"Let's go too," Qin Xi said.
"Alright." Mo Tiange turned her head, looking at Fairy Fengqing beside her. "Fellow Daoist Fengqing, what about you? Do you wish to leave with us?"
Fairy Fengqing's face was bloodless. After a moment of silence, she nodded. "That's fine too."
The three of them each tidied up a bit, summoned their flying magical treasures, and left the small island—Xiaofeng had already been opportunely placed into the Void Heaven Realm by Mo Tiange.
Considering they were all injured, the three of them didn't fly very fast. After flying for most of the day, they would find a small island to rest.
Several days later, they sensed from afar the auras of many demon cultivators flying past, some high-rank, some low-rank. Presumably, Xuanmiao and the others had taken all the demon cultivators who had attacked Bixuan Pavilion away. According to Amber's meaning, these demon cultivators would return to the Xumi Sea, no longer easily entering the mortal world to avoid the calamity of the Human Realm. Naturally, they would not come to the East Sea again.
As she thought about it, Mo Tiange suddenly laughed.
"What's so funny?" Qin Xi glanced at her and asked casually.
She said, "I'm laughing at us, our luck is just too ridiculously good. Going to the Far West Wind Sand City, we unintentionally found the treasury; coming to the East Sea, we again by a series of coincidences fundamentally solved the problem. Now that the demon cultivators have withdrawn from the East Sea and are no longer enemies of Tianji, can we be considered to have performed a great meritorious service?"
"Of course we can." Qin Xi also wore a slight smile. "This is much harder than guarding the East Sea and preventing demon cultivator invasions. We've saved the Immortal Alliance a lot of manpower and resources."
"Then will there be many rewards?"
Looking at her expectant expression, Qin Xi smiled and patted her head. "Probably."
Mo Tiange then said, "Then after we receive the rewards, let's go back and go into seclusion, okay? Ever since I formed my Nascent Soul, I've been running around east and west. It's time for seclusion."
"Mm." He thought for a moment. "We've performed such a great service. The Immortal Alliance should grant permission."
"That's good. These past days, I've had many insights. If I can go into seclusion for thirty or fifty years, I should be able to attempt a breakthrough to the mid-stage." She said with full confidence.
Qin Xi smiled. "How many Nascent Soul cultivators are trapped in the early stage for their entire lives? You're so confident?"
"Of course. Just look at who I am." Mo Tiange's expression was proud. "...Hmm, I'm still missing one Phoenix Crown Herb to refine the Supreme Clarity Golden Elixir. If I can refine this elixir, I'll have a bit more confidence in advancing to the mid-stage."
"That shouldn't be difficult. When we return to the Immortal Alliance to report the mission, we can just request it as part of the reward."
"Alright..."
The two chatted for a while longer. Mo Tiange raised her voice to call Fairy Fengqing: "Fellow Daoist Fengqing, shall we rest here for the night?"
Fengqing had been meditating with her eyes closed. Now, without even opening her eyes, she slowly responded, "...Alright."
As soon as her words fell, Mo Tiange had already taken out the Ten-Thousand-Mile Solitary Boat from her bosom, pulled Qin Xi's hand, and entered it.
Only then did Fairy Fengqing open her eyes and look up. Under the setting sun, only her lonely figure remained on the small island.
The next day, it wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Mo Tiange and the other emerged from the small boat, joining Fairy Fengqing to continue their journey. That day, they still only flew for half a day. As dusk approached, they again found a small island to rest. Fortunately, there were many small islands here, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to rest so casually.
This time, they didn't even ask for permission, just casually greeted Fairy Fengqing and ducked back into the boat.
The moon rose, the sun set, the sound of waves echoed. Fairy Fengqing sat in the darkness with her eyes open, silent. After a long time, she turned her head to look at the boat parked on the beach. Magical treasures naturally blocked sound, yet she seemed to hear that frivolous, lively voice.
She sat in silence for a long time. When the moon reached its zenith, she finally stood up and walked to the side of the boat.
