After Xiaofeng left, Mo Tiange and Qin Xi waited for five or six days, but there was still no sign of her return. The two were quite worried. Although Xiaofeng was clever and steady, she had little experience in worldly affairs, and having just recently taken human form, it was hard to say if she might encounter any danger.
The only thing they could be sure of was that the spirit beast contract still existed; Xiaofeng was not in mortal peril.
“Where on earth did she go?” Qin Xi frowned deeply. There were no demon cultivators above the eighth rank in the vicinity, and Xiaofeng had only gone to gather information, intending to return in a few days. There shouldn’t have been any danger. Yet Xiaofeng had lost contact, and not a single trace of her could be found nearby.
“Don’t worry,” Mo Tiange comforted him. “Xiaofeng is very smart. She probably just ran into some difficulty.”
At that moment, Xiaofeng was indeed having a major headache.
Having accidentally encountered Demon Lord Xuari and his group, and to avoid implicating her masters and being discovered, she had no choice but to go with them. These demon cultivators had come here for a certain reason and would not leave in the short term. She had to find a way to notify her masters…
“Lady Feng, Lady Feng?” In just a few days, the address had changed from Fellow Daoist Feng to Lady Feng.
Xiaofeng snapped back to attention and offered Demon Lord Xuari an apologetic smile. “My apologies, my mind wandered.”
“It’s nothing,” Demon Lord Xuari said, a trace of eagerness hidden in his gaze. “Is there something weighing on the lady’s mind?”
Xiaofeng shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
Yet Demon Lord Xuari was exceedingly enthusiastic. “Lady Feng need not worry. If Kunwu no longer has a place for you, the Xumi Sea will certainly have a position for Lady Feng.”
“Ahem.” Before Xiaofeng could reply, a middle-aged demon cultivator not far away cleared his throat twice, casting a faint glance in their direction.
Demon Lord Xuari immediately stopped speaking.
Xiaofeng felt a subtle shift in her heart.
This Demon Lord Xuari seemed to have taken a liking to her. Logically speaking, she was completely unfamiliar with the demon cultivators of the East Sea. As a fire-attribute demon cultivator, her appearance in the East Sea was truly suspicious. Yet Demon Lord Xuari didn’t seem to mind at all; on the contrary, he was exceptionally affectionate and had even made such a guarantee.
—Wait, was he stopped because he made a promise to her too readily, or because he revealed something he shouldn’t have? She had indeed just heard a rather abrupt term.
Xumi Sea.
What place was the Xumi Sea? Wasn’t he the eldest prince of the Southern Sea?
These thoughts flashed through Xiaofeng’s mind. In the next moment, she decided to continue probing.
Though stopped by the elder, Demon Lord Xuari still gazed at her with affection. “Lady Feng, this lord’s words are no jest.”
Xiaofeng pretended not to understand, maintaining a polite smile. “This Xiaofeng is deeply grateful for the Demon Lord’s favor.”
She could guess some of Demon Lord Xuari’s thoughts. He was a prince of the Qilin clan, his bloodline among demon cultivators was of the highest nobility. In this world, there were few demon races that could match him. Even descendants of divine beasts, if their divine beast bloodline was too diluted, would be unworthy of him—such as her original form, the Chongming Bird.
But now, after obtaining the Vermilion Bird’s Breath and transforming, it was completely different.
A demon cultivator whose bloodline was now almost comparable to a Phoenix’s, even slightly stronger than his own—what reason did he have to hesitate?
Xiaofeng pursed her lips, revealing a faint, elusive smile.
What a pity. She was of the fire clan and had no desire to live in the water.
“There’s movement.”
Qin Xi’s low exclamation reached her ears. Mo Tiange’s spirits lifted as she looked outward.
This day was the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the night of the fullest moon each year. The moment the moon leaped from the horizon, the seawater surged, wave upon wave growing higher. By the time the moon reached its zenith, the waves were already towering and tumultuous.
Under the moonlight, amidst the waves, a thin white line appeared around the small island, forming a circle. This circle was dazzlingly white, mirroring the full moon in the sky.
Fairy Fengqing emerged from the thatched hut. Seeing this white circle, a faint smile touched the corner of her mouth. She turned her head, formed a few hand seals, and the thatched hut rapidly shrank before being tucked into her sleeve.
Then, in a flash of red light, Fairy Fengqing leaped into the sea and disappeared.
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged a glance. Mo Tiange said, “Is this the moment she was waiting for?”
“Most likely,” Qin Xi replied, staring at the circle of white lines, his brow furrowed in thought. “What exactly is this thing?”
Mo Tiange said, “I think it’s very likely a restriction.”
“A restriction?”
Mo Tiange pointed at the full moon in the sky. “The moon rises, the tide swells. Right now is the moment of the strongest tidal force of the year. This white line only appears at this moment, indicating it’s related to the tidal force. And Fairy Fengqing once mentioned faint spiritual qi fluctuations in the area. In my opinion, those fluctuations are probably caused by some hidden restriction. On the fifteenth of the eighth month, the tidal force is strongest, clashing with this restriction, hence this white line appears.”
This explanation was reasonable. Qin Xi nodded. “That makes sense.”
Under his gaze, Mo Tiange couldn’t help but smile and continued, “If that’s truly the case, then this moment is when that hidden restriction is at its weakest, and also the easiest time to locate and break it.”
A flicker passed through Qin Xi’s eyes. “Shall we follow her then?”
“Mm.” Mo Tiange did not hesitate. She formed a hand seal and struck the Ten Thousand Li Solitary Boat. The boat’s restrictions hummed as it began to dive downward.
