"Fellow Daoist Qingwei!" Jing Xingzhi's voice snapped Mo Tiange back to reality.
She drew a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. What had happened was done; grieving and spacing out were useless. She needed to figure out a solution.
Looking down at Qin Xi's unconscious form, she made a silent vow.
Every time, it was you protecting me. This time, let me protect you.
"Let's go quickly." Seeing the light return to her eyes, Jing Xingzhi felt a wave of relief. This Mo Qingwei at least understood priorities. If she had just wallowed in grief at a time like this, he would have felt Qin Shoujing wasn't worth it for marrying a foolish woman.
Mo Tiange looked up and suddenly asked, "Fellow Daoist Jing, can you protect us both through the Immortal Palace Passage by yourself?"
Jing Xingzhi was taken aback, then fell silent. That temporarily opened Immortal Palace Passage was extremely dangerous. Forget protecting a living corpse and a Core Formation cultivator; even when he came in alone, he had faced countless perils.
With the experience of entering, his exit might be slightly smoother, but that was about it.
"We can't leave," Mo Tiange said slowly. "Time is running out. Presumably, the few remaining cultivators in the Immortal Palace have already started leaving. I'm only at the Core Formation stage, and Senior Brother is half-dead. They all know we obtained treasures from the palace. The moment we show ourselves, we'll likely be killed for our treasures." At that point, even the most amiable Venerable Wuming wouldn't be able to stand up for them.
She looked at Jing Xingzhi and said, "Fellow Daoist Jing, for you alone to leave safely from here would already be an achievement. With so many Late-Nascent Soul Cultivators outside, how could you protect the two of us? Besides, being with us would implicate you... You, your personality is quite annoying, but at critical moments, you're always trustworthy. I don't want to drag you down again."
"Hah!" Jing Xingzhi let out a bitter laugh, unsure whether to be pleased or frustrated. Despite his rotten luck and being unwelcome in his sect, he had always been successful with women. Yet, from her, he got an evaluation of "personality is quite annoying."
But even so, in the cultivation world where sincerity was rare, she was willing to trust him.
Looking down at the woman before him, he suddenly let out a long sigh. His master's death and the unfair treatment he received in the Ancient Sword Sect had made him hostile towards everyone in the world. All these years, he had always put on an attitude of playing with the world, his tongue sweet, his demeanor frivolous. But in reality, he observed everyone and everything with cold detachment, unwilling to get close.
Qin Shoujing was an exception, because when they first met, he was still a proud son of heaven, and also because from beginning to end, whether he was a proud son or an outcast of the Ancient Sword Sect, Qin Shoujing's attitude towards him had remained unchanged.
Towards Qin Shoujing, he actually held a certain gratitude in his heart. Because Qin Shoujing was the only person he could be sure treated him with genuine sincerity.
And now, there was one more... someone who expressed their true feelings towards him, whether liking or disliking.
"We still need to leave the Underground Palace. It's dangerous here," Jing Xingzhi said. "As for after we get out, if you're willing to part with the treasures, we can trade with others in exchange for their protection."
Mo Tiange shook her head gently. "Trade with whom? Everyone knows Senior Brother and I must have obtained treasures. Everyone covets them. Originally, trading with the Jiuyan Sect would have been excellent. They have two Late-Nascent Soul Cultivators, the strongest force. But now..."
Jing Xingzhi also fell silent. She was right. With great benefits at stake, the trading partner also needed to be powerful enough. Otherwise, if others grew envious, they couldn't protect them either...
"As for the Underground Palace, we definitely can't leave. That God Transformation Stage Corpse Puppet outside is too dangerous."
Even if it were true, as Perfected One Yuan Mu guessed, that Demon Lord Guifang had obtained the Yuan Demon Stele and absorbed the Yuan Demon Qi here, he was still a person. If they encountered him, they could still negotiate. But that Corpse Puppet outside was a dead thing, utterly unreasonable. Besides, as long as Demon Lord Guifang still had consciousness, he wouldn't stay here forever.
Jing Xingzhi's eyes flickered, finally asking, "So you want to stay here? Once the Immortal Palace Passage closes, it cannot be opened again. You said that yourself. By then, trapped in this Immortal Palace, what good would advancing to Nascent Soul be? What if Qin Shoujing wakes up? You're still so young. Would you waste the rest of your lifespan here? If you can't get out, what difference is there from being dead?"
"I don't know," Mo Tiange said wearily, rubbing her temples. She looked down at Qin Xi's unconscious face. "Leaving means death. I can only choose to live now."
If there were any other path to take, why would she make such a choice? Because of Qin Xi's arrival, she no longer needed to rely on the Jiuyan Sect and trade with them. On the other hand, if not for Qin Xi, when the Jiuyan Sect wanted to take the Bow of the Vermilion Bird, she definitely wouldn't have gotten involved, nor would she have fallen out with the Jiuyan Sect.
Fuyaozi had long planned for her: give up some benefits in exchange for the protection of these Late-Nascent Soul Cultivators, obtaining what she wanted within their tolerance. Unfortunately, plans couldn't keep up with changes. She had already taken a different path. Now, even if she lowered herself and acted submissive, those Late-Nascent Soul Cultivators wouldn't tolerate it.
Time passed bit by bit. Jing Xingzhi still hadn't stated his position, just standing there, neither speaking nor saying he would stay.
"Fellow Daoist Jing." Mo Tiange hesitated slightly, then took out that Qiankun Ring from her bosom and tossed it to him. "In our cooperation this time, you haven't gained any benefits but have been dragged into trouble. This item is from our harvest this time. Since I'm not leaving, I'll give it to you."
