The mirror surface showed the sacrificial temple's main hall was now empty.
They had waited a year in the Void Heaven Realm, and those trapped Yunzhong cultivators had finally finished slaughtering the ghost cultivators and left. They waited another half a month, and they still hadn't returned.
"Should we leave too?" Mo Tiange asked for the others' opinions.
Everyone exchanged glances, and finally Nie Wushang said, "I think we can go."
Jing Xingzhi stretched lazily: "Let's go, let's go. It's not even convenient to practice swordsmanship here." The truth was, every time he practiced swordsmanship, Mo Tiange would rush out and order him to stop destroying the bamboo forest. But how big was this place? As a Nascent Soul sword cultivator, how could he possibly confine his sword techniques to a radius of just a few li? Because of this, he wasn't the least bit envious of this so-called space crack. He wasn't one of those Dharma cultivators who could advance just by sitting in meditation.
Yang Chengji also nodded. For a demonic cultivator, the dense spiritual qi here was completely unenviable. He was eager to leave.
Finally, Qin Xi said: "They've been gone for so long now; they probably won't be coming back."
Mo Tiange made the decision: "Alright, pack up, let's go out."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she suddenly felt all the spiritual qi around her begin to flow, surging wildly outward.
Everyone was startled. Jing Xingzhi, who was mid-stretch, froze: "What's going on?"
Mo Tiange stood up, pushed open the door, and saw flickering spiritual light everywhere outside. Countless streams of spiritual qi, visible to the naked eye, were surging towards one location.
"Xiaofan!" she exclaimed in surprise.
Feifei was crouched on Stone's shoulder. Stone was sitting in front of Xiaofan's den by the stream, staring at it. Seeing them come out, Feifei scratched his golden fur and said gloomily, "It actually beat me to it."
He was resentful. He was the spiritual beast who had absorbed the Divine Beast's Breath first, and he had already taken human form. How could Xiaofan have gotten ahead? It had only obtained the Breath of Xuanwu for a year.
Mo Tiange said, "Who told you to be so lazy? Even Xiaohuo is more diligent than you."
"I'm not lazy anymore..." After being ordered into seclusion back then, he had become very diligent. But when it came to advancing a stage, it was hard to say.
Qin Xi said, "Xiaofan is nearly a thousand years old. It has always cultivated diligently and has a rich accumulation. Now that it has obtained the Breath of Xuanwu, breaking through its shackles in one go is not strange."
Among the several spiritual beasts, Xiaofan was the one with the richest accumulation. Its temperament was obedient, and it never slacked off in its cultivation. Its advancement was a natural progression.
After watching for a while, Mo Tiange called out, "Xiaofeng?"
In mid-air, Xiaofeng transformed into human form and drifted down in fluttering red robes: "Master, Madam."
"Leave this to you," Mo Tiange said, pointing at Xiaofan.
Xiaofeng nodded: "Xiaofeng understands."
"Let's go," Mo Tiange said. "Xiaofan's advancement won't be a matter of just a day or two."
Jing Xingzhi sighed dramatically: "Another one..."
Mo Tiange ignored him. She summoned the pearl from between her brows, recited an incantation, and sent the group out of the Void Heaven Realm.
The Xuanwu Ritual Temple was quiet, devoid of any human presence.
The five of them cautiously checked their surroundings, confirmed no one was there, and then exited the temple.
Outside the temple, only faint traces of death qi remained, indicating the ghost cultivators had been completely exterminated. Following their original path back, the way was unbelievably clean. The black water in the cavern had decreased significantly, and the "people" formed from it were much less powerful. Mo Tiange guessed that this black water also relied on the death qi produced by the ghost cultivators to exist. Now that the ghost cultivators had been slaughtered, losing the source of death qi, presumably this black water would slowly disappear as well.
Passing through the cavern, the Earth-Splitting Gorge was empty and desolate, leaving only death qi. Looking down from above, they could vaguely see the gorge was littered with broken walls and tiles, and piles of white bones. Presumably, this had once been a human settlement that suddenly encountered a catastrophe, with all perishing, turning it into a world of ghost cultivators.
