Once everyone had left, Qin Xi asked, "Do you have an idea?"
Mo Tiange took out the Soul Pearl Daoist Jinghe had tossed her and smiled. "I just thought of one."
Qin Xi stared at the dull, greyish pearl, puzzled. "What use is this?"
Mo Tiange explained, "The traps and formations along the passage outside the treasury were all deactivated. Logically, Xiao Zilan and her party must have reached the treasury. Yet, there was no trace of them inside. There are only two possibilities: either they left the treasury safely and went elsewhere, or... they vanished within the treasury itself."
After a moment's thought, Qin Xi understood. "The Ghost City."
"Exactly," Mo Tiange said, gazing at the Soul Pearl. On its surface, several hideous ghostly faces occasionally bulged out, terrifying to behold, yet they could never break free from the pearl's restraint. "A Ghost City with dozens of Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivators must have been established here for at least ten thousand years. They would surely know what truly happened to Xiao Zilan."
"Then should we go find some Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivators?" Everyone else had left, but Dao Lord Buyan and Ding Luan were still in the sacrificial temple, awaiting the Immortal Alliance's envoy. It should still be possible to contact them.
Mo Tiange shook her head. "That won't be necessary. This Soul Pearl contains many souls. They might know." With that, she released her grip, letting the pearl float in mid-air.
"I'll extract the souls. You stand guard."
Qin Xi nodded. With a wave of his hand, red sword light divided into countless strands, forming a curtain-like barrier encircling them. At the same time, he retreated slightly, just in case.
Normally, souls were intangible even to Nascent Soul cultivators. But with the Soul Pearl in hand, Mo Tiange could borrow its power and utilize it with some effort.
Her hands formed a dazzling series of hand seals. Mo Tiange concentrated her spirit and gathered her energy, a wisp of pure spiritual qi coalescing at her fingertip as she tapped the Soul Pearl.
The greyish light barrier on the pearl's surface was abruptly broken. Countless souls surged towards the tiny breach, pushing and shoving, squeezing each other into distorted shapes.
Finally, one soul poked its head out, struggling to squeeze through the opening.
Mo Tiange immediately gestured, guiding other greyish specks of light to the spot to seal the breach.
The soul that emerged was that of a stiff, vacant-looking middle-aged man. Seeing his appearance, Mo Tiange doubted he retained any consciousness.
Nevertheless, she asked, "State your name and identity."
The middle-aged man turned his head stiffly but did not reply.
Mo Tiange asked again, "State your name and identity."
Still, the soul gave no answer.
Had it already lost its consciousness? It was very possible. The Soul Pearl could restrain souls, and perhaps it also refined them.
After a moment's thought, she patiently asked once more, "State your name and identity."
The soul had been continuously turning its head but finally stopped. "I... I'm out?" Its voice was rigid, tinged with disbelief.
Good, it still had consciousness. Mo Tiange breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, you have emerged from the Soul Pearl."
"Ah... ah..." Despite the stiffness, Mo Tiange could hear the joy in its voice. Who knew how long this person had been trapped within the pearl? Perhaps ever since his death.
After a long while, the soul calmed down and bowed respectfully. "Many thanks for your grace in granting me rebirth, Senior. Now, I may re-enter the cycle of Reincarnation."
Mo Tiange said, "Not so fast. I have questions for you."
"Of course, Senior. Ask whatever you wish. This junior will speak without reservation." The soul replied respectfully. After this brief period, it had finally adapted to its current state and was no longer as rigid.
Mo Tiange was pleased with its attitude. "From your words, you were originally a cultivator? May I ask your identity and origin?"
The soul answered, "Yes, Senior. This junior was a cultivator of the Qixuan Gate, once at Core Formation stage. After my fall at the Demonic Mountain, my obsession lingered. Later, I was somehow sucked into this object and have been trapped here ever since."
"Qixuan Gate?" Both of them wore strange expressions. They had heard of the Qixuan Gate, but that was a sect from tens of thousands of years ago, long extinct.
The current seven great sects were those that had endured trials over tens of thousands of years and passed down their legacies. Countless other sects had once flourished immensely but gradually declined until they vanished. The Qixuan Gate was one such sect.
In the history of the Tianji Region, the Qixuan Gate flourished fifty thousand years ago, then gradually declined until its lineage was severed thirty thousand years ago.
This soul was a cultivator of the Qixuan Gate, meaning it was at least thirty thousand years old.
"Seniors, do you have some connection with my Qixuan Gate...?"
Mo Tiange waved her hand. "We have no entanglement with the Qixuan Gate. It's just that... the Qixuan Gate has already vanished."
"Vanished?" The voice suddenly rose sharply, clearly shocked. "How could it vanish? My Qixuan Gate was, after all, a notable sect in the Tianji Region, even if it wasn't what it once was."
Mo Tiange said, "Where there is life, there is death. The Qixuan Gate vanished thirty thousand years ago."
"Thirty thousand years..." The soul murmured. "So it's been thirty thousand years..." It suddenly turned its head, gazing eastward, and cried out, "Master, your disciple failed the mission... I can never see you again..." Its stiff voice carried a note of sorrow.
A moment later, the soul calmed down and bowed again. "Senior, please ask your questions."
