"It's quite simple," Fuyaozi answered. "You know that spiritual energy of the same attribute aids cultivation, but do you know that opposite spiritual energies can balance the circulation of energy within the body and similarly stimulate its absorption?"
Mo Tiange was momentarily stunned, then thought of Qin Xi and herself—their cultivation methods were precisely one yin and one yang, complementing each other perfectly.
"This Immortal Palace is a relic from the Ancient Era. In ancient times, there were still many remnants from the Primordial Era, so they also revered the Dao of Balance," Fuyaozi added.
"So that's how it is." She pondered for a moment before asking, "Master, if that's the case, wouldn't the cultivation methods left behind in this Immortal Palace be extremely beneficial for me?"
"Correct. The Dao of Balance recorded within is quite beneficial for us." Fuyaozi chuckled lightly before continuing, "Of course, the Hunyuan cultivation method primarily existed during the Primordial Era. By the Ancient Era, most of it had been lost, and the mainstream method of cultivation had already become what it is today. This ancient sect likely specifically recruited disciples with Water Spirit Roots so they could cultivate ice-attribute techniques."
Mo Tiange recalled the Zhengfa Sect of the Extreme North Glacier. They indeed specifically recruited disciples with Water Spirit Roots, and all the sect's techniques were water- and ice-attribute.
The cultivation world had many such sects with unique requirements for disciples. For example, the Danding Gate required its disciples to possess a Fire Spirit Root, as cultivators with Fire Spirit Roots had greater talent for alchemy. The Beast Taming Sect, one of the Seven Great Sects of Tianji, had no Spirit Root requirement but demanded an innate talent for learning beast language, which was even more difficult than a Spirit Root requirement.
They safely crossed the plaza without incident, and the group of twelve felt slightly relieved. At that moment, several flashes of white light appeared at the entrance passage of the Immortal Palace, revealing the figures of other cultivators.
Although the passage was extremely dangerous, the cultivators who could reach the Immortal Palace were no pushovers, especially those Late-Nascent Soul cultivators. Even if they made some oversights, entering the Immortal Palace was not a problem for them.
After walking past the plaza and skirting around a great hall, they came upon layer upon layer of pavilions and towers, stretching as far as the eye could see.
True Person Yuan Mu narrowed his eyes and said gravely, "This place actually severs Divine Sense?"
The other Nascent Soul cultivators all wore solemn expressions. They had also discovered this point. While here, Divine Sense could not be spread out; as soon as they attempted to probe with it, an invisible restriction would block it.
Ling Yunhe said, "It's not surprising for an ancient great sect to have such a Divine Sense-severing restriction. After all, in important sect grounds, it would be too casual if everyone could use Divine Sense freely."
True Person Yuan Mu nodded upon hearing this. Indeed, it was so. Not to mention ancient great sects, even their own Jiuyan Sect had such restrictions, though cultivators above the Core Formation stage were not bound by them.
He said, "However, this restriction shows no signs of weakening even after so long. Truly worthy of being an ancient restriction."
"Moreover, it even restricts the Divine Sense of Nascent Soul cultivators. One can only imagine the cultivation level of this sect's members," Scholar Yu remarked with a furrowed brow.
The others shared this sentiment, feeling another surge of anticipation for the purpose of their journey. Since the cultivation of this sect's high-level members was unfathomably deep, the possibility of obtaining an opportunity to advance to the Deity Transformation stage was much greater.
"Esteemed Seniors, please come this way," Mo Tiange spoke up.
True Person Yuan Mu said politely, "We ask Fellow Daoist Mo to lead the way."
Mo Tiange smiled slightly without saying anything and stepped onto the covered walkway first. Seeing this, Qin Xi flicked his sleeve, his sword formation protecting her as he followed closely by her side.
