Nie Wushang rushed over like a gust of wind. "Quick, let's go! My master is here!"
The trio and the spirit beast turned their heads in unison. "What?"
Nie Wushang said urgently, "My master is here, up above. He's fighting that Late-Nascent Soul demonic cultivator."
Mo Tiange was slightly taken aback. So, the ground shaking here was caused by Late-Nascent Soul cultivators clashing?
When Nascent Soul cultivators fought, it was enough to shake mountains and overturn seas within a small area, let alone when they were among the strongest of Nascent Soul cultivators.
"How could he have arrived so quickly?" Jing Xingzhi asked.
"I don't know..." Nie Wushang was flustered and panicked. "Let's hurry and leave. If we run into him, I..."
"Fellow Daoist Nie, calm down!" Mo Tiange pressed a hand on her shoulder. "You're no longer the little disciple he could casually beat and scold. What is there to fear?"
Nie Wushang paused, took a deep breath, and her emotions quickly stabilized. "That's right. I have already formed my Nascent Soul. Even if my strength is inferior to his, I am now an equal cultivator. He can no longer dictate my fate!"
A determined light shone in her eyes as she clenched her fist.
"Let's go," she said. "My master has been at the Late-Nascent Soul stage for several hundred years. His strength is absolutely not comparable to that of an ordinary cultivator. It's best if we don't run into him if we can avoid it."
"Mn." Mo Tiange agreed. They were here to search for treasures, not to pick a fight.
Qin Xi and Jing Xingzhi also expressed their agreement, though Jing Xingzhi looked regretfully at the White Tiger. "What about this thing?"
"You want to take the White Tiger away?" Nie Wushang was surprised.
Jing Xingzhi looked at her strangely. "You brought us here, wasn't it so we could take the White Tiger?"
"..." Nie Wushang shook her head. "This White Tiger cannot be taken. Once you get close, the killing intent boils over and you lose your mind. Otherwise, my master would have taken it away long ago."
Mo Tiange was startled. So that's what happened to Qin Xi and Jing Xingzhi just now. Did that mean this White Tiger had no connection to them?
"Then why did you bring us here?" Jing Xingzhi asked.
Nie Wushang looked at him as if he were strange. "Isn't the White Tiger's Breath here a great opportunity? Your appetite is truly big."
"..." Jing Xingzhi was speechless for a moment. If not for their experience in the Guixu Sea, where they could absorb a bit of the White Tiger's Breath, he would have already considered it a great opportunity. However, Qin Xi obtaining the Vermilion Bird Bow had suddenly raised his expectations.
"Let's go!" Nie Wushang said. "The White Tiger is right here. No one can take it away. If my master frees his hands, we'll be in trouble."
The three of them no longer hesitated. Qin Xi and Jing Xingzhi sheathed their swords. Mo Tiange stuffed Feifei back into the spirit beast bag. Following Nie Wushang, they headed towards the sacrificial temple's entrance.
As they flew, Mo Tiange asked, "Did you obtain your cultivation method?"
Nie Wushang sighed and shook her head. "No. Back then, when my master came here, he just sat in meditation absorbing the Demonic Qi. I thought there was something mysterious about that Demonic Qi, but I tried for a long time just now and didn't discover anything."
Mo Tiange had already expected this and wasn't surprised. The Origin Demon Stele in this sacrificial temple must have already been taken. When Venerable Songfeng came here, it was possible that there was still pure Origin Demonic Qi remaining. Now that Nie Wushang came, naturally she couldn't obtain anything.
"How did you know it was your master who came?" Jing Xingzhi asked.
Nie Wushang shot him a glare. "I left some Demonic Qi up there, alright?" I just said that. You have no memory at all.
Jing Xingzhi shut his mouth.
"Why would your master come by such a coincidence?" Qin Xi followed up.
Facing Qin Xi's question, Nie Wushang was very polite. "I don't know. I also find it very strange. Even if he noticed the moment we entered, he shouldn't have arrived this quickly."
They had only been inside for half a day. Langtu Mountain wasn't that close. There was no reason for Venerable Songfeng to arrive so quickly.
Thinking of this, Mo Tiange turned and asked, "You seem to think your master will definitely win?"
This question caused a bitter smile to appear on Nie Wushang's face. "Although I hate my master to the bone, I was taught by him. I know his abilities all too well. Even if that person is one of the Three Great Demon Lords of Yunzhong, I still don't think he is my master's match—or rather, I feel there is no one in the world who is his match."
"Then you..." Mo Tiange wanted to say, then wouldn't she have to hide from Venerable Songfeng her whole life, until he passed away from old age? Thinking that saying this might touch a sore spot, she didn't continue.
Nie Wushang, however, guessed what she wanted to say and said gloomily, "Fortunately, I am younger than him. If he cannot advance to the Human Transformation stage, he probably only has three or four hundred years left to live."
Mo Tiange fell silent. She felt sorrowful both for Nie Wushang and sighed because of Venerable Songfeng. So that once overbearing Venerable Songfeng only had three or four hundred years of lifespan left. Without attaining longevity, no matter how powerful one was, in the end, they would become a pile of dry bones... While talking, they flew without touching the ground, rushing towards the sacrificial temple exit. Before long, they returned to the karst cave.
The commotion of the battle grew louder. Inside the sacrificial temple, it was just shaking, but within the karst cave, rocks began to fall from the titanic rock walls above.
Nie Wushang led them, winding and turning through the karst cave.
