The four Nascent Soul cultivators of the Biyun Sect were also holding a secret discussion.
Aside from the Luan-Feng Immortal Couple, the Biyun Sect also had two early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators: Feng Ning and Qinglan. Feng Ning, needless to say, was the daughter of the most powerful Nascent Soul couple in all of Tianji, so her Core Formation was a matter of course. Qinglan, however, had fought her way up from the lower ranks of the Biyun Sect. Her aptitude was ordinary, she was slightly older than Feng Ning, and had formed her Core earlier. She was a junior whom the Luan-Feng Immortal Couple heavily relied upon and whom they recognized as the next generation's chief seat—as for Feng Ning's temperament, forget it; if she became chief seat, she'd offend everyone.
Ding Luan said, "The Xuanqing Sect is definitely about to make a major move; that much is certain. We can't stop it, and anyway, we're not the Tiandao Sect; we don't need to fight for the empty title of the number one sect. What we need to consider is how we should treat the Xuanqing Sect from now on. Should we draw closer or keep our distance?"
Qinglan pondered briefly and said, "This disciple believes it would be better to draw much closer."
"Oh?"
Qinglan spoke slowly, "Our spies within the sect report that the Xuanqing Sect obtained a batch of Feifei in the East Sea. These beasts are extremely adept at treasure hunting. Now, groups of Xuanqing Sect disciples are leaving the sect with Feifei, wandering various regions. They are undoubtedly searching for resources to enhance their strength. As for the Xuanqing Sect's group of Nascent Soul Dao Lords, we need not say more; the three youngest among them are the most talented cultivators in recent years. It is highly likely they will advance to the mid-stage, or even the late-stage. With resources and manpower, the Xuanqing Sect's rise will be unstoppable. Drawing closer to them will do us no harm."
Ding Luan and Feng Xiao couldn't help but nod.
The Xuanqing Sect had always been upright and peaceful, with strict sect rules, and its relations with various sects were quite good. The Xuanqing Sect's various Nascent Soul Dao Lords also had excellent personal relationships with the couple.
Similar secret discussions were happening within the other major sects. They could all see that the Xuanqing Sect was about to rise powerfully, but they all underestimated the degree of this power.
Over the next few decades, the momentum of the Xuanqing Sect's rise could be described as earth-shattering.
First, Core Formation cultivators appeared explosively within the Xuanqing Sect. Every few years, someone would form their Core. In just a few short decades, the number of Core Formation cultivators climbed to fifty.
This might not be strange in Yunzhong, but in Tianji, it was unprecedented.
When the number of Core Formation cultivators rises to a certain level, Nascent Soul cultivators will emerge. This was common knowledge in the cultivation world. By now, they understood that the Xuanqing Sect's number of Nascent Soul cultivators would definitely not remain at eight.
Such a rising momentum terrified many sects, especially the Tiandao Sect. But no matter what methods they used, they could not stop the Xuanqing Sect's growth.
In the third year of their seclusion, Mo Tiange and Qin Xi completely fused the four cultivation methods together, creating a new technique. This technique was primarily based on dual cultivation, perfectly suited to their own unique traits, allowing their cultivation to proceed with twice the result for half the effort.
They still called this technique the Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Great Method, but its inner workings were completely different.
With the technique created, the two temporarily emerged from seclusion to instruct their disciples.
Yi Wen and Xi Su's attainments in formations grew increasingly profound; they were beginning to grasp the mysteries of the Profound Mechanism Formation Book. The two of them—one experienced and adaptable, the other stubbornly tenacious and single-minded to the end—nonetheless arrived at the same destination, each applying the Profound Mechanism Formation Book in their own ingenious ways.
As for Xie Zhengyi, he was the least worrisome. He possessed a remarkably tenacious spirit, capable of autonomously discarding all distractions and focusing solely on his own tasks. In these three years, he had thoroughly mastered the Mechanist Arts for his current realm; his foundation was even more solid than Mo Tiange's.
Upon discovering this, Mo Tiange demanded he focus his energy on cultivation. Without advancing to Core Formation, he could still create Core Formation-level mechanisms, but the difficulty would be ten times greater than if he himself advanced to Core Formation. As for Nascent Soul-level mechanisms, it would be impossible. Only by advancing to Core Formation could his understanding of Spiritual Qi reach a new realm. Mo Tiange hoped that even if Xie Zhengyi could not form a Nascent Soul, he would at least advance to Core Formation. Only then could he create Nascent Soul-level mechanical puppets and truly pass on the Mechanist Arts.
