Xiao Liu and Zhu Yan continued to clash, divine light gathering and dispersing, then gathering and dispersing again.
The main issue was that Zhu Yan was relentless; as long as she didn't stop, Xiao Liu dared not stop either.
The pond churned violently. A few stones were finally dislodged and fell onto the shore, shattering.
Hongjun was furious. "These star worlds will be of great use after the universe restarts, yet you've destroyed them!"
With a wave of his hand, Hongjun caused Xiao Liu to weather away in place. His entire body disintegrated rapidly like sand in the wind, vanishing in moments.
"Let's fight in the front courtyard," Hongjun said, looking at Mo Qi.
"Do you think I care about you?" Mo Qi moved closer to the pond's edge instead.
"You!" Hongjun attempted to strike, but Hei Jun restrained him. "Calm down! Let's go inside first and then make a plan."
With that, Hei Jun pulled Hongjun into the house, and Xiao San had no choice but to follow.
Murong Yanran, unaware of the danger, said to Mo Qi, "Let's fight our way in."
Mo Qi shook his head and pointed at the pond. "We'll cultivate here, improve our power, and wait for them to find us."
Previously, the destruction of various star worlds had caused a great deal of spiritual energy to leak out, filling the pond.
Cultivating by the pond at this time was akin to advancing a thousand miles in a single day.
Murong Yanran had already sensed the immense spiritual energy here, but without Mo Qi's reminder, she dared not entertain such thoughts.
Upon Mo Qi's words, she immediately sat cross-legged and began to cultivate and break through.
Progress was swift, with breakthroughs occurring step by step.
The others also sat cross-legged, commencing their cultivation and breakthroughs.
Mo Qi even released Xiao Xue Ren and others to absorb the spiritual energy together.
Everyone's cultivation advanced rapidly. Long Ji and Murong Yanran, in particular, had never experienced such cultivation speed. As they cultivated, they were so moved they were on the verge of tears.
Could such a place for cultivation truly exist in this world? Was this a dream?
Before long, everyone's cultivation had significantly improved. Long Ji and Murong Yanran both reached the Great Luo Golden Saint realm, Zi Luo was close to the Pangu realm, and Sheng Nü and Zhu Yan had surpassed the Pangu realm, where they had been stuck for a long time, ascending to the Ancient realm.
Mo Qi had passed the Ancient realm and was now in the mid-stage of the Primordial realm.
Xiao Xue Ren, Xiao Bu Dian, Jin Jiao Jian, and Huo Mo also advanced rapidly.
Hongjun watched this scene from inside the house, his lungs about to explode with rage.
He had invited Wuliang Old Ancestor to share the spoils of this pond harvest, only to have these few insects get there first.
After observing for a moment, Hongjun could no longer contain himself. He roared, intending to rush out. "They can't get away with this! I'll kill them. At worst, we'll destroy the pond, and no one will gain anything."
Hei Jun stopped him again. "Don't forget, we still have our trump cards. It's time for them to make an appearance."
Hongjun suddenly remembered that during the collapse of the Silver River Heavenly Palace, he had ordered Xiao Qi to capture two beauties. He had initially intended to train them as attendants, but later, upon calculation, he discovered a significant connection between these two and that little bug. Thus, he had temporarily imprisoned them, hoping they would be useful at the opportune moment.
He never expected them to be truly useful today.
He made a grasping motion in the air, and a phantom door appeared. Opening it revealed two beautiful figures. One was entirely white, with white hair, while the other wore yellow, which made her hair appear yellow, looking particularly radiant.
They were Xue Nü and Linghu Xiao Xian. At this moment, they seemed to have been asleep for a long time, slowly opening their eyes. The blinding light that entered made them close their eyes again, but after a moment, they slowly reopened them.
At this time, Mo Qi and the others were greedily absorbing spiritual energy, breaking through at an astonishing pace.
The critical issue was that under the impact of such powerful spiritual energy, breakthroughs seemed to have no limit; they could break through infinitely and couldn't stop.
If nothing unexpected happened, they intended to continue breaking through like this.
However, the unexpected occurred!
