In the dark mountain belly, a long and broad canyon stretched across, as if a slash left by an enraged immortal, with sheer, vertical cliffs on both sides shrouded in black mist.
At the edge of the canyon stood a tall, straight figure in black robes. He watched the churning black mist and wandering ghost cultivators within the canyon, remaining silent like the refined corpse beside him.
After an unknown length of time, a figure in blue scholar's robes flew over and landed behind him.
"Senior Yueying," the person cupped his hands in greeting. Though he used the honorific 'senior', his tone held little respect.
The man in black—Demon Lord Yueying—turned around to look at the middle-aged scholar before him. Even without his cloak, his face remained indistinct, seemingly due to his cultivation technique.
"Fellow Daoist Han," Demon Lord Yueying said slowly.
This middle-aged scholar was none other than Han Shizhi. He maintained his usual unflappable demeanor. Since forming his Nascent Soul, he no longer appeared outwardly refined but inwardly sinister as before; now his surface and interior seemed consistent, yet he had become even more inscrutable. "The melee over there has already begun. Presumably, they can hold out for a while. I wonder when the Jiuyan Sect will arrive?"
Hearing this, Demon Lord Yueying gave a sinister chuckle. "The Jiuyan Sect's methods have always been watertight. When the time comes, they will naturally appear."
Han Shizhi narrowed his eyes. "What about Old Donkey Ma? Does Senior plan to give him a share of the spoils?"
A flicker passed through Demon Lord Yueying's indistinct gaze. "What? Can't bear to part with it?"
Han Shizhi snorted lightly, his voice contemptuous. "That old fellow should at least do something worth sharing. He's nowhere to be seen when there's work to be done, but he's quick to come snatch the benefits."
"Heh..." Demon Lord Yueying gave a low laugh. "Be that as it may, without him, how could we have deceived those people?"
Han Shizhi said coldly, "That old thing will get his comeuppance sooner or later."
"That's a matter for the future," Demon Lord Yueying said. "Let's talk about it when we have a future."
The two fell silent for a moment before Demon Lord Yueying asked, "Shouldn't Master Yu have arrived by now?"
Han Shizhi nodded. "My teacher has already set out. It's just inconvenient for him to use the public teleportation arrays, so it will take some time."
"Yuan Mu, that old man, has already left the Jiuyan Sect. We can't afford delays."
On this point, Han Shizhi was more confident. "Even if we can't find Yuan Zhen, we can still delay him for a while. That should be enough."
Demon Lord Yueying nodded. "Let's hope it goes that smoothly."
***
The Heaven-Earth Fan swept through the air, and an azure dragon soared up, trailing ten thousand zhang of golden light, spreading a dazzling radiance.
Mo Tiange pulled Nie Wushang back, and the two retreated slightly as Ling Yunhe took their position at the forefront.
"Wushang, are you alright?" she asked.
Nie Wushang's face was pale. She took out a black jade talisman from her bosom and gave it a light squeeze. The black mist was swiftly absorbed by her, and her complexion rapidly improved. "I'm fine. I'll be alright after resting a while." She had expended too much energy and sustained many minor injuries while fleeing Demon Lord Yueying's pursuit. Though she had rested for over half a month, she still tired easily.
She looked worriedly toward the entrance. These people seemed to have reached a consensus. Could they hold them off?
Mo Tiange shared the same concern. The two exchanged a glance and wordlessly retreated to the side, each sitting down to meditate.
The six of them and the spirit beast took turns guarding the entrance, resolutely not letting anyone in. The cultivators blocked outside watched and simply followed their example, agreeing to take shifts. This suddenly increased the pressure on them, as there were over twenty Nascent Soul cultivators out there. They could simply wear them down to death.
"Hold on," Ling Yunhe said, his gaze firm. "The Jiuyan Sect cannot possibly stand by and watch me die. If we hold out, we'll survive."
Seeing him like this, Mo Tiange couldn't help but sigh inwardly. She too hoped Ling Yunhe was right, that the Jiuyan Sect wouldn't abandon him. But what if the Jiuyan Sect truly did abandon him?
After thinking for a while, Mo Tiange shook her head. No, they had to come, if not for Ling Yunhe, then for the God-Restricting Bead and the Xuanwu.
None of them expected that this defense would last three days. At first, they relied on their strength to suppress the others, but later, they were barely holding on purely through medicinal pills. Watching their pill supply gradually dwindle, Mo Tiange grew worried. Aside from Nie Wushang and Yang Chengji, everyone else needed pills to replenish their Spiritual Qi. Though each of them had considerable personal wealth, Nascent Soul cultivators expended enormous amounts in combat. And once a fight broke out, the outcome was decided much faster than with lower-level cultivators. Moreover, high-grade pills were extremely precious; no matter how rich one was, they couldn't be consumed like candy beans as in the Qi Refining stage. She hesitated for a long time, then looked outside and made a decision.
"Senior Brother," she transmitted in a low voice, "We're running out of pills. Should I take some out?"
Qin Xi signaled for Jing Xingzhi to cover his position and retreated. From Mo Tiange's eyes, he understood her meaning and frowned slightly. "You want to..."
"Mm," she paused, then explained, "The Jiuyan Sect probably won't abandon Ling Yunhe, but to them, our presence is of no benefit. Who knows if the Jiuyan Sect is waiting for us to be exhausted before rescuing Ling Yunhe?"
Qin Xi silently pondered for a moment. "You have a point."
"Then I'll go get them?"
Qin Xi quickly scanned the people present and nodded. "I'll cover you."
Mo Tiange understood his meaning. "In ancient times, there were many peculiar storage treasures."
