He wasn't sure if dying would deify him, so he dared not let go.
To prevent collateral damage, Mo Qi spread his form and fled swiftly, with Nuwa in hot pursuit.
A moment later, Mo Qi turned back and hurled several Dinghai Divine Pearls at Nuwa.
Of the twenty-four Dinghai Divine Pearls, Jieyin had taken some, leaving him with over ten.
The Dinghai Divine Pearls emitted brilliant radiance, forming a cohesive stream that struck at Nuwa.
Nuwa, unhurried, conjured forth the River and Mountains Map, unfurling it in the air. The map depicted mountains and rivers, crisscrossing fields, birds and beasts, and dense forests.
From these mountains and rivers flowed a myriad of colors, gently and softly, like water, or mist, or five thousand fine threads, surging forward to envelop the Dinghai Pearls. Together with the radiance emitted by the Dinghai Pearls, they were all drawn into the River and Mountains Map.
When the light faded, several points of light appeared on the map, like stones on the ground or stars in the sky.
Mo Qi was astonished. His magic treasure had been captured just like that?
He refused to believe it and threw another Dinghai Pearl, but as expected, it was also captured.
This put him in a difficult position. If he used a lesser magic treasure, it would be useless; if he used a better one, he feared it would be captured as well.
It was truly vexing.
Sky Bow, Earth Arrow!
With his left hand forward and his right hand pulling back in the void, a powerful and sharp arrow shadow appeared on a phantom bow, humming ominously.
He released his right hand, and the arrow shadow, like lightning, surged and roared, streaking with incredible speed.
From the River and Mountains Map, another mass of mist erupted, extending forward.
The arrow shadow, without surprise, plunged into the mass of mist.
The mist contracted, and the arrow shadow was pulled in, silently.
This magic treasure was too monstrous, capturing everything!
Would it capture people too?
The next moment, Nuwa answered Mo Qi's question with action. She pointed her hand, and the River and Mountains Map once again sent forth a mass of mist, wisps and tendrils extending like countless tentacles. From a distance, Mo Qi felt a powerful suction force pulling his body towards the map.
It hadn't even touched him yet. What would its power be if it did?
Mo Qi dared not hesitate, hastily throwing out a leaf from the Tree of Fortune and making his escape.
When he looked again, the surroundings had changed. He had arrived in an unfamiliar place.
The area was serene, the air calm, with no aura of killing intent or spiritual fluctuations.
He didn't know where he was, but he was certain Nuwa had not followed him.
However, it felt like something was lost.
At that moment, Nuwa's voice echoed through the air: "You run quite fast. Do you not care for the life and death of this Dragon Girl?"
Mo Qi's heart sank by half. He spoke to the void, "You win. Release her, and I will give you the Sky-Opening Axe."
After a period of silence, Nuwa said, "I've changed my mind. You can keep the Sky-Opening Axe. Guard it well, and do not let it be lost. Dragon Girl will come with me, and I will protect her. If the Sky-Opening Axe remains intact and Buzhou Mountain is safe, then Dragon Girl is safe. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee if you will ever see her again."
"Dragon Girl has nothing to do with this matter."
Nuwa's voice gradually faded, "I didn't say she did. I just want to protect her because I know if I don't take her, Jieyin will."
This... was too tragic!
Poor senior sister, escaping one wolf's den only to fall into a tiger's mouth.
Continuing to speak, he worried Nuwa might not hear him. So, he abandoned the argument and asked, "Then how long do I need to help you guard the Sky-Opening Axe?"
"I haven't decided. When necessary, I will retrieve it myself," came Nuwa's faint voice from the air, almost inaudible if not listened to carefully.
Mo Qi was both angry and furious, but he was hesitant to act, not daring to be too reckless. He could only curse in a low voice.
He secretly vowed that as soon as his cultivation broke through to the Supreme Saint realm, he would immediately ascend to the Sacred Heaven Realm to rescue Long Qi.
However, he held onto a sliver of hope. What if Nuwa was lying? What if she hadn't actually taken Long Qi away?
Long Qi was also a Xuan Immortal. Unless she surrendered willingly, she couldn't have been captured by Nuwa in the blink of an eye, could she?
But when he returned to the top floor of the Star-Picking Tower, only King Yin was there.
King Yin said somewhat helplessly, "Your little wife was taken away by her."
How did you know she was my little wife?
Good discernment, but he couldn't feel happy at all.
"If I had known, I wouldn't have given you the Sky-Opening Axe," King Yin said with regret.
Mo Qi shook his head, his brows furrowed in thought, "Perhaps, it wasn't you who chose me, but she who chose me."
King Yin was puzzled, "But what is her purpose in doing this?"
"I have a feeling that the Sky-Opening Axe cannot be kept by her, so she has been searching for a suitable owner," Mo Qi said, gazing at the dark night sky.
King Yin found it hard to comprehend, "This... how is that possible? Isn't she afraid someone will chop down Buzhou Mountain?"
"Forget it, what's the point of discussing this with you?" Mo Qi shook his head in extreme frustration. "You should go and worry about your Daji, while I... alas... my senior sister, my pity."
With that, Mo Qi departed resolutely.
King Yin looked at the deep night sky, "If you were the chosen one, then what about me?"
Mo Qi left the royal capital and returned directly to Biyou Palace. The Sect Master had not yet ordered the deployment of the formation, so he intensified his cultivation. He consumed several bottles of Heavenly Pool Jade Dew and many Spirit Beast Pills, but he could not break through. The step from Golden Immortal to Grand Unity Golden Immortal was simply too difficult!
