"Auntie, Auntie!"
Upon hearing Ye Zhenji's cheerful voice, Mo Tiange came out of the Virtual Sky World and opened the cultivation room's restriction with a wave of her hand.
With a smile on his face, Ye Zhenji bumped into her.
"What's wrong?"
Ye Zhenji ran over and looked up at her. "Auntie, I went to Mengxue Hall today. When Ji 'an and the others saw me, they all ran far away. It was so funny!"
Mo Tiange smiled and stroked his head. "Are you very happy?"
"En!"
Ye Zhenji nodded vigorously. "I've always thought that when I built my foundation, I'd beat them all to the ground so they wouldn't dare to bully me!"
Mo Tiange smiled. When she was in Mo Family's Village, she also had the same idea. She wanted to read good books, listen to her mother, and when she grew up, she would teach Tianjun and the others a lesson!
In the end, Tianjun didn't bully her anymore, and she also walked on a different path.
"Although they don't dare to bully you now, you still have to work hard to build your foundation. You can't always rely on others, understand?"
"En, Auntie, I'll work hard to cultivate and won't embarrass you," Ye Zhenji said earnestly.
"I know my aptitude isn't good, but before I came to Kunwu, Grandpa Patriarch told me that hard work can make up for my lack of talent. As long as I cultivate hard, I still have hope of advancing."
"It's good that you understand."
Mo Tiange nodded with a smile. "At first, my aptitude was worse than yours, but in the end, I still built my foundation. Therefore, although aptitude is important, hard work and fated chances can't be underestimated."
Ye Zhenji blinked. He understood the second half, but what did the first half mean?
"Auntie, they said you were accepted as a disciple by the grandmaster when you were only in the Foundation Building realm because your aptitude was higher than that of a single spiritual root. Why did you say your aptitude was bad?
If your aptitude was bad, the grandmaster wouldn't have accepted you as a disciple, right? "
"Hmm … Both of these sentences are correct.
Auntie's spiritual root is a very special kind of spiritual root. Before I built my foundation, I always thought my aptitude was bad, but after I built my foundation, I realized that wasn't the case. "
"Oh … But if that's the case, you were able to build your foundation because your aptitude is good, right?"
This question startled Mo Tiange. The vision triggered during her foundation-building had indeed made her suspicious for a very long time.
Mo Tiange didn't know whether her success in building her foundation was related to the Spiritual Roots of the Origin or not. Maybe the Art of Sunu also had something to do with it. Although she didn't know what the Spiritual Roots of the Origin were before she built her foundation and considered them to be almost useless spiritual roots, maybe she benefited from the Spiritual Roots of the Origin when she advanced.
"… That's not necessarily the case. Auntie also had a hard time cultivating in the Qi Condensation realm. At that time, it was my second uncle who took care of me and provided me with a large amount of medicinal pills for my cultivation. That's why I was able to reach the Foundation Building realm one day.
Ye Zhenji pondered for a moment then smiled again. "I understand. Auntie has granduncle to take care of her, and I also have auntie to take care of me. I'll work hard to make a realm-breakthrough just like Auntie."
This child was smart and sensible. He didn't need anyone to take care of him all the time. Just a few words of advice from time to time would do.
Mo Tiange chuckled and patted his head. "It's good that you know.
Alright, you've been dawdling for so long. Hurry up and cultivate! "
"Alright, I'll go now," Ye Zhenji answered obediently then went back to cultivate.
Mo Tiange closed her eyes and released her divine sense.
The cultivation technique Ye Zhenji practiced was the same as that of all new disciples. It was Xuanqing School's most basic cultivation technique, the Nanhua Heart Sutra.
In fact, all new disciples of Xuanqing School, regardless of their aptitude, spiritual roots, or status, had to practice Nanhua Heart Sutra first to lay their foundation.
When Mo Tiange entered the school several years ago, although she wasn't a new disciple, she still roughly studied it. This Daoist scripture was indeed an ideal introductory cultivation technique.
