"Junior Brother Shoujing, you and Qingwei have just returned. You should head back to the sect first. For this matter, having Senior Brother Zhenyang, Senior Sister Miaoyi, and myself representing the Xuanqing Sect in battle is more than enough."
"Indeed!" Dao Lord Miaoyi concurred. "Right now, the war hasn't started yet; we're only in the preparation stage, so there aren't many tasks. Even if fighting breaks out, it will be a protracted affair. We should still carry on with our usual duties."
Qin Xi understood their meaning. The demon cultivators needed to be dealt with, but other matters also had to be attended to. For cultivators, cultivation was always the most important thing. The struggle between humans and demon cultivators was for resources essential to survival and cultivation—a goal shared by the demon cultivators as well.
"Thank you, Senior Brother and Senior Sister, for your consideration," he expressed his gratitude sincerely, then asked, "May I ask where Senior Brother Zhenyang is now? Our Xuanqing Sect has dispatched three Nascent Soul cultivators, even mobilizing Senior Brother Zhenyang. What about the other sects?"
"Senior Brother Zhenyang has gone to investigate the movements of the demon cultivators," Dao Lord Xuanyin replied. "Given the gravity of the situation, almost every sect in Tianji with any standing has come to this meeting in Kunzhong, and those who came are the true decision-makers of their respective sects. Our sect has Senior Brother Zhenyang. The Tiandao Sect sent both of their late-Nascent Soul cultivators. The Ancient Sword Sect sent Sword Venerable Yuanying, and the Danding Sect sent Master Tiancao."
He paused, then asked, "By the way, you probably don't know yet, do you? Master Tiancao has successfully advanced to the late stage. The Danding Sect can be considered to have risen once more."
"Is that so?" Qin Xi was somewhat surprised. In Tianji, a late-Nascent Soul cultivator typically appeared only once every two hundred years. His master had advanced less than a century ago, and now there was another? "So, that means Tianji now has a total of seven late-Nascent Soul cultivators?"
"Exactly," Dao Lord Miaoyi sighed. "Over a hundred years ago, during the beast tide chaos, the Danding Sect nearly lost its lineage. It was still counted among the seven great sects, but that was mostly out of habit. In terms of scale, it was slightly inferior to even a mid-sized sect. Who could have imagined that Master Tiancao would advance to the late stage within this hundred-plus years? The Danding Sect has suddenly flourished again. Truly, the world is unpredictable."
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river!" Dao Lord Xuanyin lamented. "Ever since Master Tiancao advanced to the late stage, the conditions for commissioning alchemy have become much more stringent. Our Xuanqing Sect is still alright; we have many disciples skilled in the alchemical arts. The ones most troubled are the Biyun Sect; they've had to concede many benefits these past years."
Mo Tiange also knew something about the Danding Sect's past affairs. The reason the Danding Sect had fallen to such a state was not unrelated to the other six sects. The seven great sects were originally an offensive and defensive alliance. If the other sects hadn't been delayed in their rescue, the Danding Sect wouldn't have lost even its sect headquarters. The other six sects, for their own interests, had intentionally delayed the rescue. In the past, with its strength greatly diminished, the Danding Sect had no choice but to swallow its anger. Now that the Danding Sect had flourished again, of course it would use alchemy matters to cause trouble for the other sects.
Among the six sects, the Tiandao Sect and the Xuanqing Sect were powerful, each with two late-stage cultivators, so the Danding Sect didn't dare go too far. The Ancient Sword Sect was a sword cultivator sect, not overly reliant on elixirs. The Zhengfa Sect was located in the far northern glaciers; the one in Kunwu was just a branch. The Spirit Beast Sect had few members and followed an unorthodox path. That left the Biyun Sect, which had many disciples and followed orthodox Dharma cultivation, thus having a great demand for elixirs—making it the perfect target for the Danding Sect to squeeze.