Logically, as merely a Core Formation cultivator, with Late-Nascent Soul cultivators present, it shouldn't be her turn to take the vanguard. However, the others were wary of her. After all, within their small team, they were all competitors with each other. When the time came to seize the Immortal Fate, turning against each other was entirely possible. Who knew if she might try something while guiding the way? Naturally, they had to be cautious.
After walking for a while, they passed by a small courtyard and arrived at a garden, where the view suddenly opened up.
"Demonic Qi!" True Person Yuan Mu exclaimed the moment they stepped into the garden.
The garden was not large, likely just the private garden of an ancient cultivator. Within the garden's flower beds were both ornamental spirit flowers and medicinal spirit herbs. Over hundreds of thousands of years, without their owner's care, they had long been abandoned, leaving only a few remnants growing crookedly.
Although these spirit herbs didn't grow well, the spiritual energy within the Immortal Palace was extremely dense, and given the immense passage of time, they were still worth harvesting. Unfortunately, scattered throughout the garden were several clusters of Demonic Qi visible to the naked eye, which had eroded these spirit flowers and herbs, stripping them of their spiritual nature.
This Demonic Qi was extremely dense and had a strange aura, different from any Demonic Qi found in demonic regions.
Seeing this Demonic Qi, everyone's gaze fell upon Demon Lord Guifang.
Demon Lord Guifang frowned, a look of confusion appearing on his refined, pale face. He said, "The Demonic Qi within this space is very strange. It seems far more advanced than the Demonic Qi we cultivate..."
He only said this much before falling silent. Scholar Yu asked, "And?"
Demon Lord Guifang glanced at him and shook his head. "Nothing more. This type of Demonic Qi, this lord has never encountered before and cannot explain it. However, Scholar Yu, you have always been erudite and talented. Have you perhaps heard of it?"
How would Scholar Yu know? He shook his head and also fell silent.
"Heh, Fellow Daoists," Venerable Wuming spoke up with a smile. "This old monk has noticed that this Demonic Qi seems familiar."
"Oh?" True Person Yuan Mu raised an eyebrow, looking at him. "Fellow Daoist Wuming, the characteristic of your Buddhist techniques is to suppress Demonic Qi. Have you seen it before?"
"Actually, you have all seen it," Venerable Wuming suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Qin Xi. "Isn't that right, Fellow Daoist Qin?"
Under the gaze of the six Nascent Soul cultivators, Qin Xi nodded. "Correct."
Mo Tiange remembered that when she was attacked by Mei Feng, Venerable Wuming had intervened to save her. Presumably, he had a deeper impression of the Primordial Demonic Qi because of that.
With this reminder, True Person Yuan Mu immediately recalled. "That demonic cultivator slain by Fellow Daoist Qin."
The expressions of the Nascent Soul cultivators shifted as they each recalled, becoming more certain the more they thought about it. Their gazes toward Qin Xi also held an extra degree of wariness. This Demonic Qi was so advanced, yet that Mid-Nascent Soul demonic cultivator had been easily destroyed by his hand... Scholar Yu pondered for a moment before saying, "That's not right. Although that demonic cultivator's Demonic Qi is similar to the Demonic Qi here, it's still different. It doesn't seem as dense and is much weaker. Isn't that so, Fellow Daoist Guifang?"
Demon Lord Guifang nodded. "Correct. That person's Demonic Qi shares common traits with the Demonic Qi here, but it falls short—it could also be because his cultivation level was insufficient."
True Person Yuan Mu shook his head. "It's a pity that demonic cultivator was destroyed by Fellow Daoist Qin. Otherwise..." Even as he said this, his eyes glanced toward Qin Xi. Although the person was dead, his belongings had fallen into Qin Xi's hands. Who knew if there were techniques or the like among them?
Of course, Qin Xi wouldn't hand over something he had obtained. He merely smiled faintly, pretending not to see the implication.
True Person Yuan Mu, as the leader of a sect and a top-tier Late-Nascent Soul Great Cultivator, was too embarrassed to say it outright. Seeing that Qin Xi pretended not to understand, he could only let it go.
