The breeze blew and the bamboo leaves rustled.
The water flowed, and the stream meandered.
If it weren't for the fact that it was so quiet that no one could smell, this place would be the most beautiful paradise.
Inside the Virtual Sky World, Mo Tiange slowly walked along the stream with her hands in her sleeves.
Behind her, a small beast that looked like a squirrel followed behind her while chasing the fluttering butterflies.
This little Inferno Beast had been raised in the Virtual Sky World for a long time. She didn't know what kind of spiritual plants it ate, but its cultivation level advanced by leaps and bounds. It was now in the second rank.
She didn't know whether it was because the Virtual Sky World was connected to her or because the little Inferno Beast was grateful to her, but although there was no contract between them, it treated her like a contractual spiritual beast.
That day, she managed to escape from the claws of the fifth rank Double-Headed Eagle with great difficulty. As soon as she entered the Virtual Sky World, she was unconscious for several months as if she was dead.
During this period, the little Inferno Beast kept feeding her unknown spiritual plants.
After several months, she finally regained her breath and could meditate to heal her injuries.
In order to resist the Double-Headed Eagle's High Level Thunder Spell, her body was seriously injured. She thought she would follow in the footsteps of that Yu Family's cultivator and her cultivation level would drop. She didn't expect that the spiritual herbs brought by this little Inferno Beast would be able to stop her injury. Her meridians and dantian had also gone through the Five-Spirits Cultivating Body, so they were tough and firm.
Yu Clan's Green Pendant Pills were indeed good stuff. They were useful for both internal and external injuries. After taking the Green Pendant Pills, her injuries were completely healed in just a few months.
After her injuries were healed, Mo Tiange didn't want to go out anymore.
She could hear the movements outside in the Virtual Sky World. The battle was very fierce, so it was better to stay inside the Virtual Sky World to avoid the flames of war.
As for Luo Fengxue and the others, she had done her best. Whether they lived or died would depend on their luck.
Therefore, she cultivated, concocted medicinal pills, organized medicinal fields, and read ancient books inside the Virtual Sky World every day.
The previous master of the Virtual Sky World was a person from the Distant Past era. The cultivation techniques he collected were all related to the Origin, which was suitable for her.
After the little Inferno Beast advanced, it didn't know whether its Ardent Yang Real Fire also advanced, but its Ardent Yang Real Fire evolved into Sun Real Fire, which almost surpassed the quality of Danding School's Earthly Fire.
Because of this, Mo Tiange once again started practicing pill-concocting. It just so happened that she obtained a lot of ancient pill recipes from Danding School.
It was also time to sort out the medicinal fields inside the Virtual Sky World.
There were many spiritual herbs from the ancient era here that had accumulated for who knew how many hundreds of thousands of years. They were densely packed, covering the entire medicinal field.
In some places, because there were too many spirit herbs piled up, they didn't have enough nutrients and were on the verge of withering.
Mo Tiange then used the memories in the Virtual Sky World to collect what she should collect and dig out what she should dig out, then categorize and organize them.
It was probably because the original owner's cultivation level was too high that she couldn't use most of the spirit herbs here, so she could only store them in a jade box. For this reason, she built a small bamboo house in the bamboo forest to store them.
There were also some basic elixir ingredients that were directly harvested to refine elixirs.
By the time the herbal field was cleaned up, the small bamboo house was stuffed to the brim, and the open space in front of the house was piled with weeds.
Afraid that some spirit herbs would lose their efficacy after being out of the soil for too long, Mo Tiange could only use some thousand-year-old spirit herbs to concoct elixirs, which made her pill-concocting skills advance by leaps and bounds.
For this reason, Mo Tiange could only smile bitterly. If other people knew that these spirit herbs, which were hard to find in the outside world, were actually used by her to learn pill-concocting, wouldn't they slap her to death?
In fact, she actually wanted to exchange them for spirit stones, but the outside world was too chaotic, so she didn't dare to go out.
Several months later, the fighting outside was still in full swing. Mo Tiange had already used the spirit herbs she picked from the medicinal fields to concoct the first batch of medicinal pills.
Aura-Stabilizing Pills, Look-Preserving Pills, and Longevity Pills — these were the most raw materials, and she had also concocted some Clear Sky Pills. As for the Spirit-Gathering Pills she could take now, probably because the gap between her and the original owner's realm was too big, she had fewer spirit herbs, so she could only concoct a few bottles.
After concocting the pills, Mo Tiange looked at the bottles and jars on the ground with a bitter smile. These medicinal pills would be a huge fortune if taken outside, but she was trapped here, so she couldn't use them.
