As they flew, a swath of purple light suddenly appeared before them. Mo Tiange only had time to sweep her Heaven-Earth Fan, dispersing the purple energy. In the next moment, a bolt of purple lightning abruptly manifested.
A faint smile touched Mo Tiange's lips as she casually activated the Primordial Unity Art. Just as the purple lightning struck her, Qin Xi's sword energy shot forth, encircling the demon cultivator who had unleashed the purple lightning.
Seeing the purple lightning hit Mo Tiange, the demon cultivator felt a surge of triumph. The next instant, its smile froze. A layer of golden light shimmered over Mo Tiange's body, and then, the purple lightning vanished without a trace. It wasn't deflected, nor was it dispersed—it simply disappeared.
Stunned, it faced a barrage of sword lights flying towards it, entangling it tightly. Before it could even think, it was caught in a web of attacks.
Mo Tiange flicked her wrist, and the Heaven-Earth Fan appeared in her hand. With a wave, a powerful force blasted the demon cultivator back, sending it hurtling towards Qin Xi's sword lights.
In that split second, it somersaulted, nimbly using the force of the fan's blast to propel itself high into the air.
This demon cultivator was a black-winged avian, seemingly adept in wind-based spells, making it extremely agile.
"A Wind-Thunder Bird?" Qin Xi's movements slowed slightly, his sword lights hovering around the demon cultivator.
"Wind-Thunder Bird?" Mo Tiange looked at him.
Qin Xi said, "Wind-Thunder Birds are innately proficient in wind and thunder spells."
They halted their attacks. The Wind-Thunder Bird hovered mid-air and spoke, "Good eye. There aren't many of my kind left. I didn't expect a cultivator to still recognize us."
Qin Xi gave a light wave, recalling his sword lights to circle around the two of them. He said, "Wind-Thunder Birds are born with the Wind-Thunder Evasion technique, a peerless and exquisite movement art. No wonder you, merely at the eighth rank, dared to launch a solo ambush. We cannot stop you. You may leave."
However, the Wind-Thunder Bird did not immediately flee. It gently flapped its wings and looked at Mo Tiange. "May I ask, fellow cultivator, why did my Purple Lightning have no effect on you?"
Mo Tiange smiled slightly and opened her palm. A ball of golden lightning slowly rose from her hand. She said, "I, too, practice lightning spells, of a higher grade than yours. Hence, your Purple Lightning is useless against me."
"Golden Lightning!" The demon cultivator stared at the lightning in her hand, horrified. "Many can use lightning spells, but most produce White Lightning. I cultivated Purple Lightning, which is already extraordinary. Yet you, esteemed one, have cultivated Golden Lightning!"
Lightning summoned by lightning spells was not of a single color, but four: white, azure, purple, and gold. The most common was White Lightning; those proficient in lightning spells could cultivate Azure Lightning; Purple Lightning was a higher tier, typically only mastered by demonic beasts with innate divine abilities or Nascent Soul cultivators specializing in lightning; Golden Lightning was the most powerful form. If cultivated to its peak, it could rival ordinary heavenly tribulation lightning. And the ball of Golden Lightning in Mo Tiange's hand was, in fact, Golden Lightning from a heavenly tribulation.
Of course, Mo Tiange wouldn't say she had opportunistically captured a strand of heavenly tribulation Golden Lightning to cultivate it. She merely offered the demon cultivator an enigmatic smile.
The demon cultivator grew even more wary of acting rashly. It had relied on its possession of a top-tier movement art like Wind-Thunder Evasion to launch a solo ambush, confident it could flee instantly if the strike failed. But now, knowing these two were formidable, if it lacked the sense to avoid trouble, it might not even have time to use Wind-Thunder Evasion before meeting its end here.
After a brief contemplation, it was about to utter something like "until we meet again" and flee, when it suddenly turned its head, looking towards the direction of the demon city.
From within the demon city, several streaks of escape light rose and sped towards them.
Its heart leapt with joy. Without a word, it flashed with Wind-Thunder Evasion, putting a hundred zhang between them.