When the Red Lotus appeared in her hand, it caused a slight fluctuation in the surrounding spiritual energy. Indecision showed on Fairy Fengqing's face. In the end, she gritted her teeth, pointed at the Red Lotus, and brought forth countless petals, forming a complex pattern around the small boat. Then, she tapped her glabella, forcing out a drop of essence blood, which dripped onto the Red Lotus.
A clear hum sounded. The Red Lotus bloomed with radiance. It seemed an invisible pulling force caused all the petals on the ground to fly up, swirling around the small boat in a strange rhythm.
Fairy Fengqing still felt unsatisfied. She forced out another drop of essence blood, dissolving it into the Red Lotus. The Red Lotus's light grew more intense, the petals swirling even more wildly.
Fairy Fengqing clasped her hands together, index fingers aligned, pointing towards her glabella, and shouted in a low voice, "Break!"
An indescribable force firmly encircled the small boat, squeezing it with great pressure—
"Sss—" A somewhat grating sound arose. The top of the small boat slowly stretched, its bottom bulging out unbelievably, like an olive—the material of the Ten-Thousand-Mile Solitary Boat was Heartwood of Profound Iron, incredibly tough and difficult for spells to damage. Yet it had been pulled into such a shape by her, showing the terror of the Red Lotus magical treasure in her hands.
Fairy Fengqing, however, was somewhat dissatisfied. If her Red Lotus hadn't been severely damaged when breaking the restriction in the Six Paths Palace, she would have crushed this boat into dust long ago. Why would it be so troublesome? Hmph, they all say Qin Shoujing is exceptionally clever, but he's nothing more than this...
Thinking this, Fairy Fengqing paused, her mind instantly alerting her: "Not good!"
She immediately abandoned the small boat, stepped onto the Red Lotus, and was about to fly away—
"Fellow Daoist Fengqing, where are you going in such a hurry?" On her escape route, a figure in white robes fluttered, holding a fan, looking at her with a smile at the corner of his mouth. Who else could it be but Mo Tiange?
Fairy Fengqing was greatly shocked. The Red Lotus lit up, petals flying chaotically, attacking her.
Mo Tiange flipped her right hand, the Heaven-Earth Fan snapping open. With a wave towards the petals, a net of golden lightning descended. Without a single sound, the petals vanished without a trace.
Fairy Fengqing was horrified. She had only thought Mo Tiange had formed her Nascent Soul not long ago, her realm might not even be stable, and her methods naturally couldn't compare to her, a seasoned Nascent Soul cultivator. She didn't know Mo Tiange possessed Heavenly Tribulation Lightning. Ordinary early-stage cultivators were definitely no match for her.
She had no time to think further. She pulled from her bosom a black cloak permeated with demonic qi, quickly draping it over herself. With the cloak on, Fairy Fengqing's entire aura changed, as if she had become another person.
"You really do have a backup plan." Mo Tiange said, a parasol painted with pink lotuses and green leaves appearing in her hand, which she leisurely opened.
Under the cloak, Fairy Fengqing's gaze was dark. "You deliberately led me on?"
Mo Tiange, holding the parasol with one hand and the fan with the other, smiled amiably. "What are you saying, Fellow Daoist? We haven't spoken a single false word. How can you call it leading you on?"
Fairy Fengqing's eyes flickered. How could she not understand now? The two of them had deliberately mentioned rewards in front of her, talked about advancing to the mid-stage, deliberately treated her coldly, acted affectionately in front of her... All of this was to provoke her killing intent.
Qin Xi appeared behind her, saying calmly, "This humble one would like to ask the Fairy, if not for our assistance, how would you have escaped, how would you be standing here?"
Fairy Fengqing snorted coldly. Covered by the demonic qi, her originally somewhat beautiful face was gloomy and terrifying. "What, do you still think you have done me a favor?" Her face twisted slightly. "You followed me, waited for an opportunity to snatch treasures, for which you sent your spirit beast to test me; at the Six Paths Palace, you deliberately had me break the restriction and get injured, letting that Divine Monarch senior snatch the opportunity that belonged to me... For all this, should I still be grateful to you?"
