Morning arrived, and the desert was bitterly cold. The sun, having just leapt over the horizon, failed to add a shred of warmth.
In the frigid wind, Mo Tiange and the other three stood above Wind-Sand City, looking down.
“Fellow Daoist Huo, shall we enter now?” Qin Xi asked. Huo Ziqi and Zong Si had arrived earlier and knew more than they did.
Huo Ziqi said, “Let’s wait a moment.” He then untied a spirit beast pouch from his waist and released a fifth-order spiritual monkey. The monkey’s fur was glossy, its eyes crimson red, and it was wild and untamed. The moment it left the pouch, it bared its teeth at Mo Tiange, who was closest.
“This Red-Eyed Monkey is very clever and most suitable for scouting,” Huo Ziqi said, patting the monkey’s head and commanding, “Go!”
Under the Spirit Beast Sect’s beast-taming incantation, the Red-Eyed Monkey immediately became docile and obedient. It leapt down from mid-air, hopping and skipping until it disappeared among the sand towers and earthen mounds.
Watching the monkey vanish, Mo Tiange couldn’t help but glance at Huo Ziqi’s waist, where a row of spirit beast pouches hung.
With the aid of spirit beasts, a cultivator’s strength increased greatly. Unfortunately, while spirit beasts weren’t difficult to capture, making them submit was not easy. Before hatching, a spirit beast could be bound by a drop of blood. After hatching, only a subordinate contract could be formed. Compared to a blood-bound contract, a subordinate contract required a divine sense far stronger than the beast’s. Therefore, even though Kunwu was adjacent to the Demon Beast Forest, few cultivators possessed spirit beasts. Even those who did usually had beasts one cultivation realm lower than themselves.
But Spirit Beast Sect cultivators were an exception.
Every Spirit Beast Sect cultivator had a spirit beast bound by a Blood Pact. This so-called Blood Pact was far more complex than a simple blood-binding, similar to a Life-Bound Artifact. A Life-Bound Artifact contained the cultivator’s essence blood; if the artifact was damaged, the master was injured. The Blood Pact was the same—the essence and blood of both were connected, and the spirit beast and its master were interdependent.
After establishing a Blood Pact, the spirit beast’s strength would increase significantly. It could communicate telepathically with its master, and they could cultivate together using secret techniques. Therefore, a Spirit Beast Sect cultivator’s Life-Bound Spirit Beast was of the same cultivation realm as themselves.
Huo Ziqi was a Nascent Soul Cultivator, so his Life-Bound Spirit Beast should already be eighth-order. Apart from Ma Laolü, a late Nascent Soul cultivator from Yunzhong, Mo Tiange had never seen an eighth-order spirit beast. She wondered if they were more powerful than demon beasts. Judging by his Spirit-Seeking Butterfly and Red-Eyed Monkey, both were quite marvelous, so his Life-Bound Spirit Beast probably wouldn’t be weak either.
Speaking of which, the most famous spirit beast of the Spirit Beast Sect was the Qilin, the mount of its founding patriarch. However, many believed this so-called Qilin was likely a spirit beast possessing Qilin bloodline. After all, the Qilin was one of the Five Primordial Spirits of the Primordial Era, long vanished from the world. Even if it still existed, it wasn’t something today’s cultivators could subdue.
Thinking of the Qilin, Mo Tiange couldn’t help but recall the Five Spirits Sacrificial Temples. She had already seen the Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird temples and knew the Black Tortoise temple was located in Yunzhong, but she didn’t know where the White Tiger and Qilin temples were—since the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise existed, the White Tiger and Qilin should too, right?
A good while later, the Red-Eyed Monkey still hadn’t returned. Qin Xi asked, “Fellow Daoist Huo, why hasn’t your spirit beast come back yet?”
Huo Ziqi, upon hearing this, performed a hand seal. His expression darkened, and he remained silent for a long moment.
Seeing his strange expression, Qin Xi asked, “What is it? Did something happen?”
