Mo Tiange stood in mid-air, gazing down at the Immortal Palace shrouded in immortal mist.
In this isolated space, there was no sunrise, no sunset, only an eternal hazy white light. Though immortal mist pervaded the air, making it beautiful as a fairyland, it always felt like a dream—illusory and unreal.
In the blink of an eye, nearly thirty years had passed here. She could scarcely recall the feeling of sunlight on her skin. Sometimes, in a daze, she felt that the mountain winds, the ocean waves, the azure sky, and the bright sunshine were all but dreams. If this continued, she feared she might forget the world outside.
However, such days were nearing their end.
A faint smile touched her lips as she turned her head and saw a streak of red light rising from the solitary peak below, swiftly approaching her.
In an instant, the red light arrived before her.
"What's wrong?" Qin Xi asked.
Mo Tiange shook her head. "Nothing. Let's go."
Seeing her expression unchanged, Qin Xi asked no further. The two changed direction and flew side-by-side toward the Underground Palace.
Their flight speed was not fast. Though they had explored every accessible corner over the years, stray restrictions still lingered within the Immortal Palace. Colliding with one would be no small matter.
Arriving at the palace entrance, they followed the tunnel until they stopped before a cave permeated with Demonic Qi.
Inside the cave, Yang Chengji and Jing Xingzhi were already waiting.
The Demonic Qi around Yang Chengji was faint, but his aura pressure was immense—he had successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul stage.
"You're finally here," Jing Xingzhi said with a spirited air. "I thought you two were enjoying yourselves so much you didn't want to leave."
Qin Xi gave him a cool glance. "Not like you, who has no chance to enjoy himself even if he wanted to."
Seeing Jing Xingzhi's face turn green, Mo Tiange quickly interjected, "Fellow Daoists, are you both prepared?"
Pulled back to the main topic, Jing Xingzhi and Yang Chengji both replied, "Naturally."
Mo Tiange then looked at Qin Xi, who said, "Let's set up the formation."
She nodded, retrieving artifacts, formation flags, Spirit Stones, and other materials from her Qiankun Ring, and began arranging the formation within the cave.
Five years had passed since her successful Nascent Soul formation. During these five years, everything had proceeded smoothly. Yang Chengji had gone into seclusion to form his Nascent Soul, emerging in the third year having successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, joining their ranks. Her study of the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation had proceeded with unexpected ease. Perhaps it was due to her advancement to Nascent Soul; many things she previously couldn't comprehend were now resolved effortlessly. By the time Yang Chengji emerged from seclusion, she had fully grasped this formation. Qin Xi and Jing Xingzhi, later joined by Yang Chengji, collaborated wholeheartedly. After several years, they finally found the restriction crack between the Immortal Palace and the Spirit Mountain—a result that was surprisingly located precisely at the site of the Origin Demon Stone Tablet, which was also the cave where Yang Chengji had previously secluded himself.
Upon later reflection, this made perfect sense. The leakage of Origin Demon Qi wasn't confined to the Immortal Palace; it was also present within the Spirit Mountain. This situation could only occur if there were restriction cracks connecting the Underground Palace to the outside world.
The only aspect that hadn't gone entirely smoothly was the Jade Bone Puppet Technique. Apart from the introductory text on mechanism arts found in the God Transformation ancient cultivator's Qiankun Ring, Mo Tiange had no other related texts on mechanism arts and could only rely on her own trial and error. However, since the Jade Bone Puppet Technique was a treasure stored in the vault, how could it be so easily mastered? For the missing materials, she mobilized her three spirit beasts, along with Qin Xi's Vermilion Bird, to search throughout the Immortal Palace. They barely managed to gather them. After countless experiments, she finally succeeded in creating a puppet. But achieving the so-called God Transformation realm proved impossible.
To address this, they expended further effort to enter the Scripture Repository and obtain some texts, finally succeeding in crafting the Jade Bone Puppet. However, this puppet could not reach the God Transformation Stage, only attaining the Nascent Soul Stage.
