Mo Tiange did not know exactly how great the divine abilities of a God Transformation cultivator were, but she clearly remembered the overwhelmingly powerful pressure that Zhong Muli and Yuan Bao had exerted with a mere wave of their hands back then.
Zhong Muli had said that in this world, he was already an existence akin to a god. Yet these Nascent Soul cultivators, the higher their cultivation and the stronger their power, the more reverence they held for heaven and earth, let alone comparing themselves to gods. What kind of great divine ability must one possess to say such words?
Unfortunately, God Transformation cultivators were exceedingly rare; how could they be seen just because one wished to see them? This question could only be answered when they themselves stepped into the God Transformation stage.
After the master and disciples discussed for a while, Mo Tiange and Qin Xi returned to their cave abode.
Afterwards, Mo Tiange had Shui Linbo send a message to summon the deacon from the Deacon Hall.
Seeing that it was a newly advanced Nascent Soul Dao Lord summoning them, the Deacon Hall did not dare to be negligent. The Inquiry Elder personally came.
"Xiyi pays respects to the two Masters. What instructions do the two Masters have?" The current Inquiry Elder of the Deacon Hall, with the Daoist name Xiyi, came from Qingluan Peak. He was quite old, still stuck at the mid Golden Core stage. Basically, there was no possibility of forming a Nascent Soul anymore, and he only had one or two hundred years of lifespan left.
In the various halls of the Xuanqing Sect that handled affairs, apart from the Sect Master who would choose vigorous Golden Core cultivators, other deacon elders were like Xiyi—with not much lifespan left and steady in handling matters. These older Golden Core cultivators had experienced much, seen much, were tactful in their methods, and handled affairs reliably. They basically had no hope of forming a Nascent Soul and were themselves very willing to serve as deacon elders to secure some benefits for their families or disciples.
"No need for formalities," Qin Xi asked directly. "Before I left the mountain, I entrusted the Deacon Hall with a matter. How has it progressed?"
When he received the summons, Elder Xiyi had already considered the reason. Fortunately, he had been very cautious about this matter at the time and had personally overseen it.
"Is Master Shoujing referring to the matter of the Xuanji Sect?"
"Correct. What have you found?"
Receiving confirmation, Elder Xiyi took out a jade slip from his robes and presented it. "Reporting to the Masters, over these years, our Deacon Hall disciples have carefully investigated Yuzhu Mountain. The predecessor of the Xuanji Sect was the Tianliang Sect. This sect was skilled in mechanisms and formation techniques and was exterminated several thousand years ago. Later, the surviving disciples of the Tianliang Sect established the Xuanji Sect, which existed for a very long time, even producing a Nascent Soul cultivator and experiencing a period of revival. However, they lacked subsequent strength and eventually declined slowly, finally being exterminated due to internal strife. Afterwards, small sects like the Guigu Sect, Qiqiao Sect, and Yinyang Sect appeared in the Yuzhu Mountain area, claiming to inherit from the Xuanji Sect. But whether in terms of disciple cultivation or formation techniques, they were simply incomparable to the Xuanji Sect of old."
"The Deacon Hall disciples found scattered records within these small sects and located the former site of the Xuanji Sect. After some effort, they were finally able to confirm that the Nascent Soul senior of the Xuanji Sect disappeared in the Far West. Here are the clues found by the Deacon Hall. Please have a look, Masters."
Qin Xi took the jade slip, infused it with his divine sense, and after a moment handed it to Mo Tiange.
After reading it, Mo Tiange nodded. "You've worked hard."
Hearing this, Elder Xiyi knew the matter was considered passed and revealed a smile. "Serving the Masters is what our Deacon Hall should do. We dare not claim hardship."
Qin Xi smiled slightly and glanced at Shui Linbo. "It's all a matter from several thousand years ago. You must have gone to some trouble to find these clues. This is your reward. Take it and divide it."
Taking the Qiankun Bag handed over by Shui Linbo, Elder Xiyi gave it a rough probe and found several bottles of pills and a considerable number of spirit stones inside. He was overjoyed. "Many thanks for the Masters' reward!"
