Exiting the book storage, the hall was empty and devoid of people.
This Immortal Palace was vast beyond measure, filled with numerous buildings and complex pathways. Coupled with the Yuan Demon Qi that often leaked out, it was not easy for others to find the Scripture Pavilion.
For their group, the time spent reaching here wasn't long, and Mo Tiange and Qin Xi had only stayed in the book storage for three or four hours. Now, with only about a day left before the Immortal Palace passage opened, it was insufficient time for others to find this place.
Since the others hadn't emerged yet, the two of them could only wait. They sat cross-legged, each regulating their breathing to recover their spiritual energy.
Not long after, the teleportation array on the far left lit up with a glow, and Ling Shiyu of the Jiuyan Sect appeared.
Seeing the two meditating and regulating their breath to the side, he was surprised. "Fellow Daoists, you came out so early?"
Seeing someone emerge, the two stood up. Qin Xi said, "So it's Fellow Daoist Ling. What, are you all finished as well?"
Ling Shiyu nodded, then calmly tossed a talisman into the teleportation array. After a while, the others also appeared in the hall via the teleportation array.
Mo Tiange watched this, secretly curling her lip. The people of the Jiuyan Sect were truly cautious. Ling Shiyu's action clearly showed he was worried about an ambush outside, coming out first to scout the situation and only notifying the others to come out if it was safe.
Among their four, Ling Yunhe's importance went without saying—his cultivation was low, and he was the one recognized by the Sacred Object, so he absolutely could not have an accident. The other two were both late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, their main combat strength. Only he was the least important figure, so he was sent out to scout.
In truth, they were being overly cautious. The possibility of turning hostile now wasn't great. They were still far from the storeroom; what did this little benefit amount to?
However, she had once heard Ling Yunfei say that the Jiuyan Sect was different from other sects, placing the greatest importance on camaraderie among fellow disciples. Looking at their actions now, these words seemed true. Ling Shiyu's move was to pave the way for his fellow disciples. If there was an accident, he would be the first sacrificed, yet he appeared willing.
"Fellow Daoist Qin, Little Friend Mo, you two really came out early," True Person Yuan Mu also expressed surprise upon seeing them.
Qin Xi smiled slightly. "The two of us had poor luck. That book storage held little value, so naturally we came out early."
"Is that so?" True Person Yuan Mu seemed in excellent spirits, casually replying before saying no more.
After a while, people emerged from the other three teleportation arrays one after another, and the twelve were gathered once more.
Some wore beaming smiles, while others had gloomy expressions, but everyone tacitly kept silent about which book storage they had chosen. Those who hit the jackpot didn't flaunt their wealth, and the unlucky ones didn't want to mention it either.
With the Scripture Pavilion matter concluded, everyone had their own gains, which need not be mentioned. They then continued on their way to search for the storeroom.
As they were leaving, True Person Yuan Mu gave it a brief thought, then casually cast a spell, destroying the five teleportation arrays before departing the Scripture Pavilion.
His actions were ignored by everyone else.
They had expended so much effort to reach the Scripture Pavilion and only obtained this much opportunity. If others happened to find this place by chance, they absolutely could not be allowed to easily take away the treasures—in Yunzhong, they were competitors.
On the way out, Demon Lord Guifang suddenly asked, "What exactly happened to this Spirit Mountain back then? Why was it torn into an independent space, floating above the Guixu Sea?"
This question gave all the Nascent Soul cultivators pause.
In the world, spatial rifts like this were not unique to this place, but few were as vast as this Spirit Mountain, containing an entire sect. Moreover, this mountain was clearly the sect headquarters of a major sect. Judging by its scale, it must have had at least tens of thousands of disciples. Yet after entering, aside from some corpses that had turned into refined corpses, they found no trace of other people.
Mo Tiange paused for a moment before saying, "Senior Fuyaozi once speculated that this Spirit Mountain was likely torn out during the Great Cataclysm of that era. At that time, the war between the righteous and demonic paths raged, the human realm collapsed, and this ancient great sect also reached its end, declining until only a handful of disciples remained. Finally, during the Great Cataclysm, they were forever buried here."
Hearing this, Scholar Yu nodded. "Senior Fuyaozi's speculation is reasonable. Only the immense power of the Great Cataclysm could tear out such a large Spirit Mountain."
At this point, he lightly tapped the folding fan in his hand, a trace of hidden worry appearing on his face as he sighed. "Looking at this Spirit Mountain and Immortal Palace, one can imagine how prosperous and flourishing this ancient great sect was back then. Yet one Great Cataclysm instantly turned it into a dead city. To the cultivators of this sect, we so-called top Great Cultivators are insignificant and not worth mentioning. If one day we encounter a similar event, we would be like ants, unable to even struggle..."
By the end, Scholar Yu's voice had grown soft, almost inaudible.
Which of them had not endured countless hardships to cultivate to the late Nascent Soul stage? In the eyes of the world, they were lofty late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivators, possessing abilities to move heaven and earth, shift mountains and overturn seas. Yet before the laws of heaven and earth, they were but ants, insignificant and not worth mentioning.