After discussing the Danding Sect, the two Dao Lords briefly outlined the current situation in Tianji. Overall, there hadn't been major changes over the past few decades. Only two things were worth noting: first, the rise of the Xuanqing Sect to rival the Tiandao Sect; second, the Danding Sect's return to the ranks of major sects. The return of Qin Xi and Mo Tiange had a direct consequence: the Xuanqing Sect had become unprecedentedly prosperous, surpassing the Tiandao Sect to become the number one sect in Tianji.
After staying in Kunzhong City for several days, Dao Lord Zhenyang and his group finally returned.
The members of this investigation team had terrifyingly high status and cultivation levels—all were decision-makers from major sects. Among them were four late-Nascent Soul great cultivators; the rest were all at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, with not a single early-stage cultivator. This group included Liu Dingyuan and Dao Lord Buyan from the Tiandao Sect, Dao Lord Zhenyang from the Xuanqing Sect, Sword Venerable Yuanying from the Ancient Sword Sect, Ding Luan from the Biyun Sect, Dao Lord Wusi from the Zhengfa Sect, and others.
Not long after, Mo Tiange and Qin Xi met with Dao Lord Zhenyang.
After so many years apart, this Head Supreme Elder's appearance hadn't changed. He was now twelve hundred years old. As a late-Nascent Soul great cultivator with profound cultivation and good maintenance, living another five or six hundred years wasn't a problem. If he could find life-extending methods, seven or eight hundred years wasn't impossible either. At the very least, he could lead the Xuanqing Sect for several more centuries.
Lifespan—this was another reason the other sects were even more wary of the Xuanqing Sect. Among the Xuanqing Sect's many Nascent Soul cultivators, Zhenyang and Jinghe had the highest cultivation and were the oldest, but both still had five or six hundred good years left. Huayan was slightly younger and had lower cultivation, but still had two centuries of lifespan. Miaoyi was around seven hundred, Xuanyin over six hundred—both in their prime. The youngest trio—Shoujing, Lingxi, and Qingwei—were exceptionally youthful. With so many Nascent Soul cultivators, all so young, the Xuanqing Sect could maintain its prosperity for at least a thousand years.
Upon learning of their return, Dao Lord Zhenyang was so overjoyed he momentarily neglected official business, giving a brief report before hurrying back to his temporary residence in Kunzhong City.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Zhenyang!"
"No need for formalities, no need!" Dao Lord Zhenyang said repeatedly. "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"
After looking them over, Dao Lord Zhenyang smiled. "It seems your journey to Yunzhong was quite fruitful. Not only did Qingwei form her Nascent Soul, but Shoujing, your realm is also very stable. Junior Brother Jinghe would be overjoyed to know." Then he asked, "How did the two of you return? What have your experiences been these past decades?"
Qin Xi once again gave a general account of their experiences over the years.
After listening, Dao Lord Zhenyang also sighed with emotion. He then asked how they had left the Guixu Sea, reached Yuan Prefecture, and finally returned to Tianji.
Dao Lord Zhenyang asked in detail, so Qin Xi answered thoroughly, including how they were trapped in the Immortal Palace for decades, how Mo Tiange faced the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation after emerging, and how they ended up in Yuan Prefecture by chance, using a teleportation formation to return to Tianji.
He hadn't gone into detail about these matters before, so Xuanyin and Miaoyi only learned about the tribulation now, expressing great surprise.
After hearing this, Dao Lord Zhenyang fell into deep thought. "A Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation... to actually have a Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation..."
"Senior Brother Zhenyang, is there a problem with that?" Qin Xi asked.
"Nothing," Dao Lord Zhenyang regained his composure, looking at Mo Tiange with a smile. "Every time Qingwei advances, it's so unique. When forming her Nascent Soul, she even experienced a Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation. This is a good thing; she will undoubtedly achieve extraordinary things in the future."
