Demon Lord Guifang and Venerable Wuming and his party had all departed, yet Mo Tiange and Nie Wushang remained concerned about the matter.
Although a Late-Nascent Soul cultivator like Demon Lord Guifang wouldn't even spare them a glance, the other inhabitants of Guifang City might not be so dismissive. If Demon Lord Guifang emerged victorious from this encounter, that would be one thing. But if he lost, his disciples and subordinates would likely come looking for trouble.
For a while, neither of them returned to their cultivation chambers. They sat silently facing each other in the main hall of the cave abode.
After a while, both of them jolted simultaneously, looking up towards the outside of the cave abode. They had both sensed the astonishing fluctuations coming from outside Guifang City. Clearly, the two Late-Nascent Soul cultivators had already begun their duel.
"The might of Late-Nascent Soul cultivators... even with Guifang City's protective formations, it can't completely block it," Nie Wushang sighed.
The fact that even they were affected showed just how intense the pressure from the two combatants was.
Nie Wushang was right. Because of the pressure from the two Late-Nascent Soul cultivators fighting, Guifang City was descending into chaos.
Countless low-level cultivators and mortals were vomiting blood, unable to maintain their composure, and could only take refuge within the formations arranged by the city lord's mansion. As for the high-level cultivators, without exception, they all ceased their secluded cultivation, emerged from their cave abodes, and gazed with worry towards the direction outside the city.
This turmoil lasted for three days. After three days, the fluctuations outside the city finally ceased.
"Demon Lord Guifang lost," Nie Wushang said, opening her eyes.
Mo Tiange knew Nie Wushang possessed a treasure that gave her astonishing sensitivity to demonic qi. If she said so, it was eighty percent certain.
"Should we leave this place?"
Nie Wushang hesitated upon hearing this. "Logically speaking, finding another quiet cave abode for secluded cultivation would be better. But my situation is different from yours. I've just advanced to the late stage, and my demonic qi isn't very stable..."
Mo Tiange frowned. "I'm not particularly pressed. After advancing, I've already spent some time stabilizing my realm." She pondered for a moment. "Actually, we don't need to be in such a hurry. This matter isn't that closely related to us. Even if someone comes looking for trouble, it shouldn't be too excessive."
"Hmm," Nie Wushang responded absentmindedly. Logically, although she had reached late Core Formation, she held no value for a Late-Nascent Soul cultivator like Demon Lord Guifang. And given Demon Lord Guifang's methods of governing Guifang City, he probably wouldn't vent his anger on her. His disciples and subordinates shouldn't go too far either. If that were the case, she didn't mind enduring it for a while.
Mo Tiange looked at her, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said nothing. This matter originally had nothing to do with Nie Wushang. If they hadn't been living together, Nie Wushang wouldn't have been implicated. But after reuniting in a foreign land and journeying together for so many years, they had come to regard each other as friends. If she offered an apology now, it would feel too distant.
"By the way, how did you end up with some Buddhist Sacred Relic? You never mentioned it all these years?" Nie Wushang asked, puzzled.
Regarding this, Mo Tiange could only offer a bitter smile. "If they hadn't come knocking, I truly wouldn't have known that thing was actually a Buddhist Sacred Relic. If I had known, I would have definitely changed my name and gone into hiding. How could I have let them track me here?"
Subsequently, she briefly recounted the events of forty years ago to Nie Wushang. Having figured out the cause and effect, she wasn't the least bit surprised that those Buddhist cultivators had tracked her here. Back then, after seizing the Heaven-Net, she had stayed in Tianxue City for a while, then went to Wuyou Valley, then Xingluo City, and finally settled in Guifang City. Over the years, although there were periods where her whereabouts were uncertain, she had never changed her appearance or name, nor had she deliberately avoided public places. Since Huayan Temple was a major sect, they naturally had ways to find her if they wanted to.
After listening, Nie Wushang said, "So that's how it is. It seems that Juewu is no ordinary person. How could an ordinary disciple casually carry a Sacred Relic when traveling? Moreover, back then he was expelled, yet now he follows Venerable Wuming, not only advancing to Core Formation but also being treated with considerable respect. I'm afraid the events of that year involved internal strife within Huayan Temple."
