For mortals, the Western Barbarians were a land of barren mountains and treacherous waters, teeming with fierce beasts, unsuitable for habitation, let alone travel. Its resources were scarce, not even attracting merchants.
For cultivators, the Western Barbarians lacked superior spiritual veins, not to mention heavenly treasures, spiritual beasts, or spiritual herbs. Unless one sought something peculiar, they would not set foot here.
But none of this mattered to Mo Tiange.
Sitting atop this desolate mountain in the Western Barbarians, she felt the biting wind blow past, a vast and distant aura washing over her.
For over a hundred thousand years, aside from a few indigenous people, no other footprints had marked this land. It still retained the appearance of the Ancient Era, easily allowing her thoughts to merge with it.
She sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and felt the howling wind whistling past her ears, the distant clusters of cave dwellings, and the melodious work songs of the indigenous people.
Why not go into seclusion here? Such a thought emerged in her mind.
Although there were no spiritual veins here, she had the Void Heaven Realm, so that wasn't a problem.
Once the thought arose, she simply began meditating and regulating her breath right there. This wouldn't increase her spiritual energy, but the gains in mental state were far beyond what the Void Heaven Realm could offer.
The wind of the Western Barbarians was rugged, like the vast earth and sky here—boundless and distant, as if blowing from the Ancient Era, devoid of worldly clamor or struggles for profit.
Gradually, her heart dissolved into the wind, drifting with it toward the world of antiquity...
The Golden Crow set, the Jade Rabbit rose in the east, day and night alternated. Time passed day by day, the wind whipping up yellow earth, gradually burying the figure sitting cross-legged on the mountain peak.
This meditative trance lasted a full half month.
Awakening from her trance, Mo Tiange looked at the accumulated yellow earth on her body, torn between laughter and tears. If she had meditated for a few more months, others might have mistaken her for an abandoned grave mound upon waking.
Fortunately, these things were no issue for an immortal cultivator. With a gentle shake of her sleeve, the yellow earth scattered with the wind, her clothes as good as new, her face free of any dust.
Sitting cross-legged on the mountain peak again, she wore a slight smile, feeling incredibly light and free.
Over these past half month, her mental state had gained new insights. These insights allowed her to gain a fresh understanding of Mo Yaoqing's cultivation experiences. With this, advancing to the peak of her current realm, and even to the Nascent Soul stage, no longer posed any problems.
Of course, if she were to go into seclusion, there were still many matters to resolve. Such as stabilizing her realm, guarding her mental state, preparing various elixirs to catalyze her advancement, and some protective measures.
Forming a Nascent Soul was not like forming a Core. If the Core shattered and the Nascent Soul failed to form, all her cultivation would be wasted. Therefore, if anything went wrong, she had to abort the Nascent Soul formation before the Core shattered. And once the Core-shattering state began, she absolutely had to succeed—she had no desire to start cultivating from scratch again; that would be far more difficult than her current path.
After sitting for a while, she retrieved a sword from her Qiankun Bag. The sword was ancient and heavy, its radiance restrained, faintly carrying the sound of wind and thunder, yet it was entangled with an inescapable demonic aura.
Looking at this sword, Mo Tiange sighed. This was the Fusheng Sword, the very object that had made "Qin Wei" a target every cultivator in Yunzhong sought to find and kill in recent years.
Over the years, she hadn't been unwilling to uncover the secrets of the Fusheng Sword, but no matter how much she pondered, the sword remained as it was.
She had no idea what material this sword was made of. Not only was it incredibly tough, but even spiritual sense couldn't penetrate its interior. Thus, she couldn't determine to what extent the sword had been corroded by demonic energy. Although the texts in the Void Heaven Realm mentioned that Quenching Spirit Water could cleanse all demonic impurities, such a thing was extremely rare in the world, with no clues to its whereabouts.
However, over these past few years, she had heard many rumors. One, in particular, was accepted by most Core Formation cultivators.
The so-called Five Sacred Objects—their power as Magical Treasures wasn't the important part. What mattered was that they were keys to the secrets hidden within the Guixu Sea.
Among these Core Formation cultivators were many disciples of major sects. Mo Tiange reasoned that since the Five Sacred Objects were now widely known in Yunzhong, this rumor was likely true.
But the problem was, even if it were true, how was she supposed to utilize this Fusheng Sword?
These Five Sacred Objects were keys to some secret place in the Guixu Sea. Did this mean that all five had to be combined to become the true key?
If that were the case, to unravel this secret, either all Five Sacred Objects had to belong to a single faction, or the five holders had to be like the Five Saints of old—equal in strength and choosing to cooperate.
"Troublesome..." she sighed, looking at the Fusheng Sword.
The first option went without saying. As a mere Core Formation cultivator, how could she possibly gather all Five Sacred Objects? She'd likely be slapped to death by a Nascent Soul cultivator the moment she showed her face. As for the second option, if she were in the Tianji Region, it would be entirely feasible. With the Xuanqing Sect as her backing, no one could look down on her. But here she was in Yunzhong, with no roots or foundation. What right did she have to claim a spot in such a cooperation? Unless... unless her master and Senior Brother were here...
As this thought arose, she couldn't help but smile bitterly. Given the current situation, she couldn't even return. How could they possibly appear? What a pity. If she had two Nascent Soul cultivators backing her, she could confidently step forward and demand a share of the spoils. But now, she could only hide, lest others kill her for her treasure.
