After a long and dusty journey back to the Xuanqing Sect, the two went to pay their respects to Dao Lord Jinghe.
Dao Lord Jinghe was quite satisfied that they had returned in just over a year. "Well? How were your gains?"
This question made the two of them pause for a moment. Thinking back carefully, it seemed that apart from Xiaofan obtaining the Breath of Xuanwu, they had gained nothing at all... Had they been busy for nothing?
After they recounted their experiences in detail, Dao Lord Jinghe listened and waved his hand grandly. "Getting the Xuanwu is what matters. Wait until you visit the last ritual temple, then we'll see what the situation is."
Mo Tiange pondered for a while, then asked with confusion, "Master, according to Senior Amber, it seemed very difficult for her friend to reach the ritual temples. Why was it so simple for us? If there had been no competition, it was practically smooth sailing, completely without any setbacks. And as for the so-called secret, we discovered nothing at all. Did we do something wrong?"
Dao Lord Jinghe said, "I've thought about this matter for a long time, and it does seem rather off. However, this is just Senior Amber's retelling. We don't truly know how things actually were. With too little information, it's impossible to deduce anything..."
Mo Tiange sighed. She also knew that with just this little information, it was very difficult to infer the truth.
"Alright, you two go and rest. Regarding the Qilin ritual temple, there are absolutely no clues at all. I'm afraid we'll have to slowly gather information. You two should just focus on your cultivation."
"Yes, Master," the two replied. After asking about some matters concerning the sect, they withdrew from the Shangqing Palace and returned to their cave abode at the Jiyuan Pond.
Seeing the two of them, Xiao Guzi and Xiao Zui, who had been sitting back-to-back by the pond laughing heartily while reading, were so startled they scrambled to their feet. "We pay our respects to the two Ancestral Masters! We welcome the return of the two Ancestral Masters!"
Mo Tiange found it amusing. "Why are you so afraid?"
Looking up and seeing they weren't angry, Xiao Guzi revealed a smile and said, "This disciple was discourteous. Please do not blame us, Ancestral Masters."
"Just don't go out and embarrass yourselves," Qin Xi had already gone inside. Mo Tiange tossed out a sentence, "Call everyone here."
"Yes, Ancestral Master Qingwei!"
Not long after, all the disciples came to pay their respects.
Yi Wen and Xi Su were still not present. Mo Tiange had trained them primarily to serve the sect, so she didn't mind. Ye Zhenji and Shui Linbo were also absent. Ye Zhenji was determined to properly temper himself and had been fighting enemies at the Tianmo Mountain in recent years, while Shui Linbo had gone out to seek an opportunity to form her Core. Those remaining in the cave abode were Sang Yushu, Xie Zhengyi, and Chi Yunshu. Upon hearing the news, the three hurried to pay their respects.
The two carefully inquired about their disciples' studies and were quite satisfied. Indeed, they had been right not to judge solely by aptitude. Besides aptitude, temperament was more important. Look at these three—where could one find such worry-free disciples?
"You are doing well," Mo Tiange said gently. "However, regarding cultivation, one must balance exertion and relaxation; you must not force it. Your foundations are not particularly solid, so you absolutely must not rush. You must understand that how many years old you are when you form your Core or Nascent Soul—these are just empty titles. What's most important is taking each step steadily."
Thinking about it, she felt that as the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator in Tianji, saying age wasn't important seemed a bit like taking advantage and then acting coy, making it hard to convince others. So she continued, "On this point, I have the deepest personal experience. If one can advance later, when the conditions are ripe, it involves far fewer hidden dangers and allows one to go much further than advancing early but having to spend time consolidating one's foundation."
Both her disciples, along with Sang Yushu, nodded in agreement. They had all heard that when Dao Lord Qingwei was at Foundation Establishment, she had deliberately slowed her cultivation speed. At the time, they had only felt envy, but now they had gained a different understanding.
After some instruction, they sent the three disciples away. The two sat facing each other, not speaking for a long while.
After a long time, Qin Xi asked, "What are you thinking about?"