Qin Xi's expression remained calm. "Opportunity? What opportunity do you think it was?"
After she regained consciousness, she only heard that Amber had entrusted them with a task, but didn't know what the task was. She just took it for granted that it was an opportunity—a task entrusted by a divine beast, how could it not be an opportunity?
Unfortunately, this assumption of hers, which should have been natural, was wrong. What Amber entrusted was definitely not an opportunity, but a heaven-shaking trouble.
"Even without us, this matter wouldn't have fallen to you." Qin Xi had no desire to explain the task, only saying, "Without us, you wouldn't even have been able to enter the Six Paths Palace, let alone break the restriction. I'm afraid you would have been unable to take a single step out of the Six Paths Palace for your entire life, until your lifespan ended."
"Senior Brother, what's the point explaining to her?" Mo Tiange said. "Look at her like this. Does she seem like someone who would listen to explanations?"
Fairy Fengqing snorted coldly at just the right moment.
Mo Tiange gazed at her with indifferent eyes. "That's right. We did it on purpose. Who told you, Fellow Daoist, to always harbor hostility towards us? You even developed killing intent. Letting you return to Kunwu would just be creating an enemy for ourselves for no reason." Her eyes now also carried a killing intent. "We gave you a chance. If you had peacefully followed us back to Kunwu, we would have let you go. Unfortunately..."
"Should I thank you for your chance?" A strange laugh issued from Fairy Fengqing's throat. She was now controlled by anger. "If you want to kill, then kill. Why be so hypocritical!"
Qin Xi sighed. A brilliant sword light slowly swam out from his sleeve. At the same time, Mo Tiange also raised her Heaven-Earth Fan.
Just as they each prepared to strike, the cloak on Fairy Fengqing's body flashed. Black qi suddenly exploded.
With a "Boom!" of an explosion, flesh and blood flew everywhere. A shadow shot out, unbelievably fast.
Even after using her trump card, temporarily restoring her strength, Fairy Fengqing wasn't arrogant enough to think she could escape safely. The only method was to self-destruct her physical body and let her Nascent Soul escape. After the demonic transformation, the power of physical self-destruction was much greater than under normal circumstances. Relying on the force of this explosion, she believed her Nascent Soul could safely escape back to her sect. By that time...
"Ah..." Flames carrying an aura that incinerated everything came head-on. The small face of the Nascent Soul showed an expression of horror before being submerged by the flames.
Swallowing the burning Nascent Soul in one gulp, chewing it up and swallowing it down, Xiaofeng shook and transformed back into human form, revealing a disdainful expression. "Stupid. Of course, when killing someone, you kill them thoroughly. We were already guarding against this move of yours!" She flew back with a smile. "Master, Mistress, Xiaofeng has not failed your trust!"
Mo Tiange also smiled as she closed the Lotus Parasol, dusting off her sleeves. "Indeed stupid. Once back in Kunwu, how would it be convenient to act? Of course, it's best to resolve the trouble on the way."
As soon as they left the Immortal Palace, they had discussed removing the hidden danger that was Fairy Fengqing. So they had sent Xiaofeng back to the Void Heaven Realm early, letting her recover from her injuries quickly to follow behind and wait for an opportunity to act.
As for why they didn't just kill Fairy Fengqing directly, but deliberately led her to attack them, it was because they needed to hold the moral high ground to properly explain things to the Tiandao Sect.
They had long suspected that Fairy Fengqing's emotions were so easily out of control not just because she didn't cultivate her mental state, but because she practiced some technique that affected her mental state. Sure enough, the method she finally used was clearly a demonic technique. Precisely because practicing demonic techniques made her irritable and lacking self-control, she would attack them without much consideration under the influence of jealousy. A normal Nascent Soul cultivator, even one who didn't cultivate their mental state, wouldn't be so reckless, especially since there were two of them, one of whom was a mid-stage cultivator.
Qin Xi collected the cloak, which remained intact after the self-destruction, into his Qiankun Ring, and said, "Let's go. We still need to think of a way to deal with Liu Dingyuan when we get back."