Fortunately, Xie Zhengyi was obedient. He immediately picked up his neglected cultivation base again and began cultivating day and night—Mo Tiange discovered one of his flaws: he could only focus on one thing at a time. However, this wasn't a major problem. Once Xie Zhengyi advanced to Core Formation, he could devote himself entirely to the Mechanist Arts.
Then there were Chi Yunshu and Sang Yushu. Their personalities were actually somewhat similar; both were resolute and tenacious individuals, decisive in handling matters, acting without hesitation when they knew what to do. Yet they were also different: Chi Yunshu was silent, while Sang Yushu was introverted.
In three years, both had cultivated their respective techniques to a proficient level. Especially Sang Yushu. He had been stuck at the early Foundation Establishment stage for about fifty years, accumulating a rich foundation. Upon obtaining a suitable technique, his progress was astonishingly rapid; he easily broke through the bottleneck and reached mid Foundation Establishment. Although Qin Xi had given him many pills and spirit stones, his spiritual roots were truly not great. To achieve such results, he must have been exceptionally diligent, without the slightest slack.
Chi Yunshu was slightly worse off. First, she had not been at Foundation Establishment for long and had no accumulation to speak of. Second, unlike Sang Yushu, she had completely dissolved her previously cultivated technique and was now cultivating it anew from scratch; it would be impossible without over a decade. This point demonstrated Chi Yunshu's determination and decisiveness. Even if it would take over ten years, once she confirmed the technique was unhelpful, she dissolved it without hesitation.
Additionally, there was another piece of news: Ye Zhenji had failed in his Core Formation attempt. The two of them had long been mentally prepared for this and were not disappointed. As long as he knew how to learn from the experience, he would eventually succeed in forming his Core.
After instructing their disciples, they went to Shangqing Palace to pay their respects to Dao Lord Jinghe. Dao Lord Jinghe examined their newly comprehended Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Great Method, clicking his tongue in admiration, indicating that even he couldn't have done better.
Subsequently, Dao Lord Jinghe told them that everything had been normal over the past three years, and even the conflict had somewhat relaxed. After all, fighting consumed a great deal. This was true for the righteous path, the demonic path, and the demonic cultivators. They couldn't maintain high-intensity combat indefinitely; appropriate relaxation was necessary for it to continue.
This, from another perspective, indicated that the so-called great chaos of the world might not have arrived yet. They had more time to prepare.
Upon learning this news, the two returned to seclusion once more. This period of seclusion might last ten years, or even several decades.
Within the cultivation chamber of the Void Heaven Realm, Mo Tiange and Qin Xi sat facing each other, both meditating with closed eyes. First, they each regulated their breathing. Then, the steps of their breathing regulation gradually synchronized until, finally, they breathed in and out together, rose and fell together, as if they were a single entity.
With each breath, pure Yang Spiritual Qi and Yin Spiritual Qi slowly extended from their bodies until they coalesced into a single whole.
The Yang Spiritual Qi and Yin Spiritual Qi intertwined, blended, and nourished each other, slowly beginning to grow stronger.
However, their Yin-Yang Spiritual Qi contained many personal elements, such as Primordial Chaos Qi, the Three Primal Lights, and the Breath of Divine Beasts.
Qin Xi's Breath of the Vermilion Bird had already merged with his entire body's Spiritual Qi; his Yang Spiritual Qi carried the Breath of the Vermilion Bird. Mo Tiange's Breath of the Azure Dragon was more obscure, but under the gradual guidance of the Breath of the Vermilion Bird, it also began to emanate.
The moment the Breath of the Vermilion Bird and the Breath of the Azure Dragon touched, something suddenly erupted with brilliant light, illuminating the entire Void Heaven Realm and startling the three spirit beasts within.
Feifei, who had inherited the Breath of the White Tiger, was the most sensitive. He immediately recognized it as the Breath of a Divine Beast, but it was neither the Azure Dragon nor the Vermilion Bird—it was the Qilin.