This was an unavoidable limitation. Even with exceptional talent, one could not reach a master-level realm in just a few years. Moreover, according to the texts they found, mechanism arts did not allow for arbitrarily crossing realms. If the cultivator themselves lacked sufficient cultivation, certain refining methods could not be employed. For a Nascent Soul cultivator to attempt creating a God Transformation Stage puppet was nearly impossible.
Upon learning this, Mo Tiange felt relieved. For their current purpose of escaping, a Nascent Soul Stage puppet was sufficient. As for a God Transformation Stage puppet, she could always refine a new one in the future when her cultivation and proficiency in mechanism arts had improved.
The Origin Demon Stone Tablet had already been collected by Yang Chengji. Mo Tiange used Spirit Stone powder to sketch the preliminary outline of the entire Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation on the cave floor, then directed the three men to assist in setting up the formation.
This version of the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation was far more complex than the one they had used to enter. Firstly, they lacked the sacred artifacts sealed with the power of the Five Saints this time, requiring an immense amount of Spiritual Qi. Secondly, Mo Tiange had modified the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation. The passage it created should be much safer than the one they entered through, but this also doubled the formation's complexity.
As formation flags were continuously placed, a complete Star Map gradually appeared on the ground.
Finally, embedding high-grade Spirit Stones one by one, the formation suddenly emitted a white light. The entire Star Map seemed to come alive, resembling a real starry sky with twinkling stars and flowing radiance—far more exquisite than the one they had used to enter.
Mo Tiange straightened up and let out a sigh of relief.
The Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation was finally complete.
"Everyone, take your positions," she said.
No further instructions were needed. The other three each took a corner of the Star Map. The final position was occupied by the Jade Bone Puppet placed by Mo Tiange.
This puppet used the crystal skeleton of a God Transformation Stage cultivator who had practiced the Ice Heart Jade Bone Art as its framework, Sacred Spirit Soft Jade as its skin, and supplemented with legendary rare materials. The result was a lifelike, incredibly animated puppet. Mo Tiange had even dressed it in the sect robes of the Hanbing Palace. At first glance, it was indistinguishable from a living person.
The incantation to activate the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation was already memorized by all four. At this moment, each wore a solemn expression.
Trapped within the Immortal Palace for thirty years—whether they could escape depended on this attempt.
The four individuals, along with the Jade Bone Puppet, began reciting the spell. The light at the five corners where they stood grew increasingly bright. The Spiritual Qi generated by the high-grade Spirit Stones surged wildly toward their positions.
"Open!" Mo Tiange's clear shout rang out. Without hesitation, everyone channeled their full Spiritual Qi into the Star Map beneath their feet.
This process lasted a long time. The Star Map seemed like an insatiable glutton, devouring their Spiritual Qi in great gulps.
The Jade Bone Puppet was the first to falter. Mo Tiange pressed her Qiankun Ring, producing several pieces of Crystal Jade, which she swiftly placed into the puppet's hands.
Next were herself and Yang Chengji, both having recently advanced to Nascent Soul and lacking sufficient Spiritual Qi. But they were prepared, each swallowing pills and using Crystal Jade to replenish their Spiritual Qi. Then came Jing Xingzhi. Though he had advanced to Nascent Soul long ago, he was a sword cultivator, and this was not his area of expertise.
The only one unaffected was Qin Xi. Over the years, he had refined the Mo Spirit Pearl anew. Within the Yang Spirit Pearl lay an inexhaustible supply of Spiritual Qi, which automatically replenished him whenever he ran low.
Just as Mo Tiange and Yang Chengji were on the verge of collapse, a resonant "hum" filled the air. A white light spread across the entire Star Map. The Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation, satiated with Spiritual Qi, emitted a faint, luminous glow. Subsequently, a dark, cavernous opening appeared at the center of the Star Map.
