The youth in white lifted his eyelids slightly, his expression unmoving. "Help with what? If they can't even handle a few demon cultivators, they deserve to die."
"A dozen or so, that's hardly 'a few'," Yuanbao said with another yawn, casually placing a chess piece and kneading a cloud into a makeshift chair. "That girl is really something, actually finding her way here on her own. Ah, thinking back, why was our own immortal path so dull?"
"That was you, not me," Zhong Muling said bluntly. "My immortal path was full of excitement. It's you who barely left the house a few times even after reaching God Transformation."
"Hey, hey, I went out plenty of times later..."
"Following others to watch the show, you mean?" Zhong Muling placed a white piece, instantly capturing a large swath of black pieces. He tapped the board. "I've eaten your dragon. Still want to keep playing?"
"Huh?" Yuanbao glanced at the board and scratched his head. "Didn't I make a living group just now?"
Zhong Muling snorted twice, not answering.
"Forget it, I concede." Yuanbao quickly shook off his confusion and resigned. He looked down below with great interest. "Oh? Isn't that the kid who devoured the Yang Spirit Pearl back then? Also at Mid-Nascent Soul... Oh, almost breaking through to late stage. Not bad, not bad. His speed is much faster than yours back then, just a bit slower than mine. That's more fitting for your great-great-grandson-in-law."
After talking for a while, Zhong Muling remained unmoved. Yuanbao couldn't hold back any longer. "I'm telling you, A-Ling, you're really not going to save her?"
Zhong Muling gazed at the vast expanse of lightning below for a long moment before finally speaking. "The path to God Transformation cannot tolerate interference from others. If I intervene, I will ruin her Dao."
"But what if she dies?"
Zhong Muling's tone was indifferent. "Setting foot on the immortal path means being ready to face death at any moment. She didn't just learn this principle today. Since she chose this path, she must face everything herself."
"Is it really that serious?" Yuanbao felt deeply puzzled. Why did he always feel like he and these people weren't cultivating the same immortal path? Cultivate, advance, cultivate, advance—wasn't that all there was to it? Did one really have to watch others die without helping to have their own Dao?
Zhong Muling shook his head gently. "Someone like you, who has had a smooth life, will never understand how difficult our immortal path is, even if you've heard or seen it. God Transformation cultivators are a power that should not exist in this world, so they are not allowed to interfere in mortal affairs. Back then, no matter how many treasures I gifted, it was merely care for a junior. But if I were to personally save her, she would have to bear that karma herself. The karma of a God Transformation cultivator is something she cannot bear. Rather than saving her now only to sever her hope of reaching God Transformation, it's better to leave it to fate. I think, given her temperament, she would rather perish like this than live a life without the hope of God Transformation."
His gaze shifted, and the corner of his mouth hooked up slightly. "Besides, she might not necessarily die."
Bathed in lightning, Mo Tiange watched the demon cultivators charging towards her with a cold gaze. The Chaos Heaven-Transforming Box had already hidden itself within the lightning, waiting for an opportunity.
This was a desperate situation, but as long as it wasn't the end, there might still be a chance for survival.
She knew that under normal circumstances, being besieged by over a dozen demon cultivators of the same rank, unless she decisively abandoned her physical body and fled with her Nascent Soul, escape was simply impossible. However, the existence of the Chaos Heaven-Transforming Box and the sudden surge of Golden Lightning gave her another option.
The shell in her bosom was vibrating with a low hum, as if sensing that another was nearby. This strange feeling was simultaneously transmitted to its owner.
Mo Tiange smiled slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a demon cultivator stubbornly forcing his way into the Golden Lightning downpour. The ice-crystal-like box silently appeared beside him, and an elusive aura seeped out.
"Ah...!" A scream. This time, half of the demon cultivator's body was melted away.
No blood, no wounds, only the remaining half of a body. If this demon cultivator hadn't acted decisively and Bai Ling outside hadn't been quick-eyed and swift-handed, even his primordial spirit might not have escaped.
This change made the demon cultivators hesitate and stop. They knew this human cultivator had a terrifying magical treasure, but they hadn't known it was this terrifying.
Bai Ling, behind them, was exasperated. "No matter how powerful she is, she's just a Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. Among you, not to mention the Eighth Rank, there are so many Ninth Rank cultivators of the same rank as her. Are you really going to be scared off by her? Her Golden Lightning won't last much longer. Attack more, wear her down! Her magical treasure is formless and intangible. No matter how far you hide, you could still be annihilated. It's better to kill her as soon as possible to ensure your own lives!"
This encouragement was successful. Several of the bolder demon cultivators gritted their teeth, unleashed their magical treasures, and attacked.
Others, as if waking from a dream, realized they didn't necessarily have to charge in. They could attack from the outside and wear down her Golden Lightning as well.
Immediately, magical treasures flew out and spells rained down.
Struck by numerous magical treasures and spells, Mo Tiange grunted, feeling her primordial spirit wounded and in great pain. But she could only endure it. She had nowhere left to retreat. Even if she tried to flee now, she would be instantly killed by the combined attacks of so many demon cultivators. She was alone. Once she lost the Golden Lightning, she wouldn't be able to withstand the attacks of so many demon cultivators.
