Such was the man who, blinded by his own arrogance, had once been his enemy. He shuddered at the thought, realizing he would have died dozens of times over if not for his good fortune.
Cang Shan looked at Mo Qi, his face filled with worry. "We currently have two problems to solve. First, how to resettle the vast number of people and beasts who have come from the Hongmeng South Sea. Second, there are countless people and beasts on the other side of the barrier who are homeless or about to become homeless. They will still desperately try to break through the barrier, so how do we defend it then?"
Mo Qi replied without hesitation, "For the first problem, all people and beasts will go to the Zhenghe Sect in the Northern Territory. For the second problem, treating the symptoms is not as good as treating the root cause. This matter originated from Shen Gui Island, so I must make a trip to the Hongmeng South Sea."
Cang Shan lightly shook his head with disdain. "I'm not trying to discourage you, but if you go, you'll be sending yourself to your death. Otherwise, why would we cultivators who have reached the tribulation or immortal human realms be like stray dogs, homeless and running for our lives?"
Mo Qi gave a wry smile. "How will I know if it's impossible without trying? Besides, I was planning to go to the Hongmeng South Sea anyway." He glanced at Cang Shan again. "However, among these people, is there anyone who is particularly influential, someone everyone listens to? And is this person particularly loyal to you? I'm afraid these people might not obey the rules after going to the Zhenghe Sect, and rebel every other day."
Cang Shan pointed to one of the beast tamers. "His name is Ye Yun, and he is my disciple. These people are particularly obedient to him."
Mo Qi looked at Ye Yun, finding him energetic and bright. With his Nascent Soul stage cultivation, he would be perfect as a peak lord in the Northern Territory. Thus, he said to Cang Shan, "Alright, I will speak to Sect Leader Xue when the time comes and have Ye Yun manage these people and beasts."
Cang Shan nodded, satisfied with this arrangement.
Tang Qianyu quietly pulled Mo Qi aside and whispered, "Your arrangement is not right. If they surrender, they are considered prisoners. Only the higher tiers have the authority to deal with prisoners; you do not."
Mo Qi looked into her eyes. "Then, it seems I have to leave with them first. If we are discovered, we won't be able to escape."
Tang Qianyu shook her head and was about to speak when a group of people descended from the sky.
They all looked imposing and kept their gazes straight ahead.
Mo Qi recognized the leader as Murong Shui.
Mo Qi had a good impression of Murong Shui, so he went to greet him.
Murong Shui seemed not to have recovered from the pain of losing his son. His face was somewhat haggard, his eyes held a hint of sorrow, and there were faint bloodshot streaks in them.
However, with the great enemy at hand, he was trying his best to conceal his grief and sadness.
Murong Shui was quite surprised to see Mo Qi. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he inquired about the defensive situation here.
Tang Qianyu reported the entire sequence of events to him, truthfully and without any distortion or omission.
After listening, Murong Shui found it incredible and repeatedly glanced at Cang Shan, exclaiming inwardly at the strangeness of it all.
However, everything that had happened to Mo Qi was inherently strange; if not for that, he wouldn't have been able to marry his precious niece.
He couldn't help but whisper to Mo Qi, "I truly didn't expect you to be able to stop this invasion. Actually, the higher echelons had no hope for the third tier. The reason they sent the third tier was merely to stall for time, giving me ample opportunity to mobilize all the forces of the sixth tier."
Mo Qi was stunned. He turned to look at Tang Qianyu, who was chatting with Ren Xuefei nearby, and sighed. "You don't even know you were being used as cannon fodder."
Murong Shui also found Mo Qi's proposed personnel resettlement plan to be inappropriate.
"How about this," Murong Shui said, looking at Mo Qi. "You have conscripted personnel from the Tiandu Sect and Lingdu Sect. There have been casualties in this battle. These prisoners can be distributed to those two sects as compensation."
Mo Qi thought about it and found it reasonable.
Murong Shui continued, "But the crisis has not yet been resolved. All conscripted personnel must maintain their posts. As for these prisoners, let them stay here and atone for their crimes."
Just then, a rumbling sound came from the barrier, indicating something was impacting it again, making everyone tense up.
Murong Shui calmly took out a magical artifact.
The artifact had a staff at the bottom, inscribed with various ancient characters and symbols. At the top was a circle, standing vertically on the staff. In the center of the circle was a ruby, suspended in the middle without any connection to the outer circle. Strangely, it did not fall.
"This is the Barrier Rod," Murong Shui said. "It is specifically used to establish, repair, and reinforce barriers."
With that, he raised the Barrier Rod into the air and chanted incantations. The ruby on the Barrier Rod emitted a red mist, which flowed out like a red tide, covering the barrier layer by layer and quickly spreading outwards.
The red tide first emitted a golden light, then gradually dimmed, merging with the barrier and becoming colorless.
On the barrier side, countless demonic beasts and people were still constantly impacting it. However, only the sound of booming could be heard, and the barrier remained unmoved, which greatly reassured everyone.
Seeing that the barrier was temporarily safe, Mo Qi said to Murong Shui and Tang Qianyu, "Resisting invasion and guarding the barrier is only a secondary strategy. The primary strategy is still to go to the Hongmeng South Sea for negotiations."