After all, demonic techniques and the like were of no use to his Jiuyan Sect.
As they spoke, the group of twelve continued forward.
Halfway through, Mo Tiange suddenly sensed a surge of Demonic Qi erupting skyward. The Three Yang True Fire Sword Formation surrounding her emitted a "bang" as True Fire burst forth.
She only had time to take a step back before the Nascent Soul cultivators all became alert.
"Corpse Puppets!" True Person Yuan Mu's expression changed upon seeing the source of the Demonic Qi.
From within the garden's small flower hall, several Corpse Puppets, their bodies charred black and enveloped in Demonic Qi, came staggering toward them. The Demonic Qi surrounding these Corpse Puppets was so thick that their cultivation levels were momentarily indistinguishable.
"Juniors, fall back!" Scholar Yu shouted, brandishing the folding fan in his hand and preparing for battle.
Mo Tiange retreated without hesitation, standing at the very back with Ling Yunhe and the other three.
"How can there be Corpse Puppets?" True Person Yuan Mu's gaze, however, turned to her.
Corpse Puppets were objects of the demonic path. Some demonic cultivators would destroy a cultivator's Primordial Spirit, then use special methods to control them, creating puppets—these were Corpse Puppets. Compared to spirit beasts, Corpse Puppets were much more powerful because they were originally cultivators who could use magical treasures and even cultivate. The higher the cultivation of the cultivator used to make the Corpse Puppet, the greater its power. A perfect Corpse Puppet, with a master skilled in control techniques, could match a cultivator of the same rank in combat.
For example, that Demon Lord Yueying, whose own divine abilities were not particularly outstanding, was someone no Late-Nascent Soul cultivator in Yunzhong dared to look down upon because he possessed two Early-Nascent Soul Corpse Puppets.
Mo Tiange answered with a furrowed brow, "Senior Fuyaozi said that Demonic Qi exists within this space. If cultivators died here, their corpses, infected by the Demonic Qi, could also turn into Corpse Puppets. However, the emergence of such natural Corpse Puppets requires a fortunate coincidence; the possibility is extremely low. Back then, they did discover Corpse Puppets in the Immortal Palace, but not in this location. Perhaps those Corpse Puppets have wandered here."
"Natural Corpse Puppets..." Demon Lord Guifang's expression changed slightly. "That is indeed possible. Natural Corpse Puppets are even harder to deal with than man-made ones!"
When making Corpse Puppets, the cultivator's cultivation always suffered some loss, but natural ones did not. Because they weren't artificially stripped of their Primordial Spirit, they might even retain their previous combat habits!
As they spoke, the Corpse Puppets were already right before them, pouncing toward the nearest Qin Xi.
Qin Xi did not evade. The garden was small, and there was nowhere to evade. He raised a hand, and a light shield suddenly appeared before him. Simultaneously, all the sword energy from the Three Yang True Fire Swords circling above merged into one. With a "whoosh," the sword blades were covered in Extreme Yang True Fire as they slashed toward the Corpse Puppet.
"Clang!" As if sharp weapons had clashed, Qin Xi frowned. With a flick of his sword, he used the Extreme Yang True Fire to force the Corpse Puppet back two steps before retreating himself.
"These Corpse Puppets are at least at the Nascent Soul stage, and their bodies are extremely sturdy. Even my sword couldn't cut through them." Although he wasn't a sword cultivator, the sharpness of his Three Yang True Fire Sword was not inferior to a sword cultivator's blade. Yet, just now, when he slashed, the Corpse Puppet was completely unharmed, only retreating because it feared the Extreme Yang True Fire.
Hearing this, the other Nascent Soul cultivators all changed expressions.
True Person Yuan Mu swept his gaze, assessing the terrain and looking at the endless stream of Corpse Puppets appearing in the small garden. His expression was grave. "Fellow Daoists, our retreat is cut off. If we don't kill these Corpse Puppets, I'm afraid we won't be able to leave."