This cultivation technique didn't require the attribute of one's spiritual roots. The cultivation speed wasn't fast, and it couldn't be used in fights of magical powers. However, it allowed one to comprehend the Dao of Heaven and Earth, cultivate one's heart, and cultivate one's nature.
If one could cultivate Nanhua Heart Sutra properly before practicing other cultivation techniques, there would be a lot fewer barriers to one's nature.
Although Ye Zhenji's spiritual roots weren't obvious, he had a good understanding of Daoist scriptures. His nature and perception were also pretty good. Mo Tiange watched him for a while. Seeing that his cultivation was going smoothly, she no longer paid attention to him and entered the Virtual Sky World to continue cultivating.
Time passed quickly.
After she finished cultivating, Mo Tiange went to Mengxue School to give Ye Zhenji some pointers, then entered the Virtual Sky World to cultivate.
And so on.
After two years of peace and tranquility, two major events happened on Clear Spring Peak at the same time.
The first matter was that Master Daoist Xuanyin was about to enter Closed Door Meditation to attack the Nascent Soul realm.
When Mo Tiange learned about this, she was very happy.
Senior Martial Brother Xuanyin was their master's number one disciple. Not only was he the earliest to enter the school, but his aptitude was also the best. He was already more than four hundred years old now, yet he was still stuck in the Core Formation realm.
Now that he finally entered Closed Door Meditation to attempt to form his Nascent Soul, Mo Tiange inwardly prayed that this martial uncle or senior martial brother who always took care of her could smoothly form his Nascent Soul. If Senior Martial Brother Xuanyin really succeeded, she would have to call him Martial Uncle Xuanyin instead.
According to the rules of the Immortal Cultivation World, once one reached the Nascent Soul Stage, one would be a Grandmaster. Although the master who entered the sect was still the Master, the disciples of the same sect still had to address each other according to their cultivation level.
The other thing was that Daoist Shou Jing had been in isolation for two years and successfully entered the late stage of the Core Formation realm.
When Mo Tiange heard this, she just smiled and said nothing.
Later, when she ran into Luo Fengxue, she tried to sound her out, but she also calmly rejected her.
Speaking of which, she still hadn't met this "Senior Martial Brother Shou Jing." When she officially became her master's disciple two years ago, this Senior Martial Brother Shou Jing had been in Closed Door Meditation and rarely left his cave.
These two things weren't big, but they weren't small either.
In the past two years, Mo Tiange had been dealing with Shangqing Palace's affairs and gradually got closer to the power center of Xuanqing School, so she also learned some things.
Xuanqing School had a total of five Nascent Soul cultivators. Among them, the Head Grand Supreme Elder, Lord Daoist Zhenyang, was in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, Lord Daoist Jinghe was in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and the remaining Lord Daoist Lingxu, Lord Daoist Miaoyi, and Lord Daoist Huayan were in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
Lord Daoist Zhenyang was undoubtedly the pillar of Xuanqing School, but the other Nascent Soul cultivators were also the foundation of Xuanqing School. Losing one Nascent Soul cultivator would greatly reduce the school's strength. Right now, Lord Daoist Lingxu's lifespan was about to run out. In a hundred years at most, this Lord Daoist would pass away.
This was also the reason why Master Daoist Xuanyin was in Closed Door Meditation to advance to the Nascent Soul realm and the reason why he was so happy about Master Daoist Shou Jing advancing to the late stage of the Core Formation realm.
When a Nascent Soul cultivator passed away, another Nascent Soul cultivator would be needed to fill the gap to ensure the school's strength and status.
Of course, these things had nothing to do with her. Right now, Mo Tiange encountered something that made her not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Senior Martial Sister Mo!"
Mo Tiange had been very careful since she was ordered to go to the main peak by her master, but she still heard a surprised and gentle call from behind her. She instantly had the urge to step on the White Silk Handkerchief and fly back to her cave.
She adjusted her expression, turned around and smiled. "Junior Martial Brother Bai."
This Junior Martial Brother Bai wasn't Zhan Bai. Although Zhan Bai had always been called Little Bai, Martial Uncle Bai, or Junior Martial Brother Bai, his surname was Zhan.