For Nascent Soul cultivators, this distance wasn't particularly safe, but if it went too far, it would worry about them disappearing without a trace.
The commotion from the demon city was also detected by the two of them. Qin Xi said in a low voice, "Let's go."
Without hesitation, they summoned their escape lights and sped towards the coast.
When they had come out, they hadn't planned to resolve this issue directly. Otherwise, wouldn't they just be doing the Immortal Alliance a favor?
The two fled, pursued by six demons. Soon, they reached the East Sea coast.
The six demons continued their relentless pursuit. Mo Tiange glanced at Bixuan Pavilion and the scattered cultivators who hadn't yet sought refuge within its walls. "We can't run any further."
Qin Xi nodded. The two stopped, turned, and waited for the demons to catch up.
At that moment, a streak of escape light rose from within Bixuan Pavilion and flew slowly towards them.
By the time the demon cultivators stood before them, the escape light from Bixuan Pavilion had also stopped beside Mo Tiange—this person was, of course, Feng Ning.
Her beautiful eyes swept over the two of them. Feng Ning lifted the corner of her mouth, revealing a smile for the first time. "You two are truly impressive. A simple outing, and you manage to attract a siege by demon cultivators."
Her words were clearly sarcastic, implying they were trouble magnets. Mo Tiange offered a thin, insincere smile. "How could we compare to you, Miss Feng, sitting so composedly within Bixuan Pavilion? Such great bearing, and such leisure!"
Feng Ning's smile vanished, and she glared at her.
Mo Tiange met her gaze unflinchingly. Ding Luan and Feng Xiao were elders; she would be polite to them. Feng Ning did not fall into that category.
Qin Xi glanced at them, then focused his gaze on the demon cultivators. Three against six. He was at the Nascent Soul mid-stage, while these demon cultivators were all at the eighth rank, with none at the ninth.
"Gentlemen, what advice do you have, pursuing us all the way here?" His expression was calm, causing the six demon cultivators to grow suspicious. Had they laid a trap in advance? Fighting three with six, even if one was a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator, they weren't afraid. They were demon cultivators now, not low-level demon beasts. After gaining sentience, the gap between them and human cultivators had shrunk to the point of being negligible.
A light snort came from among the demon cultivators. Then, one of them, a white sea swallow, transformed into a woman in white robes, floating in mid-air. "Fellow cultivators, we built our demon city merely to find a place to settle. This East Sea coast is very suitable for us demon cultivators to reside. If you are willing to withdraw from this area, we can take this mountain as the boundary, agreeing to non-aggression. What do you say?"
"Non-aggression?" Qin Xi looked at them sidelong, a cold sneer curling his lips. "You exterminated the mortals here, and now you want to talk about non-aggression? Isn't that a bit too late?"
The woman in white's face turned cold. "You humans have hunted and slain us demon beasts relentlessly since ancient times. Are only humans allowed to kill demons, and not demons allowed to kill humans?"
"When humans kill demons, do demons not also kill humans?" Qin Xi said mildly. "We are different races. After killing each other for so long, where is the trust? You speak of using the mountain as a boundary. Should we simply believe you?"
The woman in white sneered. "Don't think we don't know. You are facing enemies to the south, and fighting in the northeast. Deploying personnel here isn't easy, is it?"
Qin Xi glanced at her sidelong. "Two or three shouldn't be a problem."
"You think two or three can stop us?" The woman in white's expression darkened. "We are merely the vanguard. Many more demon cultivators will follow. With just you few, how could you possibly hold us back?"
"Our Tianji Immortal Alliance is not comprised of only the three of us."
After a few more exchanges, negotiations quickly broke down. The woman in white's face turned icy, and she fell silent. With a sweep of her gaze, the six demons suddenly advanced, surrounding them.
In that instant, Qin Xi's sword formation unfurled. Mo Tiange waved a hand, and her puppet servant stood guard beside her, her Heaven-Earth Fan snapping open with a *swish*. As for Feng Ning, with a flick of her silk ribbon, a konghou appeared in her hands.
