The cave abode rented from the Immortal-Demon Inn was indeed as the innkeeper had said—of excellent quality and set in a quiet environment. After inspecting it, Mo Tiange thought it was quite good and casually selected one set, settling in. She then instructed the innkeeper that the two of them would be in seclusion to heal their injuries and that he need not come to disturb them before the rental period expired.
The innkeeper repeatedly agreed, assuring that the inn's people would absolutely not come to disturb them. If the two seniors had any matters to instruct, they could either go to the inn to find someone or send them a sound transmission.
Mo Tiange was quite satisfied. She rewarded the innkeeper with some spirit stones and sent him on his way.
Afterwards, she set up restrictions around the cave abode to indicate her dislike for being disturbed, then closed the cave, temporarily isolating herself from the world.
The cave abode was large, fully equipped with a cultivation chamber, an alchemy chamber, and a spirit beast chamber, and it even had multiple cultivation chambers. Mo Tiange straightforwardly tossed Nie Wushang into one of the cultivation chambers to fend for herself, then casually picked another one for herself. After setting up the array left by the innkeeper to isolate demonic qi, she entered the Void Heaven Realm.
Since Nie Wushang had managed to endure for five years, it was likely that this Origin Demonic Qi had already been tamed by her, and there was no need to worry. The reason she had gone to all this trouble, coming to Guifang City to rent a cave abode, was simply that it was difficult to explain the matter of the Void Heaven Realm. Moreover, the spiritual qi within the Void Heaven Realm conflicted with the Origin Demonic Qi, making Guifang City actually more suitable for Nie Wushang.
Additionally, the news she had heard from the innkeeper gave Mo Tiange some cause for concern.
That City Lord Mei was still alive did not surprise her too much. After all, City Lord Mei was a Nascent Soul cultivator. Even if he couldn't win a fight, he could always run. With the heaven-and-earth-defying abilities of a Nascent Soul cultivator, if he ran off to hide somewhere, finding him would be impossible.
Although this City Lord Mei posed no immediate threat to them, Nie Wushang had devoured the Origin Demonic Qi he had painstakingly nurtured, and she had taken Nie Wushang and escaped, causing City Lord Mei's efforts to come to naught, transforming him from a city lord into a stray dog. This grudge could completely be called a death feud. Having a Nascent Soul cultivator as an enemy was truly not a good thing.
However, worrying about it now was useless. Mo Tiange merely gave it a brief thought before setting it aside.
As for those internal conflicts within Guifang City, she wasn't concerned. Back then, her relationship with Yang Chengji had been merely casual acquaintanceship, and so many years had passed since. She wasn't in the mood to meddle in others' affairs.
This matter did remind her of Ling Yunhe. When they had parted ways back then, they had agreed that she would go to collect her payment three months later. Who would have thought that as soon as the two of them left Carefree Valley, they would fall into City Lord Mei's trap? To this day, she still hadn't gone to the Ling family. However, given Ling Yunhe's character, he probably wouldn't renege on the payment, right?
Thinking this, Mo Tiange couldn't help but smile slightly, then also cast this matter to the back of her mind. Her injuries weren't healed yet; she could think about the payment later.
The following days were no different from before, consisting solely of single-minded seclusion to heal her injuries, with no outsiders seen.
With Nie Wushang gone from the Void Heaven Realm, the three spirit beasts were overjoyed, frolicking wildly in the medicine fields all day long. Even Xiao Fan would occasionally leave the stream. They hadn't suffered any injuries to begin with, and after this period of cultivation, they seemed to show signs of advancing in rank, and had started searching for suitable spirit herbs to consume again.
Given the cultivation speed of spirit beasts, these three were already advancing far too rapidly. However, spirit beasts advancing in rank wasn't as troublesome as it was for human cultivators, so Mo Tiange let them be. After all, they ultimately wouldn't be able to surpass her in speed.
Several more months passed. While Mo Tiange was in the midst of regulating her breathing, she suddenly sensed something amiss.
She stopped healing, opened her eyes, thought for a moment, and hurriedly exited the Void Heaven Realm.