They all knew that Master Shoujing's alchemy skills were the best among the several Nascent Soul Dao Lords. The pills rewarded were certainly not ordinary!
"Alright, you may go."
"Yes, Xiyi takes his leave." Bowing respectfully, Elder Xiyi followed Shui Linbo out.
"Well?" Qin Xi asked after Shui Linbo had also taken her leave.
Mo Tiange pondered. "The clues found by the Deacon Hall are highly credible, and they even included a map. We can go take a look ourselves."
"Mm," Qin Xi agreed. "The Far West Desert has many dangerous places that their cultivation levels cannot handle. The rest of the matter, we can only do ourselves."
After all, it was a matter from several thousand years ago. Mo Tiange hadn't held much hope for the Deacon Hall. That they had achieved this level was already beyond her expectations. The Deacon Hall people were more skilled than them at gathering information and finding clues, but some matters were beyond their capabilities due to their cultivation levels.
"Then when shall we set off?"
"No hurry," Qin Xi said. "The place where a Nascent Soul cultivator perished is undoubtedly a dangerous land. No matter how urgent, you need to recover some strength before going."
"Alright." Mo Tiange thought for a moment and followed his advice. "Then I'll first nurture the Heaven-Earth Fan back to condition."
"And the Heavenly Thunder Great Method can also be cultivated now."
Having decided this, Mo Tiange began a life of seclusion again.
The Spirit-Tempering Jade buried in the Void Heaven Realm had already begun producing Spirit-Tempering Water. With an inexhaustible supply of Spirit-Tempering Water, the two of them refined their Magical Treasures once more.
After refining with Spirit-Tempering Water, the impurities in the Magical Treasures were completely removed, and their power increased somewhat. Especially Qin Xi's Three Yang True Fire Sword, which he had been nurturing for two hundred years, was now even more responsive.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange held great expectations for the Heaven-Earth Fan after its refinement. After practicing on other Magical Treasures, she took the Spirit-Tempering Water and began a short-term seclusion to refine the Heaven-Earth Fan.
In the seclusion chamber, she extended her hand. Spiritual Qi gathered in her palm, and the Heaven-Earth Fan slowly materialized.
After this period of nurturing, the Heaven-Earth Fan had recovered some of its spirituality, but it was still far from its peak state of abundant spiritual energy. Opening it, the flowers, birds, and landscapes on its surface seemed somewhat faded, no longer radiant.
Among the life-bound Magical Treasures of Tianji cultivators, probably none used materials as extravagant as hers. The fan ribs were Azure Dragon bone, the fan surface was Heavenly Silkworm Silk Brocade, the pigments used included treasures like Qiyun Stone and Moonlight Illusion Stone, and finally, Millennium Jade Marrow was used to increase its resilience.
These materials—ordinary Golden Core cultivators would find it difficult to obtain even one kind, let alone that among them was the bone of a Divine Beast. If other Nascent Soul cultivators knew, they would fight desperately for it.
Releasing her hand, letting the Heaven-Earth Fan float before her, Mo Tiange took out a gourd. This gourd contained Spirit-Tempering Water taken from the Immortal Palace. Although the Spirit-Tempering Jade buried in the Void Heaven Realm had begun producing Spirit-Tempering Water, the time was still short, not as pure as the Spirit-Tempering Water from the Immortal Palace. For other Magical Treasures, she used the newly produced Spirit-Tempering Water for refinement, but the Heaven-Earth Fan was her life-bound Magical Treasure; its importance was incomparable to other treasures.
Placing the gourd to the side, she sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and circulated her energy to regulate her breathing.
After one great cycle, adjusting herself to her optimal state, she formed a hand seal with both hands. An infant resembling her in appearance, completely naked, appeared above her head.
This was her Nascent Soul. This Nascent Soul was fair and tender, its Spiritual Qi condensed and solid, currently in a state of abundant energy. At this moment, perched on her head, it also sat cross-legged.
The Spiritual Qi around the Nascent Soul grew denser. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and spat out Nascent Soul Fire, enveloping the Heaven-Earth Fan.
