Three Late-Nascent Soul cultivators, one Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator.
Sword Sovereign Yuan Ying and Dao Lord Buyan had been at the Late-Nascent Soul stage for several hundred years, their strength unfathomable. Although Dao Lord Jinghe had only recently reached the Late-Nascent Soul stage, he was notoriously bloodthirsty. Adding Ding Luan, who possessed top-tier strength among Mid-Nascent Soul cultivators, Venerable Songfeng, for all his arrogance, would not believe he could gain any advantage against the combined might of these four.
Within the black cloud, Venerable Songfeng's thoughts raced like lightning. He had already decided to flee, but the question was from which direction...
As he pondered this, he suddenly sensed something else. Turning his head, he saw over a dozen streaks of light speeding towards them from the east.
Sensing the cultivation levels of these newcomers, Venerable Songfeng was shocked. "All Nascent Soul cultivators! You..."
"Heh, Old Man Songfeng, look at the gift we've prepared for you. Surprised?" When it came to kicking a man when he was down, Dao Lord Jinghe was never one to be left behind.
The streaks of light from the Nascent Soul cultivators arrived in an instant, revealing over a dozen figures at the Early and Mid-Nascent Soul stages.
Faced with extreme danger, Venerable Songfeng instead calmed down. With his utterly ordinary aptitude, he had cultivated to the Late-Nascent Soul stage and become the number one cultivator of Tianji. Apart from fortuitous encounters, he was not lacking in either comprehension or wit.
"Qin Jinghe, what an impressive formation you've assembled. Do you intend to annihilate this old man in one fell swoop?"
"How would we dare!" Dao Lord Jinghe said with a beaming smile. "However, leaving a layer of your skin behind is still necessary, isn't it?"
"Hmph!" A cold snort came from within the black cloud. "Thinking you can keep this old man here just by outnumbering me? You're far too naive!"
"Old Man Songfeng, thinking you can escape from such a siege just because you're at the Late-Nascent Soul stage? You're the one who's too naive!" The speaker was Ding Luan. She had old grievances with Venerable Songfeng, having fought him once in the Tianmo Mountains.
"Hmph!" Venerable Songfeng did not respond. A single Qin Jinghe was troublesome enough to deal with, let alone this whole crowd...
"Why waste words with him? Let's act!" Sword Sovereign Yuan Ying said indifferently. With a light wave of his right hand, the Fengyu Sword floating before him instantly transformed into a streak of sword light, swift as wind and lightning, pouncing towards Venerable Songfeng.
The Ancient Sword Sect had lost quite a few members to Venerable Songfeng's hands, including even one Nascent Soul cultivator. Sword Sovereign Yuan Ying had once sought to settle scores with Venerable Songfeng over this but failed to gain any advantage. Now that he had the chance to eliminate Venerable Songfeng, he naturally would not let it slip.
Facing an attack from a Late-Nascent Soul sword cultivator, Venerable Songfeng dared not underestimate it. The black clouds scattered around him suddenly gathered, transforming into a shield to meet the Fengyu Sword.
The Fengyu Sword lived up to its name—swift as the wind, light as a feather. The moment it collided with the black cloud shield, it nimbly turned a corner and stabbed towards Venerable Songfeng once more.
Simultaneously, the sound of a zither rang out, clanging like clashing arms and armored horses, the murderous sound waves attacking Venerable Songfeng.
Dao Lord Jinghe formed a hand seal. Nanyang Li Fire shot out from his gourd, spreading into a hundred-zhang-long rainbow light that blazed towards Venerable Songfeng.
A great net of lightning descended from the sky, shining with white light, crackling with intermittent pops and snaps.
The four made their moves, each using their own signature killing techniques. Facing Venerable Songfeng, even with a four-against-one siege, they dared not be careless in the slightest.
Qin Xi suddenly opened his eyes. After listening carefully for a moment, he spoke: "There's movement!"
Hearing his voice, the other four awoke from their meditation.
"What is it?" Mo Tiange asked.
Qin Xi said, "There's a Dharma Combat above..."
Before he finished speaking, the surroundings shook violently.
