In the dark belly of the mountain, there was a long and wide canyon. It looked like a mark left by an immortal. The walls on both sides were vertical and steep, and black gas filled the air.
Beside the canyon stood a tall man in black. He looked at the churning black gas in the canyon, the wandering ghost cultivators, and the refined corpses beside him. He was silent.
After some time, a figure in a green scholarly robe flew over and stood behind him.
"Senior Moon Shadow." This person cupped his hands. Although he called him senior, there was no respect in his tone.
The man in black, who was Demon Lord Moon Shadow, turned around and looked at the middle-aged scholar in front of him.
Without the cloak, his face was still blurry. It seemed to be because of his cultivation method.
"Fellow Daoist Han," Demon Lord Moon Shadow said slowly.
This middle-aged scholar was Han Shizhi.
Han Shizhi still looked calm. After he formed his Nascent Soul, he was no longer like before. He looked elegant on the outside but ruthless on the inside. It looked like he was the same on the outside, but it was even more confusing. "There is already a chaotic battle over there. I think they can hold on for a while. When will Jiuyan Sect arrive?"
Hearing this, Demon Lord Moon Shadow laughed sinisterly. "Jiuyan Sect always does things in a watertight manner. When the time comes, they will naturally appear."
Han Shizhi squinted. "What about Old Donkey Ma?
Senior, do you want to share some of the loot with him? "
The eyes of the Moon Shadow Demon Lord flickered. "Why?
Can't bear to? "
Han Shizhi snorted and said disdainfully, "This old fellow does something that makes people willing to part with him. When he works, he doesn't see anyone. It's easy to take advantage of others."
"Ha …" Demon Lord Moon Shadow laughed. "Even so, without him, how can we confuse those people?"
Han Shizhi said coldly, "This old thing. Sooner or later, I will make him suffer!"
"That is a matter for the future," Demon Lord Moon Shadow said. "We will talk about it in the future."
The two of them were silent for a while. Demon Lord Moon Shadow asked, "Mister Yu should be here by now, right?"
Han Shizhi nodded. "Teacher has already set off, but it is not convenient to use the public transportation array. He needs some time."
"Old Yuan Mu has already left Jiuyan Sect. We cannot delay."
Han Shizhi was more confident about this. "Even if we can't find Yuan Zhen, we can at least delay him for a while. That's enough."
The Moon Shadow Demon Lord nodded. "I hope it goes smoothly."
※ ※ ※
With a wave of the Heaven and Earth Fan, an azure dragon soared into the sky, bringing with it boundless golden light that spread out resplendently.
Mo Tiange pulled Nie Wushang. The two of them retreated slightly, and the Cloud-Soaring Crane took their place.
"Wushang, are you okay?" she asked.
Nie Wushang's complexion was pale. She took out a black jade talisman from her bosom and lightly pinched it. That black aura was quickly absorbed by her, and her complexion quickly became better. "I'm fine. I'll be fine after resting for a while."
When she was escaping from the Moon Shadow Demon Lord's pursuit, she had expended too much energy and sustained many minor injuries. Although she had rested for more than half a month, she still felt tired easily.
She looked at the entrance worriedly. These people seemed to have reached a consensus. Could they resist?
Mo Tiange also had the same thought. The two of them glanced at each other then tacitly retreated to the side and sat down to meditate.
The six of them and the beast took turns to guard the door, determined not to let anyone in.
The cultivators who were blocked outside watched them, so they simply imitated them and discussed taking turns.
In this way, the pressure on them increased sharply. After all, there were more than twenty Nascent Soul cultivators. They could exhaust them to death!
"Hold on!"
Ling Yunhe said with a firm gaze. "Jiuyan Sect won't leave me in the lurch. If we hold on, we'll live."
Seeing him like this, Mo Tiange couldn't help but secretly sigh.
She also hoped what Ling Yunhe said was right and that Jiuyan Sect wouldn't give up on him. However, what if Jiuyan Sect really gave up on him?
After thinking for a while, Mo Tiange shook her head.
They wouldn't. Even if it wasn't for Ling Yunhe, they had to come for the Soul-Restricting Bead and Black Tortoise.
They didn't expect they would guard for three days.
At first, they used their strength to suppress others, but later, they completely relied on medicinal pills to hold on.
Seeing that the medicinal pills were gradually running out, Mo Tiange started to worry. Except for Nie Wushang and Yang Chengji, everyone else needed medicinal pills to replenish their spiritual aura.
Although every one of them was quite wealthy, Nascent Soul cultivators would consume a lot of energy in fights of magical powers. Moreover, once they started fighting, it would be easier for them to win or lose compared to low-level cultivators. In addition, high-grade medicinal pills were incomparably precious. No matter how abundant they were, they couldn't be eaten like jelly beans like Aura Refining cultivators.
She hesitated for a long time, but when she looked outside, she made up her mind.
"Senior Martial Brother," she said in a low voice, "We don't have enough medicinal pills. Should I take some?"
Qin Xi signaled Jing Xingzhi to take his place and stepped back.
From Mo Tiange's eyes, he saw her meaning. He frowned slightly. "You want to …"
"En."
She paused for a moment then explained, "Jiuyan Sect probably won't give up on Ling Yunhe, but for them, having none is better than having them. Who knows if Jiuyan Sect will wait until we can't hold on any longer to save Ling Yunhe?"
Qin Xi pondered silently for a while then said, "What you said makes sense."
"Then I'll go get some?"
Qin Xi quickly glanced at the people present and nodded. "I'll protect you."
Mo Tiange understood what he meant and said, "In the Middle Ages, there were many strange storage magic weapons."
Qin Xi flashed a smile at her. The Three Yang Real Fire Sword was unleashed. Countless dazzling sword lights surrounded her tightly.
