Hovering in mid-air above the vast ocean, Mo Tiange gazed silently at the endless expanse of water below.
This was the exact location where Nanjie Island should have been, but now, there was not a single trace of any island, not even a solitary rock.
In the boundless sea, many wondrous events occurred. The disappearance of an island or two was far from unusual. Some islands vanished overnight, while others suddenly appeared. For an island like Nanjie Island, which had emerged due to a volcanic eruption years ago and now disappeared because of another, it was hardly considered a strange occurrence.
However, what happened to other islands had nothing to do with Mo Tiange. This Nanjie Island was the crucial link connecting the Tianji Region and Yunzhong.
With Nanjie Island gone and the passageway destroyed, how was she to return to the Tianji Region?
Mo Tiange did not know. Ever since she had heard this news, she had been at a loss for several days.
She must return to the Tianji Region; that was beyond doubt. She was not Nie Wushang. In the Tianji Region, she had her master, her family, and her beloved. How could she simply cast it all aside as if it meant nothing?
But how was she to return? With Nanjie Island gone and the passageway non-existent, would she have to cross the South Sea like Nie Wushang? Yet, even Nascent Soul cultivators could not guarantee a safe crossing. Could she really rely on having the same kind of luck as Nie Wushang?
Luck was called luck precisely because it was not guaranteed. If, after seeing Nie Wushang safely cross the South Sea, she rashly attempted the same, it would be far too reckless. She wanted to return to the Tianji Region, but definitely not by risking her life in such a manner.
After pondering for a while, Mo Tiange sighed and untied the Spirit Beast Bag at her waist.
"Master." Xiaofan's azure body emerged from the Spirit Beast Bag. Being a sea creature, it immediately sensed the scent of the ocean upon exiting and was overjoyed. "Master, where is this?"
Mo Tiange gently patted its head. "Xiaofan, this is the place where we arrived, remember?"
"Huh?" Xiaofan blinked, not understanding. "What place where we arrived?"
Mo Tiange explained, "The place where we came to Yunzhong via the underground waterway."
Hearing this, Xiaofan quickly understood and was astonished. "Master, you mean—" It twisted its head to look around, but all it saw was the boundless sea and, not far away, Beiji Island. "What about the hot spring? That island is gone?"
Mo Tiange nodded. Having lived in the sea for years, Xiaofan easily grasped the concept of an island disappearing.
"Then what do we do?" Xiaofan twisted its tail and hopped around her anxiously. "Can we not go back? Will I never reach the East Sea again? Never see Grandpa again? No, no, I don't want that... Master, what do we do?"
Looking at the extremely anxious Xiaofan, Mo Tiange smiled bitterly. How would she know what to do? Such matters were beyond human capability.
"Go down and take a look," she said after a long moment. "We don't know if the island simply sank to the seabed. Go down and see if that passageway still exists."
"Right!" Hearing this, Xiaofan was elated. "How could I forget? Even if the island sank, maybe only that section of the passage is blocked. Perhaps it can be cleared. Master, I'm going!"
With that, Xiaofan hurriedly dove down. With a splash, it plunged into the sea, its azure tail flicking as it swiftly descended into the depths.
Left alone, Mo Tiange remained hovering in the sea breeze, still silent.
Although she had sent Xiaofan down to search for the passage, she held little hope in her heart. How could events in the boundless sea be within human control? That passageway ran along the seabed. When the volcano erupted, how could it only destroy the island? Most likely, the magma would have surged back into the passage during the eruption, completely sealing it shut.
If this were on land, it might be different. At worst, one could split mountains and crack rocks, searching slowly. But this was the sea. Even as a high-level cultivator who could briefly dive underwater, she could not possibly carve out a passage on the seabed.
The reason she had sent Xiaofan down was simply because she was unwilling to give up. What if, by some stroke of luck, the passageway only needed a little clearing to be usable? Clinging to this sliver of hope, Mo Tiange waited silently.
One hour, two hours... one day, two days...
Xiaofan still had not surfaced. Mo Tiange wasn't worried about it meeting with an accident. They were bound by a spirit beast contract; if something happened to Xiaofan, she would sense it somewhat. Moreover, Xiaofan was a Cang Dragon. This sea area was so close to Beiji Island; there wouldn't be any high-level sea beasts here. How could low-level sea beasts be a match for a Cang Dragon? Probably, Xiaofan was unwilling to give up and was still searching.
On the third day, ripples finally appeared on the sea surface. With a splash, Xiaofan emerged from the water.
"Master..." Seeing Mo Tiange, Xiaofan moved closer dejectedly, rubbing its head against her arm.
Seeing Xiaofan's despondent look, Mo Tiange had already guessed the outcome. Fortunately, she was mentally prepared. She merely sighed and stroked its head. "We'll have to think of another way."
"Mm-hmm." Having followed Mo Tiange for over a decade, Xiaofan's initial trust, born from the spirit beast contract, had deepened into reliance after all these years of consuming her pills and fighting alongside her. It believed its master would surely find a solution.
Sitting cross-legged in mid-air, Mo Tiange showed no intention of leaving, so Xiaofan stayed motionless beside her.
