what about your injuries?"
Before Mo Tiange could answer, Feifei cut in, "Master isn't going out to fight. What does it matter?"
"But..." Feifei's attitude angered Xiaofan, but it didn't have Feifei's nerve to retort in front of its master.
"It's fine," Mo Tiange said promptly. "I'm just going out to take care of some business. It's been so long, there won't be any problems."
Saying this, she first grabbed Xiaohuo and stuffed it into the spirit beast pouch, then Xiaofan and Feifei. Seeing her insistence, they could only obediently jump in.
Once prepared, Mo Tiange took out a pair of gloves from her Qiankun Bag and put them on.
These were made from the Heavenly Silkworm Silk Brocade left over after she forged the Heaven-Earth Fan back then. Apart from the hard-to-find Qiyun Stone and Millennium Jade Marrow, she had spent a fortune to purchase the other materials, and there were leftovers. Discovering she couldn't directly touch Nie Wushang, she dug out this Heavenly Silkworm Silk Brocade and made this pair of gloves. As long as she wore the gloves, she wouldn't be eroded by Nie Wushang's Origin Demonic Qi when touching her.
After completing these preparations, she opened the cottage's restriction, pulled up Nie Wushang, and exited the Void Heaven Realm.
The moment she left the Void Heaven Realm, she felt a gust of cold wind. Mo Tiange looked around. The surroundings were still shrouded in mist. Spreading her spiritual sense, she didn't detect any other cultivators' auras.
Five years had passed. City Lord Mei certainly wouldn't still be waiting here to hunt them down. Moreover, his plan had failed. Having hunted so many Core Formation cultivators with backgrounds, he would inevitably become an enemy of various major forces afterward. Many of those forces possessed late Nascent Soul cultivators. He was probably struggling to protect himself.
Mo Tiange put aside these thoughts and glanced at Nie Wushang beside her. After a moment's consideration, she took out a black robe from her Qiankun Bag and securely covered her with it.
This black robe was just ordinary clothing and couldn't conceal her Origin Demonic Qi. However, with this appearance, she looked no different from a Demonic Cultivator and wouldn't arouse suspicion.
Subsequently, Mo Tiange supported Nie Wushang and flew in a direction opposite to Xingluo City.
When she initially entered the Maze Mist, she hadn't gone too deep, so it only took some time to leave it. This mist merely caused disorientation and had no other ill effects.
Flying north for about half an hour, Mo Tiange saw a city nestled among the mountain ranges.
This Northern Lin State mostly consisted of mountainous terrain. Those Demonic Domains were mostly located within mountain ranges. The city beneath her feet also emanated thick demonic qi, even denser than Xingluo City's. It should also be a Demonic Domain.
Without hesitation, Mo Tiange descended.
Although this Demonic Domain was close to Xingluo City, its scale was much larger. It likely had no connection with City Lord Mei, so she could rest assured.
Soon, she landed at the city gate. Generally, cities belonging to cultivators had flight restrictions, so it was better to enter on foot and follow the rules.
This city's walls were extremely high. The wall material, pitch black, was made of something unknown. A ghost-faced flag fluttered atop the city wall. At first glance, Mo Tiange found this ghost face very familiar. Upon closer inspection, she remembered: the Ghost-Faced Banner she had seen Yang Chengji wield years ago looked exactly like this.
Could this be Guifang City? Mo Tiange wondered silently as she walked towards the Demonic Cultivator guarding the gate.
Seeing her and Nie Wushang, the Demonic Cultivator didn't dare neglect them and asked respectfully, "Seniors, are you visiting Guifang City for travel or to meet friends?"
So it was indeed Guifang City.
Mo Tiange's expression remained normal as she said calmly, "My friend here is injured. We've come to find a place to stay."
The Demonic Cultivator had already noticed Nie Wushang. Judging by her aura, she was clearly a powerful Demonic Cultivator, yet she was being supported by this Daoist cultivator, which seemed odd. He had intended to ask more, but Mo Tiange had already answered.
Perhaps it was Mo Tiange's overly composed demeanor, or perhaps their cultivation levels were sufficient to deter him. This Foundation Establishment stage Demonic Cultivator only gave them another glance before stepping aside. "The rule in our Guifang City is that as long as one does nothing detrimental to the city, any cultivator is free to come and go. Seniors, please."
Mo Tiange nodded to him and entered the city supporting Nie Wushang.
Since it was Guifang City, it should be relatively safe. They had crossed paths with Yang Chengji once before, and their previous cooperation had been pleasant without conflict. Moreover, Guifang City was one of the three great Demonic Domains. No matter what, it shouldn't have any connection with Xingluo City, so there was no need to worry about the City Lord Mei situation.
Thinking this, Mo Tiange casually stopped a passing Demonic Cultivator. "Excuse me—"
The Demonic Cultivator had only just entered the Qi Refining stage. Being stopped by a Core Formation cultivator, he was both flattered and nervous, stammering, "Th-this senior, wh-what is your c-command?"
Mo Tiange asked calmly, "Do you know if there are any inns in the city that rent out cave dwellings?"
Hearing this question, the Demonic Cultivator calmed down a bit and bowed in reply. "Senior, whether other inns rent cave dwellings, this junior doesn't know. However, the largest inn in our Guifang City certainly does."
"Oh? Where is that inn?"
The Demonic Cultivator pointed to the other end of the street. "What a coincidence, that inn is nearby. Senior, look, over there. The tallest building is it. It's called the Immortal-Demon Lodge."
Mo Tiange nodded and casually took out a Spirit Stone, tossing it to him. "Thank you."
The Demonic Cultivator caught the Spirit Stone, overjoyed. "Thank you, Senior!" Although Demonic Cultivators couldn't directly use Spirit Stones, they could use them as currency. A single Spirit Stone was very precious for a Qi Refining cultivator like him.
Putting away the Spirit Stone, the Demonic Cultivator looked up, only to see Mo Tiange and her companion's figures had already vanished down the street. He couldn't help but show an envious expression. "When will I ever have such high cultivation..."