Mo Tiange stared blankly into space.
Second Uncle had drifted in and out of consciousness several times now. His condition was worsening by the moment. She knew that Second Uncle had been injured to begin with, his lifespan nearly at its end. This time, he had forced himself to act, causing his injuries to erupt, and his remaining lifespan... had been reduced to almost nothing.
She looked at her unconscious Second Uncle, her mind utterly empty. She even thought, let them catch us. After all, Tianqiao died because of her, and now Second Uncle was about to leave too. What was the point of her staying? Over these twenty years, the people she cared about had left her one by one—Father, Mother, Tianqiao, Second Uncle... What did she have left? Alone and isolated, what did becoming an immortal matter? She would rather... she would rather have remained an ordinary mortal forever.
"Xiao Tian..." Ye Jiang uttered a faint sound.
Mo Tiange jumped up and hurriedly leaned closer. "Second Uncle, I'm here."
Ye Jiang opened his eyes, mustering his last bit of spirit. "Listen. If... if no one arrives in time, you... you must take out that Spirit-Communication Jade Pendant. Invoke the names of the Xuanqing Sect and Perfected Lord Shoujing... I imagine that when the time comes, even if the Jiang Family wants... wants to deal with you, they'll have to weigh... weigh the consequences..."
Mo Tiange nodded gently. "I understand..."
Ye Jiang closed his eyes again, murmuring softly to himself, "The Xuanqing Sect... is ten thousand li from here. Who knows if any of their disciples are nearby..."
Mo Tiange knew that the Ten-Thousand-Li Communication Talisman Second Uncle had just sent out was the very one Ye Jingwen had given him when he escorted her to Second Uncle's side, handed over along with her father's belongings. Second Uncle had originally kept it just in case, never expecting that this 'just in case' would actually come to pass.
Yet, deep down, she held little hope. This place was far more than ten thousand li from the Xuanqing Sect. Even if Perfected Lord Shoujing received the message and immediately dispatched nearby disciples to assist, they might not make it in time—it had been so long already. Those Yunwu Sect cultivators had probably already investigated the site of the earlier battle.
As for Perfected Lord Shoujing, they had left on their own back then. If he was willing to send someone for her father's sake, that would already be extremely good. Actually exerting himself to rescue them was far from certain.
Besides, what good would invoking the Xuanqing Sect's name do? Separated by such a vast distance, it truly couldn't intimidate these Yunwu Sect disciples.
However, she wasn't afraid. Over the past decade, she had long been mentally prepared. She would strive to live with all her might, but if she were reduced to such a state, death... held no terror for her.
After all... there was no one left.
Over a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators finally converged outside the small village.
A severely injured Foundation Establishment cultivator and a Qi Refining practitioner—their trail wasn't difficult to find.
Only, when they located their targets, they discovered it wasn't as simple as they had imagined.
What awaited them was a Yin-Yang Life-Stealing Formation.
After one rash cultivator who entered the formation was severely wounded, everyone turned their gazes to the middle-aged Daoist leading them. If Mo Tiange saw him, she would definitely recognize him—this was the Qingyu Uncle-Master who most frequently lectured in the Doctrine Hall. In truth, this Uncle-Master's full name was Jiang Qingyu, a member of the Jiang Family.
Jiang Qingyu remained silent. This formation, bearing such a vicious name as 'Yin-Yang Life-Stealing,' was naturally not easy to break. Within this formation, Yin and Yang were inverted, dangers lurked everywhere. It was truly the most powerful formation a Foundation Establishment cultivator could create. He hadn't expected that the elder of this Qi Refining disciple would possess such profound formation mastery. Even within a sect, they would be among the best.
Someone shouted, "No matter what formation it is, with so many of us Foundation Establishment cultivators together, a combined attack will surely break it!"
Hearing this, Jiang Qingyu snorted coldly. "Then all of us will just die together with them!"
The crowd was startled. Another person asked, "Is it that formidable?"