At this moment, she couldn't help but feel grateful for having undergone the Five Spirit Body Refinement and Heavenly Lightning Tempering. Because of that, her endurance had greatly increased, allowing her to stand her ground until now.
Amidst the pain, the Chaos Heaven-Transforming Box continued to strike. "Ah...!" Another demon cultivator fell. They wanted to guard against it, but there was no way to do so. The remaining demon cultivators each activated their own defensive methods, warily watching the figure within the Golden Lightning. This immediately lightened the pressure on her.
Defensive methods of demon cultivators above Eighth Rank... This seemed a bit difficult... She observed silently for a moment, then quietly manipulated the Chaos Heaven-Transforming Box to stealthily approach a demon cultivator whose defenses weren't very tight.
A flash of ice-crystal color—the box had already opened. Chaos Qi silently seeped out.
"Ah!" The demon cultivator immediately sensed something was wrong. His wings moved, and his body instantly retreated. In that blink of an eye, his defensive magical treasure had been melted, and a twisted, bloody wound appeared on his right wing.
This was the terrifying aspect of the Chaos Heaven-Transforming Box. It directly melted flesh, depriving them of the ability to heal.
Seeing the wound, the demon cultivator gasped. It was actually this terrifying? If he hadn't moved fast enough just now and been successfully ambushed, wouldn't he have ended up like that demon cultivator who only had his primordial spirit left?
"See? Her magical treasure can be blocked! Use defensive magical treasures or high-rank defensive spells!" Bai Ling shouted from behind.
This discovery put the demon cultivators' minds at ease. No longer holding back, they unleashed all sorts of magical treasures and spells without restraint, bombarding the Golden Lightning.
Mo Tiange's pressure increased sharply. The Golden Lightning was broken through one by one. With over a dozen demon cultivators casting spells simultaneously, even if it was Heavenly Tribulation lightning, even with the Azure Dragon suppressing it, it could only hold out for a few breaths before dissipating section by section.
Mo Tiange had no time to feel heartache over the Golden Lightning. She only hoped it could hold out a little longer, hold out until an opportunity appeared, hold out until reinforcements arrived.
A fiery red light appeared on the horizon. Bai Ling was the first to notice it, raising her head to watch the approaching light. The other party came straight for them without the slightest hesitation. A powerful Vermilion Bird aura spread out without restraint, stirring and surging.
"Block him!" Realizing the other party was charging directly at them, Bai Ling shouted.
Five demon cultivators simultaneously retreated, turning to intercept the approaching light.
In his rapid flight, the man's sword light was already raised. The Vermilion Bird aura ran rampant, and Vermilion Bird flames carrying an annihilating momentum pressed down with overwhelming force.
The five demon cultivators went up to meet him one after another, but he seized the opportunity. With lightning speed, he sent the first two flying, then used his potent Vermilion Bird aura to force back the next three, buying just a moment to plunge headlong into the Golden Lightning.
Mo Tiange had already seen him. She watched him charge in, trading injuries for a path, charging right to her side. She stared blankly for a while before reaching out to grab his sleeve. She had been waiting for reinforcements, but definitely not reinforcements like this.
"Why did you come alone? Where's Jing Xingzhi? Where's Ling Yunhe?" she cried out.
"They'll be here in a moment," Qin Xi said. His sword array activated, the vigorous Vermilion Bird flames bolstering the Golden Lightning, immediately halting its collapse.
Mo Tiange wasn't so easily fooled. Bai Ling had said earlier that Old Hei had gone to deal with them. The demon cultivators he led would definitely not be few. If they could break through the encirclement to provide support, it wouldn't be just Qin Xi alone, and he wouldn't have charged in without a care for anything else.
"You..." She felt her voice tremble. "What's the point of doing this? Coming to die with me?"
This was the first time since the Heavenly Demon Mountain that she had lost control like this.
Their love had never been shallow, but it had always been restrained. As cultivators whose goal was longevity, they faced a long life, extended lifespans, and a path strewn with thorns. In this process, feelings were often unconsciously consumed. If they were too unrestrained, squandering them early on, they would face the withering of love and a parting of ways.
Therefore, they had always been rational, loving earnestly, never lightly hurting each other, nor burning recklessly. They maintained the same pace forward, filling their relationship with more things—ideals, goals, friendship...
They had been very successful. They belonged to the same sect, shared common ideals, made the same friends. After years of companionship day and night, they had even developed the same preferences and habits. Without saying a word, they could know each other's thoughts, like another self.
But such a relationship inevitably gradually became routine. They always felt that, although they would believe in each other without hesitation, although they would do their utmost for each other, when anything happened, they had to weigh the pros and cons, putting rationality first.
Just like this time. At the brink of life and death, she only thought of him joining up with the others and coming to save her together. She never imagined he would come regardless of everything, even if he couldn't save her, to die with her.
"Are you crazy?" Long-absent tears slid from her eyes. "You said if I died and you lived, you would still live well. Why..."
"But I also said, if we were to die together, I would have no regrets." Qin Xi's expression was calm, as if speaking of the most ordinary matter. "Tian Ge, I cannot watch you hanging by a thread and not come to save you, even if it means dying together."