The sea surface was turbulent with waves; underwater, the currents were swift and treacherous. The Ten Thousand Li Solitary Boat parted the undercurrents, diving deeper and deeper, searching for Fairy Fengqing’s trail.
Qin Xi turned his head to look at the white line not far away. Under the sea, this line was a white wall, stretching from the surface all the way down to the seabed. Looking closely, it appeared white because it was composed of sea foam. The seawater, subjected to intense impact within that narrow space, could only exist in the form of foam.
Countless bubbles of foam formed this white wall, from which a powerful force emanated from afar.
Qin Xi agreed with Mo Tiange’s speculation. This was clearly the result of two forces clashing.
“Got it!” The deeper they went, the darker the seawater became. Even with a cultivator’s keen eyesight, it was impossible to distinguish the surrounding objects. At that moment, Mo Tiange detected a faint fluctuation of spiritual qi.
The Ten Thousand Li Solitary Boat pursued this spiritual qi fluctuation. Its hull, forged from Mysterious Iron Heartwood, was incredibly smooth as it silently cut through the water.
This spiritual qi fluctuation grew increasingly intense. The surrounding seawater also became more turbulent, with undercurrents surging with a tearing force. Ahead, Fairy Fengqing, to cope with the fierce currents, formed hand seals and released a red lotus.
At this moment, deep in the seabed, she thought no one would discover her and thus no longer restrained her aura, unaware that two tails were following behind her.
Fairy Fengqing continued her descent without pause. Suddenly, her feet touched the seabed. A look of confusion crossed her face. After a moment’s thought, she retrieved a lantern from her Qiankun Bag.
The bean-sized lamplight flickered and swayed on the seabed but never went out. Against the surrounding seawater, black without a trace of light, it appeared particularly eerie.
Small fish from the seabed swam over, circling the lantern. Having lived long in the deep sea, they had long lost their eyes but could sense the faint warmth.
Fairy Fengqing frowned. With a flick of her silk ribbon, a powerful force swept toward the small fish.
She expected them to perish instantly from her swipe. Unexpectedly, the fish merely retreated several zhang before swaying and swimming away.
Fairy Fengqing was astonished. Although she had only struck casually, she was a Nascent Soul cultivator. These fish were at most first rank; how could they be completely unharmed?
She reached out, capturing one of the small fish. She examined it left and right but couldn’t find anything special. Puzzled, she tossed the fish aside and continued searching for the source of the spiritual qi fluctuation.
The strongest spiritual qi fluctuation came from the seabed itself. Fairy Fengqing circled the small island several times but could never find the source. Seeing the tidal force slowly receding, she grew anxious and simply continued diving downward. Since this was already the seabed, diving further could only mean digging. Digging was hardly the act of a fairy, but Fairy Fengqing could no longer afford to care.
If she missed this opportunity, she would have to wait another year. In the past, she could have afforded to wait, but now she could not. The Tiandao Sect was declining day by day. To preserve the sect’s voice, four Nascent Soul cultivators had been dispatched elsewhere, leaving only her and Lu Daquan, both at the early-Nascent Soul stage, to guard the sect. She could not stay away for long.
Thinking of this, she gritted her teeth secretly. If not for the Xuanqing Sect’s powerful rise over the past century, producing talents in abundance, how could the Tiandao Sect have fallen to such a state? Not to mention the contention for the title of the Tianji Region’s number one sect, the Xuanqing Sect’s conduct alone was truly detestable.
They were clearly already the top sect, yet they still pretended not to seek power. The number of Nascent Soul cultivators they sent to the war remained at only half—this half exactly matched the almost all-out number of Nascent Souls they had sent, both being four.
More importantly, Senior Brother Liu had repeatedly warned them that they could not afford to lose a single Nascent Soul cultivator now. Therefore, their own safety must come first in all matters. Among the Xuanqing Sect’s eight Nascent Souls, apart from Zhenyang, Jinghe, and Huayan, the eldest, Miaoyi, was only around seven hundred years old. In their Tiandao Sect, even the youngest, herself, was over seven hundred…
Recalling this, Fairy Fengqing couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander. Zhenyang and Jinghe were one thing, but of the remaining six, apart from Qin Shoujing who was at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, the others were all early-Nascent Soul. Dao Lord Huayan was a seasoned Nascent Soul cultivator; though only at the early stage, he was not easy to deal with. Miaoyi had formed her Nascent Soul even earlier than she had; Xuanyin was also close to two hundred years in the stage. These two were geniuses of their time, stronger than ordinary cultivators. As for the remaining two, Li Lingxi and Mo Qingwei, they had both formed their Nascent Souls not long ago. They might not even have stabilized their realms yet, especially Mo Qingwei. She was too young; her foundation was probably not very solid. If, during a confrontation, there was a moment of carelessness…
A cold smile touched the corner of her mouth. Mo Qingwei had been in the East Sea not long ago. If she had the chance to encounter her, she would…
The youngest Nascent Soul cultivator in the history of the Tianji Region—this title had brought much glory to the Xuanqing Sect. If she were to fall now, it would be a good way to undermine Xuanqing Sect morale. Perhaps they could even reclaim the title of the Tianji Region’s number one sect in one fell swoop…
Fairy Fengqing was quite pleased with her own idea. She suddenly realized how wonderful the world would be if Mo Qingwei simply didn’t exist. She believed she was acting for the sake of her sect, overlooking the obvious jealousy in her heart.
“What is she thinking about?” Mo Tiange watched Fairy Fengqing and muttered.
Under the faint lamplight, Fairy Fengqing was digging in a most un-fairy-like manner, occasionally letting out a sinister chuckle as she dug. It really did not befit the demeanor of a fairy…