While the outside world was turned upside down, Mo Tiange remained completely unaware. At this very moment, she was wholeheartedly cultivating the Heavenly Thunder Method.
As for the Heaven-Earth Fan, it had already been withdrawn into her dantian for nurturing. The enhancement of a life-bound artifact was never an overnight affair; rushing it was pointless.
Within the Void Heaven Realm, her Nascent Soul perched atop her head, also sitting cross-legged. With a hand seal, it opened its mouth and spat out a ball of Golden Lightning.
This ball of Golden Lightning was only the size of a fist, yet it brimmed with imposing might.
Leaving the Golden Lightning floating in mid-air, Mo Tiange continued unhurriedly circulating the spiritual energy throughout her body. Only when her entire body's spiritual energy reached a balanced and stable state did she form another hand seal, releasing Primordial Chaos Qi to envelop the Golden Lightning.
Although the Golden Lightning's aura was astonishing, it was remarkably docile towards her, offering no resistance as her spiritual energy slowly seeped into it.
As time passed, the Golden Lightning absorbed the spiritual energy bit by bit, gradually growing stronger...
Mo Tiange seemed to have forgotten the passage of time, devoting herself entirely to cultivating the Golden Lightning.
Cultivation knows no seasons; spring, summer, autumn, and winter passed in the blink of an eye.
Qin Xi sat in his cultivation chamber, meditating with his eyes closed.
As his cultivation technique circulated, Vermilion Bird's Breath was released from the Yang Spirit Bead, gradually enveloping him and forming a mist of pale red.
His current situation was somewhat complex. Both the Yang Spirit Bead and the Vermilion Bird Bow had acknowledged him as their master and would not harm him. However, these two items possessed power far too great for his current self to fully control.
The Yang Spirit Bead contained an immense amount of spiritual energy; he could only slowly absorb and refine it for his own use. In this regard, his cultivation conditions were uniquely advantageous. Even without the Void Heaven Realm or a spirit vein, he could cultivate using the Yang Spirit Bead.
As for the Vermilion Bird Bow, the Vermilion Bird's Breath upon it was too potent. He could only barely wield it by relying on the Yang Spirit Bead. To use it with ease, there was no other way but to increase his cultivation base.
Furthermore, both the Yang Spirit Bead and the Vermilion Bird's Breath were of extreme Yang nature. Under these circumstances, cultivating the Three Revolutions Cycle Technique became exceedingly difficult, forcing him to choose the Pure Yang Art instead.
If the Pure Yang Art were his main cultivation technique, that wouldn't be a problem. However, back when he had just advanced to Nascent Soul, he had considered switching to the Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Art given by Yuan Bao to cultivate with Mo Tiange. This now became a significant issue.
Through years of exploration, he had formulated a plan on how to switch to a compatible cultivation technique. But he had unintentionally obtained the Vermilion Bird Bow. If the two of them cultivated together, the Vermilion Bird's Breath would inevitably be transmitted to Mo Tiange. This Vermilion Bird's Breath was too domineering. Mo Tiange was not its acknowledged master; whether she could withstand it remained unknown.
This problem could only be observed when the two of them cultivated together.
While cultivating, he suddenly sensed something and opened his eyes.
After a brief moment of thought, he withdrew his spiritual aura, stood up, and walked out of the cultivation chamber.
The adjacent seclusion chamber opened at the same time, and Mo Tiange stepped out.
"How did it go?" Qin Xi asked eagerly. "Have you mastered the Heavenly Thunder Method?"
Mo Tiange nodded, extending her hand. A cluster of heavenly thunder instantly gathered in her palm. "Although it's not considered a minor achievement, I can at least use it against enemies now."
Qin Xi smiled, a weight lifting from his heart.
With the Heavenly Thunder Method preliminarily mastered, their journey to the Extreme West could proceed.
After briefly discussing her seclusion, Mo Tiange asked, "How has the situation in the Tianji Region been these past few years?"
Qin Xi let out a long sigh before speaking. "The situation is somewhat complex. Overall, it's neither good nor bad."
Since the discovery of Yunzhong, the situation had indeed unfolded as Dao Lord Jinghe, Dao Lord Hua Yan, and others had predicted, shifting from confrontation to strategic maneuvering.
