A dazzling streak of Escape Light suddenly appeared on the horizon, speeding toward them, pursued by one azure and one crimson streak of Escape Light, carrying the distinctive aura of demon beasts.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange and Qin Xi both grew solemn. Without needing to communicate, Qin Xi summoned the Flying Cloud and soared upward, while Mo Tiange also put away the Ten-Thousand-Mile Solitary Boat and flew to meet them.
It was Jing Xingzhi arriving—they were already very familiar with his Escape Light—but what was going on behind him? Had he been targeted by demon cultivators?
"Ninth-Rank Demon Beasts..." As the Escape Lights drew closer, the two exchanged a glance and each summoned their magic treasures. Mo Tiange also released the Jade Bone Puppet.
Seeing the two of them, Jing Xingzhi was overjoyed. "Quick, finish them off!"
Qin Xi frowned and asked him, "Where did you provoke these from? They're actually two Ninth-Rank Demon Beasts!"
"I'll explain later," Jing Xingzhi said, shaking his arm as a sharp sword intent erupted around him, killing intent instantly manifesting.
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi had been concealing their auras all along. These two demon beasts had been chasing Jing Xingzhi and, though they had detected the two humans early on, hadn't paid them much mind. Only when they drew near did they realize these human cultivators possessed cultivation levels similar to their own. However, by the time they realized, it was already too late. Qin Xi and Mo Tiange had already taken action, one on the left and one on the right, sealing off their escape routes.
The first to strike was Jing Xingzhi. With a sharp whistle of his sword, brilliant sword light erupted from his body, instantly transforming into countless sword rays that shot toward the nearest azure demon beast.
These two demon beasts originally had human forms. Seeing their escape routes blocked, they decisively revealed their true forms and charged forward. With Ninth-Rank cultivation, they were already demon cultivators possessing high intelligence. Seeing that Qin Xi was at the mid-stage of Nascent Soul and Mo Tiange had a Jade Bone Puppet by her side, they decided to target Jing Xingzhi first, attempting to force a breakthrough.
Though their reaction was swift, Qin Xi was already prepared. With a flick of his sleeve, Three Yang True Fire materialized out of thin air, transforming into intangible sword light that shot rapidly toward the red demon beast behind.
Seeing this, the red demon beast had no choice but to retreat several dozen feet to avoid the sword rays, preventing it from forming a combined attack with the azure demon beast. The azure demon beast in front was thus forced to face Jing Xingzhi alone.
Although his cultivation was slightly lower than the azure demon beast's, a sword cultivator's combat power surpassing that of peers at the same level and their formidable physical bodies were enough to bridge the gap. In fact, if he hadn't encountered two Ninth-Rank Demon Beasts simultaneously, Jing Xingzhi wouldn't have needed to flee at all. Now, with Qin Xi tying down the red demon beast behind, he alone was sufficient to deal with this azure one.
Mo Tiange held the Heaven and Earth Fan in hand but did not join the battle. The Jade Bone Puppet also stood quietly not far from her side.
Her magic treasures were all destroyed, and Qin Xi and Jing Xingzhi could handle the current situation, so there was no need for her to intervene.
Moreover, her and the Jade Bone Puppet's positions were subtle—they precisely sealed the two demon beasts' escape routes. Just by standing there, they created a deterrent.
"Hmph! Chased me all this way, and now you think you can run? Too late!" Jing Xingzhi gritted his teeth, sending sword light toward the azure demon beast with the force of a violent storm. He wasn't someone who took losses lying down. Having been chased by these two demon beasts all this way, he had built up a bellyful of anger. Now that he had a chance for revenge, how could he let it go?
The azure demon beast opened its mouth, and a fierce gale arose to meet Jing Xingzhi's sword rays. So it was a demon beast that cultivated wind-attribute spells.
As the sword rays were blocked by the wind barrier, Jing Xingzhi's expression hardened, then he let out a cold laugh. Instead of retreating, he charged toward the azure demon beast.
"Sss—" The sword rays pressed forward inch by inch, seeking to tear through the wind barrier.