The stone blocks used to build the sacrificial temple were made of some unknown material, incredibly sturdy. A Dharma Combat between cultivators wouldn't be enough to make it collapse. Such shaking meant either the combat was very close, or its power was extraordinarily great. Given the circumstances, it was clearly not the former.
Demon Lord Yeshuang's expression changed slightly. She thought to herself, no wonder these people were so confident. With such commotion, the arrivals were Late-Nascent Soul cultivators, and more than one.
The earth-shattering Dharma Combat continued for a quarter of an hour before slowly quieting down.
Mo Tiange was puzzled. "Where is this combat taking place?"
It was Demon Lord Yeshuang who replied, speaking calmly. "Within Wind-Sand City."
Qin Xi nodded. He could only roughly sense the location of the combat. A quick calculation placed it within Wind-Sand City. Demon Lord Yeshuang's statement confirmed it.
"Within Wind-Sand City... Could it be the ghost cultivators want to reveal themselves to the world?"
"That's possible," Qin Xi said. "Now that we know a ghost city exists here, perhaps those ghost cultivators have decided to go all the way and openly reveal themselves, making us wary of the ghost city's strength and deterring us from coming here to cause trouble."
Mo Tiange, however, shook her head. "With the sacrificial temple and secret repository here, those ghost cultivators have miscalculated."
Their speculations were off the mark. The ghost cultivators did not want the world to know of the ghost city's existence, at least not yet.
After an hour of quiet, the mountain shook once more. They even heard a thunderous explosion, as if the mountain itself was collapsing.
Gradually, unrest stirred among the ghost cultivators outside the sacrificial temple, like a cat let loose among mice. Sensing this panic, Jing Xingzhi could sit still no longer. "I'm going out to take a look."
Demon Lord Yeshuang also said, "I'll go too."
Nie Wushang went without saying. Her safety here relied entirely on the Concealing Spirit Array Mo Tiange had set up; she was eager to leave sooner.
Just as Mo Tiange was about to go out with Qin Xi, her sleeve was tugged by Feifei. "Don't go."
"Wait." Mo Tiange stopped Qin Xi.
"What is it?"
Mo Tiange pointed at Feifei. "It wants to collect the White Tiger."
Qin Xi was surprised. "It has a way?"
Mo Tiange offered no further explanation, watching Feifei.
Feifei wasted no time. Muttering an obscure incantation, golden light slowly rose from its four paws.
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi both felt their spirits lift, their minds clearer than ever before.
Treading on golden light, Feifei leaped towards the White Tiger.
The two felt the killing intent in the air slowly dissipate, their minds entering a state of perfect clarity.
It was a profoundly mysterious feeling. They seemed to have entered another world—high skies, clear clouds, bright sunshine, a gentle spring breeze brushing their faces, utterly peaceful...
"What are you standing around for?" Feifei's voice rang out, rousing the two from their reverie.
This time, it spoke directly aloud, not using telepathy.
Qin Xi, coming to his senses, was taken aback. "It can talk?"
Mo Tiange had no time to explain. Looking up, she saw Feifei standing in the center, the White Tiger nowhere to be seen.
"You really could collect it?" Mo Tiange was astonished. The White Tiger's body was enormous. Could the storage space innate to spirit beasts really hold it?
Feifei didn't answer such a foolish question. Lowering its head, it looked at a fist-sized, brilliantly golden light pearl at its feet, sighing with regret. "It actually won't acknowledge me as its master."
"What is this?" Mo Tiange sensed the pure Breath of the White Tiger within it. Had Feifei not absorbed it completely?
Feifei said, "The White Tiger's power is too immense; I can't contain it all. You two, come try."
"What a pity." Though she said it was a pity, Mo Tiange's face was wreathed in smiles. The Azure Dragon bone she obtained was incomplete, and Qin Xi still hadn't fully absorbed the Vermilion Bird's Breath. If Feifei had really collected an entire White Tiger, she would have felt unbalanced.
"Senior Brother, you have a metal spiritual root. You try first." Remembering that Qin Xi's Three Yang True Fire Sword was also metal-attributed, Mo Tiange called out.
