As soon as they exited the passage, a wave of scorching heat assaulted their faces.
Seeing the scene before her, Mo Tiange was slightly taken aback. "It's actually here!" The exit of the passage opened by the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation was actually located in the True Fire Canyon on the mountainside, a place they had passed through before.
This canyon was deep inside and narrow at the mouth, with only a sliver of sky visible overhead, no daylight to be seen. Within the valley burned the Ultimate Yang True Fire, the highest grade of Earth-Polar True Fire.
Qin Xi swept his gaze over the scene and waved his sleeve. A thin, red mist-like protective barrier appeared around the two of them. When the Ultimate Yang True Fire encountered this barrier, it seemed to shy away, avoiding it. He had cultivated a fire-attribute technique since childhood, and all his True Fire had now been refined into Vermilion Bird Flame. The Vermilion Bird was the essence of Li Fire; its innate True Fire was the highest-grade True Fire in the world, and it even possessed sentience. Even the finest of external fires could not compare to it.
A moment later, Yang Chengji appeared at the passage exit. Seeing the situation outside, he frowned slightly, formed a hand seal, and released Origin Demonic Qi to envelop his entire body. While this Origin Demonic Qi had no specific property to counter True Fire, its power was considerable. With the Origin Demonic Qi protecting him, this True Fire could do him no harm.
The last to emerge was Jing Xingzhi, following closely behind Yang Chengji.
"What a nuisance!" he muttered upon seeing the surrounding Ultimate Yang True Fire. With a flick of his sleeve, his flying sword left its sheath, instantly transforming into sharp sword intent that enveloped his entire body.
"Let's go!" Having escaped the Immortal Palace that had trapped him for thirty years, Jing Xingzhi felt a great sense of relief. He took a deep breath, unable to suppress the joy on his face. "We're finally out! I was about to suffocate in there!"
With that, he stepped onto a tangible flying sword that lifted him up, and he was the first to shoot toward the canyon exit. The Ultimate Yang True Fire that struck the sword intent released from his body scattered and avoided him.
A sword cultivator's sword might appear to be just one, but in truth, once one reached the Core Formation stage, the mind could move as it willed, and sword qi permeated the entire body. Creating as many swords as one wished was no problem.
As he moved, Yang Chengji followed closely behind. Then Qin Xi and Mo Tiange also shot toward the valley exit. The Jade Bone Puppet, under Mo Tiange's control, followed closely behind them.
The Jade Bone Puppet was made of special materials; the Holy Spirit Soft Jade used was incredibly flexible and resilient. During its creation, Qin Xi's Vermilion Bird Flame was used to successfully refine it. Mere Ultimate Yang True Fire could not harm it. It was also clad in the sect attire of the Hanbing Palace. This clothing, made of an unknown material, could be considered a top-tier defensive treasure and was likewise completely unafraid of the Ultimate Yang True Fire.
In just a moment, the four people and one puppet exited the True Fire Canyon.
At that moment, Qin Xi suddenly turned to look back and was greatly shocked. "The Immortal Palace!"
The other three turned and followed his gaze. Instantly, everyone was stunned.
This Immortal Palace, which had trapped them for thirty years with its layers of restrictions, was right before their eyes, slowly collapsing into a pile of ruins.
The collapse of the Immortal Palace triggered intense fluctuations of Spiritual Qi. The surrounding snowy ground stirred up a mist of snow, blurring their vision.
"How could this be..." Mo Tiange murmured to herself. Over these years, in order to escape the Immortal Palace, she had gained a thorough understanding of the power of its restrictions. How could it just collapse like this? What force could cause the Immortal Palace to crumble in an instant? And why collapse now, of all times, right after they came out?
"Don't think about it too much!" Qin Xi said with a grave expression. "The Immortal Palace is destroyed, the restrictions have collapsed. This will definitely affect the entire space. We need to leave quickly!"
