Zhong Muling had already stood up, his expression stern as he looked down below.
"Are you really sure they won't die?" Yuanbao said beside him, making sarcastic remarks. "Even with that kid arriving, it's hard to say, isn't it?"
"Hmph." Zhong Muling couldn't be bothered to speak with him. He lifted his sleeve, revealing a simple, thick, and solid square seal, carrying a hidden threat.
Yuanbao immediately sealed his lips.
It wasn't that he couldn't defeat this guy; it was just that fighting him had become increasingly strenuous lately, which made him quite melancholy.
The two people below were still struggling desperately to hold on. The Golden Lightning had been on the verge of collapse just moments before. Even with the support of the Flames of the Vermilion Bird, it was merely maintaining its position without falling. They had fought for too long already; not only was their Spiritual Qi depleted, but their spirits were also exhausted.
"Tian Ge," amidst the lightning and flames, Mo Tiange faintly heard Qin Xi's voice. "Do you remember our first meeting?"
"Mmm, I remember..." Her vision was already blurry, but the Chaos Heaven-Transforming Box remained elusive, relying on her spiritual sense to seize opportunities for sneak attacks.
"What was I like back then?"
"Back then, you pretended to be a disciple from a down-and-out cultivation family, at the ninth level of Qi Refining, participating in the Immortal Platform Assembly at Cloud Mist Mountain. You didn't even use talismans and defeated several tenth-level cultivators..."
"...So you had seen me before that."
"Yes," Mo Tiange's eyes seemed to conjure the image of that plainly dressed young man in blue robes from over two hundred years ago. He had the same appearance, yet was mysteriously ordinary. "On the Immortal Assembly platform, Second Uncle told me that your utilization of Spiritual Qi was extremely proficient. Either you had guidance from an elder, or you yourself possessed a firm will. He said you would surely achieve great things in the future."
"Heh..." He chuckled lightly. "Second Uncle had good judgment."
Mo Tiange also smiled. "The you back then was really hard to like. You seemed unpretentious, yet always wore a wooden expression. Whenever Junior Brother Xu tried to talk to you, you'd just reply with a couple of 'mm-hmms' to brush him off. You'd be with us, yet you wouldn't let us get close to you. Even when I thanked you, you seemed eager to shoo me away..."
"Back then," Qin Xi sighed, "back then, I never would have imagined you would become someone so important to me. I just thought, 'So this is that ungrateful girl. She gave up being an elite disciple of the Xuanqing Sect to come to this backwater sect where trees don't even blossom, to be an ordinary disciple, and even had to fight desperately on the Immortal Platform Assembly.'"
"Ha..." Mo Tiange couldn't help but laugh out loud, then asked, "If back then, Second Uncle and I had followed you back to the Xuanqing Sect, how would you have arranged for me?"
He pretended to think. "Most likely... I would have taken you as my disciple, then tossed you to Senior Brother Xuanyin."
Mo Tiange let out an "Ah!" and smiled at him again. "So it seems I missed out on having a master. What a pity."
"No, not a pity at all," Qin Xi's smile carried more emotion. "The me back then had only the Great Dao in my heart. If I had taken you as my disciple, I wouldn't have kept you constantly on my mind. I wouldn't have become your 'Senior Brother Qin,' wouldn't have been teased by those two God Transformation seniors, and wouldn't have developed a demonic obsession because of you. Without all these beginnings, we wouldn't have today." He had no interest in young girls. If he had first met her as a little girl, he would have placed her in the position of a junior, and would not have developed romantic thoughts.
"Missing each other like that, the us in that world might never have realized it, never known regret. But the me of today is still grateful for this series of twists of fate that allowed us to have each other."
Mo Tiange was silent for a long while. After a long time, the corners of her eyes were slightly damp, yet she wore a smile. "I never knew you were so eloquent. It makes me feel it's not enough, no matter how much more there is..." She straightened her back, her gaze turning sharp. "We must survive. That way, we'll have a future, a very, very long future."
"Mmm." Qin Xi smiled, then suddenly leaned down and planted a kiss. "Survive. Survive together."
The Golden Lightning dimmed, but they still had the Heaven-Earth Fan in hand, the Chaos Heaven-Transforming Box waiting to pounce, the Three Yang True Fire Sword, the Yang Spirit Pearl, and the Bow of the Vermilion Bird. They were far from the point of resigning themselves to fate.
The two's suddenly surging will to survive made Bai Ling gnash her teeth in hatred. Just when it looked like their momentum had weakened, how could they suddenly become so spirited again?
As she thought this, she saw within the golden lightning and flames, the male human cultivator take out an ancient-looking longbow from somewhere and slowly draw the bowstring. An arrow composed of flames gradually took shape upon the bow.
Bai Ling was stunned, both by the powerful aura and the familiar shape.
Only when the human cultivator took aim did she scream as if her soul had fled her body: "The Bow of the Vermilion Bird! Retreat!" The Bow of the Vermilion Bird! It was actually the Bow of the Vermilion Bird, the Cold Ice Palace's sect-protecting treasure! She had grown up within the Cold Ice Palace's mountain gates and knew this legendary sect-protecting treasure all too well. Cold Ice Palace disciples who practiced the Ice-Fire Art and wielded the Bow of the Vermilion Bird had always been among the top of cultivators of the same rank, with some even capable of fighting across ranks.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The Bow of the Vermilion Bird stirred up fervent Flames of the Vermilion Bird, tracing a long arc through the air.
A clear cry rang out. The Vermilion Bird manifested. All who blocked its path turned to scorched earth.
"Ah—"
The demon cultivators who couldn't retreat in time were pierced by the Flames of the Vermilion Bird. Not even their Nascent Souls escaped before they lost their lives, falling from mid-air.
