Mo Qi felt a sense of strangeness.
However, Yuwen Yan exclaimed, "Your fortune is immense!"
"What do you mean by that?" Mo Qi asked.
Yuwen Yan slowly explained, "We cultivate spiritual energy, while psionic energy is another force in the heavens and earth. The Ancestor of Sorcery pushed it to its extreme. Later, the Sorcerer tribe was assimilated by the Human tribe, and their ultimate skill, psionic energy, gradually degenerated into many distorted arts. Curses are one of them."
Upon hearing this, Mo Qi's interest was piqued, and he immediately opened the scroll, reading it carefully.
Yuwen Yan suddenly added, "This also confirms one thing: she is undoubtedly the Saintess of the Sorcerer tribe."
Who cares who she is? Mo Qi was completely indifferent and began practicing with insatiable eagerness.
Psionic energy, unlike spiritual energy, was not earth-shattering or arrogant. Instead, it tended towards subtlety, aiming to harm the enemy invisibly.
When one's power reached a certain level, merely uttering a spell could move mountains, fill seas, pluck stars, and chase the sun.
However, cultivation was extremely slow, and results were not seen in a short period.
The Sorcerer's Divine Psionic Energy Art was divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced stages.
The beginner stage had ten levels, with the stage before the first being the entry level.
Mo Qi practiced for a long time but couldn't even achieve entry.
Outside the passage, after the disciples of various sects and the students of the Heavenly Academy had fled a considerable distance, they suddenly looked back. They saw the clouds dissipate, the rain cease, and the wind and clouds calm.
The black mass that had been eroding the ground had vanished.
"What was that, anyway?" someone asked.
"I don't know; no one has ever seen it before."
"Perhaps it's a mechanism unique to this Tongtian Secret Realm."
The group chattered amongst themselves, their interest in the trial completely gone. They then retreated.
Only Xue Nu and Lu Xiaoyue, without hesitation, went back in to search for Mo Qi's whereabouts.
Within the passage, the two continued to ascend. They reached a point and suddenly could go no further. They clearly saw a path leading upwards ahead, but they couldn't pass it, as if there were some formation. After taking a few steps, they returned to their original spot. Looking forward again, they realized they hadn't moved at all.
The two were certain that Mo Qi had gone ahead. Although they didn't know how he had passed, they conferred and decided to return first. Perhaps after some time, he would come back on his own.
So, they turned and left.
Meanwhile, in the Southern Primordial Sea, Divine Turtle Island continued its rampage. After annexing countless small islands, it arrived at a deep bay. The sky was perpetually dark, the bay was deep and secluded, and the scent of blood and a sinister atmosphere expanded infinitely outwards.
Divine Turtle Island drifted leisurely into the bay, and over a dozen figures flew into a cave.
Innumerable divine turtles crawled out from nowhere, slowly making their way ashore, climbing the peaks. Turtles covered the mountains and plains, all raising their heads to the sky, as a mysterious power silently spread through the air.
Deep within the bay was a cave, within which red light flickered intermittently. Crimson tides, like a sea of blood churning, surged out from the cave and rushed towards Divine Turtle Island. Waves of blood rolled over, climbed Divine Turtle Island, and reached the summit, engulfing the turtles.
In an instant, the turtles merged into the sea of blood. After the sea of blood reached the summit, it did not recede, as if it had merged into Divine Turtle Mountain, coating the entire mountain in a layer of red.
The dozen figures flew out of the cave again, prostrating themselves on the shore, gazing upwards with longing and eagerness, tinged with a hint of fear.
A moment later, a rumbling sound echoed, as if a certain power deep within Divine Turtle Mountain was awakening.
The entire Divine Turtle Mountain erupted in a cloud of red mist, forming the silhouette of a giant turtle in the air. The red mist continued to circulate, rapidly contracting, distorting, and then gradually transforming into a human-like figure standing on the mountaintop. With blood-red eyes, it stared down at the prostrate group below.
The dozen people bowed respectfully and shouted, "Welcome back, Ancestor!"
The Turtle Ancestor let out a sky-piercing roar that echoed through the heavens and earth, stretching for ten thousand miles.
Afterward, Divine Turtle Island began to sail out of the bay.
"This time, we will devour every island in the Southern Primordial Sea, one by one, until we can contend with the Southern Continent."
In the stone chamber, time had no meaning. Mo Qi felt as though a very long time had passed, perhaps months, perhaps years.
He felt he could no longer stay in the stone chamber and decided to take the scroll and practice later.
He figured that the disaster outside must have passed by now.
So, he left the stone chamber and walked towards the barrier. Yuwen Yan tried to persuade him to stay with all her might, but he paid no heed.
When he reached the rippling barrier, he was dumbfounded.
Each time he bumped against the barrier, he was ruthlessly repelled, unable to pass.
Helpless, Mo Qi returned to the stone chamber to resume his diligent practice of psionic energy.
He knew that once his psionic energy reached a minor accomplishment, he could break through the barrier.
Yuwen Yan began to clamor to be let out again. Threats and anger were ineffective, so she started to act cute, "Good brother, let me out for some fresh air. I'm suffocating."
Mo Qi couldn't stand it anymore and let her out, "We agreed, just for some fresh air!"
Yuwen Yan promised wholeheartedly, but as soon as she came out, she immediately possessed the body of the Sorcerer Saintess.
Mo Qi was helpless, only shaking his head and sighing.
A moment later, Yuwen Yan opened her eyes. She smiled and got off the stone bed, turning around in front of Mo Qi, "Do I look good?"