Yet, she was absolutely unwilling to hand over the Fusheng Sword. She had obtained the Fusheng Sword rightfully through an exchange. Why should she hand it over? If these people couldn't unravel the secrets of the Guixu Sea, she wasn't losing anything.
Hmm... Since that's the case, she'd just take the Fusheng Sword back with her. Return to the Tianji Region, immerse herself in cultivation, and wait until her own strength was sufficient before returning to Yunzhong. By then, she'd have the power to compete.
Thus, Mo Tiange calmly made her decision. She would take the Fusheng Sword back to the Tianji Region. Let these cultivators in Yunzhong fight to the death over it; their deaths were none of her concern. Perhaps by the time her cultivation had greatly advanced and she returned to Yunzhong, the high-level cultivators here would have weakened each other through infighting. Then she could rightfully demand a share, or even seize greater benefits.
Thinking this, she reached out and touched the sharp blade of the Fusheng Sword. A Magical Treasure from nearly a hundred thousand years ago, corroded in the demonic realm for so many years, yet it still possessed such imposing aura. Fuyaozi's artifact-forging techniques were truly astonishing. Not to mention restoring the Fusheng Sword to its former glory, if she could learn even a fraction of Fuyaozi's forging arts and reforge her own Magical Treasures, it would surely greatly enhance their power.
Unfortunately, her current cultivation level was insufficient to uncover the secrets of the Fusheng Sword.
Having pondered these matters, just as she was about to put the Fusheng Sword away, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest, as if a needle had been viciously stabbed into her heart, nearly causing her to lose consciousness in that instant.
"Ugh..." She clutched her chest, sending spiritual energy into her heart meridian, only to find in confusion that everything was normal, with no issues at all.
Immediately after, another wave of intense pain struck. This time, it even caused her to black out for several breaths before she recovered. What was going on?
In her dazed state, she suddenly realized what had happened. It wasn't her who was injured; it was Qin Xi. The two of them shared a blood oath, allowing them to sense each other's condition. When both were fine, this connection was very faint. But if a strong sensation occurred, it meant one of them was severely injured.
Realizing this, she felt a wave of panic. Such an intense connection had actually caused her, thousands of miles away, to black out momentarily. What kind of injury must Qin Xi have suffered? Was his life in danger? Strange, he had already advanced to the Nascent Soul stage and possessed formidable abilities. What kind of perilous situation could have caused him to sustain such a severe injury?
She took deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. Mo Tiange closed her eyes, continuing to sense Qin Xi's condition.
Although the pain wasn't as sharp as before, waves of aching sensation kept coming, unceasing. What was he doing? Was he locked in a life-or-death struggle with someone or some demonic beast? What about Master? Had he gone alone to some dangerous place again?
Her mind was a chaotic mess, fear almost impossible to suppress. Separated for fifty years, she had been looking forward to their reunion, and now this... Another wave of pain struck. Mo Tiange clutched her chest, feeling her qi and blood churning uncontrollably.
Originally, the blood oath's connection wasn't this strong, but her current state of panic had caused her own qi and blood to become unstable.
Enduring for a moment, she finally felt a sweet taste in her throat as a mouthful of blood surged up.
Blood flowed from the corner of her mouth, dripping onto the Fusheng Sword in her hand. The gleaming sword blade suddenly erupted with a blinding radiance.
Mo Tiange was stunned. Before she could react, the Fusheng Sword blazed with light, engulfing her entirely.
"What is this..." Her mind seemed struck by a heavy blow, and she lost consciousness.
Her surroundings were a gray haze, her spiritual sense lost within it.
She felt as if she had died, yet also as if she were alive. Senior Brother... Remembering the strange phenomenon before she fainted and the reason for her vomiting blood, she couldn't help but feel anxious. Was he still alive?
Sensing carefully, the blood oath didn't seem broken. So, he should still be alive? Thinking this, her heart settled somewhat. As long as he was alive, that was enough. He would surely find a way to escape his predicament. The problem now was that she herself seemed to have encountered trouble.
This feeling wasn't unfamiliar to her. This was actually her spiritual sense being drawn into her Sea of Consciousness, causing such unconsciousness.
But why? Her blood was absorbed by the Fusheng Sword, and then her spiritual sense was pulled in. Did the Fusheng Sword hide some secret?
Just as this thought formed, she suddenly heard a faint sigh within the gray, hazy space. Instantly, the hairs on her body stood on end.
This was her Sea of Consciousness. Every corner of it was under her control. How could there be someone else's sigh?
"Who's there?" she demanded, on guard. Although she was in her most vulnerable Sea of Consciousness, her Soul Refining Art had reached a certain level; she wasn't without the power to fight back. However, the Sea of Consciousness was indeed fragile. For someone to infiltrate her Sea of Consciousness so silently indicated their strength was certainly extraordinary.
Steadying her mind, she spoke out, "Who are you, sir? Why are you in my Sea of Consciousness?"
"Ah..." Another soft sigh, clearer than the last. Seeming to sense her hostility, the person finally spoke, "To think it's a Mixed Element Spiritual Root, and you've even cultivated a Mixed Element Body. It seems you truly are my destined one."
Mo Tiange was taken aback. There was no hostility in this person's words; there was even a sense of benevolence.
Fusheng Sword. Destined one.
She was startled. "Are you Fuyaozi?"
In the gray, hazy space, the person chuckled lightly. "You're quite clever, little one. Yes, I am Fuyaozi."