Consequently, the various sects of the Tianji Region quickly formed an alliance in Kunzhong City, called the Immortal Alliance. The alliance appointed Liu Dingyuan of the Tiandao Sect as its chief, forming a council of elders with other unnamed Late-Nascent Soul cultivators for joint decision-making. Any other cultivator who had formed their Nascent Soul, whether sect disciples or rogue cultivators, became elders of the alliance. All cultivators of the Tianji Region, regardless of cultivation level or background, fell under the alliance's jurisdiction.
The establishment of the Immortal Alliance signified that the cultivation world of the Tianji Region, including the Zhengfa Sect outside Kunwu and the cultivation families and minor sects scattered among mortal nations, had all merged into a single entity.
Of course, with so many cultivators in the Tianji Region and countless sects large and small, the alliance's management couldn't possibly mirror that of a single sect. Therefore, in the absence of conflict, each sect operated as before. But when facing external enemies, the Immortal Alliance held the power to command any sect or cultivator.
The formation of the Immortal Alliance finally integrated the various sects of the Tianji Region into a unified force. With the Seven Great Sects overseeing it, the other major and minor sects and families dared not oppose it, acknowledging the alliance's leadership.
Over these three years, the alliance dispatched numerous scouts to investigate the major powers.
The continent connected to the southern forest was named Xichi, originally located in the Extreme West, far separated from the other continents. This continent originally had cultivators. Later, Xichi produced a ghost cultivator of astonishing talent. Under this ghost cultivator's leadership, a Ghost City was established, and their power grew immensely, eventually exterminating all human cultivators. From then on, the Xichi continent had only ghost cultivators and no human cultivators.
The cultivation methods of ghost cultivators were largely similar to those of human cultivators, also divided into Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul stages. The difference was that they cultivated death energy and ultimately formed a Ghost Infant. Legend said that after a ghost cultivator reached God Transformation, they could reconstruct a physical body. If they finally cultivated into a Ghost Immortal, they could similarly ascend to the Immortal Realm. However, ghost cultivators found advancement extremely difficult. On the Xichi continent, a God Transformation ghost cultivator had never appeared.
Regardless, ghost cultivators originated from human cultivators and, like demonic cultivators, were not on good terms. For tens of thousands of years, the ghost cultivators and demonic cultivators of Xichi coexisted peacefully most of the time, but conflicts would erupt periodically.
As for the Demonic Path, their activities had increased over the years. Demonic cultivators frequently appeared at Tianmo Mountain, ambushing and killing disciples of the Tiandao Sect. Fortunately, the earlier speculation was correct: the Tianji Region was not their primary focus. With Tianmo Mountain present, invading the Tianji Region again was fraught with difficulty. It was easier to cross the northeastern strait and plunder the cultivators of Yunzhong.
This aspect was slightly better than the situation everyone had previously anticipated. Across the sea from the Tianji Region was the Southern Zhou Country, inhabited by Confucian and Buddhist cultivators whose power was not particularly great. Although Daoist cultivators from the Eastern Tang Country would come to assist, the demonic cultivators of the Northern Lin Country would simply stand by and watch. Excluding the demonic cultivators, the strength of Yunzhong's righteous path was only slightly stronger than that of the Tianji Region; the gap was not as large as originally thought.
To counter the demonic cultivators, Yunzhong indeed sent people to contact the cultivators of the Tianji Region, establishing an alliance.
With the Demonic Path lying between Yunzhong's righteous path and the Tianji Immortal Alliance, any alliance could not be deep. In essence, it boiled down to two points. First, establishing teleportation arrays between Yunzhong and the Tianji Region to facilitate the exchange of resources. Second, reaching an agreement on the issue of confronting the demonic forces at Tianmo Mountain.
As for mutual assistance in warfare, that was impossible. Long-distance teleportation arrays were prohibitively expensive, and neither Yunzhong nor the Tianji Region was willing to bear the cost.
As time passed, the conflict gradually escalated. Three years ago, when Mo Tiange entered seclusion, there were only occasional clashes. Now, demon beasts frequently launched surprise attacks on Kunwu. Many minor sects and cultivation families suffered heavy losses, some even vanishing entirely.