Jiang Qingyu said, "This formation is actually a simplified version. Its original form is the Qiankun Death-Defying Formation. I don't need to tell you what the Qiankun Death-Defying Formation is, do I?"
Everyone exchanged glances. Of course they had heard of the Qiankun Death-Defying Formation. It was one of the few great formations passed down from ancient times, requiring at least Nascent Soul cultivators to set up, notorious for its ferocity. Some sects in Kunwu used this formation as their mountain-protecting array, the most famous and complete set being the one at the Xuanqing Sect. It was said that when the demon beasts from the southern forests of Kunwu swarmed out en masse, catching the Kunwu sects off guard, the Xuanqing Sect, relying on this formation, suffered almost no casualties and instead annihilated tens of thousands of demon beasts, demonstrating its power.
Since this was a simplified version of the Qiankun Death-Defying Formation, even if its power was only a ten-thousandth of the original, it would still be difficult to deal with.
"However, it's not without a solution," Jiang Qingyu said, stroking his beard.
"Senior Brother Jiang, speak quickly! The Branch Master is waiting for our report!"
Jiang Qingyu gazed at the dilapidated huts, pondering. "...It's simple. Although this formation's power is great, its consumption of spiritual energy is also massive. We can use spirit beasts to charge the formation, triggering it multiple times. I imagine the opponent's spirit stones won't last long!"
The southern forests of Kunwu teemed with demon beasts, and many of these Foundation Establishment cultivators kept spirit beasts. However, good spirit beasts were not easy to obtain nor to raise to maturity. Therefore, upon hearing this method, everyone hesitated, and not a single person responded.
Seeing their expressions, Jiang Qingyu knew what they were thinking. He snorted coldly, "Since none of you are willing, then we'll wait. We'll wait for their spirit stones to be exhausted, or for the Branch Master to arrive personally. Capturing these two will be effortless then."
After he said this, although there was a moment of hesitation among the crowd, still no one brought out a spirit beast. Jiang Qingyu said no more, simply finding a spot to sit down and meditate.
Truth be told, not just others, even he himself was reluctant. Since these two couldn't escape anyway, why sacrifice one's own hard-raised spirit beast?
Following Jiang Qingyu's lead, these cultivators from the Zixia Sect's Yunwu Mountain Branch each found a place to sit in meditation, waiting for this Yin-Yang Life-Stealing Formation to exhaust its spirit stones.
During this waiting period, someone approached Jiang Qingyu and asked, "Senior Brother Jiang, who exactly is this Qi Refining disciple? To have such a formidable elder and still dare to kill a young master of the Jiang Family—their courage is too great."
Jiang Qingyu opened his eyes lazily. "That's a question the Branch Master wants to know as well." Although his own disciple had been killed, that disciple was truly hopeless. He didn't feel any heartache over it.
Seeing his impatience, that person chuckled dryly a few times and said no more.
However, someone else picked up the thread. "On the way, I encountered a few Qi Refining disciples who were following Junior Brother Wei in the search. They said this Ye Xiaotian is actually a woman!"
"What?" His words drew the attention of several people nearby. Someone said, "So, she disguised herself as a man to infiltrate our Yunwu Sect?"
The person who spoke earlier coughed, reminding, "Junior Brother Zhao, it's the Yunwu Mountain Branch now."
Realizing his slip of the tongue, that person quickly said, "Right, right. She infiltrated our Yunwu Mountain Branch. Could it be with ill intentions?"
"That's hard to say. Even with ill intentions, what can a Qi Refining disciple do? Besides, this Ye Xiaotian wasn't particularly noticeable in our Yunwu Mountain Branch before, was she?"
That Junior Brother Zhao, however, said, "Not noticeable? I think she's only about twenty now, right? Already at the tenth layer of Qi Refining, and she even obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill. She really isn't inferior to elite disciples!"
"That may be so, but these disciples who enter the sect through the Immortal Platform Assembly are originally comparable to elite disciples. It still doesn't make her outstanding."
