"Auntie, Auntie!"
A voice came from outside the cultivation room. Mo Tiange used an art to come out of the Virtual Sky World and removed the restriction.
The person who stepped into the room was a man in his twenties. He was tall and looked like a young man, but his face still retained the innocence and gentleness of a teenager.
Mo Tiange saw him and asked with a smile, "Zhenji, what's the matter?"
This young man was Ye Zhenji. He was already twenty years old. His originally cute face was still likable even after he grew up. In addition, he had a good character and treated people generously, so he was very popular among the low-level disciples.
In the past ten years, Mo Tiange didn't hesitate to give him medicinal pills and treasures. He was now in the tenth layer of the Aura Refining realm and only needed to wait for the school's test to obtain a Foundation-Building Pill.
Upon seeing her, Ye Zhenji smiled with two dimples on his face. "Auntie, you're still cultivating!"
"Of course I'm cultivating.
Didn't you go to the Martial Arts Hall with Hualing?
It's only noon, but you're already back? "
The Martial Arts Hall was a branch hall on the main peak of Xuanqing School. It was used for martial arts competitions between disciples. Under normal circumstances, there would be a Core Formation cultivator and several Foundation Building cultivators overseeing it to train the disciples' abilities in fights of magical powers.
Male disciples were always more interested in fights of magical powers, so they would go to the Martial Arts Hall every few days. Ye Zhenji was the same. After he reached the tenth layer of the Aura Refining realm, he and his childhood playmate, Hualing, went to the Martial Arts Hall every day to accumulate experience in the Foundation-Building Pill test.
Mo Tiange thought this was a good thing, so she just let him be.
"Don't mention it!"
Ye Zhenji sat across from her, looking bored. "There weren't many people in the Martial Arts Hall today, so I came back after fighting two rounds."
"Last time, didn't you say Hualing thought of something … and you didn't know how to deal with it? Did you crack it?"
"Of course!" Ye Zhenji raised his head proudly. "What kind of move could Hualing make?
I thought about it for two days and figured it out. Auntie, watch me! "
As he spoke, he stood up in high spirits and raised his hands. Almost at the same time, a Wind Wall Spell and a Thick Earth Spell appeared around him.
"Auntie, look! I used these two spells together, so Hualing's Freezing Spell and Splitting Earth Spell can't hit me!"
Mo Tiange smiled. "This is indeed a good idea. It's hard for you to think of this."
Upon being praised, Ye Zhenji felt a bit embarrassed. He withdrew his spell then sat back down. "Auntie, there's something I want to discuss with you."
"What is it?
Tell me. "
A hesitant expression appeared on Ye Zhenji's face. He said hesitantly, "I … I want to take a trip home."
Mo Tiange was stunned.
Ye Zhenji came to the mountain when he was nine years old and met her when he was ten. Since then, she had always kept him by her side and he had never left her side. It had already been eleven years since he left home.
After cultivators like them entered a cultivation group, they rarely returned to the secular world. Ye Zhenji also never mentioned homesickness, so Mo Tiange also didn't think too much about it.
At this moment, Ye Zhenji's face faintly revealed a melancholic expression. "When I left home, my mother cried the whole night … Auntie, there's still one year left before the elite disciple's Foundation-Building Pill test. I … I want to take advantage of this period of time to go home, can I?"
Upon seeing the child's expectant expression, Mo Tiange didn't say anything.
She naturally understood Ye Zhenji's feelings. Back then, she also felt the same way. However, it wasn't a good thing to be so sentimentally attached to one's family.
"Auntie." Seeing that she didn't respond, Ye Zhenji pleaded again, "I'll definitely come back as soon as possible. I just want to go back and take a look …"
"… Our Xuanqing School doesn't require disciples to sever their ties with the secular world. However, under normal circumstances, you're only allowed to visit your family after you build your foundation.
You haven't built your foundation yet, and you're in the first year of waiting for the test, so it's really inconvenient for you to leave. "
Ye Zhenji didn't say anything. His face was full of frustration.