This guy's real surname was Bai, and his name was Yanfei. He was the disciple of Xuanqing School's Head Grand Supreme Elder, Lord Daoist Zhenyang. He had a single spiritual root that was hard to come by in a hundred years. As soon as he entered the school, Lord Daoist Zhenyang made an exception and accepted him as his disciple.
This Junior Martial Brother Bai was now twenty-five years old and had been in the Foundation Building realm for three years.
Ever since Mo Tiange was officially accepted as Lord Daoist Jinghe's disciple, almost all the affairs in Shangqing Palace were handed over to her. She was even in charge of some matters related to the Grand Supreme Elders.
As a result, she gradually came into contact with the real heavenly favored ones in the school.
The so-called heavenly favored ones could be said to be the elite disciples among elite disciples.
In Yunwu Sect in the past, Foundation Building cultivators could accept disciples, so elite disciples were only slightly better than ordinary disciples.
Big cultivation groups like Xuanqing School, on the other hand, were different. Only Core Formation cultivators were qualified to accept disciples. Needless to say, disciples who could become disciples of Core Formation cultivators had to have outstanding talents, but they also had to have a good attitude and comprehension.
Such elite disciples were naturally much better than ordinary disciples.
However, heavenly favored ones could only be called disciples under Nascent Soul cultivators, and their cultivation levels had to be especially outstanding.
For example, there was one in Clear Spring Peak — Master Daoist Shoujing.
He started cultivating at the age of eight and became Lord Daoist Jinghe's disciple as soon as he entered the school. He built his foundation at the age of twenty and formed his Gold Core at the age of seventy-eight. In Xuanqing School, he was one of the Core Formation cultivators most likely to form their Nascent Souls.
Mo Tiange could also be considered a disciple of Lord Daoist Jinghe.
She was in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm at such a young age and received her master's attention and high hopes. Forming her Gold Core was only a matter of time, and she might even form her Nascent Soul.
This Bai Yanfei was the same.
In terms of status, he was the last disciple of the Head Grand Supreme Elder, Lord Daoist Zhenyang. In terms of cultivation level, he built his foundation at the age of twenty-two and was now twenty-five. His future was boundless.
If it was before, Mo Tiange wouldn't have dared to believe she could make friends with someone with such status. But now, she only had a headache.
This was how things started. She was now the one running errands for her master. A few days ago, she happened to go to Lord Daoist Zhenyang's Immortal's Cave to handle some matters for her master. She didn't know what was wrong with this Junior Martial Brother Bai, but as soon as he saw her, not only was he overly enthusiastic, but he also invited her to meet him from time to time.
In the beginning, Mo Tiange didn't think there was any harm in making friends with such a person. Unexpectedly, after several visits, she realized something was wrong.
This Junior Martial Brother Bai obviously didn't treat her as a senior martial sister and junior martial brother; he seemed to be pursuing her.
Upon realizing this, whenever Bai Yanfei invited her again, she would find all kinds of reasons to dismiss him.
However, for some unknown reason, the more she refused Bai Yanfei, the more enthusiastic he became. Almost every time she left Shangqing Palace, this person would use all kinds of methods to find out her whereabouts. He would then pretend to stick to her unintentionally, causing Mo Tiange to be afraid to go out recently.
But even if she didn't dare to go out, she still had to go out. She had to carry out the things her master told her to do. If she accidentally ran into Bai Yanfei, she could only pretend she didn't know and think of a way to dismiss him.
This matter made Mo Tiange feel strange. When she was a teenager, she always disguised as a man. When she came to Xuanqing School, she changed her appearance to that of a woman. Moreover, she was always under Lord Daoist Jinghe's protection, so she had never experienced any pursuers. Now that one suddenly came, it made her want to avoid him like the plague.
Seeing that she didn't look displeased, Bai Yanfei walked towards her with a smile.
He was quite handsome, and he was also Lord Daoist Zhenyang's last disciple, so he also had some admirers. However, Mo Tiange didn't have any feelings for him.