Aura-Stabilizing Pills were used to regulate spiritual breath, so she didn't need them now. Clear Sky Pills were needed for Core Formation cultivators to cultivate, so she also didn't need them now.
She took one Look-Preserving Pill and one Longevity Pill each. The Look-Preserving Pill didn't seem to have any effect, probably because her cultivation technique itself could preserve her looks.
As for the Longevity Pill, once she swallowed it, she felt as if her whole body was burning. For a moment, she couldn't control the spiritual aura in her body. After adjusting her breath, when the spiritual aura in her whole body finally calmed down, she had a wonderful and indescribable feeling. It was as if … as if her lifespan was endless.
According to the lifespan of a Foundation Building cultivator, it was about 300 to 400 years. She was only 25 years old now, so she could live for at least another 300 years. If the Longevity Pill added 500 years to her lifespan, then that would be 800 years!
Mo Tiange was very happy about this. In 800 years, no matter what, she should be able to advance to the Core Formation realm, right?
If she was lucky, advancing to the Nascent Soul realm wouldn't be a problem.
After she finished concocting all these medicinal pills, Mo Tiange's pill-concocting skills could no longer be mentioned in the same breath as before.
She had a 50% success rate in concocting medicinal pills like the Longevity Pill, so she wasn't much worse than a great concocting master.
Unfortunately, there weren't too many pill recipes in the ancient books here. Even if there were, she wouldn't be able to understand them with her current realm, so her pill-concocting skills could only stop here.
Another piece of good news was that her Soul-Refining Art finally showed some initial results. Not only could she refine a physical body, but she could also turn it into a flying knife and hurt people silently.
Several months passed just like that. Time passed quickly.
By the time the outside world had mostly calmed down and there were very few people fighting here, Mo Tiange had already stayed in the Virtual Sky World for two years.
During these two years, her pill-concocting skills progressed unbelievably fast, and her Soul-Refining Art also showed initial results. Thus, she decided to go out and see the situation outside.
Barren hilltops, rubble everywhere, withered flowers and plants, and dark red ground.
This was the first scene Mo Tiange saw when she came out of the Virtual Sky World.
She remembered that when she entered the Virtual Sky World, this place was still lush with green grass and fragrant wildflowers. She didn't expect that two years later, it would become such a barren scene.
The rubble was cracked, which was the trace of spells, and the dark red ground was stained by blood.
She sighed softly. After such a fierce battle, she didn't know whether her old friends survived or not.
With a flick of her sleeve, she summoned the White Silk Handkerchief, turned into a streak of light, and flew west.
As far as her eyes could see, everything below was the same as the hilltop just now. Almost all the flowers and trees were destroyed, the mountain rocks were cracked, and some were almost razed to the ground. Traces of blood were everywhere, but fortunately, she didn't see any corpses.
It seemed that the battle had been over for some time, but there wasn't even a single person.
Mo Tiange frowned and continued to fly west.
Even if the demonic beast riot was over, it was impossible to not see a single person. She needed to find a few people first and ask them about the current situation.
After flying for about four hours, Mo Tiange's divine sense finally sensed a cultivator's aura.
She was delighted and flew towards the place she sensed. Sure enough, it didn't take long before she saw traces of cultivators.
This was a ruin with half-collapsed city walls, majestic but unmaintained palaces, and half-collapsed houses.
After a glance, Mo Tiange guessed that this was probably the encampment of a big clan.
However, the strange thing was that there wasn't a single defensive formation on it.
Occasionally, there were people going in and out of the intact buildings. Judging from their clothes, they didn't seem to belong to the same cultivation group.
She thought for a moment then flew down.
When she landed, Mo Tiange looked up and saw that there wasn't even a gatekeeper here.
A cultivator came out from inside with a numb expression and bloodstains on his clothes.
"Fellow Daoist!" Mo Tiange called out.
The cultivator she called looked stiff. He glanced at her and realized she was a Foundation Building cultivator, so a smile appeared on his face. "Senior, what's the matter?"
Mo Tiange asked with a pleasant expression, "May I ask where this place is?"
The cultivator was stunned and felt a bit incredulous. "Senior doesn't know where this place is?"
He quickly glanced at her and found that she was wearing Xuanqing School's uniform. Her clothes were clean, and her face was neat. "Did Senior just leave the school?"
Mo Tiange paused for a moment. She just smiled and didn't answer.
The cultivator thought he guessed right, so he answered, "This is Mount Tianhuo's Qianmen Ridge.
Senior doesn't know, but after fighting for almost three years, it's like this everywhere. Too many of our human cultivators died, so in the end, we formed an alliance led by the seven great cultivation groups. They chose their own encampments and led the survivors … "
"I see …" No wonder the cultivators here wore all kinds of clothes.