Infected by Scholar Yu's tone, for a moment, the several Great Cultivators fell silent.
Each harboring their own thoughts, the group proceeded in silence.
Within this Immortal Palace, the real dangers were the restrictions laid down by high-level cultivators of unimaginable cultivation and the Yuan Demon Qi leaking from unknown sources. If one merely walked through, there wasn't much danger. After all, this was a sect, not some perilous land.
The group of twelve followed Mo Tiange for most of the day, gradually moving away from the pavilions and towers and entering the mountain itself.
When no more pavilions, terraces, or towers could be seen, Mo Tiange finally stopped.
"Esteemed Seniors, we have arrived."
Hearing her voice, the cultivators looked up, all showing puzzled expressions.
Looking up, before them was nothing but an utterly ordinary cliff face, with no buildings and no traces of formations.
However, with the experience from the Scripture Pavilion, Scholar Yu did not immediately assert anything. Instead, he took out a formation disk and very carefully inspected the area before turning to the others and saying, "It's an illusion formation."
Hearing this, the others' expressions turned grave.
The restrictions of the Scripture Pavilion were one thing; they could at least discern some clues. But this illusion formation—with their cultivation, they couldn't sense it at all. How were they to break it?
Scholar Yu wore a troubled expression, pondering for a long time but still feeling he had no starting point. He could only turn his gaze to Mo Tiange.
"Little Friend Mo, the Five Sages of that era once cracked this illusion formation. Presumably, Senior Fuyaozi knows the method to break it. Please, Little Friend Mo, consult Senior Fuyaozi."
Mo Tiange naturally had no reason to refuse this request. If this illusion formation wasn't resolved, she likewise would gain no benefits.
Nodding in agreement, Mo Tiange then fell silent. Everyone knew she was communicating with Fuyaozi and waited quietly.
After a while, Mo Tiange let out a breath and looked up at Scholar Yu. "Senior, this illusion formation is incomplete."
"Oh?" Scholar Yu was surprised. "We can't detect this illusion formation at all, yet it's incomplete?" If so, didn't that mean the Five Sages' attainments in formations far surpassed theirs?
"Senior Fuyaozi says this illusion formation was set up by a master of this ancient great sect. If it were complete, we would have no way of detecting it. However, when the Five Sages came here, they discovered that over the long years, this illusion formation had developed flaws. That's how they discovered the existence of the storeroom."
Hearing this, the others showed delighted expressions. If they hadn't known, that would be one thing, but knowing there was a storeroom here yet being unable to enter was truly like entering a treasure mountain only to return empty-handed—that would be too frustrating.
"However..." Before Scholar Yu could speak, Mo Tiange continued, "Before opening the illusion formation, there are probably some matters that need to be made clear to you esteemed seniors."
True Person Yuan Mu narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Little Friend Mo and Senior Fuyaozi, whatever conditions you have, please state them."
At this moment, with such a tone, none of those present were fools; they already understood what she wanted to say.
After entering the storeroom, friction would almost certainly arise among them. At that time, those with inferior strength would suffer some losses. As for Mo Tiange, she had previously offended them to some extent. Now, although she had a Nascent Soul cultivator by her side, her strength was inferior to others. Naturally, she had to make plans for herself.
Of course, if her demands weren't too excessive, the Great Cultivators present wouldn't refuse. After all, she had contributed significantly along the way. Without her, finding both the Scripture Pavilion and the storeroom within three days would have been difficult.
Mo Tiange smiled slightly. "Esteemed Seniors probably don't know that this storeroom employs the technique of tearing space. Inside is an independent space."
"So?" Scholar Yu asked.
"The special characteristic of this space is that it's extremely stable, with almost stagnant spiritual energy flow. This is how items like pills can be preserved for a long time."
True Person Yuan Mu's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "So you're saying there might be intact ancient pills preserved inside?"
"Correct," Mo Tiange said. "When the Five Sages entered back then, there were indeed intact pills, which was one of their opportunities. However, the nature of this space leads to another problem."
Scholar Yu narrowed his eyes in thought, then suddenly drew a sharp breath.
"It seems Senior Yu has already thought of it."
"Correct," Scholar Yu said in a heavy tone. "With almost stagnant spiritual energy and a very stable space, the restrictions inside the storeroom are very likely to be perfectly preserved!"
"Exactly," Mo Tiange sighed. "The storeroom, being an important place, must have had restrictions laid down by the most top Great Cultivators of this ancient great sect. If they are perfectly preserved, with our cultivation, we have no way to deal with them."
Hearing this, the others' expressions changed. If that was the case, even if they broke the outer illusion formation, they couldn't touch the restrictions inside the storeroom at all.
"Little Friend Mo," Venerable Wuming, however, smiled and said, "Since the Five Sages of that era could take treasures from the storeroom, there must still be flaws to exploit, right?"
"Correct," True Person Yuan Mu's expression improved upon hearing this. "But what method did they use?"
"Simple," Mo Tiange said. "Obtain the storeroom tokens."