Mo Qi was somewhat frantic. He consumed countless Spirit Power Pills, Beast Soul Pills, Golden Pills, and Blood Condensing Pills. Finally, he poured out the refining pool water he had brought back from Yuqing Sect and took a bath, and only then did he finally break through!
Instantly, golden light shot up into the sky, and the heavens were filled with myriad rays of auspicious light.
Disciples of Shangqing Sect came to congratulate him, offering their blessings repeatedly.
In an instant, the edge of the pool was crowded, with people packed three layers deep.
"Congratulations, congratulations."
"Junior Brother is a dragon among men."
"Junior Brother's progress is incredibly swift!"
"Junior Brother possesses extraordinary talent and innate destiny, unparalleled in history."
Mo Qi's face darkened. If you want to see my body, just say so!
This forced Mo Qi to respond from the water, "Ah, esteemed elders, you flatter me."
Lingbao Tianzun also walked over, his face beaming with joy, "Good, my disciple, you are good. You have broken through to Grand Unity Golden Immortal so quickly. Few can match you in the Three Realms." His tone shifted, "This is truly a momentous occasion. Your breakthrough compensates for the absence of Duobao."
Duobao Daoist had been captured by Taiqing Tianzun using the Taiji Diagram within the Zhuxian Formation and had likely defected to Taiqing Sect.
Mo Qi curled up in the water, not daring to get up, "You are all too enthusiastic. Could you please leave for a moment?"
The crowd chuckled and departed.
A few days later, Shangqing Sect disciples from the Three Mountains and Five Peaks all returned to the sect headquarters, Biyou Palace.
It was a sea of people, shoulder to shoulder. The entire Biyou Palace was almost overflowing.
Lingbao Tianzun had spoken of deploying the Myriad Immortal Formation, and it was no exaggeration; tens of thousands of people had indeed been gathered to set it up.
With so many people gathered, everyone's confidence increased, and they were all eager to fight.
Lingbao Tianzun then instructed Chang'er Dingguang Xian to take the Six Souls Banner and lead all disciples to the front lines of the two armies.
The Myriad Immortal Formation had formations within formations.
These included the Taiji Formation, the Two-Forms Formation, the Four Symbols Formation, the Eight Trigrams Formation, and others.
Originally, Lingbao Tianzun had assigned Mo Qi to guard the Taiji Formation, but Mo Qi suddenly had an inspiration and said to Lingbao Tianzun, "This Myriad Immortal Formation is already as impenetrable as a bronze wall and iron fortress. My participation or not makes little difference. I have a better idea. If we deploy our formation, Yuqing Sect will undoubtedly focus all their efforts on breaking it. Their rear will be empty. I will go and seize the Investiture of the Gods from Jiang Xia's hands, forcing them to divide their attention. This will not only minimize the pressure on the Myriad Immortal Formation to the greatest extent but may also achieve an unexpected counter-killing effect."
Lingbao Tianzun's eyes lit up upon hearing this, "You boy, you always have so many tricks. However, the Investiture of the Gods can be seized, but it cannot be destroyed. Our goal is to teach Yuqing Sect a lesson and regain face, but we must still abide by the rules set by the three sects."
Mo Qi nodded repeatedly, "Of course, I will strictly follow the Sect Master's decree."
With that, he transformed into a golden light and headed towards Jiang Xia's camp.
A moment later, Taiqing Tianzun, Yuqing Tianzun, the Two Sages of the West, the Twelve Golden Immortals, and others descended from the sky. After making some arrangements in the thatched pavilion, they began to break the formation.
Jiang Xia also dispatched Yang Erlang, Li Sanlang, Lei Zhenzi, and others from his camp to participate in breaking the formation. Just as Mo Qi had predicted, by Jiang Xia's side were only some mortals and novice cultivators, such as his own disciple Wu Ji, and those from Sky City, Ge Xiang, Ge Chuan, and Tu Liang.
Mo Qi swaggered into the Zhou camp, where Jiang Xia and these novices were chatting leisurely about everything under the sun, enjoying themselves immensely.
Breaking the formation was not their concern; they could only hope for it.
They had great faith in the strength of the Four Saints and the Twelve Golden Immortals, so breaking the formation was inevitable.
Therefore, they were at ease.
Mo Qi hummed a tune as he walked in. There was a seat nearby, and he sat down brazenly.
Ge Xiang was shocked for a moment, then immediately stood up and kindly reminded him, "Did you come to the wrong place?"
Mo Qi chuckled, "No, I didn't. I'm here to steal... I'm here to get the Investiture of the Gods."
Tu Liang, Wu Ji, and Ge Chuan stood up as if facing a formidable enemy.
Ge Chuan's previous injury had not fully healed, and the sudden large movement aggravated it, causing him to grimace in pain.
Jiang Xia's legs trembled, but he still pretended to be nonchalant, "The Investiture of the Gods is not on me."
Ge Xiang looked at Mo Qi, a hint of sadness on her beautiful face, "Don't go further and further astray, don't fall deeper and deeper. It's still not too late to turn back now."
Mo Qi stood up and walked directly in front of her, his nose almost touching hers, his breathing clearly audible.
"What are you doing?" Ge Xiang said nervously.
Mo Qi smiled, "Aren't you afraid I'll go too far? I'll just get closer to you."
Ge Xiang was exasperated and tried to push him away with all her might, but for some reason, Mo Qi's body remained as unmoving as a mountain.
Ge Xiang's body, however, uncontrollably stumbled into Mo Qi's embrace. Mo Qi circled his arms around her, holding her tightly.
"You don't have to be so moved, you're practically throwing yourself into my arms," Mo Qi chuckled.
Ge Chuan was furious and roared, "Get away from her..."