Hongjun's voice boomed like an explosion: "If you don't want them to die, then stop!"
Mo Qi looked up and saw Hongjun and Hei Jun walking out of the house, each holding a beauty.
It was Xue Nü and Linghu Xiao Xian!
Sheng Nü, Zhu Yan, Zi Luo, and Long Ji glanced at them, then lowered their heads to continue cultivating.
Murong Yanran stood up, surprised and delighted. "Sister Xue, you've come here too?"
She was referring to Xue Nü!
At this moment, Xue Nü and Linghu Xiao Xian had regained their memories.
When Xiao Ling perished, their memories were restored.
At that time, they both remembered Mo Qi and everything he had done for them.
They had thought they were about to die and were filled with regret, lamenting that after finally meeting him in this world, they had overlooked him and wasted so much precious time.
But they never imagined they would have another chance to meet him.
What they never expected was to meet again under such circumstances, where their reunion would cause mutual distress, making it worse than never meeting.
Tears welled up in the beautiful eyes of Linghu Xiao Xian and Xue Nü.
"What do you want?" Mo Qi's heart was turbulent, but his expression was exceptionally calm.
"I am under someone's control now. What can I do?" Linghu Xiao Xian said, looking at Mo Qi.
Mo Qi frowned. This level of intelligence was truly something else.
Everyone else also had a collective expression of exasperation.
"I'm asking him," Mo Qi said, pointing at Hongjun.
Hongjun stated, "If you want them to live, come with me to the front courtyard."
Before Mo Qi could speak, Zi Luo stood up and said, "No. Here, you still have some reservations. If we go to the front courtyard, you can unleash your full power and kill all of us. Not only will they still die, but we will be buried with them. How can your plan be so cunning?"
"That is not up to you," Hongjun said, his eyes showing a cruel glint. He pressed his finger against Xue Nü's neck. "With a slight flick of my finger, her head will be severed. What do you say? Have you thought it through, especially you?"
He directed the last sentence at Mo Qi.
Mo Qi pondered for a moment and said, "We can't escape your grasp anyway. How about this: you release the two of them, and we'll go to the front courtyard together."
"Do you think I'm a fool? If I release them, and you don't go to the front courtyard, what then?"
"How about this: you release one person first, and keep the other as a hostage. Once we reach the front courtyard, you release the other, and we'll fight to the death," Mo Qi proposed.
"Fine, let's do that." Hongjun was rather impatient and immediately pushed Linghu Xiao Xian over.
Linghu Xiao Xian, having narrowly escaped death, was overcome with mixed emotions of grief and joy. She hugged Mo Qi tightly. "I remember, I remember everything."
Mo Qi gently patted her shoulder. "It's good that you remember, but this is not the time for hugs and embraces."
Linghu Xiao Xian playfully hit him, then stepped aside.
"What, are you trying to renege?" Hongjun glared at Mo Qi, placing his finger back near Xue Nü's neck.
Mo Qi scanned the people around him. "Let's go to the front courtyard."
Zhu Yan said reluctantly, "There's an ambush in the front courtyard. If we go there, we'll be annihilated. Are you leading everyone to their deaths? With so many of us, is one life more important than all of ours?"
Mo Qi looked at Hongjun with a troubled expression. "Look, I can't control all of them. How about I go to the front courtyard alone?"
Xue Nü was about to speak, but Mo Qi waved his hand. "You don't need to say anything." Xue Nü merely looked at him with tear-filled eyes.
Hongjun became enraged and made a move as if to harm Xue Nü. "Enough nonsense. If you don't go to the front courtyard immediately, I'll have her head severed."
"Let's go," Sheng Nü said, moving towards the house.
Mo Qi and the others followed to the front courtyard.
Zhu Yan, helpless, eventually followed suit.
Hongjun and Hei Jun wore smug expressions as they escorted Xue Nü to the front courtyard.
Upon arriving at the front courtyard, Xiao San and a group of others emerged from various points along the courtyard walls, surrounding Mo Qi and his companions.
Mo Qi took a deep breath. "As expected, there's an ambush. But shouldn't you fulfill your promise and release my friend?"