After a moment, Mo Tiange replied, "I'm thinking about the events in Yunzhong."
"What about them?"
Mo Tiange thought for a bit and said, "Do you think that such a thing suddenly happening in Yunzhong is due to some predestined fate, guided by destiny?"
Qin Xi was taken aback.
She continued, "Think about it. Demon Lord Yueying's actions are too bold. Could it be he only wanted to trigger chaos in Yunzhong? If it were me, once I decided to trap and kill these people, I would make sure not a single one remained."
Qin Xi paused, then asked, "How do you know that wasn't Demon Lord Yueying's intention?"
"But... the trapped cultivators only suffered heavy casualties, not complete annihilation..."
Qin Xi shook his head. "We only see the result, not the process. Perhaps Demon Lord Yueying originally had a foolproof plan, but it failed."
Mo Tiange tilted her head in thought, then slowly nodded. "It seems... hmm, you have a point."
Qin Xi added, "Of course, it's also possible their plan encountered problems, or the strength of the trapped people exceeded expectations—we are merely outsiders, seeing only a partial view."
"Hmm." Mo Tiange was lost in thought for a while, then said, "The Great Upheaval of Heaven and Earth, the continents shifting positions, brought us adjacent to the demon beast continent, thus triggering a great war. Yuanzhou lost its favorable position, connected to the demon beast continent, facing life and death. Now Yunzhong, because of the decline of Yiyedao and Beijidao, faces resource problems and has fallen into great chaos... And the Great Upheaval of Heaven and Earth is not unrelated to us. In other words, are all these things because of us?"
"I don't think so," Qin Xi said calmly. "We still don't know why the Great Upheaval of Heaven and Earth occurred. Even if it was because of us, so what? Mortals say, 'every bite and peck is predestined,' let alone matters concerning hundreds of millions of living beings in the world? We are merely a trigger. Furthermore, Senior Amber said that when the world falls into chaos, evil thoughts proliferate. In my view, human hearts are the root of great chaos. Look at Demon Lord Yueying. If he hadn't harbored greed, would he have acted like this? Ma Laolu, Yu Fuzi, and others are even more so."
Mo Tiange silently pondered for a long moment, then sighed. "Forget it. Since it's already happened, pursuing the cause is meaningless."
"Indeed. If we want to know the root of all this, then we must solve this mystery. Perhaps when we go to the Qilin, we'll have an answer."
Mo Tiange hesitated. "Senior Brother, do you really think going to the Qilin will provide the answer? We've already been to four ritual temples and gained nothing."
Qin Xi smiled. "Even so, we must still seek the Qilin. We understand too little and can do too little. Besides this, there's nothing else we can do."
"Hmm..."
Several days later, news came from Kunzhong City: Jing Xingzhi had returned to the Ancient Sword Sect, taking the title 'Sword Venerable Zhishui.'
Upon hearing this, Mo Tiange chuckled quietly. He really did call himself Sword Venerable Zhishui.
That said, his return delighted the Ancient Sword Sect and worried the Tiandao Sect.
Apart from Sword Venerable Yuanying, the Ancient Sword Sect had two other Nascent Soul sword cultivators, both at the early stage. Their aptitudes seemed rather mediocre. Jing Xingzhi's return perfectly filled this gap. His aptitude was high, his swordsmanship strong, his age young, and he was already at Nascent Soul mid-stage, with a great possibility of advancing to late-stage. As for Sword Venerable Yuanying, his age was comparable to Dao Lord Zhenyang's. Barring accidents, he could still live for another six or seven hundred years. If Jing Xingzhi's opportunities were sufficient, that time would be enough for him to advance to late-stage. As long as there was a late-Nascent Soul cultivator present, the Ancient Sword Sect could always maintain its transcendent status.
As for the Tiandao Sect, they only had five Nascent Soul cultivators left. If no more disciples formed their Nascent Souls, they would eventually be suppressed by the Ancient Sword Sect. With Jing Xingzhi's return, Liu Dingyuan nearly worried his hair white.