His reminder jolted the others awake from their daze. Without further hesitation, they transformed into streaks of Escape Light and sped toward the foot of the Spirit Mountain.
At the same time, from several hidden corners of the Spirit Mountain, other streaks of Escape Light also appeared, similarly shooting toward the mountain foot.
There were actually other cultivators in this Spirit Mountain!
This thought flashed through Mo Tiange's mind. Then, upon further consideration, she understood what was happening. The passage to the Immortal Palace was only open for three days, but the passage to this space was not like that. Entering was only possible for half an hour, but leaving could be done at any time. Some Nascent Soul cultivators, perpetually stuck at a certain bottleneck, might have chosen to go into seclusion here, finding the Spiritual Qi abundant and resources plentiful.
However, they were quite bold. So many Nascent Soul cultivators had entered back then, and this wasn't their territory. Finding a safe place to cultivate wasn't easy, not to mention there were many high-level Demon Beasts here.
The Demon Beasts in this space possessed extremely tenacious vitality. The spatial tear back then hadn't been able to exterminate them. The environment here was very suitable for cultivation, and without humans as their natural enemies, over so many years, it wasn't impossible for some to advance to the ninth or tenth rank. If they reached the tenth rank, that would be equivalent to a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
As those streaks of Escape Light appeared, the other three also noticed them. Yang Chengji whispered, "After all these years, who could still be here?"
Jing Xingzhi, however, noticed something unusual. His expression turned strange. "Besides people, there are also demons!"
Hearing this, the others were stunned.
Mo Tiange spread out her divine sense and strained her eyes to look. Indeed, among the several streaks of Escape Light, she could faintly sense Spiritual Qi fluctuations different from those of human cultivators!
Demon Beasts of the eighth rank and above already possessed intelligence. It seemed that upon detecting the spatial anomaly, these Demon Beasts were also fleeing for their lives!
Now the situation had become complicated. Human cultivators and Demon Beasts were natural enemies. Upon meeting, without needing any greeting, they would inevitably try their utmost to eliminate the other party. And there was only one exit from this space...
Despite this, the four people and one puppet still flew at full speed. At the same time, the other streaks of Escape Light also did not slow down, rushing madly toward the spatial exit.
The first to collide with them were two Demon Beasts, one of the eighth rank and one of the ninth. Both Demon Beasts had undergone Human Transformation, possessing human appearances, but their bodies still retained some characteristics of Demon Beasts. One look was enough to tell they were Human-Form Demon Beasts, not humans!
This was Mo Tiange's first time seeing Human-Form Demon Beasts. Previously, when she occasionally saw Demon Beasts of the eighth rank and above, they appeared in their original forms, as that was when their combat power was strongest.
The two Human-Form Demon Beasts were one cyan and one white. Upon meeting, the cyan one opened its mouth, and a slender tongue lashed out toward them.
Jing Xingzhi was at the forefront. His face turned cold, and suddenly his sword intent exploded. Hundreds of sword rays appeared around him, slicing down toward the cyan Demon Beast's long tongue.
Sensing the sharpness of the sword qi, the cyan Demon Beast hurriedly retreated. The white Demon Beast stepped forward, spread its hands, and lightning flickered in its palms. A massive pillar of lightning appeared between its hands and came crashing down toward the group.
It was actually a rare lightning-attribute Demon Beast!
Qin Xi frowned. The Sanyang True Fire Sword suddenly appeared, transforming into a sea of red that met the attack.
The Vermilion Bird Flame clashed with the lightning. The sound of sizzling was incessant. The white Demon Beast initially wore a cold smile, but after a moment, its expression changed dramatically.
The Vermilion Bird Flame was slowly devouring its lightning!
"Wait!" A strange voice sounded in their ears. It was the white Demon Beast speaking. "Who are you people? How do you have the aura of the Vermilion Bird?"
Although it spoke the human language, its intonation was extremely odd.