Huo Ziqi’s tone was slightly heavy. “The Red-Eyed Monkey’s life isn’t in danger, but for some reason, it can’t return. Moreover, the connection between us has become very faint…”
At this point, Huo Ziqi frowned deeply. In terms of divine abilities, Spirit Beast Sect cultivators weren’t ranked highly in Kunwu. The reason they were listed among the seven great sects was solely due to their exceptional beast-taming abilities. With spirit beasts aiding them, their strength was often somewhat greater than that of ordinary cultivators. It could be said that the Spirit Beast Sect’s beast-taming methods were the foundation of their standing. But now, the Red-Eyed Monkey had just entered Wind-Sand City, and his beast-taming method had already failed. If that was the case, once he entered Wind-Sand City, wouldn’t his strength be greatly diminished?
“Brother Huo,” Zong Si, who had spoken very little until now, suddenly spoke up. He gazed at Wind-Sand City beneath their feet and said, “This Wind-Sand City is actually a grand formation!”
Hearing this, Mo Tiange’s eyes lit up. To be able to discern that there was a formation within Wind-Sand City—this Zong Si’s attainment in formations was not low!
“Oh? What did Brother Zong see?” Huo Ziqi hurriedly asked.
Zong Si said, “On the surface, Wind-Sand City seems unrelated to cultivators, but the arrangement of the sand mounds is actually patterned. I calculated just now; it secretly aligns with the Esoteric Arts.”
“Oh?” Huo Ziqi was startled. “Could Wind-Sand City be a legacy left by Ancient Era predecessors?”
“Hard to say.” Zong Si frowned slightly. “Although these sand mounds conform to the principles of formations, they are extremely complex. I can only comprehend thirty to forty percent. Moreover, logically, without Spiritual Qi, a formation should be ineffective. But this grand formation is different. Wind-Sand City clearly has no Spiritual Qi, yet it remains effective.”
“It’s actually like that?!” Huo Ziqi was astonished. As a Nascent Soul Cultivator, while he wasn’t versed in formations, he had common sense. A formation that remained effective without Spiritual Qi was something unheard of in the cultivation world.
After a moment’s thought, he grew excited. “If that’s the case, then Wind-Sand City must be a ruin left by an Ancient Era mighty figure!”
He wasn’t wrong to say so. Merely utilizing positioning to arrange a formation, and one with such formidable power that even a fifth-order spirit beast got lost within it—this was definitely not something ordinary people could achieve. Nor could today’s cultivators do it, unless it was left by Ancient Era, or even Primordial Era, cultivators.
However, Zong Si said, “Brother Huo, don’t celebrate too early. We originally thought this mission would be easy because the Extreme West doesn’t have any notable spirit veins. Even if there were ruins, there wouldn’t be powerful restrictions. But now it seems, whether we can even find the entrance is a problem.”
Hearing this, Huo Ziqi also calmed down. “True. Spirit beasts like the Red-Eyed Monkey are suitable for scouting because they can see through ordinary illusions. Yet even it got lost within Wind-Sand City. The formation inside is extraordinary.”
“No need to worry too much,” Zong Si added. “At the very least, we can be certain this grand formation is not a killing array.”
Without Spiritual Qi, spells naturally couldn’t be used. Therefore, this grand formation, arranged solely through the Esoteric Arts, definitely could not be a killing array.
“Fellow Daoists,” Mo Tiange suddenly spoke up. “Without Spiritual Qi, while a killing array can’t be set up, we must be wary of mechanisms within.”
“Mechanisms?” Huo Ziqi was taken aback. The Mechanist Arts had been lost for too long; even Nascent Soul Cultivators only knew the name.
“Correct,” Mo Tiange said, taking out a compass. While observing the Five Elements, she continued, “In the Ancient Era, the Mechanist Arts had not been lost. If Wind-Sand City truly is an Ancient Era mighty figure’s ruin, there might be Mechanist Arts present.”
Seeing her take out the compass, Zong Si’s eyes brightened. “Fellow Daoist Qingwei seems to know quite a bit about the Mechanist Arts.”