After thinking for a while longer, Mo Tiange opened another Spirit Beast Bag. This time, it was Feifei who emerged.
"Huh? Where is this?" As soon as it left the Spirit Beast Bag, the sea wind whipped against its body. Feifei shivered and smoothed its fur. "Ah, the sea!"
Although not a sea creature, Feifei had lived on islands in the East Sea. Seeing the ocean made it quite cheerful. "Master, where is this?"
Since its awakening, Mo Tiange hadn't seen Feifei look so cheerful and innocent. Despite her deep frustration, she couldn't help but lift the corners of her mouth into a slight smile.
She stroked Feifei's smooth fur. "Feifei, we can't go back."
"Huh?" Feifei, currently enjoying itself, blinked in confusion upon hearing this.
Mo Tiange then explained, "The passageway we used to come from the Tianji Region has collapsed. We can't return the same way."
"Oh." After hearing this, Feifei merely acknowledged it and said nonchalantly, "If we can't go back, then we can't. It's quite nice here too." Unlike Xiaofan, who had elders and family, almost like a human, Feifei had been captured and made a spirit beast right after birth. It had no real concept of a hometown and no particular attachment to the Tianji Region. As long as the Void Heaven Realm remained, returning or not was utterly unimportant to it.
Hearing Feifei's tone, if Mo Tiange weren't currently too weary to be angry, she'd really want to throw it into the sea. This fellow, ever since its awakening, only knew how to annoy people.
"Not go back? You make it sound so simple. Leaving everything else aside, a top-tier cultivator once placed a mark in my sea of consciousness. If I don't accomplish what he entrusted me with within two hundred years and have him remove the mark, I'll only live for two hundred years!" Mo Tiange frowned. "By my count, only about a hundred and twenty years remain."
"Huh?" Feifei blinked. This had happened before they formed their spirit beast contract, so of course it didn't know.
"Don't say this has nothing to do with you," Mo Tiange shot it a cold glare. "If I die, the Void Heaven Realm will become ownerless. You'll either have to cultivate inside until you reach the realm of breaking through the void, or wait for the next master to claim it. However, I remember you saying that you ancient divine beasts, though powerful, aren't very proficient in techniques like breaking through the void. Also, let me tell you, I was able to claim the Void Heaven Realm because I possess a Hunyuan Spirit Root. Think for yourself: how long would it take for the next person with a Hunyuan Spirit Root to appear, who also happens to discover the Void Heaven Realm and successfully claim it?"
"......" Feifei was speechless for a moment, then immediately changed its tune, wagging its tail ingratiatingly. "Alright, alright, I get it. We must find a way back within this hundred and twenty years, right?"
"Even earlier," Mo Tiange lowered her head in contemplation. After a long pause, she sighed. "That's not an easy task to accomplish."
Although she had already entrusted this matter to Qin Xi, believing he would surely find a way to uncover clues, how easy was it to find the remains of a cultivator who perished five thousand years ago? Especially considering that Perfected One Ziwei had a rather peculiar personality...
After thinking for a long time and still unable to come up with a good solution, Mo Tiange rubbed her temples and murmured to herself, "Find a path to the Tianji Region? Where would one even begin..."
Feifei blinked and said, "Haven't any Yunzhong Cultivators ever been to the Tianji Region?"
"Of course they have," Mo Tiange replied. "But... as far as I know, the Yunzhong Cultivators who have been to the Tianji Region were all Nascent Soul Cultivators..."
For example, Zhong Muling and Yuan Bao. Since they managed to advance to the Deity Transformation stage, they must have been exceptionally powerful Nascent Soul cultivators in their time. Also, Senior Uncle Zhenyang had mentioned encountering a Yunzhong Cultivator who crossed the South Sea long ago. That cultivator was at the early Nascent Soul stage but possessed some marvelous escape technique...
Apart from this passage, Mo Tiange couldn't be sure if there were any shortcuts from Yunzhong to the Tianji Region. Even if there were, they were likely extremely well-hidden. Then there was the obvious route: crossing the South Sea.
The dangers of crossing the South Sea needed no elaboration. But if no other method could be found, that would be the only option left.
"If they were all Nascent Soul Cultivators, then Master, you just need to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage too. A hundred and twenty years should be easy for you, right?" Feifei said breezily.
This time, Mo Tiange didn't glare at it. She murmured, "That's right. To cross the South Sea, one must reach the Nascent Soul stage. Whether we can find another path is completely uncertain. In that case, we must be prepared to cross the South Sea!"
At this thought, a determined light shone in her eyes. A hundred and twenty years was indeed enough time for her to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, even to the mid-Nascent Soul stage. During this time, she would need to enhance her strength as much as possible to prepare for crossing the South Sea, while also trying to find out if there were any shortcuts to the Tianji Region.
Having made her decision, Mo Tiange called to her two spirit beasts. "Get back in the Spirit Beast Bags. We're leaving."
"Huh?" Feifei wagged its tail, looking puzzled. "Where are we going?"
"To go into seclusion, of course," Mo Tiange said. "Even if we can't find another path, as long as I advance to the Nascent Soul stage, there's hope for crossing the South Sea."