Mo Tiange carefully explained her conjectures about the temple to Qin Xi. Seeing that he didn't seem opposed, she turned to Jing Xingzhi and said, "According to our speculation, this place should be a relic from the Primordial Era."
"Primordial Era?" Hearing this, Jing Xingzhi opened his eyes, his expression turning solemn. "Are you certain? The Primordial Era?"
"As I said, it's speculation," Mo Tiange replied calmly. "This place might enshrine the Vermilion Bird, one of the Five Spirits. Whether it truly does or not still requires our verification."
"The Vermilion Bird..." Jing Xingzhi murmured to himself.
Mo Tiange looked at him and added, "Additionally, there is also a Yuan Demon Stone Tablet here, which is the source of this demonic qi."
"Then what should we do?"
Mo Tiange smiled and said, "First, find that Yuan Demon Stone Tablet and take it if possible. Second... I won't hide it from you, Fellow Daoist Jing. This temple isn't merely a place to worship the Five Spirits; it actually contains the true remains of the Five Spirits."
"What?!" Jing Xingzhi exclaimed involuntarily. The Five Spirits were legendary spiritual beings, symbols of gods in the Primordial Era, the creatures closest to divinity before humans began cultivating immortality. They possessed innate supernatural abilities, were powerful and sacred, capable of traversing heaven and earth, and could only be commanded by gods. He had learned about these things from ancient texts since he first embarked on the path of immortality, but he had never imagined he could one day lay eyes on the actual remains of the Five Spirits.
That was an era far too distant from the present.
"Fellow Daoist Jing, this trip isn't a loss for you, is it?" Mo Tiange asked with a smile.
Jing Xingzhi calmed himself slightly and said, "If that's truly the case, then I owe you a favor."
A Primordial Era relic enshrining the remains of the Vermilion Bird, one of the Five Spirits—forget about whether one could gain opportunities from it; merely being brought here was an immense favor in itself.
After a moment of contemplation, Jing Xingzhi sighed again. "What exactly is the origin of this Ancient Great Sect? To actually build an Immortal Palace atop a Primordial Era temple..."
"This sect must have been extremely prosperous at its inception," Qin Xi, who was still meditating with his eyes closed, said in a flat tone. "Unfortunately, in the end, it couldn't escape the laws of heaven and earth."
"Indeed, the laws of heaven and earth," Jing Xingzhi lamented. "Such a great sect was actually torn into an independent space and destroyed overnight. The more one cultivates immortality, the more one realizes how truly fearsome the power of heaven and earth is."
The more one knows, the more fear arises in the heart; only the ignorant can be fearless.
Qin Xi chuckled softly, opening his eyes. "If it weren't so, why would we cultivate immortality? We are all mortals who wish to escape the power of heaven and earth, deluding ourselves with dreams of eternal life. Unfortunately, no one knows anymore whether this path can be walked to its end."
In the Primordial Era, many legends of ascension to immortality circulated in the world; then, in the Ancient Era, there were also those who cultivated to the Mahayana stage and faced tribulations. But now? Even reaching the God Transformation Stage has become a legend.
Thinking of these things, the three of them each had their own reflections, falling into a momentary silence.
After a while, Mo Tiange spoke up. "Are you all rested? We should continue. Time is short; we only have one day left."
Hearing this, Qin Xi and Jing Xingzhi stopped their meditation and rose to prepare.
Following the dim stone passageway, the three of them slowly advanced.
This Vermilion Bird Temple was similar to, yet different from, the Azure Dragon Temple Mo Tiange had visited before. The material used to construct this temple was a fiery red stone imbued with the essence of fire. Qin Xi speculated that these stones must have been taken from a place extremely rich in fire essence, accumulating such a strong fire essence aura over long years. In today's world, they would be excellent materials for refining fire-attribute magical treasures. However, none of them had any intention of dismantling the temple; that would be far too disrespectful to the Vermilion Bird enshrined here.
These cultivators of theirs did not revere ghosts or gods, nor did they fear heaven and earth, but deep in their hearts, they still held certain taboos.
After walking for a while, they encountered another batch of demonic creatures.
Within this temple, the leakage of demonic qi was severe, and demonic creatures were abundant. Unfortunately, these demonic creatures were useless to them as cultivators; killing them only meant discarding the bodies. If a demonic cultivator were here, they would surely be overjoyed.
Mo Tiange thought of Yang Chengji again. He still hadn't appeared by the time they broke through the treasury's illusion formation. Could it be that he and his master had truly perished here?
She found it hard to believe this outcome, but within this Immortal Palace, anything was possible. Even if Demon Lord Guifang had reached the late Nascent Soul stage, it guaranteed nothing.
"Huh!" After exterminating another batch of demonic creatures and bypassing a mass of demonic qi, Qin Xi, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped.
"What is it?"
"This aura..." It was Jing Xingzhi who spoke. Having advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, he was more sensitive than Mo Tiange.
Qin Xi didn't answer, instead quickening his pace forward.
Mo Tiange followed closely behind him. After a while, she indeed sensed something unusual.
Without the obstruction of demonic qi, she clearly felt an aura permeating the surroundings. It was scorching yet sacred, vast yet pure, carrying the timelessness and boundlessness from antiquity to the present.
This was somewhat similar to the Breath of the Azure Dragon she had experienced before, yet different. The Breath of the Azure Dragon was deep, restrained, and tranquil, as if standing in an endless forest—encompassing and full of vitality. But this aura carried the fervor to incinerate everything and a vigorous vitality.
"The Breath of the Vermilion Bird!" she whispered.
"It should be. Let's go!" Qin Xi increased his speed. The three of them almost ran through the stone passageway.
Finally, they reached the end of the passage, and their vision suddenly opened up.