Mo Tiange nodded. "What exactly is this Soul Pearl? And after you entered it, where did this pearl reside?"
The soul replied, "To be honest, Senior, I do not know what this object is. I only know it was born at the Boundary of the Ghost City and automatically devours certain souls."
"Boundary of the Ghost City?"
"That is the area connecting the Ghost City to the outside world," the soul explained. "I learned from other souls that because many souls pass through this area to enter the Ghost City, for some reason, they are all sucked into this object, thus forming this pearl."
"I see..." Mo Tiange's mind raced. "Then let me ask you, several thousand years ago, did a group of cultivators arrive at the Boundary of the Ghost City?"
The soul looked blank. "Several thousand years..." Trapped within the Soul Pearl, it had long lost track of time.
Seeing its confusion, Mo Tiange clarified, "It was a group of Nascent Soul Cultivators."
"Ah!" The soul exclaimed. "I remember now. I don't know how long ago, there were Nascent Soul Cultivators who broke through and collided with the opening of the Ghost Gate. They were slain by over a dozen Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivators, and their souls were also sucked into this pearl."
Delighted, the two pressed further. Mo Tiange asked, "What was the composition of that group? Was there a woman among them?"
The soul said, "...I think there were five people. Indeed, there was one female cultivator."
"What was her name?"
The soul shook its head. "There are tens of millions of souls within this pearl. This junior does not know."
That was fine. Mo Tiange felt reassured. If Xiao Zilan's soul was truly within this pearl, they would eventually find it.
"Thank you." Mo Tiange glanced at Qin Xi, who nodded and withdrew the surrounding sword light. "You may go."
The soul bowed deeply. "Thank you, Senior." Then, it dissipated with the wind.
Freed from the Soul Pearl's restraint, as long as it released its obsessions, it could re-enter Reincarnation. Even if its obsessions remained, it could become a Ghost Cultivator rather than being trapped, unable to live or die.
The sword light reformed its barrier. Mo Tiange repeated the process, releasing another soul.
This time, luck was poor. Perhaps it had been trapped too long, for this soul had lost all consciousness, becoming a wandering spirit. Helpless, Mo Tiange could only let it go.
They repeated this several times, finally releasing another conscious soul. However, this soul had no memory of the event.
The Jade Rabbit rose, the Golden Crow set. Day and night shifted. On the second day, they finally encountered another soul who remembered the incident, corroborating the first soul's account.
Mo Tiange felt slightly more at ease. Since this was true, searching through all the souls within the Soul Pearl would surely lead them to Xiao Zilan.
With tens of thousands of souls, trying them one by one would take considerable time, but they had ample patience. Firstly, cultivators like them, who often entered meditation for long periods and undertook secluded cultivation lasting decades or even centuries, had long cultivated immense patience. Secondly, with their very lives at stake and the solution within sight, how could they lack patience?
They questioned souls, rested, then questioned more. Several days passed, and Mo Tiange grew increasingly excited. More and more souls confirmed the account, the number of souls within the pearl dwindled, and the likelihood of finding Xiao Zilan grew higher.
Finally, when she released a soul that had traveled with Xiao Zilan, she knew for certain the account was true.
After letting that soul dissipate with the wind, Mo Tiange did not immediately continue. Instead, she put away the Soul Pearl and sat down on a nearby rock.
Seeing this, Qin Xi withdrew his sword light and sat beside her.
"What's wrong?"
Mo Tiange's fingers trembled slightly. "Let's not get our hopes up for nothing."
Even though she had only begun addressing this matter after reaching Nascent Soul, she had thought of it often over the past hundred-plus years. After all, having a restriction in her mind was like having a sword suspended above her head; once the thread holding it snapped, her life would be over.
With her exceptional aptitude and numerous treasures at hand, her future was bright. How could she be willing to have her fate controlled by another? Whenever she thought of this, she wanted to tear Ziwei Sanren to pieces. Unfortunately, he had long since left not even a corpse behind, and the wisp of divine sense he left behind would vanish sooner or later.
"We won't," Qin Xi said, much calmer. "Over these past few days, we've already confirmed that Xiao Zilan is within."
Mo Tiange knew this too. Having found the souls of those who traveled with Xiao Zilan, as long as Xiao Zilan hadn't lost her consciousness, she must be among them. It was just that the matter weighed too heavily, causing some anxiety.
After resting a while, the two stood up again and began extracting souls.
Tearing open the pearl's surface once more, Mo Tiange silently prayed: *Senior Xiao Zilan, please, by all means, do not have lost your consciousness. With a love deep as the sea, only to find the one sharing your pillow was the enemy who slaughtered your clan—unable to take revenge, unable to stay with your beloved—such obsession surely wouldn't fade into a wandering spirit, would it?*
With this thought, another soul struggled free of the pearl, taking form before them.
It was a woman, young and elegant, dressed in plain white robes. Though a soul, she still radiated an aura of spiritual energy.
"State your name and identity."
The soul lifted her head and looked around, quickly adapting. "Xiao Zilan thanks Fellow Daoist for the grace of rebirth."
Overjoyed, Mo Tiange asked, "You are Xiao Zilan? Xiao Zilan of the Xuanji Sect?"