Under these circumstances, the Immortal Alliance's power grew significantly, exerting increasing influence over the major and minor sects of Kunwu. If the conflict continued, it was likely that the various sects would eventually be absorbed into the Immortal Alliance, not merely remaining a wartime coalition.
Hearing this, Mo Tiange smiled. "That Chief Liu is truly a cunning old fox."
Qin Xi said, "Isn't he? The Tiandao Sect's position as the number one sect is undoubtedly lost. Rather than fighting for that top spot, it's better to manage the Immortal Alliance well, diluting the influence of individual sects. As long as they still have two Late-Nascent Soul cultivators, their influence within the alliance won't weaken."
"However, as far as I know, the lifespans of their two Late-Nascent Soul cultivators are shorter than Senior Brother Zhenyang's and Master's, right?"
"Yes," Qin Xi glanced at her. "Are you gloating?"
"That's not how I'd put it." Mo Tiange couldn't suppress her smile. "In any case, their passing is five or six hundred years away. Who knows, maybe the Tiandao Sect will produce another Late-Nascent Soul cultivator by then?"
That's what she said, but the smile on her face looked anything but well-intentioned.
Qin Xi shook his head with a laugh. "You..." He paused, then said, "I actually quite admire Liu Dingyuan. He has truly dedicated himself to the Tiandao Sect. He is already a Late-Nascent Soul cultivator; with five hundred years, it's not impossible for him to attempt God Transformation. Yet now he puts aside his cultivation to work tirelessly for the alliance. Isn't it all to secure some status for the Tiandao Sect?"
Mo Tiange's smile faded as she nodded with a sigh. "Indeed! And that Perfected One Yuan Mu of the Jiuyan Sect. Sometimes I really can't understand. Since they've cultivated to the late Nascent Soul stage, they must be individuals with firm Dao hearts. Why are they willing to sacrifice so much for their sects?"
The Xuanqing Sect had treated her very well. If needed, she would also step forward. But to exert herself to the extent of Liu Dingyuan and Perfected One Yuan Mu—that she could not do.
"You joined the sect midway, so of course you don't understand what the sect means to elite disciples like us who entered since childhood," Qin Xi said slowly. "People like us entered the sect as young children, directly becoming elite disciples, supported by the sect's thousands of disciples. Our feelings for the sect run deeper than for our own families. Without the sect, we wouldn't have our prestigious status or profound cultivation."
At this point, he sighed. "Cultivators are, in the end, still human. How can we avoid human emotions? If we didn't cherish our sect ties, how could we possibly cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage? We would have long been plagued by inner demons and perished."
Qin Xi had always given the impression of being solely focused on cultivation. Mo Tiange hadn't expected him to say such things.
She was stunned for a moment before asking, "So, if the need arose one day, you would also act like them?"
Qin Xi smiled and shook his head. "Everyone's personality is different. Even with equally deep feelings, our approaches differ. That kind of thing isn't suited to me."
"Then what would you do?"
Qin Xi thought for a moment. "If such a day truly came, I would find someone to handle matters on my behalf while I oversaw things from behind the scenes. As long as one possesses the cultivation base, who steps forward is the same. I'm not skilled in diplomacy and strategic maneuvering; it's better left to those who are." After saying this, he looked at Mo Tiange. "Were you worried I'd be like them?"
Mo Tiange secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "I just found it hard to imagine..."
After leaving seclusion, the two went to pay their respects to Dao Lord Jinghe and proposed their journey to the Extreme West.
After the Immortal Alliance was established, Dao Lord Zhenyang was stationed long-term in Kunzhong City and was not at the sect. As the conflict escalated, Dao Lords Hua Yan and Lingxi left one after another to represent the Xuanqing Sect in battle. Dao Lord Miaoyi temporarily remained at the sect to handle sect affairs on their behalf. Dao Lord Xuanyin had returned once but went back to participate in the fighting. Now, with Qin Xi and Mo Tiange leaving, only Dao Lords Jinghe and Miaoyi remained within the Xuanqing Sect.
Nevertheless, the two of them granted permission. No matter how urgent the conflict, their presence wasn't absolutely indispensable. But the matter concerning Ziwei Sanren could no longer be delayed.