Before them stood a tall, thick stone gate carved with fiery red totems. Inside the hall, massive cylindrical pillars stood erected, all painted with fiery red patterns.
Walking slowly inward, a towering stone statue gradually came into view. Spread wings, a head held high, radiating an aura that seemed capable of incinerating everything.
One of the Five Spirits, the Vermilion Bird.
For a long moment, the three of them remained silent, simply staring dumbfounded.
They were all high-level cultivators; the pressure from the Breath of the Vermilion Bird wasn't enough to awe them, but the timeless boundlessness from the Primordial Era within it left them deeply shaken.
Mo Tiange was the first to regain her composure. Having already witnessed the Azure Dragon statue, she wasn't overly shocked to see the Vermilion Bird statue now.
"Look, what is that?"
Hearing her voice, Qin Xi and Jing Xingzhi followed the direction she pointed and both froze.
On the altar table before the statue lay a bow and arrow set. A golden bow body, fiery red bowstring, radiating astonishing power.
"This is—" Jing Xingzhi was the first to exclaim.
This bow and arrow carried an intense Vermilion Bird aura. Just approaching it slightly made one feel as if being scorched by raging flames.
This object was definitely not a magical treasure that could be forged in today's cultivation world. With such imposing power, even those astonishing Ancient Era spiritual treasures from the treasury couldn't compare.
"The Bow of the Vermilion Bird. To see it again," Fuyaozi's sighing voice echoed in Mo Tiange's mind.
"Master, what exactly is going on?"
"This Bow of the Vermilion Bird is a supreme spiritual treasure forged by the highest-level cultivator of the Ancient Great Sect, the Frigid Ice Palace, using the Vermilion Bird remains within this temple. It was also this sect's guardian treasure," Fuyaozi explained. "Unfortunately, the Frigid Ice Palace recruited disciples with water-attribute spiritual roots, specializing in ice-attribute cultivation techniques. Later, as the sect declined, no disciples remained who could wield this bow. Thus, it was enshrined in the underground palace, never seeing the light of day again."
"..." Mo Tiange was speechless. A sect renowned for its ice-attribute techniques actually forged such a top-tier fire-attribute spiritual treasure as its guardian treasure. She didn't know what to say. But even if it were another sect, having built their foundation atop a Vermilion Bird Temple, could they really ignore the divine power of the Vermilion Bird within?
Moreover, in the Ancient Era, how many genius cultivators were there? As far as she knew, there was a cultivation technique called the Ice-Fire Art. If one cultivated this art, using this bow wouldn't be a problem.
"Master, did you want us to come here to take this treasure?"
"Heh!" Fuyaozi chuckled lightly. "If this treasure could be taken, would the five of us have left it behind back then? To be honest with you, the Divine Power of the Vermilion Bird on this treasure is simply beyond our ability to control, and of course, we couldn't take it either. We all tried back then; not a single one of us could withstand the Breath of the Vermilion Bird upon it. If we forced ourselves to resist, we would even get injured. In the end, we had no choice but to give up."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. But thinking about it, it made sense. If it could have been taken, it would have been long gone.
"Then why did we come here?"
Sensing her low spirits, Fuyaozi laughed. "Isn't the Breath of the Vermilion Bird within here a treasure in itself? Master knows you've had extraordinary encounters, but don't be too greedy. You obtained the bones of the Azure Dragon early on, thus possessing the Breath of the Azure Dragon. Now, if you gain the Breath of the Vermilion Bird as well, after advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, you can create your own divine ability! Think about it—refining the Breath of the Azure Dragon and the Breath of the Vermilion Bird to create a unique divine ability. Wouldn't that be formidable?"
Just as Fuyaozi was speaking, Mo Tiange saw Jing Xingzhi take a step forward. She quickly called out, "Fellow Daoist Jing!"
Jing Xingzhi turned his head, looking at her. "What is it?"
Mo Tiange said, "This object's power is astonishing. I'm afraid none of us can take it."
Hearing her words, Qin Xi, whose gaze was equally fervent, turned to her. "What do you mean?"
Mo Tiange sighed and relayed Fuyaozi's words to them. Then she added, "This treasure was likely forged by a cultivator far beyond our current realm, its power astonishing. However, the Divine Power of the Vermilion Bird it carries is too immense; it's not something our current cultivation level can control."
"A Spirit-Connecting Treasure..." Qin Xi murmured.
It was said in the cultivation world that the highest-tier spiritual treasures possessed their own spiritual intelligence, called Spirit-Connecting Treasures. The power of such Spirit-Connecting Treasures was absolutely incomparable to ordinary magical treasures. However, such Spirit-Connecting Treasures had long been lost to time. Even within the treasury of this Ancient Great Sect, one couldn't find many Spirit-Connecting Treasures.
Spirit-Connecting Treasures had previously only existed in legends. None of them had ever thought they would see one with their own eyes.
"No!" Jing Xingzhi said resolutely. "No matter what, I have to try! To have a Spirit-Connecting Treasure right before my eyes and not even attempt to take it—I'm afraid I would regret it for the rest of my life!"
Mo Tiange looked at Qin Xi and saw a similarly determined glint in his eyes.
She shook her head. "I understand how you feel. The temptation a Spirit-Connecting Treasure holds for us cultivators..."
"I'll try to take it first," Jing Xingzhi said, turning to them. "If I'm injured by the Divine Power of the Vermilion Bird upon it, even if you leave me here, I won't hold it against you."
With that, he said no more, took a step forward, and reached out his hand toward the Bow of the Vermilion Bird on the altar table.
"Hum!" A light hum sounded. Before he even touched it, the Bow of the Vermilion Bird burst into intense, blazing flames.