The moment she emerged from the Void Heaven Realm, she immediately felt an intense and vast demonic qi. As soon as she appeared, this demonic qi, ignoring the array that isolated demonic qi, surged violently toward her, filled with ferocity.
Mo Tiange was startled. She released protective spiritual qi using the Primordial Unity Art before stepping out of her cultivation chamber.
On the way to Nie Wushang's cultivation chamber, the demonic qi grew thicker and thicker. Although it wasn't quite on par with that of those Nascent Soul demonic cultivators, it wasn't far off, and was even purer.
When she stepped into Nie Wushang's cultivation chamber, she was completely stunned.
Nie Wushang was currently sitting cross-legged on the stone bed, her eyes closed as she regulated her breathing. Thick demonic qi surrounded her, circling around her unhurriedly, one ring after another, as if alive. And the aura emanating from her body was far beyond the mid-stage Core Formation level, even surpassing the late-stage Core Formation level by a significant margin—only a step away from the Nascent Soul stage.
Had Nie Wushang advanced? She watched for a while, then shook her head. No, this wasn't advancement. It was that this demonic qi was too domineering, hence such an intense aura.
That monster had originally been prepared by City Lord Mei for himself. Given his status as a Nascent Soul cultivator, this Origin Demonic Qi that could allow him to advance was no small matter. Although the portion Nie Wushang had devoured wasn't the entirety, it still exceeded her own cultivation realm. With such a large amount of Origin Demonic Qi, it wasn't surprising that she now possessed such a powerful aura.
However, Mo Tiange couldn't help but recall Song Feng Shangren's strange, violent temper and his half-human, half-ghost appearance. Now that Nie Wushang had truly embarked on this path, would she also become like him?
Just as she was thinking this, Nie Wushang suddenly opened her eyes and gave her a slight smile.
This smile instantly loosened the taut strings of Mo Tiange's heart. It seemed she was the same as before, nothing amiss.
"So you're awake. How do you feel?"
Nie Wushang stretched lazily, the demonic qi around her immediately dancing along with her movements. "So tired. How long have I been asleep?"
"Five years." Seeing her move normally, Mo Tiange knew she was fine and felt relieved.
"So it's been five years..." A hint of emotion seemed to cross Nie Wushang's face. After a moment, she smiled slightly and said, "I'm fine now. Although I can't completely absorb this demonic qi yet, I've already tamed it. From now on, I just need to slowly absorb it all."
"That's good." Confirming that all was well, Mo Tiange stopped worrying about her. Looking carefully at the Nie Wushang before her, she couldn't help but say, "The way you look now, you already seem like a full-fledged demonic cultivator... I wonder if this Origin Demonic Qi has any drawbacks? Will you end up like your master in the future, turning into that... appearance?"
This question caused Nie Wushang to space out for a while. After a long time, she lowered her head to look at her hand. There had originally been a wound on her hand, corroded by the black water in Carefree Valley. After five years of being cleansed by the Origin Demonic Qi, this wound was long gone, and the residual corrosive power had also been completely devoured by the Origin Demon.
This Origin Demonic Qi was truly one of the most domineering energies in this world. Neither death qi nor that filthy qi could compare to it.
"I don't know either," Nie Wushang said with a detached expression, her tone calm. "Before, I wasn't a true demonic cultivator; it was just that the spiritual qi and demonic qi within my body were intermixed, so I was neither Dao nor demon. From what I can see now, this Origin Demonic Qi is relatively well-behaved and shows no signs of corroding my body. But it's hard to say what will happen when my cultivation increases further in the future."
She hesitated for a moment, then continued, "The reason my master became like that was because he cultivated the Origin Demon Great Art too early. During his Foundation Establishment stage, he became greedy for rapid progress and suffered a deviation. I, however, am already at the Core Formation stage. My meridians and dantian were sufficiently resilient before, and this time, after being impacted by this Origin Demonic Qi, they weren't corroded. In principle, I should fare better than he did."