Mo Tiange raised her hand again and said with a smile, "Then can I see the manager of this place?"
The cultivator repeatedly bowed. "I don't dare to accept Senior's greeting. The manager of our Qianmen Ridge happens to be a senior from Xuanqing School. Since Senior is a disciple of Xuanqing School, you can go meet him — it's in that main hall."
"Is that so?"
Mo Tiange was a bit surprised. She thought since this was Danding School's Mount Tianhuo, the manager should also be a disciple of Danding School.
"I don't dare to deceive Senior."
Mo Tiange nodded and smiled at the cultivator. "Thank you."
The cultivator repeatedly said he didn't dare.
After saying goodbye to the cultivator, Mo Tiange slowly walked into the ruins.
Outside the main hall, there were finally two cultivators guarding the gate. She didn't know which cultivation group they were from. Upon seeing her, one of them took a step forward and said respectfully, "Senior from Xuanqing School, may I know if you have an identity tablet?"
Mo Tiange was stunned. "What identity tablet?"
The two disciples guarding the gate looked at each other strangely. The man continued to say, "It's the identity tablet of our Kunwu Alliance. Senior is a disciple of Xuanqing School, so your master should've given you an identity tablet when you left the mountain."
Mo Tiange smiled and said, "I see, but I don't have an identity tablet."
Once she said that, the two disciples guarding the gate immediately became nervous.
Mo Tiange smiled and continued to say, "I'm a disciple of Xuanqing School who left the mountain two years ago. Because I was seriously injured in a battle, I've been recuperating in a secret place. I only came out now that I've recovered, so I don't have an alliance identity tablet you mentioned.
However, I have an identity tablet of Xuanqing School. You can also show it to your manager. "As she said that, she handed over her Xuanqing School identity tablet.
The disciple guarding the gate saw her calm appearance and cautiously took the identity tablet. "If that's the case, Senior, please don't take offense. Please wait here for a moment."
Seeing Mo Tiange nodding with a kind attitude, the disciple guarding the gate felt slightly relieved and went inside to report.
Before long, Mo Tiange saw the disciple guarding the gate hurriedly running out. He cupped his hands towards her and said, "Senior, the manager wants to see you."
Mo Tiange nodded with a smile then stepped into the main hall.
Although the outside of the main hall was half-collapsed, the inside was still intact. However, the scene inside was beyond Mo Tiange's expectations.
She originally thought since this was the location of the manager, it should be quiet, but she didn't expect it to be bustling with activity inside. There were actually a lot of people coming and going, and there were wounded people everywhere. It seemed to be a place for recuperation.
"Xiaobai!" A somewhat familiar voice called out.
Mo Tiange immediately saw a youth wearing Xuanqing School's disciple uniform in the crowd. He was in the peak stage of the Foundation Building realm. His attitude was very cold, but every move he made was full of elegance.
At this moment, he was squatting on the ground, examining the injuries of a cultivator.
"Coming!" an early stage Foundation Building youngster answered and came over.
The youth raised his chin. "I'll leave this person to you."
"Alright."
After handing the wounded person over to someone else, the youth stood up and leisurely took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands clean. He then picked up the identity tablet on the table and looked at Mo Tiange.
Mo Tiange already recognized him. This was Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu, whom she met once at Luoyan Cliff.
Kuang Zhu picked up her identity tablet and swept his scrutinizing gaze over her. However, this kind of scrutinizing didn't make people unhappy because his gaze was only cold and didn't contain any contempt.
"Mo Tiange?"
Mo Tiange raised her hand. "Yes. Greetings to Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu."
Kuang Zhu threw her identity tablet back to her and said, "Didn't you come to Danding School two years ago?"
Mo Tiange was already prepared for this question. She explained, "Two years ago, I was seriously injured by a fifth rank demonic beast during a battle with Yu Clan. After I used a secret technique to escape, I lost consciousness. As a result, I was unconscious for several months.
Several months later, I finally woke up. Because I was seriously injured, I didn't dare to show myself, so I found a secret place to hide and recuperate. "
"Oh …" It was unclear whether Kuang Zhu accepted her explanation or not. He turned around, walked around several tables, and rummaged through the tallest table. Finally, he found a blank identity tablet, engraved a few marks on it, and threw it to her. "This is your alliance's identity tablet. You just need to show it in the future."
"Thank you, Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu."
Mo Tiange took the new identity tablet and put it into her bag. However, when she saw Kuang Zhu bypassing her to take care of another wounded person, she hastily called out, "Senior Martial Brother!"
Kuang Zhu didn't stop and continued to examine the injuries of the new wounded person. He faintly swept his gaze over her and asked, "What's the matter?"
