When Mo Tiange awoke, she was momentarily disoriented about her location.
The place she was resting in was a cave, with a fur blanket spread beneath her, dry and tidy.
She remembered that after the Heavenly Tribulation, she had been almost completely drained of strength, and then had drifted into a hazy unconsciousness, unaware of what happened next. Looking at the situation now, had they managed to escape safely?
She sat up and circulated the spiritual energy within her body. Thankfully, although not fully recovered, her condition wasn't too bad. The injuries to her meridians and Dantian were relatively stable—she must have taken healing pills. The state of her physical body, however, was unexpectedly good; not only were the injuries sustained during the tribulation healed, but it even felt more resilient. It seemed she had undergone physical reconstruction by the heavenly lightning?
While pondering this, she sensed someone approaching from outside. Soon after, the defensive restrictions set up around her were lifted, and Qin Xi walked in.
"Tian Ge, you're awake? How do you feel?" Seeing she had woken, Qin Xi's face lit up with a smile.
"Quite good." Mo Tiange stretched her limbs and looked at him. "And you? How are your injuries?"
"They're fine, not too serious," he said, gently patting her head. "After a few months of rest, I should be fully recovered." Having undergone tempering by the Vermilion Bird's Breath, both his physical body and his meridians and Dantian were far more resilient than before. Although he was severely injured at the time, his recovery was swift.
"Thank goodness…" Mo Tiange felt a weight lift from her heart as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank goodness we both survived."
"Mm," Qin Xi responded softly. "Though I do not fear death, living is even more precious."
Having survived the tribulation, the two of them felt all the more that everything they possessed was worth cherishing.
After enjoying a moment of silent warmth, Mo Tiange suddenly asked, "Senior Brother, if I had failed to survive the tribulation and perished, body and Dao extinguished, what would you have done?"
The arm holding her paused for a moment. "Why do you ask that?" Qin Xi inquired.
Mo Tiange let out a soft sigh. "All along, although I knew life and death were unpredictable, I never considered that you and I might meet with misfortune... until that moment…" At the moment she thought she had failed the tribulation, she had felt a flash of regret—regret for dragging him down to die with her. But in another turn of thought, she realized that the most absolute separation was death, and such a separation could happen at any time.
"Heh…" Qin Xi gave a light laugh. "If you died, and I lived, then I would still live on properly. But if I were to go to my death alongside you, I would have no regrets. I think you feel the same, don't you?"
"...Yes." Mo Tiange took a deep breath, solidifying her conviction. Treading the path of immortality meant facing death at any moment; this was the price they had to pay for possessing power and lifespan beyond that of mortals. But if they became constrained by this fear, not daring to love and stay together, they would lose their Dao-heart even more. To fear loss so much that one dares not possess anything—that was truly the most foolish thing in the world.
"By the way, where are we now? What happened afterwards?"
Qin Xi sat down beside her. "After the tribulation that day, some people came to check the situation. I saw things looked bad, so I made a quick getaway. Later, I don't know how, but it seemed like the seabed collapsed. We didn't dare stop and flew for a long time. Only when things stabilized somewhat did we find this small island."
"We?"
"Jing Xingzhi is here too," Qin Xi said with a smile. "I really didn't expect that when you were undergoing your tribulation, he would actually be willing to use the Three Red Dust Swords. That's his ultimate move, something he's never used in front of others before."
"The Three Red Dust Swords?" Mo Tiange remembered that when the ninth level of the tribulation descended, those three strikes from Jing Xingzhi were indeed extraordinarily powerful, dispersing much of the golden lightning. Without those three strikes, it would have been truly hard to say whether they could have safely survived the tribulation.
"It's from that ancient sword manual he obtained back then," Qin Xi explained. "As I told you, the method for forging my Three Yang True Fire Sword and its accompanying techniques were obtained when we went on an adventure together. What he obtained back then were the Zhishui Sword he now wields and that ancient sword manual. The Three Red Dust Swords are the three most powerful, yet most spirit-consuming, moves recorded in that manual."
Speaking of this, he sighed with emotion. "Time passes so quickly. In the blink of an eye, over two hundred years have gone by. Who would have thought that back then we were just two lowly Foundation Establishment cultivators, and today we've both formed our Nascent Souls? I never expected it myself."
Mo Tiange was curious. "To be honest, what exactly is the relationship between you two? I noticed you never mentioned him before, yet you don't seem very wary of him. And he, who seems quite heartless on the surface, treats you rather well."
"Our circumstances and personalities are different, but we met when we were insignificant, and we went on many adventures together. We trust each other's character," Qin Xi said. "We can't be considered bosom friends, but we are among the rare few people we can trust."
Looking at the way they interacted, Mo Tiange wouldn't believe they were bosom friends either. Relationships between people were just that strange. Some friends might not be trusted wholeheartedly, while some trustworthy people might not be considered friends.
Qin Xi chuckled again and turned to look at her. "Actually, he's quite easy to figure out. He was originally a proud son of heaven, but after his master passed away unexpectedly, he suffered cold treatment. Outwardly, he plays around in the mortal world, but inwardly, he's actually quite cynical. So, he remembers anyone who treats him well. In my opinion, him being willing to use those three swords wasn't for my sake, but for yours."
"For me?" Mo Tiange was astonished. "I haven't been particularly good to him." In the Immortal Palace, she only gave him what he deserved. In their usual interactions, she wasn't polite to him at all.
