"Taming this Origin Demonic Qi is truly no easy task..." Nie Wushang sighed, opening her eyes.
Mo Tiange had been gone for some days now, yet she still secluded herself daily, striving to subdue this Origin Demonic Qi for her own use. However, from the moment she regained consciousness five years ago until now, the amount of Origin Demonic Qi she had managed to tame was pitifully small. At this rate, she estimated her period of closed-door cultivation would have to continue, possibly not emerging for another hundred years.
It wasn't that she couldn't endure the solitude. Having lived by someone like Song Feng for over a hundred years, what couldn't she endure? It was just that, as long as this problem remained unresolved for a single day, she found it difficult to be at peace.
Was there any way to shorten this time? Nie Wushang pondered silently.
Suddenly, she sensed something. She stood up, walked out of the cultivation chamber, and opened the stone door of her cave abode.
"I'm back again," Mo Tiange stood outside the cave abode, seemingly about to send a message talisman. Seeing Nie Wushang, she spread her hands somewhat helplessly.
Nie Wushang was surprised. "Weren't you going to find Ling Yunhe? Is the matter settled?"
"Does it look like the matter is settled?" Mo Tiange sighed and entered the cave abode. "You don't mind if I continue staying here, do you?" Last time, it was Nie Wushang who paid the cave abode rent.
"Suit yourself," Nie Wushang said, closing the stone door and reactivating the restrictions. She then asked, "What happened?"
Straightening her robes and pouring tea, Mo Tiange sat down by the stone table. "I can't go back."
"Huh?" Nie Wushang was taken aback, showing her confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I can't return to the Tianji Region," Mo Tiange said.
"......" Nie Wushang was dumbstruck for a long moment before the meaning sank in. She said incredulously, "You mean the path you came by is impassable?"
Mo Tiange hadn't explained in detail how she came to Yunzhong, and Nie Wushang knew such matters were mostly secrets, so she hadn't pressed. Although unaware of the specifics, seeing how Mo Tiange had never seemed worried, she had guessed her route must be very safe. But now, Mo Tiange was actually saying she couldn't go back?
Since the passage had already vanished, it was no longer a secret. Mo Tiange simply told her everything about that route and the disappearance of Nanjie Island.
After she finished, Nie Wushang was speechless for a while. A passage that had existed for five thousand years had actually collapsed just a few years after she ran off to Yunzhong? What could she even say? This was misfortune reaching a certain realm.
After a good while, Nie Wushang asked, "So what do you plan to do now?"
Mo Tiange gave a bitter smile. "What else can I do? I can only look for another path. I can't just stay in Yunzhong forever."
"Hmm, you're not like me..." Nie Wushang thought for a moment. "If you can't find one, are you planning to cross the South Sea?"
"Yes. That's why I came back to find you. First, to cross the South Sea, I'll need greater strength. Second, you've done this before, so I came to ask for your experience."
Nie Wushang didn't hesitate. "The reason I could reach Yunzhong safely was partly luck, and partly relying on a treasure I stole from my master. To be honest with you, luck played a huge factor. If relying on a single magical treasure could allow safe passage across the South Sea, why would Yunzhong and the Tianji Region have had no contact for so many years? However, if you need it, I can lend you that magical treasure when the time comes."
Mo Tiange was taken aback upon hearing this. "This..." She had come to ask about Nie Wushang's experience crossing the South Sea, but never imagined she would be willing to lend out her magical treasure. Magical treasures were a cultivator's most precious and private possessions. Even among close friends, they were rarely lent. Moreover, since Nie Wushang relied on this treasure to reach Yunzhong safely, it indicated the item was extremely powerful, undoubtedly a top-tier treasure of immense value. Most importantly, after Mo Tiange returned to the Tianji Region, it was unknown if she would ever come back to Yunzhong. If she didn't, it would be a loan with no return.
Seeing her expression, Nie Wushang already understood what she was thinking. She said calmly, "Don't overthink it. This item might be powerful, but for me now, it's of no use anymore." She paused, then added, "We can discuss it when you're truly ready to cross the South Sea. What about that matter with Ling Yunhe? You didn't finish it, so is he reneging?"
"I didn't see him," Mo Tiange said, looking at Nie Wushang with another bitter smile. "You probably don't know, but it's chaos out there now."
"What?" Nie Wushang was astonished. "What happened?"
Mo Tiange sighed. "It's complicated..."
She spent some time recounting everything she had seen and heard since leaving, explaining it all to Nie Wushang. Although most of it was just rumors and Yunzhong lore, these were things Nie Wushang had never heard before, and she listened with great interest.
"Yunzhong actually has such legends..." Nie Wushang was quite amazed after hearing it.
Although Yunzhong's cultivation world was much larger than the Tianji Region's, the cultivation levels weren't significantly higher. However, if the legend of the Five Sages was true, then Yunzhong's history was far more glorious than the Tianji Region's.
Throughout the Tianji Region's history, there were only rumors of two achieving Deity Transformation, and even those lacked any concrete evidence. But the Five Sages were different. They left five sacred relics behind, most of which had disciples or successors, making them far more credible.