Mo Qi nodded, "You look good, but..."
"But what?" Yuwen Yan anxiously rolled her eyes, looking herself up and down.
"I mean, it's good to be alive," Mo Qi said.
Yuwen Yan pouted, "Flowers don't bloom for a hundred days; a moment of beauty is enough."
Mo Qi ignored her lament and went back to cultivating psionic energy.
Yuwen Yan also began to cultivate beside him. Her starting point was higher than Mo Qi's, and her cultivation progressed much faster. She quickly reached the entry level.
Mo Qi cultivated with single-minded focus, completely unaware of the passage of time.
After an unknown period, Yuwen Yan suddenly burrowed into Mo Qi's embrace.
Mo Qi was startled and instinctively stopped cultivating.
His body reacted instantly. Who could resist such warmth and fragrance?
Just as he was about to reach out, Yuwen Yan suddenly said, "I'm going to die!"
Mo Qi was extremely alarmed and asked, "What's wrong?"
Yuwen Yan's expression turned somewhat somber as she said, "I still can't escape this fate. I feel her awakening."
Mo Qi became flustered and lost all interest, "Can you try to get out of her body?"
Yuwen Yan shook her head, "No, if I do that, she will die, and there will be no chance for resurrection."
Mo Qi said with slight anger, "We can't worry about that now!"
Yuwen Yan suddenly smiled sadly, "Seeing you so worried makes me truly happy!"
Mo Qi said, "Stop talking nonsense and come out quickly. Don't be stubborn anymore. This is a matter of life and death, where is the logic?"
Yuwen Yan's eyes were alluring, and she said with unfathomable depth, "For me, it's life and death. But for you, it's different."
Mo Qi didn't quite understand and asked, "How is it different?"
"Do you want a cold corpse to accompany you here, or a living, stunning beauty?" Yuwen Yan said with a charming smile.
"I just want you to be alive," Mo Qi replied.
"Hearing you say that makes me very happy. But I was actually lying to you. It's not that I don't want to come out; it's that I can't anymore. Her soul power is getting stronger, and I can barely suppress her. I will disappear soon," Yuwen Yan said mournfully.
Mo Qi's mind went blank. He stared at her for a long time, then sighed and slowly said, "What are you thinking? Why is this happening?"
Yuwen Yan's eyes were teary, "At least I can accompany you for a while."
As she spoke, Yuwen Yan lightly raised her jade hand to unfasten her clothes, revealing inch after inch of snow-white skin.
Mo Qi, without hesitation, grabbed her hand, stopping her further actions. With his other hand, he slowly helped her re-fasten her clothes, "It's the same if you accompany me like this."
Yuwen Yan was greatly surprised. She had seen and remembered Mo Qi's lustfulness. Yet, facing such a stunning beauty, he could remain unmoved, which was truly unexpected.
This made her feel that she had not misjudged him. Her gratitude, joy, satisfaction, and happiness instantly swelled infinitely.
She said emotionally, "Your great kindness to my Yuwen family is something I can never repay, even if I were to die ten times."
"Are you doing this just to repay a debt of gratitude?" Mo Qi asked, somewhat disappointed.
"Of course not. I like you. I've fallen for you hopelessly. Even if I bear the condemnation of the whole world, even if I am shattered to pieces, I wouldn't care," Yuwen Yan said, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Alas, what virtue do I, Mo Qi, possess..."
"Also, if she is willing to help find a solution, perhaps I won't have to die. Remember to look for me then, no matter what I become in the future, you are not allowed to dislike me," Yuwen Yan added.
"I told you, it's your soul that I like," Mo Qi said decisively.
The two held each other tightly for a long, long time. Mo Qi eventually fell asleep.
During this sleep, Mo Qi had a very, very long dream.
A sharp pain woke Mo Qi. He was sliding down the wall of the stone chamber.
He had been kicked against the wall by "Yuwen Yan."
This woman, who had slept for tens of thousands of years, woke up to find herself in someone else's arms, and she couldn't help but be furious.
After kicking Mo Qi against the wall, the woman's anger was still unabated. She glared at Mo Qi, wishing she could tear him to pieces, "You, who are you? What did you do to me?"
Mo Qi knew that Yuwen Yan had likely "disappeared" and felt a pang of melancholy.
For some reason, he felt a hint of hatred towards this woman.
But this hatred was impossible to act upon.
"If I say I did nothing to you, would you believe me?" Mo Qi looked up at her directly.
He could hardly imagine that such a stunning beauty had just been lying in his arms.
"You..." The woman looked at his fiery gaze and felt that something must have happened. Her face turned green and then white with anger, her finger pointing at Mo Qi trembling.
"I have no face to live on, but I cannot let you live either." A deep killing intent flashed in the woman's eyes.
As she spoke, the woman raised her right palm. Red light suddenly appeared in her palm, with a faint rumble of thunder.
The stance was so earth-shattering that one could imagine what kind of state she could reduce him to with that palm strike.
Mo Qi quickly said, "Having slept for tens of thousands of years, don't you have anything you want to do?"
The woman paused, slowly withdrew her right palm, and said fiercely, "Fine, I'll spare your life for now. After I settle a matter, I will come back for your dog life."
With that, she flew into the air and instantly dissolved into the vast emptiness.
Hmm? She could leave from up there?
Without hesitation, Mo Qi also leaped up and soared towards the sky. A moment later, a light screen flashed, and he was immediately repelled. He tried several more times but was always repelled.
"Alas, the gap is too big!" Mo Qi sighed and had to give up.