Amidst the chaos, a beautiful piece of ice crystal appeared among the group of demon cultivators. With a dull "boom," that strange aura spread out in a large area, melting and dissolving everything in its path. Having just endured the attack of the Flames of the Vermilion Bird, their defensive treasures or spells broken, many demon cultivators hadn't even activated their protective Spiritual Qi before the Chaos Heaven-Transforming Box exploited the opening.
After these two waves of attacks, only half of the demon cultivators who were outside the attack range remained standing safely.
Bai Ling was furious. If she had known this human possessed the Bow of the Vermilion Bird, she would never have given him the chance to use it! But it was too late to say that now. In just those few breaths of time, they had lost seven or eight demon cultivators.
"Hmph! The power of the Bow of the Vermilion Bird is too great. This old lady doesn't believe you can use it a second time!" Bai Ling forced herself to stand up, intending to take action herself despite her injuries.
But just then, an eighth-rank demon cultivator came rushing over from not far away, shouting, "Elder Bai! Elder Bai! The Xumi Sea forces are killing their way over!"
Bai Ling felt dizzy for a moment. She glared at the two of them furiously, but in the end, she just gritted her teeth and gave the order: "Retreat!"
The demon cultivators left quickly. In no time, they had all withdrawn. A short while later, Jing Xingzhi and the others arrived.
After the bitter battle, everyone was in a sorry state. Almost everyone was injured, with Xiao Fan and Dao Lord Lingxi's wounds being somewhat more serious. It was clear the intensity of their earlier fight was no less than Mo Tiange and Qin Xi's.
"Senior Brother Shoujing! Junior Sister Qingwei!" Seeing they were still alive, Dao Lord Lingxi was extremely agitated. Just moments ago, he had almost feared it was too late. If the three of them had left the sect and not a single one returned, he didn't know how heartbroken the various senior brothers and sisters would be, especially Senior Brother Jinghe, who seemed carefree on the surface but actually doted on his disciples the most.
Everyone was immensely relieved to see each other again. Being able to reclaim their lives was enough.
First putting away the spirit beasts into the spirit beast bracelets, Mo Tiange said, "This place isn't safe. Follow me into the spatial crack first."
Everyone also knew the demon cultivators had retreated because an even more powerful enemy was forcing its way over. It was best for them to retreat to a safe position to avoid getting dragged into the conflict again.
Summoning the spirit pearl and silently reciting the incantation, the group disappeared from mid-air, entering the Void Heaven Realm.
"Ah, so there really is a Void Heaven Realm." On the white cloud, Yuanbao had somehow produced a wine pot and cup, pouring and drinking by himself, thoroughly enjoying it. His tone, however, held no surprise, as if he had known about this all along.
Watching them escape danger, a slight smile also appeared on Zhong Muling's face. "This girl really takes after me."
Yuanbao glanced at him sideways. "What, feeling proud? So proud to have descendants?"
"Just be jealous!" Zhong Muling remained unmoved. "I suppose you wouldn't understand this feeling."
"...Hmph!" Yuanbao was displeased, but unfortunately, he really had no way to refute such words.
After a while, he couldn't help but turn his head and ask, "How long are we going to wait here?"
Zhong Muling leisurely picked up another wine cup and said, "Until they find the answer."
Yuanbao glared. "Are you sure those juniors will tell?"
"Why wouldn't they?" Zhong Muling raised an eyebrow.
"..." The two glared at each other for a while. In the end, Yuanbao gave up. He stretched his arms, lazily leaning back against the cloud chair, and somehow produced a few immortal fruits from somewhere. Eating them, he said, "Fine, the sooner we finish this, the better. The wine that old fellow Fuyaozi brewed should be ready to open. Let's go drink at his place!"
"Always thinking about these things." Zhong Muling gave a light snort, but his tone was quite gentle.
Inside the Void Heaven Realm, everyone was familiar with the place. Mo Tiange released the spirit beasts while saying, "We'll go out after they finish fighting." Then, she took out some pills and gave them to Xiao Feng, instructing her to help Xiao Fan treat his injuries.
The only one who hadn't seen this before, Dao Lord Lingxi, was stunned. He had some guesses about where their astonishing pills came from, but... there didn't seem to be any medicinal fields here...
"Junior Brother Lingxi," Qin Xi gestured for him to sit as well, speaking gently, "This is a spatial crack. It's very safe. You can rest assured."
Dao Lord Lingxi nodded and smiled. "I've only heard before that there exist some spatial cracks in this world that one can enter and exit, but they are exceedingly rare. I never imagined you actually possessed one."
Qin Xi smiled, not denying that the Void Heaven Realm wasn't his. It wasn't important.
"Junior Brother, just rest and heal your injuries here. We'll go out after matters are settled."
"Yes, Senior Brother."
Everyone rested and healed their injuries separately. Mo Tiange kept watch on the situation outside.
Not long after, the sea beast armies of the Guixu Sea and the Xumi Sea engaged in battle. Tens of thousands of sea beasts crowded together densely. Because they had suffered significant casualties from their fight with Mo Tiange's group, the Guixu Sea forces quickly fell into a disadvantage. Besides Bai Ling, Old Hei and that cyan-colored demon beast were also among them. Ancient demon cultivators were indeed formidable. Having emerged from the Guixu Sea Immortal Palace, they had all safely passed their Heavenly Tribulations and even advanced one rank with the tribulation's aid. Bai Ling and Old Hei were both tenth rank, and that cyan demon beast was already ninth rank.
Unfortunately, Bai Ling was severely injured because of Mo Tiange. Old Hei and the cyan demon beast struggled to hold the line alone. The Xumi Sea demon cultivators were no fewer in number, and their strength was fully preserved.
This battle lasted for three days.