Qin Xi gave her a faint smile. The Three Yang True Fire Sword appeared, countless sword lights dazzling and brilliant, encircling her tightly in the middle. Under the cover of the sword light, others would find it difficult to detect slight Spiritual Qi fluctuations. Mo Tiange entered the Void Heaven Realm, went to the storage room, and loaded all the usable pills into her Qiankun Ring. After a moment's thought, she also released Xiaofan and Feifei, instructing them to stay put.
When she exited the Void Heaven Realm, Qin Xi withdrew the Three Yang True Fire Sword and distributed the pills to the others.
Ling Yunhe was surprised when he saw the pills Mo Tiange handed him. "Fellow Daoist Mo, this..."
Mo Tiange said calmly, "I prepared many in my storage treasure, but accessing them is somewhat troublesome."
Their actions just now might have fooled the cultivators outside, but not Ling Yunhe and the others. Hearing her explanation, Ling Yunhe didn't doubt her, simply assuming her treasure was unique. He nodded and accepted them. "Thank you."
Jing Xingzhi didn't even ask. He was already accustomed to it—this husband and wife pair were mysterious, constantly producing strange things.
However, looking at the high-grade pills Mo Tiange gave, he couldn't suppress the flames of envy blazing within him. "You two have far too many good things!" He remembered back in the Guixu Sea Immortal Palace, when he had swiped a bottle of Nine Revolutions Return Yang Pills from Mo Tiange, he had been overjoyed. And now she was giving out two bottles just like that! Jing Xingzhi regretted it—he should have leveraged that favor to extort more back then.
"Less chatter, focus on fighting!" Mo Tiange said.
Jing Xingzhi swallowed a handful of pills and, without another word, continued blocking the entrance. This was a matter of life and death.
With these pills, everyone's confidence grew. Those outside rotated shifts longer than they did, having ample time to fully recover their Spiritual Qi. But they had one shortcoming—they weren't united. Each had their own calculations, wanting to exert less effort, so none would fight desperately.
Watching these people, Jing Xingzhi shot Qin Xi a meaningful glance, his gaze subtly lingering on one particular cultivator.
This cultivator was at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage, middle-aged in appearance. His lifebound treasure was a pair of golden nails several inches long. When attacking, the two nails transformed into golden light; when defending, they formed a golden screen. The transitions were smooth, and both forms were quite formidable. However, a balance between offense and defense also meant neither was particularly outstanding.
Qin Xi gave a slight nod, indicating he understood.
Amidst the crisscrossing sword lights, Jing Xingzhi suddenly erupted. Countless sword light illusions enveloped that early-stage cultivator. The cultivator paled in shock, his treasure shifting to transform into a golden screen. In the next instant, an incredibly sharp crimson sword light abruptly appeared, disrupting his action.
This cultivator remained calm nonetheless. He reached into his Qiankun Bag, and a white light shone forth, tightly protecting him.
Qin Xi pointed a finger, and a flame suddenly shot out from that sword light. A vast, sacred, fervent, and destructive intent spread forth unimpeded, its imposing might forcefully suppressing that early-stage cultivator.
Simultaneously, within the dazzlingly brilliant sword light illusions, a golden light abruptly appeared, radiating an equally vast aura. The violent, murderous intent contained within it made one tremble. This golden light merged into the sword light, and everyone seemed to hear the roar of a white tiger, their minds shaken violently. That early-stage cultivator faced this sharp killing intent directly. He only had time for his Nascent Soul to flee his body before feeling a chill—his physical body was shattered to pieces.
The crimson sword light that had already risen earlier appeared once more. With a clear cry, gorgeous flame tail feathers swept out. Within the sacred flames, the Nascent Soul was instantly scorched black, turning into flying ash. Along with the physical body, it vanished completely, not even leaving behind the Qiankun Bag.
Everyone was horrified.
None had expected these two to suddenly erupt and, with lightning speed, slay a cultivator without even giving his Nascent Soul a chance to escape.
What formidable skill! What ruthless methods! What technique had they just used? That kind of imposing might was far superior to the cultivation techniques they practiced. Some thought: Wasn't this Fellow Daoist Qin the one who seized the Jiuyan Sect's Bow of the Vermilion Bird? And just now, a firebird appeared again. Could this be the Vermilion Bird's legacy? And what about the other one? Clearly an obscure sword cultivator, yet possessing strength not inferior to Fellow Daoist Qin. Could he also have obtained a divine beast's legacy? And what about Ling Yunhe? If he absorbed the Xuanwu relic, plus the God-Restricting Bead, wouldn't an early Nascent Soul defeat a mid-stage one? Perhaps he could even contend with a late-stage Nascent Soul?
For a moment, everyone was both intimidated and stirred by greed.
At that moment, Yang Chengji, who had been covering for them all along, swept his Ghost Face Banner. A ghost face detached from the banner and viciously bit another cultivator.
This cultivator snapped out of his daze, slapped out a top-grade Nascent Soul talisman, and retreated violently, letting others take his place. After retreating, he looked and saw that the spot accidentally bitten by the ghost face had already turned blackish-purple, swelling up to the size of a walnut. He couldn't help but be greatly alarmed, thinking to himself: If he hadn't acted decisively and sacrificed that top-grade spirit talisman, wouldn't he have ended up like that other fellow, losing his life?
The others witnessed this sudden change and involuntarily retreated further.
Those two were immensely powerful, and this Yang Chengji was equally troublesome to deal with. Then there were Ling Yunhe and Mo Tiange behind them—one nurtured with utmost care by the Jiuyan Sect, the other daring to challenge a group of Nascent Soul cultivators even at the Core Formation stage. Even that inconspicuous woman in black robes wasn't someone to be trifled with.
Everyone hesitated. Facing such a formidable group, was it necessary to sacrifice their lives for others' gain?