The various Nascent Soul cultivators each employed their own methods. Mo Tiange and the other five, being only at the Core Formation stage, were completely unable to intervene and could only hide in the rear to avoid burdening the others.
If Qin Xi were not present, Mo Tiange would have found this scene quite thrilling—watching a group of great cultivators fight for their lives while also having to protect her own. But with Qin Xi among them, she found it rather dull. Unfortunately, her own strength was too low; the best way to help was simply not to get in the way.
Of course, she wasn't idle either. The sight of several Great Late-Nascent Soul Cultivators acting in unison was a rare spectacle. Their divine abilities were astonishing, and gaining some insights from them could be very helpful for her own path to forming her Nascent Soul.
She wasn't the only one with this thought; Ling Yunhe and the other four were also watching intently.
Although most of these Corpse Puppets possessed strength at the Nascent Soul stage, the seven Nascent Soul cultivators were all formidable, so there was no immediate danger. However, Mo Tiange felt some concern as she observed the Spiritual Qi fluctuations stirred up by their battle.
Although divine sense was restricted here, if the Spiritual Qi fluctuations became too pronounced, they might attract the attention of others. If other Great Late-Nascent Soul Cultivators followed, it would be troublesome. After all, none of them would want to share this Immortal Fate with anyone else.
The problems she could think of, these Great Late-Nascent Soul Cultivators naturally wouldn't overlook. Scholar Yu repelled a Corpse Puppet and said gravely, "Fellow Daoists, we cannot afford to delay here. Let us fight while retreating!"
True Person Yuan Mu nodded. "Indeed. Exterminating them all would take too much time." He glanced at Mo Tiange and the others. "Venerable Wuming, I must trouble you with these juniors."
Venerable Wuming smiled faintly and nodded.
True Person Yuan Mu then looked at Iron-Faced True Person, Ling Shiyu, and Scholar Yu. "Senior Brother Iron-Faced, Junior Brother Ling, Scholar Yu, I must trouble the three of you to guard the rear."
Once the three acknowledged, he looked at the others. "Demon Lord Guifang, Fellow Daoist Qin, the three of us will take the vanguard."
Demon Lord Guifang had no objections, and Qin Xi also nodded in agreement.
This course of action was orderly and methodical, earning Mo Tiange's silent admiration. This True Person Yuan Mu truly lived up to being the head Grand Elder of Yunzhong's number one sect. He himself took the vanguard, placed his sect's senior brother and junior brother at the rear to guard it, and entrusted the protection of their five juniors in the middle to the most trustworthy Venerable Wuming. Moreover, among the seven, True Person Yuan Mu, Demon Lord Guifang, and Qin Xi were known for their offensive prowess; Venerable Wuming's Buddhist Light was renowned for its steadiness and gentleness; as for Iron-Faced True Person, Ling Shiyu, and Scholar Yu, while their divine abilities might be slightly less powerful, their defenses were excellent. This arrangement was just right.
Sword light blazing with fiery red radiance swept out, the Extreme Yang True Fire repelling the Corpse Puppets. Qin Xi still employed the Three Yang True Fire Sword to face the enemy. True Person Yuan Mu gave a soft shout, and the Exquisite Pagoda in his hand shot out, descending upon a Corpse Puppet. Demon Lord Guifang's hands were empty, yet both gathered demonic energy. To Mo Tiange's eyes, this mass of demonic energy was actually a set of ghost claws. These ghost claws had form but no substance; she couldn't tell if it was due to special materials or Demon Lord Guifang's unique secret technique.
The seven Nascent Soul cultivators fought and retreated, finally leaving the garden after half an hour.
This battle hadn't lasted too long, but the consumption was immense. These Corpse Puppets would attack upon sensing the aura of living beings, feared no death, and swarmed forward densely, making it truly hard to withstand.
True Person Yuan Mu swept a glance over them and said, "Fellow Daoists, let's rest briefly. Within the Immortal Palace, we must proceed with caution at every step. It's best to have ample Spiritual Qi."
