With Qin Xi awake, Mo Tiange could finally set aside her psychological burden, and many things could now be attended to.
For example, Yang Chengji.
Yang Chengji was also in the Underground Palace, and he was currently cultivating the Origin Demon Great Method. This was something Jing Xingzhi and Feifei had mentioned, but she had never gone to see for herself because she was worried about Qin Xi. Now that Qin Xi was awake, it was a good time to check on the situation.
Qin Xi, of course, went with her. He was also very curious about the Origin Demon Great Method. This thing, which had appeared in the Five Spirits Sacrificial Temple, possessed astonishing power and was definitely no ordinary cultivation method. They just didn't know its origins.
With Feifei leading the way, the two soon arrived at the location of the Origin Demon Stele.
Compared to the Vermilion Bird Hall, the place where the Origin Demon Stele was located was utterly unremarkable—it was in a cave behind the sacrificial temple. The cave wasn't large, at most a few dozen meters deep, and had hardly been modified. It seemed like just a random, abandoned cave that had been excavated during the construction of the temple.
The Origin Demon Stele was located in the center of the cave, emanating a restrained yet dense Demonic Qi.
The path leading to the cave was littered with corpses. These were the demonic creatures formed by the leakage of Origin Demon Qi—some were demonic beasts, others were refined corpses. At this moment, all the Demonic Qi on them had been sucked dry, turning them into lifeless objects.
At the cave entrance, there was a restriction barrier. In Mo Tiange's view, this restriction had at least Nascent Soul-level power and was exceptionally intricate. Breaking it would be no ordinary feat.
Beside the entrance restriction, Demon Lord Guifang sat cross-legged, keeping watch. His fair face was even more devoid of color, and he had long since lost all signs of life.
Deep inside the cave, Yang Chengji sat cross-legged, unaware and unfeeling, immersed in the Demonic Qi as if wholly focused on refining it.
"This is..." At first glance, Mo Tiange felt that Jing Xingzhi's judgment was correct. Demon Lord Guifang's posture clearly indicated he had been maintaining the restriction until his strength was exhausted and he died.
But the question was, Demon Lord Guifang was, after all, a great late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Although his lifespan wasn't long, he had advanced to the late stage many years ago, possessed immense supernatural powers, and had formidable strength. Just maintaining a restriction shouldn't have been unbearable, right? Moreover, the reason Nascent Soul cultivators were difficult to eliminate lay in the survivability of their Nascent Soul. Even if the physical body was destroyed, as long as the Nascent Soul lived, the Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't die.
Now, Demon Lord Guifang was left with only a physical shell. Had his Nascent Soul abandoned the body, or had it perished along with it? If he had abandoned the body, why was there a Nascent Soul-level restriction here? If both had perished, what reason could have made him disregard his own life? Was it truly to protect Yang Chengji?
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged a glance, seeing the same confusion in each other's eyes.
"Senior Brother, what do you think?"
Qin Xi pondered for a long moment before shaking his head. "It's hard to say. However, one thing is certain: this kid is still at the Core Formation stage. He's not a cause for concern."
As long as Yang Chengji remained at the Core Formation stage, he and Jing Xingzhi could exert absolute suppression. Even if Yang Chengji advanced to Nascent Soul, Qin Xi was confident he could eliminate him. After all, he had previously killed Mei Feng, who also cultivated the Origin Demon Great Method and had reached the mid-stage of Nascent Soul.
This point didn't worry Mo Tiange much. There was no direct conflict of interest between them and Yang Chengji. On the contrary, being trapped together in the Immortal Palace, they could be said to share the same misfortune, making cooperation quite likely. But the problem was...
"Do you think Demon Lord Guifang has truly perished?"
Qin Xi was slightly taken aback. "You mean..."
"It's just a doubt," Mo Tiange said, frowning. "I really can't believe that a long-renowned great late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator would perish just like that."
If the body remained but all signs of life were gone, and if he hadn't perished, then naturally, it meant he had performed a body seizure.
Gazing at Yang Chengji enveloped in Demonic Qi, Qin Xi pondered for a while before slowly nodding. "Your concern isn't without reason. Logically, Demon Lord Guifang went to great lengths to come to this Immortal Palace, surely to seek the God Transformation opportunity. Unless he was truly at the end of his rope, how could he give up so easily? But if it was body seizure, it seems completely unnecessary. You said Demon Lord Guifang's lifespan was nearly up, right?"
"Yes. I heard in the past that even if he exhausted all life-extending methods, Demon Lord Guifang's lifespan wouldn't exceed five hundred years. And finding even one of those life-extending methods is difficult. By normal reasoning, he'd have at most a little over a hundred years left."
"That's it, then," Qin Xi said. "The lifespan after body seizure is calculated based on the age of the Nascent Soul. Even if Demon Lord Guifang performed body seizure, he couldn't increase his lifespan. And this kid is only at the mid-stage of Core Formation. Even if he practices the Origin Demon Great Method and his strength increases greatly, at most he'll reach Core Formation Perfection in the near future. In a little over a hundred years, forget God Transformation—even if he smoothly forms his Nascent Soul, could he cultivate to the late stage of Nascent Soul?"
"By normal reasoning, it's indeed impossible..."
"Furthermore, unless absolutely forced, I really can't understand why he would stay here instead of leaving."
Hearing Qin Xi's words, Mo Tiange found them quite reasonable. In this Immortal Palace, with no way out, what good would achieving God Transformation be? Could he possibly expect to cultivate to the Void Refinement or Body Unity stage here and shatter the void? Others weren't like her, having received Fuyaozi's legacy and knowing about the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation.