Feeling the fighting commotion growing fainter, Mo Tiange asked, "Where are we going?"
Nie Wushang replied, "If we leave by the original route, my master will definitely notice. There's another path here, though it's a bit more difficult to traverse."
"I see."
The four of them said no more, activating their movement techniques to swiftly depart.
"Boom!" A loud noise came from the distance. The rock layers shook, and sand and stones fell with a rustling sound.
"Boom! Boom!" The sounds grew even louder. The battle between those two Late-Nascent Soul cultivators had probably reached a fever pitch.
Another rock fell down. Nie Wushang, walking at the front, flicked her sleeve, shattering the rock into powder without pausing for a moment. Mo Tiange followed closely behind, hurrying along, but she couldn't shake a feeling that something was wrong.
It was said that Nascent Soul cultivators initially possessed the ability to move mountains and overturn seas, but those mountains were small hills, and the seas could only be inland seas. The current commotion was simply too great. That ancient great sect chose this place as a secret repository. How could it be so fragile?
The rustling sounds grew louder. Nie Wushang at the front suddenly stopped, standing there dumbfounded.
"What's wrong?" Mo Tiange, who stopped right behind her, asked.
Nie Wushang's face turned pale as she pointed ahead. "The path is cut off..."
Not far away, the karst cave was cut off at a cross-section. Sand and stones had completely blocked the cave entrance.
Qin Xi released his Divine Sense. After a moment, he frowned and said in a deep voice, "Fengsha City is right against the Western Ridge mountain range. The mountain body must have just collapsed. To get out from here, we'd have to blast through half the mountain."
Blasting through half a mountain wasn't impossible, but the time required wouldn't be just a short while.
Jing Xingzhi said, "How about we go back the original way? While those two are fighting, we can hurry out."
Nie Wushang shook her head. "If my master sees us, he will definitely choose to block us." She gave a bitter smile. "I betrayed him and know too many of his secrets. He won't let me go."
Mo Tiange had no doubt about this. Venerable Songfeng's temper was one of holding grudges over the smallest matters. Among his enemies, Qin Xi was one thing, but Dao Lord Jinghe actually just had a disagreement in words with him, and he had held a grudge until now, let alone Nie Wushang who stole many of his treasures and escaped.
"You go," Nie Wushang turned her head, looking at the ground. "Without me, you still have a chance to escape."
After saying this, she didn't dare to look up. At this moment, Nie Wushang's heart was filled with an indescribable desolation. Back then, when she fled from Tianji, she thought she would die in the South Sea. She gave up on herself, only wishing to taste the flavor of freedom in her lifetime. Later, in Yunzhong, she met Mo Tiange, which solidified her heart for the Dao, and she finally became a normal person. If possible, she didn't seek longevity or ascension. She just wanted to live freely and happily like a person. But she knew her master wouldn't let her go. In her master's eyes, fleeing from his side was betrayal. He would definitely catch her and punish her for her betrayal, just like her mother...
Actually, she remembered what her mother looked like. When she was born, her master was in seclusion. By the time he emerged, she was already three years old. At that time, ignorant and innocent, she didn't know her happiness was so false, until one day, her master appeared, and her mother suddenly disappeared.
She remembered. She always remembered. After her master killed her mother, he didn't kill her, but he didn't take care of her either. She didn't know what death was, so of course she didn't know her mother would never return. She cried for a whole day. Later, when she couldn't bear the hunger anymore, she found food herself. Many days later, her master appeared again. Seeing she was still alive, he then brought her back to his cave abode.
These things, she had always dared not recall, pretending she had forgotten.
To her master, she was evidence of betrayal. Her living could only be a humble existence by his side, allowing him to take revenge for her mother's betrayal back then.
A sound suddenly came to her ears. She snapped out of her memories and turned her head, only to see Jing Xingzhi controlling his sword to slice at the rock wall.
"What are you doing?"
Jing Xingzhi glanced at her. "Escaping for our lives, of course."
Huh? She was stunned.
Jing Xingzhi didn't look at her, focusing on slicing the rock wall while muttering, "I don't have the habit of sacrificing companions..."
Beside him, Qin Xi also summoned his Three Yang True Fire Sword and smiled slightly at her. "Fellow Daoist Nie, to your master, I am someone who must be killed. He won't let me go either." After saying this, the Three Yang True Fire Sword also sliced towards the rock wall.
The remaining Mo Tiange patted her shoulder without a word and went to help as well.
Nie Wushang stared blankly at them. Gradually, the corners of her eyes grew moist.
"What are you still standing there for? Come help!" Jing Xingzhi shouted.
She smiled, wiped the wet traces from the corners of her eyes, and walked forward.
The four of them worked together, and a hole was quickly blasted into the rock wall. Before long, they had carved out a long tunnel.
As they worked, Qin Xi suddenly stopped. "Something's wrong."
Seeing his grave expression, Mo Tiange was puzzled. "What is it?"
"There's something strange!" Qin Xi said. "A strange aura is coming over."
Mo Tiange was startled. She activated the Refining Spirit Art and spread out her Divine Sense.
Indeed, there was a strange aura, seemingly emanating from the repository. It was cold, gloomy, and just sensing it with Divine Sense made one's hair stand on end.
This aura spread extremely fast, even faster than their movement techniques, quickly spreading over.
The four of them changed expressions simultaneously. Jing Xingzhi's face changed drastically. "Ghost cultivators!"