Mo Tiange shot her a glance, thinking to herself: Ding Luan plays the qin, Feng Xiao plays the xiao, and their daughter Feng Ning uses the konghou. This family's magic treasures are all musical instruments. If the Biyun Sect ever has a major event, they wouldn't need to hire a band—the whole family could go up and perform...
She absolutely could not voice this thought. Otherwise, Feng Ning would surely ignore the demon cultivators and start fighting her directly.
The six demon cultivators stood at varying distances. Seeing their positions, Mo Tiange's expression turned grave. This was a Six Harmonies Soul-Seizing Formation! No wonder these demon cultivators, none at the ninth rank, had pursued them so fearlessly.
"Senior Brother, attack that woman first, then look for an opportunity to kill the Wind-Thunder Bird," Mo Tiange transmitted her voice quietly.
Qin Xi gave a slight nod.
She then glanced at Feng Ning and also transmitted, "Miss Feng, kill that woman."
Feng Ning had also sensed something amiss. Her understanding of formations was superficial, but seeing Mo Tiange's confident demeanor, she offered no objection.
As soon as the words were transmitted, the six demon cultivators moved. It hadn't been apparent before, but now, with all six acting in concert, it became clear that apart from the Wind-Thunder Bird, the other five possessed the complete set of the five elements.
The puppet raised its Fusheng Sword and cleaved a sword light towards the wood-attribute demon cultivator.
The wood demon paid it no mind, continuing straight forward. A metallic energy shot out diagonally, blocking the Fusheng Sword.
Feng Ning's fingers danced across the strings of her konghou. The fierce, killing notes surged towards the white swallow.
Meanwhile, Qin Xi expanded his sword formation, spreading it into a vast sea of fire that rolled towards the white swallow.
The white swallow was forming hand seals. A faint, almost imperceptible earth-attribute aura firmly bound the six demon cultivators together. The scattered spiritual energy coalesced into a stream of pure, refined vital energy. Feng Ning's konghou notes arrived first, striking directly at the white swallow. The fire-wielding demon cultivator beside the white swallow hurriedly intervened, blocking Feng Ning's attack.
Mo Tiange's expression tightened. With a wave of her Heaven-Earth Fan, a towering column of water surged towards the fire demon. Simultaneously, the puppet raised its Fufeng Sword and brought it down in a powerful slash, precisely cutting through the branches the wood demon had extended to block it.
The branches were severed in two. However, the stream of refined vital energy had already flowed towards the wood demon, and the severed parts quickly regained vitality.
Qin Xi's sword energy swept in. The water demon flicked its tail, and a torrent of water suddenly erupted from the sea, forming a curtain wall that intercepted the sword energy.
Feng Ning remained unaffected. The zheng-zheng notes of her konghou sounded again, the musical attack once more targeting the white swallow.
With one focusing the main attack and the other two providing support and diversion, the battle reached a stalemate for the moment.
Qin Xi's cultivation was higher than theirs. With the three of them joining forces, dealing with six demon cultivators shouldn't have been an issue. However, these six had actually formed a Six Harmonies Formation, supporting each other, attacking in unison. The vital energy they gathered continuously repaired any damage they sustained, resulting in a deadlock.
Amidst the stalemate, Mo Tiange gave a meaningful glance. Qin Xi's sword energy suddenly shifted, sweeping towards the Wind-Thunder Bird, which was gathering lightning energy to the side.
The Wind-Thunder Bird was horrified. It had assumed the three of them could tell the white swallow was the formation's eye and would focus their attacks there. It never expected they would discern that *it* was the primary attacker meant to deliver the killing blow.
The swift, lightning-fast sword light was about to slash towards it. It had no time to think. With a wave of its hand, it enveloped itself tightly in lightning.
Yet, in the next moment, it still let out a sharp cry of "Ah—!"
For in that instant, Mo Tiange had used her Golden Lightning to shatter its Purple Lightning, forcing it to take Qin Xi's sword strike head-on.