Mo Tiange thought for a moment then said to him with a smile, "You don't have to be so disappointed. Five years ago, your grandmaster said he'd let me leave the mountain to travel after I finished my Closed Door Meditation for five years. Now, five years have passed.
After a while, I'll take you back after I finish dealing with some chores. What do you think? "
Ye Zhenji was ecstatic. "Auntie!"
"Are you happy now?"
Ye Zhenji nodded repeatedly. "Thank you, Auntie."
After thanking her, he hesitated for a moment. "But, Auntie, didn't you say you didn't want the clan to know you?"
Mo Tiange smiled. "My surname isn't Ye, so what's the matter?
They won't be able to tell. You can just call me martial uncle at that time. "Ye Zhenji was Master Daoist Shoujing's advanced inner disciple in name, so he should call her martial uncle.
After comforting Ye Zhenji, Mo Tiange ended her cultivation and stepped out of the cave.
Five years had passed, and her cultivation level had reached the peak of the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm. She just needed some fated chances to break through to the late stage of the Foundation Building realm.
However, Mo Tiange wasn't in a hurry.
She was only thirty-seven years old now. In terms of age, her cultivation level was already very high. Even Qin Shoujing was only in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm when he was her age.
She stepped into the main hall of Shangqing Palace. Lord Daoist Jinghe was sitting cross-legged in meditation.
He fought with Master Song Feng five years ago, so his injuries weren't light. In the past few years, he had been recuperating. Fortunately, his cultivation level was high, so his dantian and meridians weren't injured.
Mo Tiange stopped not far from him and called out, "Master."
Lord Daoist Jinghe opened his eyes. "You're out of Closed Door Meditation?"
Mo Tiange nodded. In the past five years, she had been locked in her small cave and hadn't come out. Now that she came out, she naturally came out of Closed Door Meditation.
She felt Lord Daoist Jinghe's divine sense sweep over her, but she was very calm.
Her Soul-Refining Art was already in the second layer. As long as he didn't deliberately use spiritual aura pressure to suppress her, she could still maintain her composure in front of Nascent Soul cultivators.
After he finished examining her, Lord Daoist Jinghe nodded. "Not bad. You're in the peak of the middle stage. Presumably, it won't be a problem for you to break through to the late stage in a few years. You actually practiced the Soul-Refining Art to the second layer?
I've never seen such an achievement in just a dozen years. "
Mo Tiange smiled. "It's Martial Uncle Xuanyin who's thoughtful. Disciple isn't afraid of qi deviation.
Master, how's your injury? "
"I'm fine." Lord Daoist Jinghe waved his hand indifferently. "It's almost healed.
Hmph!
Old Song Feng must've had a hard time these past few years. At that time, Old Daoist Zhenyang's meteorite hit him squarely. According to my estimation, he'll have to enter Closed Door Meditation for at least ten to twenty years.
Ha, in this case, I've made a profit! "
Seeing Lord Daoist Jinghe's proud expression, Mo Tiange shook her head helplessly. This master could probably only be serious once in a while.
"By the way, you just finished your Closed Door Meditation. The school's minor competition will be held in a few days. Do you want to participate?"
Mo Tiange hesitated. "This … It's not good for me to go, right?"
The school's minor competition was mostly attended by ordinary disciples. The Aura Refining minor competition was related to the Foundation-Building Pill, and the Foundation Building minor competition had other rewards.
Generally speaking, elite disciples rarely participated in the minor competition. First, they were rewarded by their masters, so they wouldn't be greedy for that little bit of reward. Second, elite disciples who participated were mostly better than ordinary disciples, so ordinary disciples couldn't get any rewards.
Although modesty wasn't a virtue in the cultivation world, there were still considerations in cultivation groups.
Lord Daoist Jinghe said indifferently, "What's not good about it?
If they lose to you, it's because they're incompetent. "
Mo Tiange was silent, obviously disapproving.
Lord Daoist Jinghe glared at her. "Fine, if you don't want to go, then don't. But you should go and join in the fun. It's good to compare notes with fellow disciples."