Everyone nodded in agreement, each finding a place to rest.
Qin Xi let out a relieved breath, sheathed the Three Yang True Fire Sword, and found a secluded corner with Mo Tiange to rest temporarily.
"For you." Just after swallowing a few pills, Qin Xi saw Mo Tiange secretly pass him something.
"This is..." Looking at the unremarkable pearl in his hand, he was puzzled.
"The Spirit-Attracting Pearl." Mo Tiange glanced around.
Qin Xi understood. With a flick of his finger, he cast a soundproof barrier.
"I found this treasure at the place where my Mo family ancestor passed away. This pearl can usually be used to store Spiritual Qi. When needed, you can draw from it."
Hearing this, Qin Xi toyed with it for a moment, probed it with his divine sense, and was surprised. "This pearl can actually store so much Spiritual Qi!"
Magical Treasures that stored Spiritual Qi had always been rare items. In the cultivation world, the common methods to recover Spiritual Qi during combat were twofold: pills and spirit stones. But the amount of Spiritual Qi that spirit pills and spirit stones could restore was pitifully small for a high-level cultivator's dantian. Thus, some cultivators conceived of such treasures—storing Spiritual Qi during peacetime and drawing from the treasure during combat. However, the materials required for such treasures were extremely precious, and the amount of Spiritual Qi they could store was usually not great.
But this pearl... Qin Xi tested it and found it could replenish over half of his Spiritual Qi! One must know, he was already a Nascent Soul cultivator; the amount of Spiritual Qi his dantian could hold was immense. If his Spiritual Qi were exhausted, relying on meditation alone would take at least several days to fully recover.
Such a treasure, if placed at an auction, would probably cause a frenzy, right? Especially among Nascent Soul cultivators, for whom Spiritual Qi recovery was difficult. With this item, one would have much greater odds of victory in combat. However, such things were typically unavailable even with money.
Mo Tiange smiled, her gaze calmly sweeping over the others. "We must be wary of all these people. With this, you essentially have an extra life."
Qin Xi nodded and put away the Spirit-Attracting Pearl. Their opponents were all Nascent Soul cultivators, and he would bear the brunt of the journey ahead. The Spirit-Attracting Pearl was more useful to him; if left with Mo Tiange, it wouldn't be of much use.
"Fellow Daoists, have you all rested enough?" Not long after, True Person Yuan Mu stood up and asked.
With the aid of endless high-grade Spiritual Qi replenishing pills, Qin Xi had long since recovered his Spiritual Qi. He now dispelled the soundproof barrier, and he and Mo Tiange stood up to rejoin the group.
The other Nascent Soul cultivators, needless to say, were all great cultivators from major sects with substantial resources. Each had prepared a stockpile of spirit pills and spirit stones for this journey and had also recovered their Spiritual Qi early.
"Junior Mo..." Before True Person Yuan Mu could finish, Mo Tiange automatically took the lead with Qin Xi.
Leaving the garden, they were faced with a rope bridge spanning a hundred zhang, connecting two mountain peaks. The Immortal Palace covered an extremely vast area, encompassing several spirit mountain peaks. From the outside, it appeared to be a single palace, but its interior held a different world.
This rope bridge was also paved with high-grade spirit stones. Some unknown spell had been cast upon it, making it utterly stable without the slightest tremor even with over a dozen people stepping on it.
Midway across, Mo Tiange looked down. Between the two peaks was a bottomless abyss, filled only with mist that obscured vision.
She frowned, sensing that this mist was mixed with a chaotic hint of Origin Demonic Qi. While not seriously harmful, her cultivation level was somewhat low, making her feel uncomfortable. After a moment's thought, she flicked her sleeve and tossed out the Taiji Bagua Diagram.
In mid-air, the Taiji Bagua Diagram slowly unfurled, ripples like water spreading around it. Wherever the ripples reached, the chaotic aura gradually stabilized.
Witnessing this, True Person Yuan Mu praised, "Junior Mo's Magical Treasure is truly remarkable. The control over Spiritual Qi has reached an extremely exquisite level. The one who crafted this treasure must have been a master."