On Qin Xi's side, it was indeed a fire-attribute demon beast. Unfortunately, it had encountered Qin Xi. Among all the fires under heaven, which could compare to the Flames of the Vermilion Bird? With a single strike, this demon beast's fire techniques were completely scattered.
This left the red demon beast shocked and suspicious. It paused for a moment, then suddenly opened its mouth to ask, "You're human. Why does your True Fire carry the aura of a divine beast?"
The demon beast's innate intuition allowed it to sense that the grade of Qin Xi's True Fire was far above its own, and moreover, it carried a powerful divine beast aura. However, compared to the three demon cultivators from the secret realm of the Guixu Sea, it was inferior. Those three demon cultivators, upon clashing with Qin Xi, immediately discerned that the aura of his True Fire belonged to the Vermilion Bird. But this demon beast lacked the knowledge of ancient demon cultivators.
"Why should I explain myself to you?" Qin Xi said lightly.
"..." The demon beast was about to say more when Mo Tiange turned her head and saw two streaks of Escape Light appearing from the direction of Changling City. Their auras were powerful—undoubtedly Nascent Soul cultivators. She immediately called out, "Finish this quickly! Someone's coming!"
At this moment, being spotted by Nascent Soul cultivators from Changling City would be rather inconvenient.
Hearing this, Qin Xi's gaze swept over, taking in those Escape Lights. The Three Yang True Fire Sword's radiance blazed brightly, transforming from one into two, two into four, suddenly becoming hundreds of sword rays that formed a sword formation, descending upon the demon beast's head.
The demon beast was greatly alarmed. Qin Xi's Flames of the Vermilion Bird were of a higher grade than its own True Fire, putting it at a disadvantage. To make matters worse, his sword formation was exceptionally sharp. In desperation, it opened its mouth and spat out a massive red Inner Core—it actually intended a desperate, life-sacrificing strike.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange's expression changed slightly. A Ninth-Rank Demon Beast self-destructing its Inner Core at such close range would seriously injure all three of them.
Fortunately, Qin Xi reacted even faster. A surge of Flames of the Vermilion Bird suddenly shot up, engulfing the demon beast's Inner Core.
"Boom!" The demon core exploded. Unfortunately, at the moment of self-destruction, it was already surrounded by the Flames of the Vermilion Bird. The flames flickered but instead completely devoured the spiritual energy of this fire-attribute demon core.
Having lost its demon core, the red demon beast effectively lost its cultivation. Its massive body plummeted toward the sea surface.
The sword light of the Three Yang True Fire Sword coalesced back into its original form. With one stab and one flick, it swiftly exterminated this demon beast.
With one demon beast exterminated, dealing with the remaining one became easier. Qin Xi and Jing Xingzhi joined forces, dispatching the azure demon beast in a few moves. Then, after collecting the corpses of the two demon beasts, the three immediately concealed their auras and fled toward the hidden cave on the small island.
Not long after their figures vanished, two Nascent Soul cultivators arrived. One man and one woman—they were precisely Changling City's Lord Fang Qingyu and Elder Yan Feng.
Standing in mid-air, looking at the bloodstains on the sea surface, Fang Qingyu remained silent.
"City Lord," Yan Feng said in a low voice, "those three must be that Qin couple and Fellow Daoist Jing."
Fang Qingyu nodded lightly and sighed. "I truly didn't realize before that they possessed such strength. Two Ninth-Rank Demon Beasts, exterminated so easily. What a pity, what a pity!"
Ninth-Rank Demon Beasts were equivalent to mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation. Even with numerical advantage, being able to resolve things this quickly demonstrated formidable power.
Yan Feng frowned and said, "I truly can't understand what those three are actually planning to do. Given the current situation, with Yuan Prefecture in great turmoil, can they possibly fare well? Why don't they join forces with us?"
Fang Qingyu smiled faintly. "They have other plans. No need to force it. At the very least, we can be certain they won't become our enemies."
"That may be so, but..."