Compared to the Tiandao Sect, the Xuanqing Sect was much calmer. No matter how many Nascent Soul cultivators the Ancient Sword Sect had, did they have more than the Xuanqing Sect? The current Xuanqing Sect was not the Xuanqing Sect of two hundred years ago. Moreover, with that huge batch of resources, were they worried about lacking successors? Speaking of which, the disciples attracted when Qin Xi formed his Nascent Soul were almost ready to form their Cores.
Among Tianji's sects, some rose while others declined, but overall, the situation remained relatively stable. Yunzhong, however, had become a complete mess.
After the Carefree Valley incident, the Jiuyan Sect turned against the Yueshan Academy, the Danxia Sect, and the Five Elements Valley. They allied with the small and medium-sized sects that had been trapped and killed in Carefree Valley, and the two sides fought a life-and-death battle.
The Yunzhong cultivation world had been peaceful for too long. Once this fight started, the losses were especially enormous. Yet, no one could stop.
Nearly thirty Nascent Soul cultivators perishing simultaneously—how horrifying was that? How could the sects of those fallen cultivators swallow this anger? This sea of blood and hatred would be passed down through generations until one side was defeated or a more powerful force ended it.
And all of this had nothing to do with Mo Tiange and the others who had left Yunzhong.
Inside the Void Heaven Realm, the spiritual qi was as tangible as substance. In front of Xiaofan's hut, a vast and ancient aura gathered water-attributed spiritual qi into streams.
Xiaofeng came forward to greet them. "Master, Madam."
Mo Tiange asked, "How is it?"
Xiaofeng reported, "Almost there. Probably within the next day or two."
Mo Tiange nodded, then asked, "What about Feifei and Xiaohuo?"
"Barring accidents, Xiaohuo will advance within three to five years. As for Feifei..." Xiaofeng spread her hands. "His situation is unusual. Probably only he himself knows."
"Then... what about Stone?" Mo Tiange looked around but surprisingly didn't see Stone's massive form.
"What does Madam wish to ask? If it's about cultivation level..." Xiaofeng said somewhat awkwardly, "Please forgive Xiaofeng's ignorance, but I truly don't know how to classify it, so..."
Superficially, Stone appeared to be a demon beast, but its flesh and blood had long since transformed, becoming like stone, coupled with its mixed aura... it really was impossible to classify.
"Forget it," Mo Tiange decided to give up. "Stone isn't our spirit beast, just Feifei's friend. There's no need to worry about it. Let it stay as it wishes."
Xiaofeng nodded and was about to report more on the situation within the Void Heaven Realm when suddenly, the stream in front of Xiaofan's hut stirred. The water aura rushed headlong into the hut.
With a crash, the small hut was instantly washed into disarray, revealing a massive water sphere.
Clear water currents wrapped around a person, spinning rapidly with the water flow, gradually becoming shallower. When the water was spent, that person slowly landed on the ground.
This was a youth of about eighteen or nineteen, looking slightly older than Feifei. He lacked Feifei's demonically handsome beauty. Dressed in low-key bluish-gray, he appeared plain and unremarkable. However, upon closer inspection, one would find his features clear and gentle, carrying a hint of shyness. His entire being was like water—utterly clean, making it impossible to harbor any impure thoughts about him.
"Greetings, Master." After landing, the youth stepped forward and bowed to Mo Tiange. Seeing Qin Xi at her side, he thought to pay respects as well but hesitated, unsure what to call him, revealing a troubled expression.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange smiled and said, "Xiaofan?"
"Yes." Xiaofan snapped back to attention.
"How was it? Was the transformation smooth?"
"Yes." Xiaofan's face showed joy. "I have integrated the Xuanwu Pearl into my demon core. All my spiritual qi has been transformed into the Breath of Xuanwu. I am no different from the Xuanwu Divine Beast now."
"That's good." Mo Tiange felt his aura was solid and condensed, likely without any future complications. She said, "Prepare yourself. We'll go out for the tribulation."