Qin Xi nodded without further ado and walked towards the White Tiger light pearl.
Having already experienced a divine beast opportunity once, he remained relatively calm. He didn't reach for it immediately. Instead, he circulated the Pure Yang Art, covering his hand with a layer of spiritual energy before grasping for the White Tiger light pearl.
The moment his spiritual energy touched the light pearl, the pearl violently released the Breath of the White Tiger. A wave of killing intent surged towards Qin Xi.
The instant he sensed something amiss, Qin Xi immediately forced out the Vermilion Bird's Flame, blocking the Breath of the White Tiger.
Although the Vermilion Bird's Flame he had subdued was much weaker, the White Tiger belonged to metal, which was restrained by fire. He only retreated a few steps before standing firm.
Feifei was disappointed. "Although you have a metal spiritual root, you haven't cultivated a metal-attribute technique. It's not enough to subdue the Breath of the White Tiger."
Qin Xi had been prepared and wasn't too disappointed. He turned to Mo Tiange. "Will you try?"
"Mm." Though she agreed, Mo Tiange also didn't think she could subdue the Breath of the White Tiger. She likewise hadn't cultivated any metal-attribute techniques, only the Heavenly Thunder Art, which had some tangential connection to the metal element.
Sure enough, the moment she touched the White Tiger light pearl, it erupted with intense killing intent. Fortunately, she was prepared. Silently reciting an incantation in her heart, golden lightning emerged from her hand. Simultaneously, Qin Xi summoned the Vermilion Bird's Flame to block for her.
"What now?" Feifei was even more disappointed. Keep the benefits within the family! If none of the three of them—no, the two humans and one beast—could subdue it, wouldn't they just be giving it away to someone else for nothing?
A tremendous boom sounded from outside. The sacrificial temple shook even more violently. At the same time, a streak of firelight swiftly flew in from outside.
Qin Xi reached out his hand. The firelight landed in his palm, revealing itself to be a fire talisman.
He flicked his finger. The fire talisman transformed into a wisp of smoke, from which a voice came: "You little brats, still alive?"
Qin Xi laughed. "Master is here."
Hearing Dao Lord Jinghe's voice, Mo Tiange also felt reassured. "Shall we go out then?"
"Mm." Since they couldn't subdue it, there was no need for the two to linger.
Mo Tiange patted her spirit beast bag towards Feifei. "Need I say more?"
Feifei curled its lip but obediently returned to the spirit beast bag. Having a master did have its benefits—at least it didn't have to take risks on its own.
The two flew along the stone passageway, reaching the damaged section of the stone wall in an instant.
The ghost cultivators guarding the outside were gone. Not far away, ghost cultivators were engaged in battle with a group of human cultivators.
These human cultivators numbered about twenty, all at the Nascent Soul stage. Though fewer in number than the ghost cultivators, their magic treasures were far more formidable, resulting in a temporary stalemate.
Mo Tiange spotted Dao Lord Jinghe's figure at a glance—who could miss his eye-catching, golden-bright appearance.
"Master!"
Dao Lord Jinghe turned his head and saw them, glaring angrily. "You two little brats, really know how to stir up trouble, don't you? Asking for a lesson?"
Mo Tiange grinned. "Master can teach us that lesson when we get back!"
"Enough nonsense! Aren't you going to help?!" Though the reunion of master and disciples was joyous, they had to be careful not to incur public wrath. A single message talisman from Qin Shoujing, and Qin Jinghe had dragged this whole crowd of Nascent Soul cultivators here to fight. It was truly annoying.
Sure enough, Ding Luan already called out loudly, "Can you finish your family reunion after the fight? Keep talking and I'm leaving!"
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi bowed respectfully towards this number one female cultivator of Tianji and joined the fray.
At the same time, Mo Tiange sent a telepathic message to Jing Xingzhi not far away: "Fellow Daoist Jing, go back and take a look. There might be an opportunity waiting."
Jing Xingzhi, in the midst of fighting, looked at her in surprise. Mo Tiange gave a slight smile.
After a moment's thought, Jing Xingzhi pretended to be overwhelmed and retreated back into the sacrificial temple.