Mo Tiange agreed, so she nodded. "Yes, Master."
Mo Tiange knew that although she'd experienced countless battles, she didn't have many fights of magical powers after she built her foundation. Although she participated in the demonic beast riot, she managed to avoid the most chaotic two years in the Virtual Sky World.
Moreover, almost all of her fights of magical powers were life-risking battles, so her intuition toward danger was better than ordinary cultivators. However, her skills were probably inferior to cultivators who often compared notes with each other.
Now that she hadn't fought in five years of Closed Door Meditation, she should really study fights of magical powers.
Mo Tiange walked out of Shangqing Palace and flew the White Silk Handkerchief to the main peak.
The Martial Arts Hall was located next to the Three Pure Hall on the main peak. Its scale was only slightly inferior to the most magnificent Three Pure Hall in the whole mountain, which showed how much the school valued it.
Mo Tiange walked slowly inside. A disciple guarding the door saluted her. "Grandmaster Mo." She had a certain prestige in Xuanqing School now, so these disciples all recognized her.
Soon, a supervising disciple came to greet her with a smile. "Grandmaster Mo, did you also come to the Martial Arts Hall to compare notes?"
Mo Tiange returned his salute and answered, "I had nothing to do today, so I came to take a look."
"Oh … Grandmaster, this way please. The Foundation Building competition is inside."
"En, thank you for your trouble." Mo Tiange followed the supervising disciple through the crowd and entered the inner room under other people's gazes.
This outer room was where Aura Refining disciples competed. It was presided over by an Aura Refining supervising disciple and overseen by two Foundation Building cultivators.
This inner room was where Foundation Building disciples competed. There was a Core Formation cultivator overseeing the competition, and the receptionist was also a Foundation Building supervising disciple.
The supervising disciple led her to the supervising disciple then excused himself.
The supervising disciple took her identity tablet, recorded it, and said with a smile, "This is Martial Uncle Mo's first time here, right?"
Mo Tiange nodded.
When she arrived at Xuanqing School, she was already in the peak stage of the Aura Refining realm and was about to build her foundation.
After she built her foundation, she immediately encountered the demonic beast riot. When she came back, she became Lord Daoist Jinghe's official disciple. After being tossed around for five years, she was in Closed Door Meditation for five years, so she had no time to come to the Martial Arts Hall.
The supervising disciple said, "Then I'll take Martial Uncle there."
"Thank you."
As the supervising disciple led Mo Tiange, he explained, "In fact, the rules of the Martial Arts Hall are very simple.
There's a ring in the lobby, and anyone can challenge someone. The winner has to stay on the ring and wait for others to challenge him. If you win three matches in a row, you can leave the ring.
If two people want to have a private fight, they have to come to me, get a room identity tablet, and go to the wing over there. Of course, a supervising disciple must be present as a witness.
A Core Formation martial uncle oversees the other room. If two people want to fight mercilessly, they have to ask for permission and can only fight under the witness of a Core Formation martial uncle. "
Mo Tiange nodded as she listened.
This rule was very reasonable. Private fights required a third party to be present to avoid accidents and inexplicable reasons.
In addition, if some methods were used to control the enemy, there might be casualties. If one didn't go all out, they wouldn't be able to display their full power, so a Core Formation cultivator was required to be present to ensure safety.
As they talked, they arrived at the lobby. Mo Tiange looked around and saw a wide ring in the center of the lobby. Around twenty to thirty cultivators were either standing or sitting around it.
The supervising disciple said, "During the demonic beast riot last time, more than a hundred Foundation Building martial brothers and sisters from our school died. Now, there are less than 200 Foundation Building cultivators in our school. Otherwise, there would be at least forty to fifty people here."
Mo Tiange noticed the faint melancholy on the supervising disciple's face. Presumably, his relatives and friends died in the demonic beast war, so she smiled and said, "The school's junior competition is about to start. Presumably, there will be a large number of Foundation Building fellow disciples this time."
"You're right." The supervising disciple also smiled. "Martial Uncle Mo, please do as you please. I'll take my leave first."
