The Fusheng Sword, now cleansed of its demonic energy, remained simple, heavy, and restrained in aura, yet the blade itself emanated a chilling coldness. The wind and thunder potential within it had grown even more intense, almost as if it were about to burst forth from the sword.
Seeing this, Qin Xi was quite astonished. "This sword is actually of the lightning attribute?" The previous Fusheng Sword had possessed presence, but it was concealed. Only after the demonic energy was removed could he see that the sword's material was high-quality lightning-attribute material. Lightning-attribute treasures were not common in the cultivation world. Firstly, lightning spiritual roots were rare, and those with metal spiritual roots were more suited to practicing metal-attribute techniques. Secondly, lightning-attribute spells or treasures possessed immense power, but precisely because of this, progress was very slow, and few chose this path. He never expected this Fusheng Sword to be a rare lightning-attribute magical treasure.
Mo Tiange actually knew this, but she hadn't paid much attention to it before. After advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage, many of her magical treasures needed to be refined again to unleash their Nascent Soul-level power. Now that she had cleansed the demonic energy from the Fusheng Sword, she had essentially gained another powerful magical treasure. She said happily, "Master Fuyaozi once said that although this sword wasn't his life-bound treasure, he still expended great effort to collect the materials and forge it. It contains pure thunder crystals. If used in conjunction with lightning-based spells, its power is immense."
"Oh? In that case, it would complement that Heaven Thunder Great Method quite well." They had just retrieved a Heaven Thunder Great Method from the treasury. The reason they chose this technique was precisely to compensate for Mo Tiange's lack of a decisive, thunderous strike to address her insufficient offensive power. The Fusheng Sword being lightning-attribute was a perfect match.
"Exactly!" Looking at the newly reborn Fusheng Sword, Mo Tiange couldn't put it down. She played with it for a while before finally storing it away. She then asked Feifei, "Feifei, why is there so much Spirit-Tempering Water here? Moreover, this pool doesn't seem like stagnant water. Could it be inexhaustible?"
Feifei replied, "Spirit-Tempering Water needs to be abundant to be effective. Whether for alchemy or artifact forging, a full bottle needs to be added. It's not like some spiritual waters where just a drop or two will do. As for how this water is produced... just as spirit veins have spirit eyes, Spirit-Tempering Water also has a source."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged a glance. "Then where is this source?"
"The source of Spirit-Tempering Water is usually jade-like or stone-like and is called Spirit-Tempering Jade or Spirit-Tempering Stone. How exactly they are produced, no one knows. Bury such an object in a place, and Spirit-Tempering Water will slowly be generated." Feifei leaped onto her shoulder. "Quick, let Xiaofan out and have it go look!"
"..." It really was handy at ordering others around.
Nevertheless, Mo Tiange listened to it. She entered the Void Heaven Realm and brought out Xiaofan, instructing it to dive into the water to search for Spirit-Tempering Jade or Stone. Xiaofan was a sea beast, extremely agile underwater, making it the most suitable for the task.
Not long after diving in, Xiaofan surfaced from the bottom of the pool, holding a piece of radiant, flowing jade in its mouth. "Master, is this it?"
Mo Tiange took it. The jade was only about the size of a palm, with faint patterns on it. If one didn't know beforehand, one would never guess it was a treasure capable of producing Spirit-Tempering Water.
"This is it!" Feifei urged. "Put it in the Void Heaven Realm!"
The two humans and two spirit beasts entered the Void Heaven Realm. Mo Tiange had a puppet dig a pool beside the stream and buried the Spirit-Tempering Jade inside.
After some thought, she went back out, took a portion of the Spirit-Tempering Water from the pool, and stored it in her Qiankun Ring.
Even with the Spirit-Tempering Jade, it would take some time to generate Spirit-Tempering Water. They would take some for backup first.
After completing all this, with Feifei leading the way, the two of them exited the Nine-Palace Eight-Trigram Formation and returned to their cave abode.
Having spent over twenty years in this Immortal Palace, the matter of leaving had become urgent.
Not only did the two of them think this way, but Jing Xingzhi felt even more so. He had a great vendetta to settle; how could he be content to be trapped in the Immortal Palace for a lifetime? Mo Tiange also had matters to attend to in the outside world. With time pressing now, she couldn't delay any longer.
"... Fellow Daoist Qingwei, how long will it take you to comprehend that Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation?" Jing Xingzhi, who had come to their cave abode, asked this question.
Mo Tiange pondered briefly. "This... it's hard to say. By my estimate, one or two years would be the minimum; it could also take three to five years." And this was putting it conservatively. After all, the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation involved extremely complex space-tearing techniques. To master it completely would definitely not be a matter of a few years. However, to merely use the formation to open a passageway, one didn't need to be too meticulous; just figuring out a general method of use would suffice.
"Three to five years... Alright, let's plan for the longer estimate." Jing Xingzhi thought for a moment. "To activate the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation, five mediums at the Nascent Soul Stage or above are required, correct?"
"That's right. Other aspects might be improvable, but this is the principle of the formation." Actually, the cultivation level of the mediums didn't matter, but to activate this formation required too much spiritual energy. Five cultivators at the Nascent Soul Stage or above were barely sufficient.
Jing Xingzhi said, "Then the problem arises. Right now, there are only four living people in the Immortal Palace. The three of us are already at the Nascent Soul Stage. That demonic cultivator kid will soon go into seclusion for Nascent Soul Formation. He's cultivated a top-tier demonic technique and seems very confident about forming his Nascent Soul. Let's assume he can succeed within three to five years. That still only makes four Nascent Soul cultivators. What about the fifth one?"