Under the cover of the sword lights, it was very difficult for others to detect slight spiritual aura fluctuations. Mo Tiange entered the Virtual Sky World, went to the storeroom, and put all the medicinal pills she could use into her Interspatial Ring.
After thinking for a moment, she released Xiaofan and Feifei and told them to stay put.
When she came out of the Virtual Sky World, Qin Xi put away the Three Yang Real Fire Sword and distributed the medicinal pills to the others.
Ling Yunhe was surprised to see the medicinal pills she gave him. "Fellow Daoist Mo, these …"
Mo Tiange said calmly, "I prepared a lot of them in my storage magic weapon, but it's a bit troublesome to go in and out."
Their behavior just now could be hidden from the cultivators outside, but it couldn't be hidden from Ling Yunhe and the others.
After listening to her explanation, Ling Yunhe didn't doubt it at all. He just thought her magic weapon was unique, so he nodded and took it. "Thank you."
Jing Xingzhi didn't ask anything. He was already used to this couple being mysterious and doing strange things from time to time.
However, when he saw the high grade medicinal pills Mo Tiange gave him, he couldn't restrain his jealousy. "You two have too many good things!"
Back in the Immortal Palace in the Returning Ruins Sea, he was overjoyed when he took a bottle of Nine Revolutions Yang Restoration Pills from Mo Tiange, but now she gave him two bottles!
Jing Xingzhi regretted it. If he knew this would happen, he would've blackmailed her more!
"Don't talk so much nonsense. Fight seriously!" Mo Tiange said.
Jing Xingzhi swallowed a handful of medicinal pills. He didn't say any nonsense and continued to block them.
This was a matter of life and death!
With these medicinal pills, everyone was confident.
The people outside had a longer rotation than them, so they had enough time to completely recover their spiritual aura. However, they had one shortcoming — they weren't united. Everyone had their own plans and wanted to contribute less, so they wouldn't fight with their lives on the line.
Looking at these people, Jing Xingzhi signaled Qin Xi with his eyes. His gaze seemed to be focused on one of the cultivators.
This cultivator was in the peak of the early stage and looked middle-aged. His natal magic weapon was a pair of several inches long, shining with golden light. The two nails transformed into golden light when attacking and a golden screen when defending. They switched between smoothly and weren't weak at all.
However, having a balance between offense and defense also meant that neither side was outstanding.
Qin Xi nodded slightly, indicating that he understood what he meant.
As the sword lights crossed each other, Jing Xingzhi suddenly burst out. Countless sword lights flew towards that early stage cultivator. That early stage cultivator turned pale with fright. His magic weapon was about to transform into a golden screen, but in the next moment, an extremely sharp red sword light suddenly appeared, interrupting his movement.
That cultivator was actually calm. He searched his Qiankun Bag, and a white light shone, firmly protecting his body.
Qin Xi pointed his finger, and a flame suddenly sprang up from that sword light. A vast, sacred, and fiery intent of destruction spread out without any obstruction. This might forcefully suppressed that early stage cultivator.
At the same time, a golden light suddenly appeared in the incomparably resplendent sword lights. It gave off a similarly vast aura, and the ruthlessness and killing intent contained within it made people tremble.
This golden light merged with the sword light. Everyone seemed to hear the roar of a white tiger, and their minds were shaken. That early stage cultivator faced this sharp killing intent head-on. He only had time to send his Nascent Soul out of his body before he felt a chill on his body, and his body was smashed to pieces.
The red sword light that had already flown out appeared again. With a clear cry, gorgeous flaming tail feathers curled up. In the flames with a sacred aura, the Nascent Soul was instantly burnt black and turned into smoke. Even his body disappeared without a trace; not even his Qiankun Bag was left behind.
Everyone was aghast!
They didn't expect that these two people would suddenly attack and kill a cultivator with lightning speed. Even his Nascent Soul didn't have a chance to escape!
What powerful skills! What ruthless methods!
What kind of spell did they use just now?
That kind of power was far higher than the cultivation technique they cultivated.
Some people thought that Fellow Daoist Qin was the person who snatched Jiuyan Sect's Vermilion Bird Bow. A firebird appeared just now. Could it be the Vermilion Bird's inheritance?
What about the other person?
He was obviously an unknown sword cultivator, but his strength wasn't inferior to Fellow Daoist Qin's. Could it be that he also obtained the divine beast's inheritance?
What about Ling Yunhe?
If he absorbed the Black Tortoise's relic, plus the Soul-Restricting Bead, wouldn't Yuanchu defeat Yuanzhong? He might even be able to compete with Queen Yuanzhong!
For a moment, everyone was both shocked and greedy.
At this time, Yang Chengji, who had been covering them from the side, rolled up his Ghost Face Banner. The Ghost Face Banner flew out and fiercely bit another cultivator.
That cultivator seemed to wake up from a dream. He took out a top-grade Nascent Soul talisman and retreated quickly, letting others take his place.
When he retreated, he saw that the place where the Ghost Face accidentally bit him was already black and purple, and a walnut-sized lump floated on it.
That person couldn't help but turn pale with fright. He thought to himself that if he hadn't made a prompt decision to give up the top-grade talisman, he might've ended up like that person and lost his life, right?
Everyone else saw this unforeseen event and couldn't help but retreat a few steps.
Those two people were very strong. This Yang Chengji wasn't easy to deal with either. There were also Ling Yunhe and Mo Tiange behind them. One was nurtured by Jiuyan Sect, while the other was only in the Core Formation realm but dared to challenge a group of Nascent Soul cultivators. Even that unremarkable black-robed woman wasn't someone to be trifled with!
For a moment, everyone hesitated.
With such a group of powerful people, was it necessary for them to throw their lives away for others?