Mo Tiange returned the greeting and watched as the supervising disciple left. She then walked to the edge of the ring and found a place to watch the fight.
On the ring were two early stage Foundation Building cultivators. One was a burly man with a curly beard and the other was a thin and weak middle-aged man.
Although the burly man was tall, the magic tool he used was a small and exquisite flying sword. As for the middle-aged man, he was holding a fan.
The burly man was the main attacker while the middle-aged man was the main defender. The two of them exchanged blows and fought fiercely.
After watching for a while, Mo Tiange actually comprehended a few things.
For example, the way the burly man controlled his flying sword was more like a concealed weapon. It flew silently and silently, but this required a very long time of practice.
As for the middle-aged man, his fan was also mysterious. It was unexpectedly able to guide the burly man's spiritual aura, allowing him to repeatedly avoid danger.
After watching with rapt attention for a while, someone patted Mo Tiange's shoulder. She turned around and said with surprise, "Big Brother Ye!"
The person standing next to her with a smile was none other than Ye Jingwen.
Ye Jingwen was almost sixty years old now, so he looked a bit older. He had lost some of his sharpness, but he looked a bit more level-headed.
Ten years ago, the two of them fought side by side against several cultivators from Gujian Sect, so their feelings for each other weren't as superficial as before.
However, the two of them were accidentally injured by Lord Daoist Jinghe. Because Mo Tiange's meridians were tough and she was put in the Wenyang Pool by Lord Daoist Jinghe, she recovered in just a few days.
Ye Jingwen's injuries were more serious than hers. It took him more than a year to completely recover.
At that time, Mo Tiange was tormented by Lord Daoist Jinghe every day. The two of them only met a few times in a hurry and didn't even have time to exchange greetings. Later, when she entered Closed Door Meditation, they didn't see each other for five years.
Ye Jingwen looked at her with a smile and pointed behind him. The two of them then left the crowd and found chairs in the corner to sit down.
After they sat down, Ye Jingwen said with a smile, "Tiange, long time no see."
"Yes, I just came out of Closed Door Meditation yesterday."
Ye Jingwen's divine sense swept over her and he asked in surprise, "You've reached the peak of the middle stage?"
Mo Tiange nodded. "I was lucky. My Closed Door Meditation this time went very smoothly."
Ye Jingwen stared at her expressionless face and sighed. "I heard your aptitude was excellent, but I didn't believe it at first. Now, I have to believe it.
When I met you, you were only a little girl in the second layer of the Aura Refining realm. I was already in the Foundation Building realm, but now you've actually surpassed me. "
In the past few years, Ye Jingwen's cultivation level had also advanced, but his progress wasn't as obvious as Mo Tiange's. He also spent some time healing his injuries, so he was still a bit behind now.
Mo Tiange shook her head and said with a smile, "Big Brother Ye, don't laugh at me. I'm only where I am today because of fated chances."
If she hadn't met Zhong Muling by chance, she would still have wasted spiritual roots and would probably still be in the early stage of the Foundation Building realm.
After she built her foundation, she didn't have the Art of the Origin, so even the effect of the Art of Sunu was greatly reduced. The spiritual aura she absorbed almost couldn't be retained in her body.
Now that she obtained the Art of the Origin and cultivated in the Virtual Sky World, she finally understood how big the gap between wasted spiritual roots and geniuses with single or mutated spiritual roots was.
If she could only retain 10% of her spiritual aura before, now she could retain 90%!
This terrifying nine times made her realize that if she hadn't met Zhong Muling and obtained the Art of the Origin, she probably wouldn't have been able to advance to the Core Formation realm for the rest of her life.
Ye Jingwen naturally didn't know about her rueful feelings. Upon hearing her modesty, he gave her a sidelong glance and said, "I told you years ago that fated chances are also strength. Why deny it?" He paused for a moment then asked, "Tiange, did you come to the Martial Arts Hall to compare notes?"