"Success!" Seeing this opening, Mo Tiange's legs went weak, and she nearly slumped to the ground. Her Spiritual Qi had been completely drained. If not for the numerous Crystal Spirit Jades obtained within the Immortal Palace and the high-quality spirit pills as backup, even with her Nascent Soul advancement, her Spiritual Qi would have been insufficient to activate this formation.
Yang Chengji and Jing Xingzhi were in no better state. Even the Jade Bone Puppet had lost its luster.
Gazing at this dark opening, the four exchanged glances, smiles involuntarily appearing on their faces.
Thirty years! Nearly thirty years! They had finally found a way out. Their thirty years of hardship had not been in vain.
"Quickly, meditate and recover your Spiritual Qi," Qin Xi was the first to remind them. "We can't be sure how long this passage will remain open."
Hearing this, the others' expressions turned serious. Without wasting time, they sat cross-legged on the spot to regulate their breathing.
In the past, such a situation would have been absolutely impossible. Not to mention Jing Xingzhi, Yang Chengji was highly wary; how could he meditate defenseless under others' watchful eyes? But having been trapped together in the Immortal Palace for thirty years, finally finding a path to escape, a sense of camaraderie born from shared adversity had developed among them, fostering a degree of mutual trust.
Holding Crystal Jade, Mo Tiange circulated with full force the Primordial Chaos within her dantian and quickly recovered her Spiritual Qi. She then replaced the depleted Crystal Jade within the Jade Bone Puppet, storing the old pieces and embedding new ones. The puppet immediately regained its imposing aura.
This was the advantage of puppets. When their Spiritual Qi was exhausted, simply replacing the Crystal Jade restored them to peak condition instantly. And these Crystal Jades could automatically recover Spiritual Qi, making them virtually inexhaustible.
Not long after, Jing Xingzhi and Yang Chengji also recovered their Spiritual Qi and stood up.
"Who goes first?" Jing Xingzhi looked at Yang Chengji, then at the others.
Just as Yang Chengji was about to step forward, Mo Tiange said, "Let the puppet go first."
The three considered this and agreed it was a good idea. A puppet could be repaired if damaged; sending it ahead was perfect for scouting the path.
Qin Xi said, "Good. You control the puppet first. I'll go with you."
Mo Tiange nodded. Taking one last look at the cave, she wasted no more time. She directed the puppet to crawled into it, then entered side-by-side with Qin Xi.
After they entered, Jing Xingzhi glanced at Yang Chengji and said, "Fellow Daoist Yang, after you." His attitude toward Yang Chengji was neither look down on nor overly familiar, but it certainly lacked the casualness he showed toward Qin Xi and Mo Tiange.
Yang Chengji smiled slightly without saying much, stepping forward into the passage. How could he not understand Jing Xingzhi's thoughts? After all, he was a demonic cultivator from Yunzhong, not one of their own. Though they didn't exclude him, complete trust was impossible!
Having experienced his master's attempted body snatching and being trapped in the Immortal Palace for decades, he had matured far beyond his former youthful mindset and didn't take it to heart.
Only after Yang Chengji's figure disappeared did Jing Xingzhi crawled into it.
The four figures vanished from the cave, and the Underground Palace returned to silence.
After a while, the cave suddenly began to shake. Spiritual Qi gradually dissipated. Finally, the Vermilion Bird Sacrificial Temple—depleted of its Origin Demon Qi and stripped of the Bow of the Vermilion Bird—began to tremble violently. The shaking intensified until the entire structure collapsed into a pile of ruins.
This tremor slowly transmitted upward to the Immortal Palace. The entire palace began to sway. The high-grade Spirit Stones that formed its structures crumbled one by one. The majestic Immortal Palace gradually became unrecognizable. Mountains crumbled, the earth split, heaven and earth turned dim, Spiritual Qi ran amok, and finally, with a thunderous roar, it collapsed completely.
Of all this, the four who had already entered the passage remained completely unaware.