Why was there the Breath of the Qilin? He hesitated, looking towards Mo Tiange's cultivation chamber, but ultimately did not disturb them.
When that light erupted, the Spiritual Qi on Mo Tiange and Qin Xi's bodies seemed to be drawn, surging wildly towards the source of the light.
The two opened their eyes in surprise, discovering a small object floating between them. It was this object that was emitting a powerful aura.
"What is this?" Mo Tiange asked in shock.
Qin Xi was first puzzled, then bewildered, before suddenly realizing, "It's the Qilin Bone. That fragment of Qilin Bone."
Mo Tiange's thoughts immediately turned to the Six Paths Palace, to Amber's piece of Qilin Bone. She asked, "Wasn't it taken away by Senior Amber?"
Qin Xi said, "After Amber passed away, this fragment of Qilin Bone didn't scatter with the wind, but it seemed to have lost all its Spiritual Qi, becoming dull and lusterless, so it was overlooked. I picked it up casually."
"Lost its Spiritual Qi?" Mo Tiange stared at the fragment of Qilin Bone. How did this look like it had lost its Spiritual Qi?
The Qilin Bone suddenly stopped absorbing their Spiritual Qi. With a flash of light, suddenly, a thick Breath of the Qilin surged out, pouring back towards them.
"Ugh..." Both were greatly alarmed, but under the suppression of the Breath of the Qilin, they were unable to move, only able to watch helplessly as the Breath of the Qilin poured into their meridians.
Pain. That was Mo Tiange's first sensation. Her meridians felt as if they were being torn to shreds, an unbearable agony. She recalled the situation of Perfected One Yuanmu and Ling Yunhe in the Vermilion Bird Sacrificial Temple. Was she about to endure the same? Her eyes darted towards Qin Xi, hoping his Yang Spirit Pearl would come to the rescue again.
Qin Xi understood her meaning and immediately activated the Yang Spirit Pearl. A faint red glow lit up in his dantian. The Breath of the Qilin paused for a moment, then surged towards the Yang Spirit Pearl. During this process, Qin Xi also suffered excruciating pain. However, his meridians had experienced the Breath of the Vermilion Bird before, so it wasn't particularly unbearable.
This process lasted half a day. Most of the Breath of the Qilin surged towards the Yang Spirit Pearl, while a smaller portion still poured into Mo Tiange. But with the Yang Spirit Pearl sharing the burden, her pain was not as severe.
"Why... does it single me out..." Mo Tiange said through gritted teeth.
Qin Xi managed a pained smile. "Because... I don't have an earth spiritual root."
Mo Tiange was stunned, instantly understanding. She had a Primordial Chaos spiritual root, so the Breath of any Divine Beast could exist within her. Qin Xi lacked an earth spiritual root, so the earth-attributed Qilin ignored him.
Just as she was slowly becoming unable to endure it, the Breath of the Qilin gradually weakened. The light from that piece of Qilin Bone also slowly dimmed until, finally, it lost all its luster and fell down.
The two finally regained their freedom, gasping for breath.
"I..." Mo Tiange tried to speak, but the intense pain from her nearly torn meridians choked her words and even brought tears to her eyes.
Qin Xi hadn't absorbed this Breath of the Qilin, so he wasn't in as much pain. He quickly reached out to support her.
"What exactly is going on? Could it be that all of Senior Amber's Breath of the Divine Beast is within this piece of Qilin Bone?"
Qin Xi didn't know either, but it seemed that way.
Mo Tiange truly couldn't sit still anymore and lay down. "No, my meridians hurt too much, my dantian feels too full... I need to absorb this Breath of the Qilin."
Qin Xi felt somewhat helpless, but thinking about it, he also found it amusing. They had exhausted their efforts to create a new Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Great Method, and on their very first cultivation session, they encountered such a thing. Who would have thought that piece of Qilin Bone, which had lost its Spiritual Qi, would have absorbed Amber's Breath of the Qilin?
"It's alright. I'll help you. You can slowly absorb it by borrowing my body." Qin Xi helped her sit up. "Let's continue cultivating. Channel the excess Breath of the Qilin to me. You focus on absorbing a portion."
Mo Tiange gritted her teeth against the pain, nodded, closed her eyes, and began cultivating again.