"Senior Martial Sister Mo." Bai Yanfei smiled at her. "Long time no see."
This time, Mo Tiange indeed hid for a long time. Because of this, she even asked Lord Daoist Jinghe not to go to Mengxue Hall. She holed up in Shangqing Palace every day and didn't go out.
No matter what Bai Yanfei's intentions were, he was always polite and courteous to her face, so Mo Tiange answered with a smile, "It's nothing. I've been practicing a secret technique recently, so I don't have time to go out."
"Really?" Bai Yanfei's eyes brightened. "What secret technique is it? Senior Martial Sister, do you want to study it together?"
How could it be called a secret technique if I casually mentioned it?
Mo Tiange paused for a moment then squeezed out a smile. "Junior Martial Brother Bai, why are you here?
Did you come to do something? "
"Sort of …" Bai Yanfei said vaguely then said, "Senior Martial Sister, we haven't seen each other for a long time. Since we ran into each other, how about we have a good gathering?"
"This … isn't too convenient, right?"
Mo Tiange said, "My master still has something he wants me to do. Junior Martial Brother Bai, I'm sorry, but I'll take my leave first." She immediately got on the White Silk Handkerchief and flew towards Clear Spring Peak.
"Senior Martial Sister!" Bai Yanfei called out from behind her. Mo Tiange didn't dare to stay and didn't even look back.
She flew back to Clear Spring Peak and rushed into Shangqing Palace. Mo Tiange only heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Bai Yanfei didn't follow her.
She was really afraid of this Junior Martial Brother Bai.
She really didn't understand. Although her identity wasn't ordinary now and her aptitude wasn't bad, there were many beautiful and outstanding female cultivators in Xuanqing School. Was it necessary for him to chase after her like this?
"Why are you burning your buttocks?" Lord Daoist Jinghe's voice rang in her ears.
She didn't make it, so she went straight through the main entrance. Once she passed through the main entrance, she saw the main hall. Lord Daoist Jinghe was meditating, which was very rare. Now that he was disturbed by her, he was glaring at her while blowing his beard.
"Master," she called out obediently.
Lord Daoist Jinghe glared at her and stopped meditating. "What happened?
I told you to go to the main peak to pass a message, but you ended up like this?
Was there a wolf chasing after you? "
"There wasn't a wolf, but there was someone," Mo Tiange answered. She'd been his disciple for a long time, so she didn't mind. She found a seat, sat down, and poured tea for herself.
"Someone?" Lord Daoist Jinghe was surprised. "Who was chasing you?"
"En …" Mo Tiange only drank half of her tea. She rolled her eyes and told him the truth. "It was Junior Martial Brother Bai Yanfei from Morning Sun Peak."
"Bai Yanfei?" Lord Daoist Jinghe thought for a while. "Is he Old Daoist Zhenyang's disciple?"
Seeing Mo Tiange nodding, Lord Daoist Jinghe was even more surprised. "Why was he chasing you?"
"I also found it strange," Mo Tiange said. "Junior Martial Brother Bai was too enthusiastic. Ever since I met him, he often invited me out.
I didn't want to go. He was doing it out of kindness. If I went, I'd be a bit overwhelmed. "
"Kindness?"
Lord Daoist Jinghe immediately understood and snorted. "This brat is really bold! He actually wanted to attack my disciple!"
"Attack?"
Mo Tiange stared at him with a puzzled expression. "Master, Junior Martial Brother Bai was very good to me. He didn't attack me at all!"
"Hmph!" Lord Daoist Jinghe snorted even harder. He curled his lips and glared at her. "Keep pretending!
Do you dare to say you didn't say it for me to hear on purpose? "
"…" Having been exposed, Mo Tiange immediately became well-behaved. "Yes, Master. I think this brat is very annoying, but it's not good to directly send him away, so I wanted to ask Master to deal with him."
Upon hearing what she said, Lord Daoist Jinghe showed an expression that said "that's more like it." He then raised his head complacently. "Don't play tricks in front of Master. You're just a little girl who's lived for more than twenty years. What else can you hide from me?"