"…" Mo Tiange was somewhat speechless at the scene in front of her. After a long time, she finally found her voice and asked, "Do I need to do anything?"
"No need." This time, Kuang Zhu didn't even look at her. "You just need to mind your own business."
Mo Tiange was a bit incredulous. "Isn't Senior Martial Brother the person in charge here?
Why aren't you assigning tasks? "
Kuang Zhu snorted softly and said, "Tasks?
Just go kill your demons. I'll inform you if there's anything! "
"… Oh."
Mo Tiange was puzzled, but no matter how puzzled she was, she knew this Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu didn't seem to want to be disturbed, so she asked him one last question. "Senior Martial Brother, if I have something to ask, who should I ask?"
After Kuang Zhu finished casting a healing spell, he raised his head to look at her. He then turned around and called out, "Xiaoguzi!"
"Yes!" An Aura Refining youngster answered and came over.
Kuang Zhu pointed at her and said to the youngster, "This martial uncle has something to ask. Since you have nothing to do, why don't you talk to her?"
"Oh."
The youngster glanced at Mo Tiange. His eyes wandered around before he said with a smile, "Martial Uncle, this isn't a good place to talk. Please come with me."
Seeing that Kuang Zhu was once again engrossed in examining the injured, Mo Tiange felt helpless. But at least there was someone willing to answer her questions, so she smiled at the youngster and said, "Thank you."
The youngster led her to a corner of the hall. She didn't know where he got two chairs with missing legs, but after casting a simple spell, he smiled and asked her to sit down. He then said, "I don't dare to accept Martial Uncle's thanks.
If Martial Uncle has anything to ask, please don't hesitate to ask me. I'm not bragging, but there's nothing I don't know about. "
"Really?"
The youngster's attitude was neither servile nor overbearing, but he was smiling. Mo Tiange had a good impression of him, so she said with a smile, "Alright then. If you can answer me, I'll give you a good thing. What do you think?"
The youngster's eyes brightened. "What good thing?"
Mo Tiange spread her hands. "I obtained this by chance. If you need it, you can use it yourself. If you don't, it's not bad to exchange it for several hundred spirit stones."
The youngster curiously picked up the snow-white medicinal pill in her palm. "This … I don't know."
Mo Tiange chuckled inwardly and said, "In fact, I'm not sure what it's called, but it seems to be a medicinal pill to treat cultivation deviation. You can ask your elders. If you're lucky, it might be worth a lot of money, but if you're unlucky, don't blame me." This was the Aura-Stabilizing Pill she concocted. Among the medicinal pills she concocted, it was the least valuable one.
The youngster chuckled and took the medicinal pill. "Alright, Martial Uncle, please ask what you want to ask."
"It seems you're really confident." Mo Tiange put the medicinal pill away before answering.
The youngster played with the medicinal pill in his hand without saying anything.
"I want to ask you about a few people.
The first is Martial Uncle Xuanyin from Clear Spring Peak, followed by several female disciples under him, and lastly, a disciple under Martial Uncle Qingyuan. "
The youngster's eyes shifted. "Grandmaster Xuanyin was ordered to return to the mountain half a month ago, so he should be in Mount Taikang now.
The female disciples under grandmaster Martial Uncle mentioned should be Martial Uncle Han, Martial Uncle Wei, and Martial Uncle Luo, right? "
"Correct." Mo Tiange nodded with a smile. This child really did have some skills.
"If Martial Uncle asked whether these three martial uncles are well or not, my answer would be 'not well'.
If Martial Uncle asked whether they're alive or not, my answer would be 'not well'. "
Mo Tiange was stunned. This boy is really clever! But what does he mean by 'not well'?
The youngster seemed to have seen through her doubts, so he answered honestly, "I heard what Martial Uncle said just now. I think Martial Uncle was with these three martial uncles two years ago, right?"
Seeing that Mo Tiange nodded, the youngster continued, "In the battle that year, Grandmaster Xuanyin arrived in time, so the three martial uncles didn't die. However, Martial Uncle Wei and Martial Uncle Luo's injuries were quite serious, so they were sent back to Mount Taikang. This matter was handled by us.
In addition, Martial Uncle Han is fine, but I heard she was also injured several months ago. "
"Oh, I see." Mo Tiange heaved a sigh of relief. It was good that they were alive.
"Martial Uncle also mentioned Grandmaster Qingyuan's disciple. What's his name?"
"His name is Ye Jingwen."
"Martial Uncle Ye?"
The youngster said with a smile, "What a coincidence! Martial Uncle Ye has been with us recently, so you'll be able to see him soon."