Crossing the gorge and the dark river, as soon as they emerged from the cave, they found the aura within Carefree Valley had drastically changed. The residual fluctuations of spiritual qi were extremely intense.
"What's going on?" Jing Xingzhi frowned. "Just fighting shouldn't have such a big impact, right?"
Mo Tiange extended her divine sense. After a moment, she said, "Just as I thought. Demon Lord Yueying and the others prepared a trap long ago, waiting for them to step into it."
"What trap?"
"A killing formation more dangerous than a great sect's mountain-protecting grand formation. Probably the handiwork of the Five Elements Valley," Mo Tiange said. "Let's hurry and leave. With such a formation present, Carefree Valley is perilous at every step. If we get entangled again, it'll be troublesome."
Everyone understood. Two major forces in Yunzhong were currently clashing. It was best for them to leave quickly.
Following Mo Tiange, twisting and turning to avoid the lethal formation, the group swiftly left Carefree Valley.
Outside Carefree Valley, there was no one, a far cry from the grand spectacle of that day. Without delay, they left the Jialing Mountains and headed for the nearest cultivation town to use a teleportation formation.
Arriving at a small town not far from Jialing Mountain, the group found high-level cultivators coming and going within the town, among them many Nascent Souls. Low-level cultivators were trembling with fear, moving cautiously.
Yang Chengji volunteered to gather information. He returned shortly and said, "Yunzhong is in great chaos."
Mo Tiange hurriedly asked, "What's the situation?"
Yang Chengji said, "Demon Lord Yueying indeed set a trap in Carefree Valley. Of the more than fifty Nascent Soul cultivators, over half were killed or injured. Only about twenty escaped alive, including Perfected One Yuan Mu of the Jiuyan Sect. Over the past year, the Yue Shan Academy, together with the Danxia Sect and the Five Elements Valley, have been pressuring the Jiuyan Sect. Nearly ten of the Jiuyan Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators have gone missing, causing great turmoil. Fortunately, their foundation is deep, and with Perfected One Tiemian holding the fort, they managed to hold on. As soon as Perfected One Yuan Mu escaped and returned to the Jiuyan Sect, he declared war on those several great sects."
"Ah!" Nie Wushang exclaimed in shock. "Although the Jiuyan Sect is powerful, how can they stand against three great sects? Were their losses severe?"
"It seems not severe. Exactly how many casualties, the Jiuyan Sect hasn't announced."
Of course, the Jiuyan Sect wouldn't announce such news. However, judging by their confident demeanor, their losses probably weren't great.
Qin Xi said slowly, "The Nascent Soul cultivators who escaped from Carefree Valley will all choose to side with the Jiuyan Sect. After being schemed against like that by the three great sects, how could they swallow that anger? This way, both sides can stand in opposition."
"Exactly," Yang Chengji nodded. "The demonic and Buddhist paths are also unsettled. Night Owl City has also declared war on Yueying City. Venerable Xiang and Demon Lord Yeshuang joined forces to attack Yueying City. And Old Donkey Ma..." At the end, he sighed. "Most of Yunzhong's forces are involved. Presumably, there will be no peace for at least several decades."
"What about Ling Yunhe?" Mo Tiange asked. "Any news of him?"
"He's fine," Yang Chengji said flatly. "One could say misfortune turned to fortune. He regained Perfected One Yuan Mu's trust."
Mo Tiange nodded. In that case, she could rest easy.
The five of them fell into relative silence for a moment. Finally, Mo Tiange spoke: "Fellow Daoist Yang, what are your plans next?"
Yang Chengji said without hesitation, "I don't want to get involved in Yunzhong's affairs. However, if you have any more news about sacrificial temples, please allow me to accompany you."
Mo Tiange nodded. After fighting side by side this time, Yang Chengji had proven his trustworthiness through his actions. They had no reason to refuse such a helper.
"Then, shall we return to Yunzhong?" She turned to look at Qin Xi.
Qin Xi hummed in agreement. "Yunzhong is in great chaos. It's better if we leave. What about you two?" He looked at Jing Xingzhi and Nie Wushang.