Mo Tiange smiled modestly. "Yes, but how could I compare to you, Master? You've lived for more than eight hundred years and you've almost become a demon."
Lord Daoist Jinghe felt refreshed after being flattered. However, he only laughed twice when he suddenly realized what she said wasn't quite right. "Damn girl! You actually called me an old fart?!"
"No way!"
Mo Tiange immediately clasped her palms together. "Master, I'm sincerely expressing my respect and also asking you to help me deal with this matter!"
Lord Daoist Jinghe's temperament was that he loved to brag and flatter others. Once Mo Tiange assumed this posture, he was immediately appeased. He merely let out a "hmph" and cast her a sidelong glance. His tone became amiable. "Tell me, what's going on with this Bai brat?"
Mo Tiange said, "I'm also quite muddle-headed. It's just that when I went to Morning Sun Peak to ask to see Martial Uncle Zhenyang, Junior Martial Brother Bai received me for a while. Later on, he often invited me out."
This was the truth. She herself didn't understand what this Junior Martial Brother Bai saw in her.
Cultivation level?
It wasn't that there weren't any young female cultivators in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm in the school. Martial Uncle Miaoyi of Blue Phoenix Peak had a senior martial sister in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm in her thirties. That senior martial sister reached this stage through solid cultivation, unlike Mo Tiange who reached this stage purely because of fated chances.
Appearance?
Mo Tiange thought her appearance wasn't bad, but in the cultivation world where beauties were as common as clouds, it didn't count as much.
Identity?
Being the disciple of a Nascent Soul grandmaster, Lord Daoist Jinghe, was indeed an extremely high identity. But at the same time, whatever she had, that senior martial sister from Blue Phoenix Peak also had. Furthermore, that senior martial sister wasn't the only one. Martial Uncle Lingxu from Drifting Cloud Peak also had a junior martial sister who was in her early twenties and was even younger than her.
Once Mo Tiange finished speaking, Lord Daoist Jinghe pondered for a moment then nodded. "This brat has a bit of insight. My, Qin Jinghe's, disciple is naturally better than others!"
Mo Tiange clenched her teeth. "Master!"
Upon seeing Mo Tiange's angry gaze, Lord Daoist Jinghe immediately burst into laughter. "Don't! Master is praising you!
Of the two girls you mentioned, the one under Miaoyi isn't as beautiful as you, and the one under Old Man Lingxu isn't as smart as you. If the three of them were placed in front of him to choose, he'd definitely choose you! "
"In my opinion, this brat's Dao Heart is definitely unstable. He wants to find someone to perform Dual Cultivation with, but he's too arrogant and doesn't want anyone who's slightly inferior. After picking and choosing, only these few people meet his requirements.
He's known Miaoyi and Old Man Lingxu's disciples since they were little, but he probably doesn't like either of them. As soon as he saw you, he felt you were better than the other two, so he naturally stuck to you. "
What he said was quite reasonable.
Mo Tiange was silent for a while. "Master, in that case, help me deal with it.
I don't want to think about Dual Cultivation right now. "
Lord Daoist Jinghe said arrogantly, "That's natural. How could it be that easy to hook up with my disciple?!" He then changed the topic and said with a smile, "Tiange, you really don't want to consider Dual Cultivation?
In fact, Dual Cultivation has a lot of benefits! "
"No!" Mo Tiange refused without thinking.
"You really don't want to?
I'm telling you, forget about that Bai brat. Master will choose a good one for you … "
"I already said I don't want to!"
Lord Daoist Jinghe felt bored by her resolute refusal. "Fine, fine. You're just like that stinky brat; you don't want to be taught at all!"
"How can I be taught about this kind of thing?
Master, have you ever performed Dual Cultivation? "
Lord Daoist Jinghe choked on her words. He then turned around and glared at her. "What does that have to do with you?"
"Whether I perform Dual Cultivation or not has nothing to do with you, Master." Mo Tiange stood up. "I'm going back to cultivate. In any case, Master, help me deal with it!"