Having stabilized the surrounding Spiritual Qi, Mo Tiange retrieved the Taiji Bagua Diagram into her sleeve. As she walked, she replied, "This treasure was bestowed by my ancestor. Senior flatters me."
"Is that so? It seems Junior Mo's sect possesses extraordinary strength..." He meaningfully glanced at Qin Xi.
Unfortunately, Qin Xi merely smiled and did not respond.
Cultivators from Yunzhong were inherently skilled at controlling Spiritual Qi, an area where Tianji cultivators fell short. This Taiji Bagua Diagram truly couldn't be made by any Tianji cultivator. But Mo Yaoqing hailed from Yunzhong and had deeply grasped the intricacies of Spiritual Qi control, enabling her to craft such a treasure. However, neither of them would explain. It was best if others misunderstood; that way, they would remain wary and less likely to act rashly.
Having safely crossed the rope bridge, the group came to a halt.
"Seniors, this is the path leading to the Scripture Pavilion," Mo Tiange stated.
Looking at the narrow mountain path before them, Ling Shiyu asked, "Junior Mo, why have we stopped?"
Before Mo Tiange could answer, Scholar Yu sighed. "Another restriction."
Ling Shiyu was startled and immediately scrutinized the area, only then faintly detecting subtle Spiritual Qi fluctuations ahead. For a Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator like him to have missed this restriction spoke volumes about its sophistication.
Demon Lord Guifang examined it for a while and asked Mo Tiange, "Didn't the Five Sages come here in the past? Why is this restriction still intact?"
Mo Tiange gently shook her head. "Has Demon Lord Guifang heard that sophisticated restrictions can repair themselves?"
Demon Lord Guifang was taken aback, his brows furrowing.
True Person Yuan Mu and the others were also surprised. "So this is a self-repairing restriction!"
Mo Tiange nodded. "Seniors, back then, breaking the restriction was the result of the five seniors working together with one heart. Although I now have Senior Fuyaozi's assistance, I cannot rely on my own strength alone to break this restriction."
Her words were reasonable, and no one else doubted them. The sophistication of this restriction was almost unprecedented in the experience of these Great Late-Nascent Soul Cultivators. If a mere Core Formation junior, relying solely on instructions from Fuyaozi's divine sense, could easily break it, that would be too simple. One must know, before absolute strength, even the most ingenious techniques are useless.
Scholar Yu spoke first. "In that case, Junior Mo, please wait to the side." He then looked at True Person Yuan Mu. "Fellow Daoist Yuan Mu, what are your thoughts?"
True Person Yuan Mu frowned deeply, pondered for a moment, then turned to Ling Yunhe. "The God-Restricting Bead."
Ling Yunhe understood, stepped forward, and respectfully presented the God-Restricting Bead.
Mo Tiange remembered that when exploring the Carefree Valley with Ling Yunhe, he had mentioned that the God-Restricting Bead had a restraining effect on Spiritual Qi and divine sense, allowing unimpeded passage through restrictions. The one he held back then was merely an imitation of the God-Restricting Bead. Presumably, the genuine article was even more powerful?
True Person Yuan Mu stood before the restriction, holding the bead in one hand while forming seals with the other. A complex set of finger seals unfolded, shimmering white light flickering between his fingers. Once the seals were complete, he gave a soft shout, and the white light struck the God-Restricting Bead.
A soft hum resonated as the God-Restricting Bead lit up, its radiance shining upon the restriction on the mountain path.
Under the bead's light, the powerful yet subtle restriction was laid bare.
Everyone was delighted at the sight, but the next moment, the light on the God-Restricting Bead flickered and ultimately dimmed.
"This bead is indeed a rare treasure, likely the work of that old fellow Guizhen, isn't it?" Fuyaozi's voice sounded faintly in Mo Tiange's mind. "Unfortunately, if this restriction were so easily broken, how could it possibly bear the responsibility of guarding the Scripture Pavilion within this ancient great sect?"