Murong Shui retracted the Barrier Rod and nodded in deep agreement. "That makes sense. I will report this matter to the higher authorities and have them send people."
"I will go," Mo Qi said firmly.
Murong Shui was taken aback and shook his head. "That's not appropriate. If you go, what identity will you use? As a student of the Heavenly Academy? Who would pay attention to you? Moreover, you are newly married, with a beautiful wife waiting for you at home. How can you heartlessly leave her?"
Mo Qi inwardly grumbled, "You people, you are truly too deeply poisoned! Can't you wake up?"
Tang Qianyu felt a pang of disappointment. Newly married? When did he get married?
Mo Qi actually just wanted to rescue Ling Feiyan and the other two. But at this moment, he felt it was time to put on a grand display. He declared with great passion, "A true man's ambition lies in all directions. How can he let personal affections interfere with matters of state? Moreover, that was just an act." He suddenly became extremely emotional. "Just now, my Lingxiao Sect Leader, Wu Fan, sacrificed himself right before my eyes. With his meager cultivation, he faced the impending collapse without flinching, dying for the cause. He is truly a role model for us. One must know that the rise and fall of the world rests on every individual. When demons run rampant and the people suffer, how can we, the enlightened, turn a blind eye and stand idly by? If everyone stands aloof, this world will become a world of smoke and dust, a world of thorns, a world of flowing blood."
By the end, his emotions were high, and his words were sonorous, truly expressing his genuine feelings, as he thought of Wu Fan.
Many people were moved.
Murong Shui also believed him and even felt a sense of shame.
After a long silence, Murong Shui sighed. "If you want to go, you should wait for some time. I will first report to the higher authorities and see if I can secure a position for you in the seventh tier. This will also make your departure more legitimate."
Tang Qianyu looked at Mo Qi and said, "I will first report your trial results to the academy to complete your studies, and then you can be officially employed in the tiers."
She then turned to Murong Shui and said, "Our ability to stop the enemy this time is largely due to Mo Qi. Firstly, he successfully mobilized ten thousand troops, giving us sufficient manpower to fight against the invaders. Otherwise, with just the few of us from the third tier, it would have been like a drop in the bucket. Secondly, to catch the king, you must first catch the thief." She glanced at Cang Shan, whose old face flushed slightly.
Tang Qianyu continued, "If he had not eliminated the most ferocious demonic beast, captured the woman in black, and subdued the elder Cang, this conflict would likely have continued, or they might have broken through our defenses. The damage this would have caused to the Southern Continent is anyone's guess."
"Finally, he repaired the barrier at a critical moment, preventing further invaders from breaching it. Otherwise, the consequences of a continuous influx of invaders would have been unimaginable."
Mo Qi immediately said, "The credit for repairing the barrier primarily belongs to the Lingxiao Sect Leader, Wu Fan. His bravery and loyalty are absolutely worthy of being announced to the world and praised for generations to come."
Murong Shui nodded. "Truly selfless individuals like him are rare. His righteous spirit is worthy of our learning and admiration." He then looked at Mo Qi again. "With your contributions, you are certainly qualified to hold a lord's position within the tiers. Both Lord Tang and I will recommend you for merit, and we will also submit your proposal to undertake a mission in the Hongmeng South Sea. The final decision will likely be made by the upper realm."
Mo Qi nodded. "Thank you for your trouble!"
With all plans settled, Murong Shui guarded the barrier, Tang Qianyu led the third-tier personnel back to the Qiong Lu Realm, and Mo Qi took Cang Shan towards the Lingxiao Sect.
On the way, Mo Qi suddenly remembered that there was still a person imprisoned in the Five-Colored Pagoda. He couldn't keep her locked up forever, or she would suffocate.
He released her and threw her onto the ground.
The woman in black was securely bound and unable to move, but she was still struggling and cursing, "You beast, release me quickly!"
She could now curse, and her eyes were clear, her mind lucid. It seemed that the enchantment she was under had already dispelled when she couldn't see Mo Qi.
Mo Qi glanced at Cang Shan. "Do you know her?"
Cang Shan shook his head. "She is from another island. We formed a temporary team."
Mo Qi smiled and stepped forward, intending to step on her. Seeing her delicate appearance, he felt reluctant. So, he squatted down and simply looked at her. "What is your name?"
The woman said coldly, "Is it any of your business?"
"Alright, then I'll call you 'None of Your Business' from now on," Mo Qi said with a smile.
The woman in black rolled her eyes.
Mo Qi smiled again. "Would you like to enter into a soul contract with me?"
The woman scoffed, "You're dreaming!"
Mo Qi maintained his smile. "In that case, I'll have to trouble you to stay in my magical artifact for now. When we reach the Hongmeng South Sea, I'll release you."
The woman remained silent. Mo Qi put her away again and continued on his journey.
Along the way, he noticed that Cang Shan seemed somewhat unwilling to follow him, so he let him leave.
Mo Qi established a connection with him via a telepathic communication stone and agreed that when the tier appointments were made, they would meet at the barrier and head to the Hongmeng South Sea together.
After Cang Shan left, Mo Qi took out the storage bag that Guan Shicheng had given him before he died.
Upon looking inside, he was overjoyed.
It contained a brown flag magical artifact that could be used to refine explosive pills.
Besides that, there were densely packed mechanical beasts.