Nie Wushang said, "I need to go into seclusion once, then return to Yunzhong to resolve one matter." Her expression was calm, clearly having given it deep thought long ago.
Mo Tiange thought for a moment and knew what matter she meant to resolve. Looking at her, she said, "If you need it, come find me."
Nie Wushang nodded in acknowledgment, then smiled. "I'm afraid there won't be such an opportunity. This matter, I must do it myself." That was her own karma.
Mo Tiange also smiled, patting her shoulder. "Then I wish you success in your endeavor."
"What about you? Are you willing to accept my suggestion?" Qin Xi looked at Jing Xingzhi.
Jing Xingzhi stretched again and said, "I'll go back with you." He said it as if offhand, without any struggle, having presumably considered it for a long time.
Seeing him agree, Qin Xi was instead taken aback. "Have you thought it through?"
Jing Xingzhi smiled faintly. "You're right. In extraordinary times, why cling to those things? The Ancient Sword Sect was my beginning. I want to go back and reclaim everything my master lost."
Perhaps he no longer held the reverent feelings for the Ancient Sword Sect he once had. But within the Ancient Sword Sect were people he respected. Whether it was his late master or Sword Venerable Yuanying, he didn't want their efforts to come to nothing. If it was truly as they said, that after the Great Upheaval of Heaven and Earth came the destruction of the world, he still wanted to return to the Ancient Sword Sect.
"Hey, if you go back to the Ancient Sword Sect, what will your title be? Xingzhi Sword Venerable? Ah, no, that gives me goosebumps."
Jing Xingzhi glared fiercely at Mo Tiange and said, "In our Ancient Sword Sect, some venerable titles use names, some use Daoist titles, some use sword names. I never took a Daoist title, so naturally, it would be my sword name for the title."
Although the Ancient Sword Sect was also based on the Dao, they weren't like orthodox Daoist sects where one took a Daoist title upon forming a Core, becoming a Perfected One or Dao Lord. Whether to take a Daoist title was up to the individual. Among the Nascent Soul Sword Venerables, Yuanying was a name, Fuling and Chongguang were Daoist titles, and Xiaohe was a sword name. Jing Xingzhi's name had three characters, and he had no Daoist title, so naturally, he would follow the custom of using the sword name for the title, becoming Sword Venerable Zhishui.
"Sword Venerable Zhishui, Sword Venerable Zhishui..." Mo Tiange repeated it twice, suppressing a laugh. "It really suits you..."
Jing Xingzhi ignored her.
"Congratulations," Nie Wushang said with a smile, nodding to him.
Accustomed to Nie Wushang's occasional barbs, Jing Xingzhi felt oddly uncomfortable hearing this. He asked cautiously, "Are you feeling alright?"
Nie Wushang's smile vanished, and she said seriously, "Do you want to change your sword name?"
"..."
"If there's nothing else, let's go," Qin Xi interjected. "Our group is too conspicuous. It's best not to linger here."
Mo Tiange nodded and said, "Let's leave a message for Ling Yunhe. After all, he's considered our companion now."
No one objected.
Mo Tiange thought for a moment and said to Nie Wushang and Yang Chengji, "You two possess the Great Primordial Demon Art. It's best if you leave Yunzhong to avoid running into Demon Lord Yueying."
Yang Chengji said, "I still have some matters to resolve. Once resolved, I'll leave Yunzhong. I might go to Tianji then."
Nie Wushang said, "I've already planned to hide in Xiaoyang for a while."
Mo Tiange was taken aback. "Xiaoyang?"
"Mm," Nie Wushang nodded. "Xiaoyang is a place of barren mountains and evil waters, with a complex population. It's a good place to hide. Neither Yunzhong nor Tianji is suitable for me at the moment."
Mo Tiange thought of Perfected One Songfeng and sighed.
The five of them finally decided: Yang Chengji would deliver the message to Ling Yunhe. Then they exchanged long-range communication talismans, agreed on a contact location, and finally, bid each other farewell and parted ways.