Neither of them had expected that Fairy Fengqing's Life-Bound Artifact would possess the effect of breaking restrictions.
Fairy Fengqing stroked the Red Lotus, reluctant to part with it. "This object was originally obtained from an ancient cultivator's cave abode, and after I refined it into my Life-Bound Artifact, it gained a miraculous effect for breaking restrictions."
The restrictions of the Immortal Palace were definitely not something that could be broken with a mere wave of the hand. This treasure would inevitably be damaged, and Fairy Fengqing, as the master of the Life-Bound Artifact, would also be injured as a result. However, Mo Tiange was already too lazy to sympathize with her. With this fairy, you might sympathize with her, but who knows if she's secretly looking down on you in her heart.
She said, "Try using this to break the restriction."
Fairy Fengqing was surprised. "Fellow Daoist Mo, this Immortal Palace is a true Immortal Palace in name and reality. The formations and restrictions within are incredibly profound. Acting rashly might not be wise, don't you think?"
Mo Tiange replied, "Precisely because it is so, we must try."
Fairy Fengqing's expression shifted between cloudy and clear. Mo Tiange spoke lightly, but she dared not agree immediately. This Red Lotus was her Life-Bound Artifact. If something went wrong, she would be injured as well. At that time, isolated and alone, how would she get out?
Mo Tiange, however, was doing this on purpose. Fairy Fengqing had treated them poorly before; now that there was an opportunity, of course they had to give her some trouble. Besides, Fairy Fengqing was truly untrustworthy. Having her injured would make her easier to control. Seeing her reluctance now, Mo Tiange said, "If you're unwilling, then forget it. However, that wouldn't count as contributing effort."
Hearing this, Fairy Fengqing was startled. She looked up again at Amber on the horizontal plaque. Amber, tired from playing with the nine-linked rings, was lying down sleeping. She thought to herself, this senior had said before that if she contributed effort, she could leave. If she refused now, that meant she wasn't contributing.
"Alright," Fairy Fengqing gritted her teeth, deciding to go all out. If she didn't do it, they would have a reason not to let her out. She couldn't give them that reason.
Fairy Fengqing summoned the Red Lotus. Red light flickered, starting from the lotus core, then spreading to the petals until the entire Red Lotus was enveloped in red radiance. With a wave of her hand, Fairy Fengqing sent the Red Lotus drifting and swaying towards the gates of the Immortal Palace.
Under the gaze of everyone present, the Red Lotus floated to a position near the Immortal Palace and then stopped moving. Fairy Fengqing made several hand seals to no avail. On the last attempt, as she exerted more force, the Immortal Palace suddenly rebounded with a powerful force. With a soft "puff," the Red Lotus instantly dimmed in color and fell. Simultaneously, Fairy Fengqing coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
No matter what, Fairy Fengqing was a seasoned Nascent Soul cultivator. Her Life-Bound Artifact had been tempered for many years. If not for the Azure Dragon Bone, it wouldn't be much inferior to Mo Tiange's Heaven-Earth Fan. Yet, before she could even exert much force, her Life-Bound Artifact was broken. This showed just how terrifying the Immortal Palace's restrictions were.
Seeing them silent, Elders Jing Tao and Jing Hu came forward again to ask, "Fellow Daoists, how is it?"
Mo Tiange waved her hand. "Very difficult to handle."
Although the two elders didn't understand restrictions very well, they knew what the previous scene represented. One said, "If we can escape from this predicament, we will surely offer generous thanks." The other, even more extravagant, said, "You two Fellow Daoists have worked hard. This old man has some small items here that you might find useful." He handed over a bulging beast-skin bag.
Demon Cultivators had innate storage spaces, but there were always times when it wasn't enough. This beast-skin bag was the Qiankun Bag used by Demon Cultivators.
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged a glance, both feeling a sense of profound mystery in their hearts.
Jing Hu's eyes widened as he glared angrily at his elder brother. "What are you doing, Big Brother?"
Jing Tao smiled slightly. "The two Fellow Daoists are putting in effort, so it's only right that we contribute some wealth."
Jing Hu's face showed struggle, but he finally also took out a beast-skin bag and handed it over. "Fellow Daoists, we hope you will take pains." The hope of breaking the Immortal Palace lay in their hands. He was afraid Jing Tao would gain the upper hand. At that time, with only three of them, unable to fight and overpowered, they would be at a disadvantage.
Mo Tiange gave a slight nod. Qin Xi then openly accepted both beast-skin bags. "You two Fellow Daoists are thoughtful. This matter is indeed difficult to handle. We have no certainty either, we can only do our best."
Jing Hu and Jing Tao repeatedly agreed.
After sending the two away, they used the excuse of needing to think of a method, found a corner, set up a restriction, and eagerly began rummaging through the beast-skin bags.
"The Xumi Sea is truly wealthy!" Mo Tiange's eyes went wide as soon as she poured out the first item. She had seen many treasures, but never such a large Water-Averting Pearl. This Water-Averting Pearl was not some shoddy goods crafted by a third-rate apprentice artificer, but a natural Water-Averting Pearl nurtured over hundreds or even thousands of years by a deep-sea clam demon. Such a pearl not only had the effect of averting water but was also a treasure for controlling water. When clam demons transformed, their Life-Bound Artifact was mostly a Water-Averting Pearl. And the one given by Jing Hu was even more dazzlingly brilliant, without a trace of impurity.
"There's more!" Qin Xi picked out a section of withered grass. This withered grass was called Immortal Grass, an important ingredient for refining Longevity Pills. Of such quality, it couldn't even be bought in Kunwu.