"En. I rarely fought after I built my foundation, so I wanted to compare notes with my fellow disciples and gain some experience in fights of magical powers."
"That's not bad. In fights of magical powers, experience is more important than talent. Cultivation geniuses might not be good in fights of magical powers, but cultivation geniuses might not be weak in fights of magical powers if they practice more."
"So Big Brother Ye often comes to the Martial Arts Hall?" Mo Tiange asked with interest.
She knew Ye Jingwen before, but she didn't have a deep friendship with him and never saw him fight of magical powers. Later, when she met him at Qianmen Ridge in Mount Tianhuo and fought side by side, she realized he was also a decisive person. It seemed he was very interested in fights of magical powers.
Sure enough, Ye Jingwen nodded. "I usually come to the Martial Arts Hall when I'm free. For sword cultivators like us, fighting of magical powers is more important than fighting of magical powers."
"I'm afraid every sword cultivator is combative, right?"
Ye Jingwen couldn't help but smile. "You're right. If I wasn't combative, I wouldn't have chosen to be a sword cultivator."
The two of them smiled at each other.
After sitting idly for a while, Ye Jingwen said, "Right, since you came here to compare notes and I don't want to go to the ring right now, how about we fight?"
"Sure!"
Mo Tiange naturally couldn't ask for more. Ye Jingwen's fighting strength surpassed that of ordinary middle stage Foundation Building cultivators, and he was also very experienced, so he was naturally an excellent opponent.
The two of them stood up together and went outside to find a steward. After getting a room number, they were led into a wing room by a steward.
Although it was called a wing room, it was, after all, used for fights. It was very spacious and was equivalent to a small ring.
The two of them went on the ring. After being confirmed by the steward, they began to exchange blows.
Ye Jingwen was a sword cultivator, and sword cultivators paid attention to their attacks. Once the steward confirmed it, his flying sword flew straight towards Mo Tiange's face.
Mo Tiange stepped on the White Silk Handkerchief. She deliberately didn't use it to defend herself, so in a flash, she brushed past the flying sword.
However, a sword cultivator's flying sword carried sword aura, so when it brushed past her, it brushed past her arm, causing her arm to ache.
Upon seeing this, Ye Jingwen's flying sword immediately flew back. He condensed his aura on the sword, and in an instant, the sword emitted a dazzling white light that enveloped his entire body. Mo Tiange felt helpless.
She retracted the White Silk Handkerchief and released it. The brick wall blocked the sword light, and the Shuttle of Flying Apsara flew out. The golden light flew towards Ye Jingwen.
The two of them fought back and forth for a while. They only stopped when the steward, who was acting as a witness, clapped his hands and cheered.
After walking down the ring, the two of them rested for a while.
Ye Jingwen saw that Mo Tiange was lost in thought, so he asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Mo Tiange answered, "I originally didn't want to use that magic weapon, but I don't know how to dodge Big Brother Ye's sword aura."
Once she finished speaking, Ye Jingwen laughed. "You're actually thinking about this."
Mo Tiange was puzzled. "Is there a problem?"
This time, it was the steward who was watching the fight who interrupted. "Martial Uncle Mo, it's very difficult to dodge a sword cultivator's sword aura. This place is so narrow, so they'd naturally choose to use magic tools or spells to block it. It'd naturally be best if Martial Uncle has a magic weapon, so why do you need to dodge it?"
Mo Tiange was stunned. She then said with an ashamed expression, "It's my fault. I always thought it was foolproof."
Ye Jingwen said, "Tiange, you're very experienced in fights of magical powers. It's just that you haven't adjusted your mentality.
You have to know that in fights of magical powers, even if you win a little, it's still a win. You just need to use whatever means you have. "
"Yes. Thank you for your guidance, Big Brother Ye."
Although her cultivation level now surpassed Ye Jingwen's, when it came to fights of magical powers, Mo Tiange knew she still wasn't as good as him, so she thanked him sincerely.
Ye Jingwen smiled. "If you have nothing to do, you can come to the Martial Arts Training Hall often to fight with me. We can learn from each other and improve together."