The Demon Beasts referred to by human cultivators nowadays also belonged to the category of spirit beasts in ancient times, though their bloodlines were not as noble as those of true "spirits." The Vermilion Bird was one of the Five Spirits, one of the noblest Divine Beasts. Any beast that cultivated could not ignore it.
Qin Xi did not stop, but he did not press the attack either. He said, "What does that have to do with you? Since you have undergone Human Transformation, you possess intelligence no less than that of humans. You attacked upon meeting without a word. What more is there to say?"
The two Human-Form Demon Beasts exchanged a glance. The white one turned to look at the already collapsed Immortal Palace and said, "Since you carry the aura of the Vermilion Bird, you have some connection to us demonic cultivators. This space cannot be preserved. How about we cease hostilities and each flee for our lives?"
If these two Demon Beasts hadn't attacked upon meeting, none of them wanted to engage in a life-and-death struggle under such circumstances either. Trapped in the Immortal Palace for thirty years, finally escaping, seeing the space collapse—they were in a hurry to preserve their lives. Fight to the death with someone? They weren't that foolish.
Seeing that these two Human-Form Demon Beasts seemed quite sincere, Qin Xi slowly relaxed his expression. With a flick of his hand, he recalled the Sanyang True Fire Sword.
At that moment, two more streaks of Escape Light drew near. From within came the voice of a human cultivator. "Fellow Daoists, please lend a hand!"
It was a portly mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, with a ninth-rank Demon Beast chasing behind him.
Although cultivators fought amongst themselves constantly, their attitude toward Demon Beasts was different. Without hesitation, Jing Xingzhi unleashed his sword qi, shooting toward the demonic cultivator behind this person. Yang Chengji also flew up, his Origin Demonic Qi suddenly exploding outward.
The cyan and white Demon Beasts, seeing this, hurriedly flew forward, respectively blocking the attacks of the two for the newly arrived Demon Beast.
The white Demon Beast shouted, "Everyone, stop!"
Taking advantage of this delay, the portly cultivator landed among Mo Tiange and the others, hurriedly cupping his hands in salute. "Thank you, Fellow Daoists, for your assistance."
Seeing this person, Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged a glance, somewhat surprised. They knew this person. He was the Danxia Sect cultivator they had encountered when they first entered the space, Nan Guitian. Back then, this person had been fighting with others over a withered vine filled with wood-attribute Spiritual Qi. Later, when they entered the Immortal Palace, they never saw him again. They hadn't expected him to have stayed in the Spirit Mountain for so long.
The Demon Beast chasing Nan Guitian was a pitch-black, twin-winged creature. Hearing the white Demon Beast's shout and warily observing the human cultivators who clearly outnumbered them, it also underwent Human Transformation, turning into a dark, skinny man who landed.
"Old White, what are you doing?" It also spoke the human language, but with a strange tone.
The white Demon Beast said, "We've reached an agreement with these humans. Fleeing for our lives is urgent; we won't fight." Then it added in a low voice, "They outnumber us. We can't win."
The black Demon Beast's gaze swept over them. Five people, plus a puppet, all at the Nascent Soul stage or above. Two of them were at the mid-stage of Nascent Soul, equivalent to the ninth rank for them, demonic cultivators.
"Fine," the black Demon Beast said. "This place is finished. We'll talk after we get out."
Seeing its agreement, the white Demon Beast breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Qin Xi. "Vermilion Bird cultivator, we will not take the initiative to attack you again. We hope you will also not act."
Qin Xi said, "As long as you do not act, we will not go back on our word."
"Good. For the sake of your Vermilion Bird aura, we trust you." After speaking, the white Demon Beast said to its two companions, "Let's go!"
As soon as the words fell, the three Demon Beasts transformed into streaks of Escape Light and continued flying toward the exit.
"Let's go too!" The fluctuations from the collapsing restrictions were growing increasingly intense. They could not linger here any longer. The group also transformed into streaks of Escape Light and sped rapidly toward the mountain foot.