Even so, she wasn't certain she wouldn't become like that. After all, there were far too few people who cultivated this so-called Origin Demon Great Art, leaving almost no examples for comparison.
Mo Tiange lowered her head in silence. Since coming to Yunzhong, she hadn't had a single friend by her side. By chance, she had met Nie Wushang. During this time, the two of them had experienced so many things together that she already considered Nie Wushang a friend. Now, she couldn't help but feel sorrow for her.
Before this, Nie Wushang had just decided to become a true immortal cultivator. Then, because of such circumstances, she was forced to inhale the Origin Demonic Qi and become a demonic cultivator. And now, she had to face a future where she might become a non-human monster.
All along, Mo Tiange felt that although her life had been relatively smooth, it had been difficult and full of hardships before the age of twenty. Only now did she realize how fortunate she had been. Like Nie Wushang, who had lost her mother at birth, grew up under her master's hatred and torment, finally escaped, wanting to have her own life, yet was forced to accept such a future. In the more than one hundred years she had lived, how much suffering had she endured? Fate had truly been unfair to her.
"No need to look at me like that," Nie Wushang said with a smile at this moment. "This is still an unknown. Perhaps I'll truly rely on this Origin Demonic Qi to become a top-tier cultivator in one fell swoop, roaming freely across the human world? By then, who knows how many people will envy me."
"..." In the end, Mo Tiange did not show a sympathetic expression. Someone with a resolute nature like Nie Wushang didn't need sympathy. "What about the Origin Demon Great Art? Do you know it?"
Nie Wushang didn't hesitate. "Before I left, I stole many treasures from my master, among them the Origin Demon Great Art he had comprehended. However, it's hard to say whether this Origin Demon Great Art has any flaws or omissions. Anyway, the Origin Demonic Qi on me is enough for me to absorb for many years. I think I'll first slowly tame this Origin Demonic Qi, then see if the Origin Demon Great Art can be cultivated. I really don't want to become like my master, with a perverse temper, neither human nor ghost."
Mo Tiange nodded silently. Given the current situation, this was the best approach.
"Let's not talk about this anymore," Nie Wushang said, putting away her slight melancholy. She looked around curiously. "Where are we? And where are those other people? Back then, although I entrusted my life to you, I never imagined you'd actually manage to escape. It truly surprises me."
Mo Tiange also showed a smile. "Being able to escape back then also relied on luck..." She recounted the events of that year in detail, only changing entering the Void Heaven Realm to hiding within the Maze Mist, and that City Lord Mei ultimately hadn't found them.
"As for the others, I don't know what happened to them either. Later, I came to Guifang City, rented this cave abode here, and haven't taken a single step outside since. I only heard earlier that the city lord's mansion of Xingluo City was slaughtered overnight by Yexiao City, and that City Lord Mei had long since left the city, escaping the calamity."
"Yexiao City?" Nie Wushang thought for a moment, then said, "So, among those who were deceived and trapped in the scheme with us back then, there were also cultivators from Yexiao City?"
"That should be correct."
The two chatted about a few more things. After Nie Wushang fully understood the current situation, she thought for a moment and asked, "You're injured. Do you plan to stay here until you're healed before leaving?"
"Definitely," Mo Tiange replied without hesitation. "Yunzhong is full of dangers everywhere. Traveling while injured is truly inconvenient."
"Mm," Nie Wushang expressed agreement, then stretched lazily again. "Alright then. My body isn't quite accustomed to this current state yet, so I'll just stay here with you for a while longer. Ah, my body's all stiff. For us martial cultivators, not moving for five years is really not good. I'm going to go stretch my limbs."
With that, she got up from the bed and was about to leave the cave abode.
The next moment, Mo Tiange suddenly felt an extremely powerful aura assault her senses. Then, a loud bang sounded at the cave entrance.
She turned to look at the cave entrance and was instantly dumbfounded.
She saw Nie Wushang frozen there, a look of shock on her face. Her right hand remained in the posture of pushing the door, unmoving. The restrictions and the stone door set at the cave entrance were completely shattered.