Next, they pulled out a bag of Five-Colored Sand, a section of Tenth-Rank demon beast carapace... Counting them up, the two beast-skin bags given by Jing Hu and Jing Tao weren't much inferior to their own net worth. Qin Xi sighed with even more feeling. "If the South Sea weren't so far and so dangerous, the cultivators of Kunwu would surely swarm there."
Mo Tiange said, "Never mind the South Sea. We've taken the things anyway. For handling such a major matter, taking this little from them is only right."
Hearing her tone, Qin Xi asked, "Do you have an idea in mind?"
Mo Tiange laughed. "No idea. Actually, this restriction far exceeds my realm. Cracking it is impossible."
"Then how are you—"
"I have a treasure!" Mo Tiange smiled mysteriously. "The Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation."
"Ah!" Qin Xi laughed. "You really do have one trick that works everywhere. No matter what restriction it is, whether you understand it or not, you just drill a hole through it."
"What do you mean 'drill a hole'?" Mo Tiange said discontentedly. "I'm not a mouse."
Qin Xi said, "Who dares call you a mouse? If you're a mouse, wouldn't I be a mouse too? And Master, that big mouse, Zhenji, that little mouse..."
Mo Tiange was amused and punched him. "Do you think Clear Spring Peak is a mouse nest?"
The two laughed for a while, then put away the goods and pretended to use Sensing Bells and Mountain-Settling Lamps for probing, busying themselves for a long time. In the meantime, Amber's gaze drifted down from time to time, with a faint, knowing smile. He knew everything, but as long as they harbored no ill intent, he didn't mind.
After a day of busywork and several more days of using counting rods while consulting formation manuals, Mo Tiange finally pretended to have thought of a method and said to the Demon Cultivators, "There is indeed a method, though it's a bit troublesome."
Hearing there was a method, how could Xuari and Xuanyue refuse? They immediately said, "Whatever materials are needed, Fellow Daoist, just say the word."
Mo Tiange then produced a list of materials, filling several sheets of beast-skin paper without the slightest hesitation, listing hundreds of different items.
Xuari and Xuanyue compared notes, each digging into their own pockets, taking out whatever they had, and trying to substitute similar items for what they lacked, managing to gather about seventy to eighty percent. Mo Tiange looked it over and took out the remainder herself—in truth, she had these things on her, but she couldn't provide everything herself. Opportunities to get things for free weren't many.
With the materials gathered, she truly began her busy work. The last time she set up the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation, she had spent several years studying it. This time, of course, it wasn't necessary, but it still couldn't be done in a few days.
First, she used spirit stone powder to draw the entire Formation Diagram—this couldn't be delegated to others, only she could do it. Next, she used Jade Pine Incense to fix the spirit stone powder in place, then proceeded to make formation flags and formation plates.
Just drawing the Formation Diagram wasn't a matter of a few days. Even though she had encountered a complete Formation Diagram in the Guixu Sea Immortal Palace, after all, the restrictions of the Guixu Sea Immortal Palace and this Immortal Palace were completely different, and their power was different as well.
After over ten days of deliberation, revising again and again, Mo Tiange finally determined the size and details of the Formation Diagram, then spent a day slowly completing the diagram. Next, making the formation flags and plates, with Qin Xi's help, over half a month passed before it was finally finished.
During this time, Fairy Fengqing was obediently recuperating from her injuries. Her Life-Bound Artifact was damaged, and her injuries were severe, not something that could recover in a day or two. It was estimated to take three to five years to fully heal.
The two factions of Xuari and Xuanyue looked down on each other. Trapped together for a month, they inevitably engaged in verbal sparring, back and forth. With the Divine Monarch present, they didn't dare to fight, only dared to exchange words. Xuari and Xuanyue, to maintain their impression in the Divine Monarch's mind, didn't dare to engage in the verbal exchanges themselves; it was only their subordinates who did the talking.
Having held back for over a month, seeing that Mo Tiange was about to begin setting up the formation, Xuanyue, despite their enmity, came forward to ask, "Fellow Daoists, do you need help?"
Mo Tiange paused, then said, "No need to trouble the Second Prince. Matters of setting up formations require them to be like an arm directing a finger. Having others help won't achieve the desired effect."
Demon Lord Xuanyue was very disappointed but asked again, unwilling to give up, "Really don't need my help?"
"Second Prince, please go and rest."
After politely seeing off Demon Lord Xuanyue, Mo Tiange called over Qin Xi and Xiaofeng, handing them the jade slip recording the method for setting up the formation for them to help—everything she had just told Xuanyue was to deceive him. For large-scale formations, like mountain-protecting formations, one person might take three to five months, even a year or two. Not letting Xuanyue intervene was simply because this formation was a secret that absolutely must not be leaked to the Demon Cultivators.
Just as they were setting up the formation, a little golden-haired girl slowly sidled over, chatting idly with Xiaofeng.
Mo Tiange noticed and occasionally diverted some attention to that side. The formation methods were all within the jade slip; she wasn't afraid of it being stolen. A grand formation like the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation—even with her high talent in formations, guidance from a famous master, and many years of study to fully comprehend it—how could others learn it just by watching? It was just that this little girl called Jin Jing seemed somewhat odd. She appeared innocent and pure, but Mo Tiange always felt it wasn't that simple.
Pondering for a moment, she sent a voice transmission to Xiaofeng: "Be careful, guard against her."
Xiaofeng glanced at her and gave a slight nod.
The three of them slowly set up the formation. After most of the day, the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation finally revealed its true appearance. With the placement of the last high-grade spirit stone, a flash of light, the entire star chart seemed to come alive, lighting up.
The gazes of everyone present turned towards them. Even Amber on the horizontal plaque was attracted. He sat up abruptly, looking at the Xuanxu Cloud-Connecting Formation before the Immortal Palace gates, and after a long moment, uttered a single phrase: "Spatial Tear."