"Precisely because you didn't deliberately treat him well or poorly. Although he's been frustrated, he's proud at heart. If you sympathized with him or something, he'd actually dislike you. Treating him with a normal heart is what's rare and valuable."
"...Qin Shoujing!" A voice came from outside. "Isn't this just coming to check on the situation? Why is it taking so long? You're not taking the chance to do something dirty, are you?"
"..." Qin Xi patted his forehead, feeling like banging his head against the wall. No sooner had he said a couple of good words about him than his mouth started running again.
He stood up and opened the restrictions, his face expressionless. "If it were you, that would indeed be something dirty."
Jing Xingzhi was just about to retort when he saw Mo Tiange walking over as well. "Oh, you're awake?" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, disappointing you, I'm sure," Mo Tiange said with a thin smile that didn't reach her eyes. Dirty business, huh? He really had the nerve to say that!
Jing Xingzhi, however, seemed completely unfazed. "Good timing, both of you come out."
He turned and walked a few steps, then realized they weren't following. Turning back, he urged, "Hurry up!"
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged a glance, both feeling somewhat helpless, and followed him.
It was indeed just a small island. Mo Tiange looked around and realized the island was no more than ten li in circumference. Her spiritual sense easily covered the entire island.
The sky had cleared, and it was sunrise. A red, round sun hung on the horizon. The sea surface glittered with sparkling light, gentle and serene, with none of the ferocious menace of that day.
Jing Xingzhi leaped onto a rock and pointed in a direction. "Qin Shoujing, look over there."
Mo Tiange looked in the direction he pointed and saw only a small island, nothing unusual. Turning to look at Qin Xi, she saw a slight look of surprise on his face. "Where did that island come from?"
"Yeah, where did it come from," Jing Xingzhi echoed. "I just flew around and discovered several small islands have appeared around us. The surrounding scenery is completely different from when we arrived."
"...In the sea, for a small island to disappear or appear isn't strange," Mo Tiange said. She had previously searched for the cave where Mo Yaoqing passed away in the East Sea, so she knew a little about maritime matters.
"But for so many to appear simultaneously is somewhat strange," Jing Xingzhi said, pausing before adding, "Most importantly, these islands look very familiar to me."
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi both looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
"I mentioned before that when I left Tianji, I arrived in Yuan Prefecture, right?"
The two nodded.
Jing Xingzhi continued, "From Yuan Prefecture to Yunzhong, I didn't use a teleportation array. I traveled all the way, journeying and sightseeing. Yuan Prefecture is called the Outer Sea Lands by Yunzhong because there's still an ocean separating them. The seas of Yuan Prefecture aren't as desolate and remote as the East Sea or South Sea; many large and small islands are scattered throughout, inhabited by quite a few cultivators and mortals."
Hearing this, the two realized what Jing Xingzhi was implying and were both somewhat shocked.
"You mean…"
"Quite unfortunately, one of these small islands is a place I stopped at during my journey," Jing Xingzhi sighed. "I'm telling you, Qin Shoujing, that day we kept flying south, correct? Logically, we should now be deep in the Guixu Sea, not in the seas of Yuan Prefecture. One is south, the other is east—they're far apart!"
"How could this be?" Mo Tiange murmured to herself. Flying south, yet suddenly seeing scenery that should be in the east—what did this mean? Had they flown in the wrong direction? That was impossible. A cultivator's sense of direction was far stronger than a mortal's; there was no reason for them to have flown wrong without either of them noticing. Could something have interfered with their judgment?
"I don't know how this could have happened either," Jing Xingzhi said with a furrowed brow and a grave expression. "But I know that when things are abnormal, there must be something sinister at play. There's definitely something wrong here."
The three fell silent for a good while before Qin Xi spoke. "Talking about it now is useless. All three of us are injured. We should wait until our wounds are healed before planning our next move."
"...Alright." After thinking for a moment, Jing Xingzhi accepted his suggestion, then added regretfully, "Who knows where those three demonic cultivators went. That day they were undergoing their transformation tribulation—it was the perfect time to take advantage of their misfortune!"
"...Why don't you mention that that day was also the perfect time for others to take advantage of *our* misfortune?" Qin Xi said irritably. "We were lucky to escape safely. If we had been half a moment later, we probably would have been found by those Nascent Soul cultivators. Then, forget about our treasures, even our lives would have been hard to keep!"
Nascent Soul cultivators cherished their lives, always leaving a way out, and rarely turned hostile outright. But that day's situation was special. After the tribulation, everyone was severely injured. If a fight broke out, even escaping with their Nascent Souls would have been difficult. The three of them had no foundation in Yunzhong and possessed treasures. Many people would gladly take advantage of such a situation—plundering without future repercussions.
"That's true too," Jing Xingzhi thought for a moment and actually nodded in agreement. He then added, "Who knows where that demonic cultivator kid went. Later, when the seabed collapsed, if he didn't have some life-preserving methods, his chances would be slim!"
"You mean Fellow Daoist Yang?" Mo Tiange said. "I actually think it's eighty percent likely he's fine. He's the direct disciple of Demon Lord Guifang. Not only has he cultivated the Yuan Devil Art, but he also inherited all of Demon Lord Guifang's possessions. Given Demon Lord Guifang's great reputation in Yunzhong, he must have many secret life-preserving techniques."
"Mm, we were merely collaborators with him. Once out of the Immortal Palace, his affairs are none of our concern," Qin Xi said. "We'd be better off thinking about our own future. What should our next step be?"