Mo Tiange smiled slightly and said, “I have a slight understanding of formations, so I also know a little about the Mechanist Arts.”
“Is that so? Is Fellow Daoist Qingwei also a formation master?”
“Only a passing knowledge,” Mo Tiange said modestly, then asked, “So Fellow Daoist Zong is proficient in formations?”
“I dare not claim proficiency; I also only have a passing knowledge.” Knowing Mo Tiange understood formations, Zong Si became more enthusiastic. Looking at the compass in Mo Tiange’s hand, he said, “The Yin-Yang and Five Elements here are very stable, not like a maze or illusion array.”
Maze or illusion arrays both utilized Yin-Yang and the Five Elements to create illusions, hence Yin and Yang intermingled and the Five Elements were disordered.
Mo Tiange looked down at her compass. Indeed, after infusing it with Spiritual Qi, it was very stable, showing no changes. She frowned slightly. “This grand formation far exceeds today’s standards of formation mastery.”
“Indeed!” Zong Si sighed. “Since there’s no Spiritual Qi and the Yin-Yang and Five Elements are stable, who would know there’s a formation here? With my level of formation skill, I can only see that it secretly aligns with the Esoteric Arts. I can’t tell what kind of formation this is at all. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Qingwei has discerned anything?”
Mo Tiange shook her head. “I’m the same.” Actually, she understood a bit more than Zong Si, comprehending fifty to sixty percent. But that was all. What exactly this formation was, its intricacies—she knew nothing.
The four fell into silence.
After a moment, Qin Xi asked, “Fellow Daoists, you arrived here first. Didn’t you scout the path at all?”
Huo Ziqi looked slightly embarrassed. “Brother Zong and I went to another place earlier. When we reached Wind-Sand City, we were busy recovering our Spiritual Qi, so we just summoned the Spirit-Seeking Butterfly to scout here.”
Such carelessness really didn’t seem like the behavior of Nascent Soul Cultivators. But on second thought, it was also human nature. The Extreme West not only had harsh conditions but also lacked spirit veins. It had always been far from cultivators’ attention. Even though it was listed as one of the Extreme West’s three great perilous lands, who would have thought that a place like Wind-Sand City, without spirit veins, would have such a powerful formation?
Besides that, Mo Tiange detected hidden information in Huo Ziqi’s words. He and Zong Si were both Nascent Soul Cultivators, yet when they reached Wind-Sand City, they were actually low on Spiritual Qi. It seemed the place they went to earlier must have been some dangerous land. Moreover, the two likely encountered danger. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have rushed to Wind-Sand City without even recovering their Spiritual Qi. Perhaps it was in that dangerous place that they learned the secret treasury was located within Wind-Sand City.
Thinking this, she glanced at Qin Xi. The two exchanged a knowing look.
“Then what now?” Qin Xi asked. “Do you two Fellow Daoists plan to enter the city just like this?”
Huo Ziqi hesitated for a moment, then made a decision. “If you hadn’t met us, Fellow Daoist Shoujing would probably enter the city anyway, right?”
“So, Fellow Daoist Huo has decided to enter?”
“Exactly,” Huo Ziqi said, seeing Zong Si didn’t object. “Since this grand formation in Wind-Sand City is something that simply doesn’t exist in today’s cultivation world, the likelihood of treasures within is very high. How can we pass it up?”
“Correct,” Zong Si said. “Having searched hard to find this place, naturally we cannot give up.” Even without the Immortal Alliance’s mission, discovering this grand formation within Wind-Sand City warranted an investigation.
“What about Fellow Daoists Shoujing and Qingwei?”
Qin Xi smiled slightly and said, “Fellow Daoist Huo’s words are reasonable. My wife and I think the same.”
The four reached an agreement. After some discussion, they quickly devised a plan and descended together toward a certain part of Wind-Sand City.
At that moment, a male and female figure appeared on the outskirts of Wind-Sand City.
“Young Master, they’ve already entered.”
The tall man with azure-blue skin gazed at the spot where the four had disappeared. After a long while, he said, “Let them scout the path first. That’s fine.”