"Hmm." Mo Tiange, being a disciple of a major sect herself, knew even more about such internal conflicts within large sects than Nie Wushang. She could almost deduce what Juewu had experienced back then. If she had nothing better to do, she could go inquire about what had happened in Huayan Temple over the years.
After discussing this, both fell silent again, yet neither showed any intention of returning to their cultivation chambers.
The Five Saints and the legend of the Five Saints were originally just rumors to them. But now, with this incident happening, it felt incredibly close, almost pulling them into the vortex.
Mo Tiange, in particular, was deeply troubled. She had originally thought the Heaven-Net was a replica, but it turned out to be the genuine article. Then what about the Fusheng Sword? The reason she asked Venerable Wuming what the five Sacred Objects included was precisely because she had a strong premonition.
And Venerable Wuming's answer was both within and beyond her expectations.
It was within expectations because her premonition that the Fusheng Sword might be one turned out to be true. It was beyond expectations because she had thought the legend of the Five Saints was far removed from her, yet it turned out she actually possessed two of the Sacred Objects.
Immediately afterward, she thought: quite a few people knew she had the Fusheng Sword. That day when she obtained the Fusheng Sword from Demon Lord Xuanyue, aside from herself, there were seven other cultivators present. Those cultivators were scattered throughout Yunzhong, many of them disciples of major sects...
"Not good!" Suddenly thinking of something, Mo Tiange abruptly stood up, cold sweat beading on her skin.
"What's wrong?" Nie Wushang looked at her, puzzled.
"Yang Chengji," Mo Tiange murmured. "Yang Chengji knows..."
Nie Wushang frowned, not understanding her meaning. "You mean Yang Chengji knows us? What's the big deal? We have no grudge with him, right?"
"No." Mo Tiange shook her head, her face pale. "Do you remember what Venerable Wuming said the five Sacred Objects included just now?"
"Of course I remember. Besides the Heavenly Demon Tower and the Heaven-Net, there's the God-Restricting Bead, the Nameless Record, and the Fusheng Sword—do you think that God-Restricting Bead might be the one in Ling Yunhe's hands?" She thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Probably not, right? If the God-Restricting Bead were a Sacred Object, how could they let a Core Formation cultivator casually take it away from the sect?"
"Whether Ling Yunhe's God-Restricting Bead is one or not, I don't care." Mo Tiange sat back down, holding her forehead. "What I want to tell you is, the Fusheng Sword is in my possession."
*Clatter!* The teacup Nie Wushang had just picked up fell onto the table. She sharply looked up at Mo Tiange, narrowing her eyes in disbelief. "What did you say?"
"I said, one of the five Sacred Objects, the Fusheng Sword, is in my possession." Mo Tiange repeated slowly, word by word. "And Yang Chengji knows about this."
No more needed to be said. Nie Wushang's face instantly turned as pale as Mo Tiange's. "So that means they..." Before she could finish, she suddenly grabbed Mo Tiange's sleeve. "Then what are we waiting for? While they haven't come yet, let's go!"
"Go?" Mo Tiange gave a bitter smile. "With a Late-Nascent Soul cultivator presiding over it, Guifang City is the real 'heaven-net'. Where can we go?" The answer was still only one: enter the Void Heaven Realm. But that would once again force her to face the problem of how to explain it to Nie Wushang.
Hearing this, Nie Wushang dejectedly released her grip. "Right. If they've already noticed, then we... Wait!" She looked up and asked, "When Venerable Wuming answered that question, Yang Chengji wasn't there, right?"
"Right," Mo Tiange said hesitantly. "But Venerable Wuming knows. Could it be that Demon Lord Guifang doesn't?"
"Then think about it. When Yang Chengji first learned you had the Fusheng Sword, did he have any particular reaction at the time?"