"That's true... However, this Qi Refining disciple has always been inconspicuous. Why would she suddenly kill Young Master Jiang?"
This question left the group in silence.
Jiang Qingyu, however, let out a cold laugh. "What else could it be? The Qi Refining disciples around this Ye Xiaotian confirmed that my hopeless disciple called her out, and the place where she was killed was completely deserted. Since this Ye Xiaotian is a woman, do I even need to spell out the reason?"
Those present fell silent. Although they had guessed a little, they didn't dare to state it so bluntly. Jiang Qingyu was from the Jiang Family, a junior of the Branch Master, and an elder of the slain Young Master Jiang. He could say it directly. They could not.
Amidst the silence, each person said no more, some resting, others meditating.
A long time passed. Suddenly, Jiang Qingyu looked up. Several other Foundation Establishment cultivators also changed expressions drastically.
A streak of Escape Light appeared on the horizon, its aura so powerful it was definitely a Core Formation senior!
They initially thought it was just a Core Formation senior passing by, but unexpectedly, the Escape Light gradually descended, seemingly heading straight for them.
Over a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators stood up one after another, exchanging glances, their expressions grave. They were all thinking: this Escape Light was red, not the Branch Master's. Who else could be coming?
The answer was soon revealed. The Escape Light descended, and a young man landed before them.
Jiang Qingyu's brows furrowed even tighter. This person's attire... was clearly the clothing of a Yunwu Sect Qi Refining disciple. Why did he possess the aura of a Core Formation cultivator?
But this thought flashed through his mind only briefly, because the young man had already looked over at them, his eyes utterly cold.
Jiang Qingyu and the others exchanged glances and finally bowed to this person. "We pay our respects to the Senior."
The young man accepted their courtesy but didn't look at them. Instead, he gazed at the formation outside the dilapidated hut, muttering to himself, "The Yin-Yang Life-Stealing Formation. I truly never expected to see it here. This Ye Jiang is indeed worthy of being Ye Hai's blood brother. He really has some skill."
As he spoke, someone among the Foundation Establishment cultivators gasped in shock and exclaimed involuntarily, "You... you're that..."
The young man turned his head, his cold gaze falling upon the one who had spoken.
Knowing that this fellow disciple had offended the Core Formation senior before them, Jiang Qingyu quickly said, "Senior, please forgive us. We are disciples of the Zixia Sect's Yunwu Mountain Branch. May we ask who you are..."
The young man snorted but did not answer. He still looked at the person who had spoken earlier. "Uncle-Master Xu, it seems you have recognized me."
Everyone looked toward a cultivator in his forties. That Junior Brother Zhao asked in a low voice, "Senior Brother Xu, who is this Senior..."
This Uncle-Master Xu glanced at the young man not far away. Seeing he had no intention of stopping him, he replied quietly, "I once saw this Senior in Junior Brother Luo's alchemy chamber, but at that time, he was just an ordinary Qi Refining disciple..."
Hearing this, everyone's expressions changed drastically. Judging by the aura, this Senior was undoubtedly a Core Formation cultivator. If what Senior Brother Xu said was true, then this person had disguised himself as a Qi Refining disciple to hide within the Yunwu Sect... What could possibly be worth a Core Formation cultivator's scheming?
In the end, it was still Jiang Qingyu who stepped forward, speaking respectfully, "Esteemed Senior, may we inquire about the purpose of your arrival?"
"Purpose?" The young man gave a light laugh, not bothering with politeness, and said indifferently, "The two people inside. I want them."
Jiang Qingyu was taken aback. "Senior, there are traitors of our Yunwu Mountain inside. The Branch Master personally issued the order. This..."
"What, unwilling?" The young man flicked his sleeve, and a wave of pressure instantly bore down upon them.
How could they withstand the pressure of a Core Formation cultivator? Immediately, someone stumbled back several steps, their face pale.
The young man said coldly, "I don't need your consent in the first place, I'm merely informing you. For the sake of our few years as fellow disciples, I won't take your lives today. Now, get lost!"