Within the Nascent Soul Fire, the Heaven-Earth Fan slowly rotated. As time passed, a red mist appeared around it, and the entire fan surface flashed with an intoxicating fluorescent light.
As the fluorescent light grew more stable, Mo Tiange waved her sleeve. The gourd also flew up, its stopper popping open. A stream of water shot out from the gourd.
Mo Tiange directed her Spiritual Qi, and the water stream seemed to be pulled, flying toward the Heaven-Earth Fan and merging with the red mist.
By the time all the Spirit-Tempering Water in the gourd was poured out, the Heaven-Earth Fan was already surrounded by a curtain of water formed by the Spirit-Tempering Water.
The Nascent Soul Fire continued refining the Heaven-Earth Fan without pause. The Spirit-Tempering Water gradually boiled and finally turned into water vapor.
Within the Nascent Soul Fire, inside the water vapor, the Heaven-Earth Fan still rotated. Slowly, a tiny speck of dust was stripped away, merging into the water vapor. Then two specks, three specks...
Time passed bit by bit. Mo Tiange's Spiritual Qi gradually depleted, and the Nascent Soul also gradually grew listless. The dust within the Heaven-Earth Fan grew fewer and fewer until finally, the entire fan surface became lustrous and smooth, without a single impurity left.
Mo Tiange breathed a sigh of relief and was about to withdraw the Nascent Soul Fire. Suddenly, her whole body trembled as if she had sensed something.
She swallowed a handful of high-grade Spirit-Replenishing Pills to replenish the Spiritual Qi in her body and had the Nascent Soul continue using the Nascent Soul Fire.
With the impurities completely removed, under the refinement of the Nascent Soul Fire, an aura of utmost purity slowly appeared around the Heaven-Earth Fan. This aura was sacred and vast, and with just a single breath, one could feel boundless vitality.
Breath of the Azure Dragon!
Realizing this, Mo Tiange was thrilled.
The Breath of the Azure Dragon had finally appeared! Could it be that there were too many impurities in the Heaven-Earth Fan before, so the Breath of the Azure Dragon remained hidden?
Whatever the reason, she had finally found the Breath of the Azure Dragon.
As the Nascent Soul Fire continued, the Breath of the Azure Dragon grew denser. In the end, even Qin Xi outside the seclusion chamber was startled.
He had the Breath of the Vermilion Bird within him and was more sensitive to Divine Beast breaths than others. He was certain that was the Breath of the Azure Dragon. However, Mo Tiange was still in seclusion; he could not enter to investigate and could only wait outside.
What exactly had Tian Ge done? Had she finally discovered the secret of the Heaven-Earth Fan?
The Breath of the Azure Dragon gathered around the Heaven-Earth Fan. This aura was initially colorless, but as it concentrated to a certain degree, it gradually turned azure. This azure grew denser and denser, finally transforming into a small Azure Dragon.
The Azure Dragon phantom had appeared! Mo Tiange had seen Qin Xi use the Vermilion Bird Bow. When the Breath of the Vermilion Bird was shot out by the Vermilion Bird Bow, it would transform into a Vermilion Bird to attack. And during the Heavenly Tribulation, the Breath of the Azure Dragon that rose from within the Heaven-Earth Fan was also in the form of an Azure Dragon. It seemed she had found the Heaven-Earth Fan's true killing move.
However, what astonished her had not ended. The Azure Dragon phantom grew more and more solid, almost as if substantial, its scales shimmering with azure light.
"Roar!" The Azure Dragon opened its mouth and spat out a ball of golden lightning, flying toward her Nascent Soul.
Heavenly Tribulation's Golden Lightning!
In Mo Tiange's momentary daze, this ball of golden lightning had already enveloped her Nascent Soul. But, astonishingly, it had no killing power at all. The Nascent Soul opened its mouth and actually swallowed this ball of golden lightning!
And the Azure Dragon, after releasing the golden lightning, circled once and imprinted itself onto the surface of the Heaven-Earth Fan.