Mo Tiange thought for a moment and shook her head. "The Fusheng Sword was something I exchanged from a demonic cultivator. Several Core Formation cultivators were present at the time. If they had known, would they have let me exchange for it? At that time, in their eyes, the Fusheng Sword was merely an ancient treasure that had lost its former power, had a big reputation, and was quite useless—a white elephant."
Nie Wushang breathed a sigh of relief. "See? Yang Chengji didn't know back then, which shows Demon Lord Guifang hadn't told him before. Maybe he still doesn't know even now?"
"..." Mo Tiange fell into silent contemplation. During this period, whether Demon Lord Guifang had told Yang Chengji or not was truly hard to say. Over the past few decades, the Heavenly Demon Tower had caused turmoil throughout Yunzhong, making the legend of the Five Saints of Yunzhong widely known. In such circumstances, the originally very secretive five Sacred Objects had become interesting anecdotes passed around by Yunzhong cultivators. It wasn't impossible for those Late-Nascent Soul cultivators who knew the secret to inform their juniors about it.
—No, wait. If Yang Chengji had known earlier that the Fusheng Sword was one of the five Sacred Objects, and she was right here in Guifang City, wouldn't he have come to demand it long before today? That suggested Yang Chengji probably didn't know.
Thinking this, Mo Tiange's heart settled slightly. So far, no one had come looking for trouble with her. At the very least, it indicated that the several cultivators who knew she had the Fusheng Sword back then didn't know it was one of the five Sacred Objects.
But this matter served as a warning. They didn't know now, but what about in the future? Among those seven people, there were disciples of major sects, including figures like Han Shizhi who possessed both cunning and status. They were very likely to participate in their sects' confidential affairs. By that time, knowing she had the Fusheng Sword, they certainly wouldn't be polite and would come to seize it by force.
"So it seems I should still be safe for now. But from now on, I must change my appearance and name, and go into hiding."
Seeing she understood, Nie Wushang also relaxed and smiled. "You're going into hiding? Your name is already fake!"
Mo Tiange also smiled. She hadn't used her real name much outside. In her youth, because of her father's clan, she used the alias Ye Xiaotian. After coming to Yunzhong, the name Qin Wei was derived from her Daoist title. Although her circumstances were different now compared to her youth, the sense of crisis from her younger days had never left her.
"Actually, you don't need to worry too much. I know a thing or two about disguise techniques and can teach you. After this matter is over, leave Guifang City as soon as possible, change your appearance and name, and hide among the mundane world. No matter how capable they are, they probably won't be able to find you."
"Hmm." Given the current situation, this was already a relatively good method. Mo Tiange thought it over and sighed. "The Heaven-Net is one thing. I obtained it unintentionally, and the original owner came to claim it, so handing it over is fine. But this Fusheng Sword was obtained through a proper exchange. I really can't bear to just let them have it so easily. Otherwise, if I just handed the thing over, I'd be free of this trouble."
Nie Wushang, however, curled her lip. "What kind of talk is that? You're good in every way, except you lack ambition. If there's a benefit, take it if you can. If you don't take it, it's a waste. If you don't seize it, it's a waste. Whoever has greater strength and better luck gets it. Unless absolutely forced, why should you yield?"
"..." Mo Tiange gave a bitter smile. Although she had left Master Songfeng, Nie Wushang's way of thinking was deeply influenced by him, much more domineering than her own. Actually, it wasn't that she wanted to yield; she just feared trouble more.
Regardless, as long as the Fusheng Sword was in her possession, danger would follow her every moment. In a few days, if Demon Lord Guifang's side didn't come looking for trouble with her, she could leave Guifang City. Additionally, she needed to find an opportunity to go to Nanzhou Country once to meet Venerable Wuming.
When she handed the Heaven-Net over to Venerable Wuming, she had another question to ask. But it wasn't convenient to ask openly, so she had only sent a voice transmission, indicating she would ask privately later. Afterward, Demon Lord Guifang happened to arrive, so Venerable Wuming hadn't answered. However, since she had so readily handed over the Heaven-Net and hadn't made any excessive demands, Venerable Wuming probably wouldn't refuse.
Just as she finished this thought, Nie Wushang suddenly raised an eyebrow and said, "Someone's coming."