"There are two methods," Qin Xi contemplated. "First, find a substitute at the Nascent Soul Stage. Second, find the barrier fracture between the Immortal Palace and the Spirit Mountain. Perhaps with just the four of us, we can break the barrier."
Mo Tiange expressed agreement. "Both methods are feasible." The first one went without saying; it was the most reliable solution. As for the second, they could just place a puppet at the position of the fifth medium. Breaking the barrier would be done by the four of them. However, this depended on how large the barrier fracture actually was. If it was too small, it would be futile.
"Then let's discuss them one by one. First, finding a Nascent Soul Stage substitute. In this Immortal Palace, things with cultivator-level power, besides us few, are spirit beasts and puppets. Speaking of spirit beasts, I know your bird, Qin Shoujing, is already at the seventh rank. But advancing from seventh to eighth rank isn't that easy, right?"
Qin Xi smiled wryly. "Spirit beast advancement is inherently difficult. From seventh to eighth rank, spending a hundred years isn't considered much. To wait for my Chongming Bird to advance would take at least thirty to fifty years."
"Thirty to fifty years, can you wait that long?"
"No," Mo Tiange shook her head decisively. "I have matters to attend to outside. If I wait thirty to fifty years, who knows if I'll still be able to handle them... Time is pressing. At most twenty years. We must get out within twenty years."
Jing Xingzhi didn't inquire further about the specific matters. He said, "Since spirit beasts won't work, we can only consider puppets. Fellow Daoist Qingwei, can you create a Nascent Soul Stage puppet now?"
Mo Tiange shook her head. "Not now. However, there might still be hope on this point." She still had the Jade Bone Puppet Technique and the main materials. But the Jade Bone Puppet Technique was extremely profound, and she lacked other materials. She couldn't guarantee she could definitely make one.
"So that means this method can only be a backup option."
Mo Tiange nodded in agreement.
Jing Xingzhi sighed. "Then let's consider the second method: finding the barrier fracture between the Immortal Palace and the Spirit Mountain... How confident do you think we are?"
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged a glance, their expressions turning somewhat grave. After considering for a moment, Qin Xi said, "The Immortal Palace is so vast. Finding a possibly very tiny barrier fracture won't be easy. Not to mention this barrier is so sophisticated, our eyesight might not be able to detect it. Even if we could, it would probably take a lot of time."
"I think so too." Jing Xingzhi looked somewhat dejected. "Sometimes when I think about it, I feel a bit of regret. Why did I have no interest at all in miscellaneous studies? If I knew one or two things, I wouldn't be at a loss now."
Judging by his demeanor, he must have thought a lot these past days. Given his personality, being trapped in the Immortal Palace for over twenty years and being able to endure it was already quite good.
"How about this," Qin Xi said while thinking. "Neither of these two methods is foolproof, but both hold hope. Why don't we proceed with them separately? We'll search for the Immortal Palace's barrier fracture, and Tian Ge, you also research whether you can make a Nascent Soul Stage puppet."
"Mm."
These two methods didn't conflict; proceeding with both simultaneously wasn't a problem.
"Alright then. To get out, we have several things to do now. First, study the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation. Second, make a Nascent Soul Stage puppet. Third, find the Immortal Palace's barrier fracture. If we achieve either the second or the third, we have hope of getting out."
"There's also one more: Fellow Daoist Yang must successfully advance to the Nascent Soul Stage," Jing Xingzhi added. "Otherwise, even if we accomplish everything else, we still can't get out."
Mo Tiange said, "The Primordial Demon Technique is no ordinary demonic technique. Moreover, Yang Chengji absorbed so much primordial demonic energy. I think the likelihood of him successfully forming his Nascent Soul is very high."
"Alright," Jing Xingzhi didn't voice further doubts. "Regarding Nascent Soul Formation, we can't intervene anyway. Let's trust him for now."
"For Fellow Daoist Yang to form his Nascent Soul will take at least three to five years. During this time, we can't just wait idly." Qin Xi brought the topic back. "As we just said, there are three things to do now. The first two can only be entrusted to Tian Ge. As for the third... Fellow Daoist Jing, that's our task."
"I have no problem contributing effort," Jing Xingzhi said. "The problem is, I'm not proficient in barriers. I'm afraid even if I found one, I might not detect it."
"That problem isn't difficult," Mo Tiange interjected. "I have a magical treasure here called a Sensing Bell. It's very sensitive to barrier fluctuations. Senior Brother, you can refine another one based on it. Each of you can carry one."
"Mm." Alchemy and artifact forging were Qin Xi's strengths. Since there was a refining method, and they weren't lacking materials, he could refine it.
Thus, the three of them reached an agreement.
Of the four people in the Immortal Palace, Yang Chengji would focus solely on seclusion for Nascent Soul Formation. If he successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage, he could join them then. Mo Tiange's primary task was to study the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation. In her spare time, she would see if she could make a Nascent Soul Stage puppet. Qin Xi would first refine the Sensing Bells, then he and Jing Xingzhi would search for the Immortal Palace's barrier fractures. With this division of labor, if things went smoothly, within three to five years, there would be progress on the matter of leaving the Immortal Palace.
Having reached a conclusion, Jing Xingzhi left satisfied. Next, they would begin acting to get out of the Immortal Palace.
Watching Jing Xingzhi's departing back, Mo Tiange suddenly said, "What if the barrier fracture is near the Corpse Puppet?"
Qin Xi was taken aback, not knowing how to answer.