Jing Xingzhi caught it, stunned. This Qiankun Ring was naturally the one obtained earlier from Perfected One Yuan Mu. He knew very well its value. Leaving aside the Qiankun Ring itself—though in ancient times, only high-level cultivators could possess such a precious storage treasure—the most valuable things were the high-level spirit stones inside. If even one appeared at a high-level cultivator trade fair, it would cause a stir, let alone so many here.
This Qiankun Ring was far richer than his entire net worth. He knew Qin Shoujing, as a Supreme Elder of the Xuanqing Sect, would only have more wealth than him, but not exceeding this Qiankun Ring.
He didn't know that the two of them had previously obtained a Qiankun Ring from a God Transformation Stage cultivator, containing far more items than this. Besides, with Qin Xi now unconscious and unsure if he could hold on, Mo Tiange was in no mood to divide the spoils.
"Do you know how much wealth is in here?" Jing Xingzhi asked. "You're really giving it all to me?"
Mo Tiange gave a light laugh. "Giving you something and you still have so much to say." She paused, took out a blank jade slip from her storage pouch, recorded something on it, and tossed it to him. "This is the exit route. Take it and leave quickly. If you delay any longer, be careful you can't leave."
"..." The demonic Qi outside had almost disappeared. Jing Xingzhi looked down at the Qiankun Ring in his palm and finally clenched his hand around it. "Alright. Take care."
"Mm." Mo Tiange nodded, her tone faint. "Until we meet again."
"Until... we meet again." He uttered the last two words with difficulty, took one last deep look at them, and finally turned and left resolutely, without looking back.
After Jing Xingzhi's figure disappeared, Mo Tiange held Qin Xi, staring blankly at the empty hall. After a long while, she let out another long sigh.
Whether this choice was right or not, she didn't know. But she knew she absolutely could not leave the Underground Palace now. The reasons were exactly those she had just told Jing Xingzhi. She and Qin Xi had treasures on them. Without combat power, they would inevitably become targets for others to kill.
Moreover, if they couldn't pass through the Immortal Palace Passage, there was still a God Transformation Stage Corpse Puppet above. The Immortal Palace was no safer than this Underground Palace.
As for the future... she could only take one step at a time.
"Girl, why must you do this?" Fuyaozi's sighing voice came from her mind.
Mo Tiange was slightly startled, then smiled. "Master, you're awake?" As time passed, Fuyaozi's divine sense grew weaker and weaker, and his rest periods grew longer.
Fuyaozi said, "If you gave up on your Senior Brother, you could have left with that swordsman kid just now. Since he has the ability to pass through the Immortal Palace Passage alone, plus the life-preserving techniques I taught you, adding you wouldn't be a problem."
Mo Tiange shook her head. "I never thought of giving up Senior Brother." Gazing at Qin Xi's peaceful face, she said, "Senior Brother has never given up on me. I won't give up on him either."
He had saved her too many times. At Qi Refining, ignorant and naive, she had stirred up trouble and was pursued by a group from the Cloud Mist Sect. He had arrived just in time. At Foundation Establishment, she had mistakenly entered Zhong Muyu's Illusory Heaven Formation. Again, it was he who rushed over despite the dangers. At Core Formation, in the Heavenly Demon Mountain, he would rather face danger alone to protect her. This time, she had traveled far to Yunzhong, unable to return. Once more, it was he who braved the South Sea to come find her.
Perhaps at the beginning, it was only out of duty. But with so much affection, she could not betray it, nor had she ever thought of betraying it.
If she abandoned him, what good would leaving the Immortal Palace do? Though she aspired to the Great Dao, she would never go against her true heart.
"..." After a long silence, Fuyaozi said, "I indeed did not choose the wrong person. If you had given up, you wouldn't be worthy of me passing on my legacy to you."
Receiving praise, Mo Tiange just smiled without speaking.
She didn't know the exact extent of the damage to Qin Xi's Dantian, but that didn't mean she could do nothing.
She took out a Nine Revolutions Return Yang Pill from her storage pouch, fed it to him, then helped him sit up and transferred her Yin Spiritual Qi to him.
As long as his Dantian was preserved, he could keep his cultivation and have a chance to wake up.
For now, she would first transfer her Spiritual Qi to him. Letting this Yin Spiritual Qi combine with the Yang Spiritual Qi within his body could form a cycle, slowly repairing his Dantian—as for how much it could repair, that would be up to fate.
Time slowly passed. The Underground Palace remained quiet and silent. Even the original demonic creatures had disappeared, and Demon Lord Guifang and his disciple were nowhere to be seen.
A long time later, Mo Tiange finally stopped the healing process, wearily wiping the cold sweat from her forehead. Earlier, she had first blocked the backlash of the Vermilion Bird's Divine Power for Qin Xi, then been affected by the pressure from the four Nascent Soul cultivators fighting, disrupting her Spiritual Qi. Her current condition wasn't great either; she could only manage this much.
Checking Qin Xi's condition, seeing his complexion wasn't as ghastly and the Spiritual Qi within his body seemed to have increased somewhat, she sighed in relief. She planned to rest briefly, then enter the Void Heaven Realm to recuperate properly.
Even if trapped here, it didn't mean she had given up her pursuit of the Great Dao. She needed to heal her injuries and continue cultivating.
After her internal Spiritual Qi calmed, holding Qin Xi, just as she was about to enter the Void Heaven Realm, her divine sense detected someone approaching.