"No need to say more," Fang Qingyu raised a hand, cutting off Yan Feng's words. "Leaving aside that they aren't cultivators from Yuan Prefecture, even if they were, we couldn't control what others do. This time, they exterminated two Ninth-Rank Demon Beasts, which is a great help to us. Why dwell on it?"
Yan Feng fell silent, finally letting out a helpless sigh. "Yes, City Lord."
Fang Qingyu waved his hand and turned to fly back toward Changling City. "Let's return. No need to concern ourselves with them anymore."
By this time, Mo Tiange and the other two had already fled back to the cave housing the Teleportation Array.
"What happened?" Mo Tiange asked. "Weren't you going to Changling City to buy things? How did you end up provoking demon cultivators? And Ninth-Rank ones at that!"
Jing Xingzhi wore an innocent expression. "I was going to buy things, but I figured I might as well scout the situation while I was at it, see how the fighting was going. Who knew that just when things had been relatively calm lately, the moment I went, I'd run into two high-rank demon beasts?"
"..." Mo Tiange was speechless for a moment, then asked, "Did you get the things?"
"Of course!" Jing Xingzhi took out a Qiankun Bag from his robes and tossed it to her. "Take a look. Is it enough?"
Mo Tiange opened the Qiankun Bag, glanced inside, and nodded. "It should be enough." She then asked curiously, "Didn't you say most of Changling City's markets were closed? How did you get this in such a short time?"
Jing Xingzhi looked smug. "A secret. I'm not telling!"
"..." Looking at his expression, Mo Tiange really felt like pouring a basin of water over his head.
"Alright," Qin Xi spoke up at the right moment. "Our whereabouts have been discovered. As long as they're not fools, those people will surely guess it was us. From now on, it's best not to go out. We need to hurry and repair the Teleportation Array to leave. Otherwise, getting dragged into this mess will be troublesome."
"Mm," Mo Tiange nodded. "If nothing goes wrong, the things bought this time should be enough to repair the Teleportation Array."
"Good. Let's not waste any more time. Let's begin."
The situation in Yuan Prefecture grew more severe by the day. With Ninth-Rank Demon Beasts already appearing, it was likely the demon cultivators from the Demon Cultivator Continent had already mobilized.
In truth, the Demon Cultivator Continent wasn't necessarily poorer in resources than Yuan Prefecture. But human cultivators and demon beasts were natural enemies. Whenever they met, a life-and-death struggle was inevitable, with no need to distinguish right from wrong. Moreover, after killing the other side, human cultivators could use the demon beasts' Inner Cores and bodies to refine pills or magic treasures, aiding their cultivation.
As for demon beasts, they only possessed powerful physical bodies. They couldn't refine artifacts or alchemy. Not to mention a place as rich as Yuan Prefecture—even a barren, treacherous land like Xiaoyang would be worth plundering for them. After killing human cultivators, demon cultivators could obtain pills and magic treasures they fundamentally couldn't refine themselves. And the Inner Cores of high-rank cultivators were also great nourishment for demon cultivators.
Since both sides could increase their own cultivation by killing the other, mutual conflict became a matter of course.
Setting aside the escalating conflict between Yuan Prefecture and the Demon Cultivator Continent, Mo Tiange and the other two holed up in the hidden cave, immersed themselves in repairing the Teleportation Array, never venturing out again.
After over a month of rushed work, they finally completed the repairs to the array diagram. Placing high-grade spirit stones one by one into the depressions of the Teleportation Array, the diagram suddenly lit up with radiance.
Seeing this light, Mo Tiange breathed a sigh of relief. This reaction at least indicated she hadn't made a mistake with this Teleportation Array.
However, this wasn't enough. They didn't know if the Teleportation Array on the Tianji side was still intact, nor did they know if Tianji was still in its original location. If, like Yunzhong, it was now farther from Yuan Prefecture, then even if both Teleportation Arrays were intact, they'd be useless.
But overthinking was pointless. Whether this Teleportation Array worked or not, they'd know once they tried it.
"Fellow Daoist Jing!" Standing on the Teleportation Array with Qin Xi, Mo Tiange asked, "What about you? Are you coming?"