However, the matter of Demon Lord Guifang was indeed full of doubts. To know the reason, they could only wait for Yang Chengji to preliminarily refine the Demonic Qi and regain consciousness.
After assessing the situation, the two returned.
For the time being, they couldn't enter the Void Heaven Realm, but neither of them minded much. In terms of spiritual energy, the Underground Palace wasn't lacking, and there was still residual Breath of the Vermilion Bird, which was beneficial for Qin Xi's cultivation.
The following days passed quite pleasantly.
Mo Tiange still meditated and cultivated daily, studying the mechanist arts in her spare time. Qin Xi began studying ancient alchemy techniques. Previously, they had found the God Transformation Pill recipe in the Scripture Pavilion. The method for refining this pill was vastly different from contemporary techniques, even following a different path. Therefore, they could only start studying anew, slowly exploring the ways of ancient alchemy.
They also discussed their future path.
First, being trapped in the Underground Palace was an unchangeable fact. Although Mo Tiange had learned the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation from Fuyaozi, she couldn't use it now. At the very least, she would need to reach Nascent Soul Formation before she could figure out a feasible method.
Second, if she were to attempt Nascent Soul Formation, many preparations would be needed. The most important was finding a safe location. For Mo Tiange, the safest and most suitable place was undoubtedly the Void Heaven Realm. However, since they were trapped in the Underground Palace together with Jing Xingzhi, this secret couldn't be easily concealed and would have to be postponed.
Third, since they couldn't immediately go into seclusion for Nascent Soul Formation, they should make some preparations first. For example, Mo Tiange had Mo Yaoqing's cultivation insights on the Plain Maiden Art and Fuyaozi's experience with Nascent Soul Formation using the Hunyuan Physique method, which would require a long time to comprehend and ponder. As for pills and such, Qin Xi would also need time to refine them.
So, after discussing, the two decided that before finding a suitable method to avoid Jing Xingzhi's notice, there was no need to rush into seclusion. They would first make preparations for Nascent Soul Formation, so when the time came, they could immediately take action.
When Jing Xingzhi returned from practicing his sword arts and saw them each busy, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you two doing?"
The bamboo bed used for Qin Xi had been put away. The original corner was now spread with an animal skin, a meditation cushion placed on it. In front was an exquisite alchemy furnace, and beside it a low table covered with various spiritual herbs, bottles, and jars. Qin Xi was intently controlling the fire. After his body was tempered by the Breath of the Vermilion Bird, his Dantian True Flame had transformed into Flames of the Vermilion Bird, vastly different from before, and he was still adapting to it.
Mo Tiange took a moment to look up at him and said casually, "What else? Continuing to fiddle with these broken things!"
"I'm not talking about that..." Seeing both of them too busy to pay him any attention, Jing Xingzhi shut his mouth.
He looked over there. Although simple, it was fully equipped and neatly arranged. Then he looked at his own side—just a worn meditation cushion placed, with scattered sword-nurturing items littered around. A sense of injustice suddenly arose in his heart, and malicious thoughts sprouted.
Trapped in the same Underground Palace, why did Qin Shoujing get to live so comfortably?!
Just as he was pondering how to make things uncomfortable for them, he saw a golden figure rush in from the hall entrance.
Feifei ran into the hall, leaped onto Mo Tiange's shoulder, and said via divine sense, "That kid's awake!"
"What?" Mo Tiange stopped what she was doing. Feifei repeated via divine sense, "That demonic cultivator kid is awake."
"Really?" Mo Tiange was pleasantly surprised. "How is he?"
"Go see for yourself and you'll know."
Mo Tiange pondered briefly, then pushed aside the things in her hands and looked up. "Yang Chengji is awake. Shall we go see?"
"Oh?" Qin Xi, who was heating the alchemy furnace, stopped his actions upon hearing this. "What a coincidence."
"Indeed," Mo Tiange said, looking at Jing Xingzhi. "Fellow Daoist Jing, come with us?"
"..." Jing Xingzhi had no choice but to abandon his earlier thoughts. "Fine, let's go..."
The three humans and one beast soon arrived at the cave where the Origin Demon Stele was located.
The cave remained as before. The entrance restriction was still in place, and Demon Lord Guifang's body still sat to the side. Yang Chengji, however, was now conscious. With a dazed expression on his youthful face, he knelt beside Demon Lord Guifang.
"Fellow Daoist Yang!" Mo Tiange called out.
It took a good while before Yang Chengji came to his senses. He looked up at them, confusion flashing in his eyes. "You..." His voice was hoarse, and even his reactions were slow. After a long pause, he asked, "Why are you here too? Has the Immortal Palace passage not closed yet?"
He seemed dazed, as if he had no idea how much time had passed.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange grew even more puzzled. She said, "The Immortal Palace passage has already closed. We're trapped in the Immortal Palace."
Another long moment passed before Yang Chengji slowly nodded. "Oh..."
He looked foolish and dazed, utterly abnormal. Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged a glance, and she tentatively asked, "Fellow Daoist Yang, are you alright?"
Yang Chengji was still looking at Demon Lord Guifang, many complex emotions flickering in his eyes. Finally, he let out a long sigh, stood up, and opened the entrance restriction. "Fellow Daoist Qin, Seniors, please come in."
He looked weary, his gaze heavy, devoid of the sharpness he had as a youth. Instead, he seemed somewhat disheartened. Facing two Nascent Soul cultivators, he actually opened the restriction without any wariness, which seemed highly abnormal.
All three of them noticed this and were inwardly astonished.
After opening the restriction, Yang Chengji returned to sit beside the Origin Demon Stele, his voice weary. "Please make yourselves at ease, Seniors. Ask whatever you wish."