He then comforted her, "Qingwei, don't worry. If your magic treasures are destroyed, you can just refine new ones. The sect will definitely provide full assistance in this matter."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Zhenyang." Warmth filled Mo Tiange's heart. Having a sect as backing was truly different; she had suffered enough bullying in Yunzhong.
"No need to thank me. You've returned at just the right time!" Dao Lord Zhenyang said with a beaming smile. "All these years, that old fellow Liu Dingyuan refused to admit defeat. Now he has no choice but to concede! Hehe, you should have seen his face at the time—it turned completely green!"
Watching Dao Lord Zhenyang's childlike, animated expression, Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged a smile.
He and Liu Dingyuan were close in age, both late-Nascent Soul cultivators leading the first and second sects of Tianji, engaged in open and covert rivalry for centuries. Being able to suppress the other would make him laugh even in his dreams.
After being happy for a while, Dao Lord Zhenyang's expression turned serious. "You two, tell me everything in detail again, from the moment you left the Immortal Palace until you arrived in Yuan Prefecture."
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged a glance, neither understanding his intent. Qin Xi asked, "Senior Brother Zhenyang, is there a problem?"
"You tell me first. This matter is somewhat unusual."
"...Alright." Qin Xi once again recounted their experiences after leaving the Immortal Palace. Dao Lord Zhenyang interrupted several times, asking about certain details repeatedly before allowing him to continue.
Finally, after he finished, Dao Lord Zhenyang fell into deep thought once more.
Mo Tiange glanced at Qin Xi, and together they looked at Dao Lord Zhenyang, waiting for him to speak.
They had discussed this matter many times themselves but had reached no conclusion. They left the Immortal Palace, then it self-destructed, triggering the collapse of the spatial restrictions within. After that came the Heavenly Tribulation, and following the tribulation, the continental displacement. These events happened one after another; they felt there was some connection but couldn't pinpoint it. If Dao Lord Zhenyang could give them an answer, it would save them from further wild speculation.
A long time later, Dao Lord Zhenyang finally snapped out of his reverie. Looking at Mo Tiange, he said, "Qingwei, I'm afraid this matter is greatly related to you."
"What?" Mo Tiange was puzzled. "Senior Brother Zhenyang, which matter are you referring to?"
Dao Lord Zhenyang tapped the tabletop. "You said that after the Heavenly Tribulation, the storm didn't subside but grew even more violent. So, it should have been around that time that the continental displacement occurred."
Qin Xi nodded slightly. "Correct. We've already confirmed the timing."
"Then the question arises: what exactly triggered the continental displacement? Such earth-shattering, heaven-overturning events always have a catalyst, don't they?"
"But..." Mo Tiange frowned in thought. "When we came out, the sky was already overcast with dark clouds. It wasn't necessarily caused by the Heavenly Tribulation."
"True," Dao Lord Zhenyang didn't disagree. "It's indeed been a long time since anyone heard of a Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation. For four and a half tribulations to occur together is even more unheard of. But if you say four and a half Heavenly Tribulations triggered the continental displacement, I don't believe it—not even a God Transformation Heavenly Tribulation would have such power." Three manifestation tribulations and one and a half Nascent Soul formation tribulations combined still couldn't match the power of a single God Transformation Heavenly Tribulation. God Transformation cultivators existed in this world, and more than one. If the power of a Heavenly Tribulation could trigger continental displacement, how many times would the continents have shifted over the past hundred thousand years?
"Then what does Senior Brother Zhenyang mean..."
"What else happened at that time besides the Heavenly Tribulation?"
Mo Tiange thought for a moment. "The space where the Immortal Palace was located collapsed."
"Exactly, that's the event!" Dao Lord Zhenyang said. "According to the Yunzhong cultivators, that space was likely torn out during the upheaval at the end of the ancient era. It had existed peacefully in the Guixu Sea for over a hundred thousand years. There's no reason it would collapse just because you came out. And before that, you did one thing—the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation you mentioned, the space-tearing technique!"