"The Heavenly Demon Tower... I wonder what kind of magical treasure it is, to be called a sacred relic." Even if these five sacred objects were merely keys to that mysterious space, they certainly weren't ordinary items. Besides, legend said this Heavenly Demon Tower was the most powerful magical treasure of Demon Lord Tianyao.
"What, are you interested?" Mo Tiange glanced at her. "You're already a demonic cultivator. If you could obtain this Heavenly Demon Tower, your power would surely increase greatly. Sounds good."
"Good is useless," Nie Wushang wasn't foolish. She rolled her eyes at Mo Tiange. "Never mind that in my current state, it's inadvisable to move about freely. Even if I could, could I compete with those other cultivators? It's better to stay out of it and watch from the sidelines. No treasure is more important than life."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange smiled without speaking. On this point, she and Nie Wushang were quite aligned. They weren't cultivators with dwindling lifespans and no hope of advancement. Why risk their lives fighting for a mere possibility? It was better to cultivate step by step; advancement would come faster that way.
As they hadn't been apart for too long, neither felt the sense of a long reunion. After discussing these matters, they returned to their previous state, each going back to their own cultivation chambers to attend to their own affairs.
Mo Tiange set up her restrictions, entered the Void Heaven Realm, let her three spirit beasts out to play, and sat in the cultivation chamber, silently contemplating.
Of her three spirit beasts, Xiaofan could speak but was too naive. Feifei was clever enough, but his personality was too similar to a human's, showing no interest in matters unrelated to himself. Thus, regarding the matter of returning to the Tianji Region, she could only ponder it alone.
After thinking for a while, her thoughts turned to the current turmoil in Yunzhong.
The legend of the Five Sages, the five sacred relics... besides the Heavenly Demon Tower, there was also the Heaven-Net. She took out her own Heaven-Net again, but the more she looked at it, the stranger it seemed. The aura of this object was indeed not strong, but the spiritual power within it was truly formidable. She tried attacking it with her own spiritual energy, but the result was like throwing mud into the sea—utterly ineffective.
Could this object really be the Heaven-Net from the legend of Master Huiyin? Impossible, right? If so, it was too unbelievable. This was just a magical treasure she had acquired by chance. How could it possibly be the Buddhist sacred relic? And before that, it was in the hands of two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
If she could find that Buddhist cultivator she had let go back then, she might be able to figure this out. Unfortunately, she hadn't asked about that person's identity or background at all.
After looking at it for a while, she still put the Heaven-Net away. Hesitating for a moment, she instead took out a rust-covered, tarnished sword.
This was the Fusheng Sword she had obtained from Demon Lord Xuanyue back then. Although covered in rust, the sword possessed an extraordinary aura, with hints of wind and thunder potential stirring within. One look told you it was no ordinary item.
However, the sword had been too severely corroded by demonic qi. Not a trace of spiritual energy could be detected; the blade itself was dull and lusterless. If one didn't look carefully, it would likely be mistaken for a scrap sword.
After pondering for a while, Mo Tiange stood up and walked into the artifact refining chamber.
Seeing the familiar layout of the refining chamber, Mo Tiange stopped, involuntarily recalling the time she and Qin Xi had spent here refining the Heaven and Earth Fan.
Her artifact refining skills were truly not great. Every small component here had been made by Qin Xi's hand. Back then, the two of them had shut themselves in here for years, discussing daily how to refine the Heaven and Earth Fan, experimenting again and again...
Actually, when they were together, they rarely spent time in sweet, intimate moments. More often, they discussed insights and exchanged thoughts. Though not particularly sweet, looking back, those days were filled with happiness.
Dao companions, dao companions—partners who sought the Dao together. That was enough. How could sweet nothings compare to relying on and accompanying each other, never abandoning one another, through the long years?
It had been ten years since she left the Tianji Region. They had been separated for ten years. In truth, Mo Tiange didn't miss him all that often. But now, standing in a place where they had once been together, touching objects he had once used, she suddenly felt a surge of longing wash over her, threatening to drown her.
After all these years without returning, was he well? Had he emerged from seclusion? Would he be worried about her? If he knew she couldn't go back, would he come looking for her?
Scenes from their time together kept surfacing in her mind.
That aloof, taciturn Senior Brother Qin. That Perfected One Shoujing who led her to escape Yunwu Mountain. Those two months of companionship. That Senior Brother Qin who risked danger to save her. That Perfected One Shoujing who saw her yet turned away coldly. Those thirty-five years of estrangement.
Back then, how presumptuous they had been! They could be shrewd and calculating in other matters, but when it came to matters of the heart, they always wildly guessed what the other was thinking, clinging to their pride, unwilling to lower themselves and be honest with each other.
Fortunately, they had ultimately come together, not wasting the fate bestowed by heaven. Recalling the beginning, their meeting had been such a coincidence. If her father hadn't traveled with him, their paths would never have crossed. If her second uncle hadn't taken her away, and she had grown up in the Xuanqing Sect as a child, she would certainly have only regarded him as a senior. If he hadn't happened to go to Yunwu Mountain, they wouldn't have had the chance to meet as peers...
If just one little thing had been different, they would have passed each other by. Fortunately, the person her father entrusted was him. Fortunately, they hadn't known each other when she was young. Fortunately, she had already grown up before they met.
The more she reminisced, the more she missed him.
Therefore, the Tianji Region—she absolutely must return.