Mo Tiange's spirit was lifted when she found spiritual aura on the incense burner on the altar.
This valley was clearly an ordinary one. The flowers and trees here didn't have spiritual aura, but this incense burner actually had spiritual aura, so it must be unusual.
After examining it for a while, she finally used a spell to move the incense burner away and finally found the source of the spiritual aura.
While flying in the air, Mo Tiange looked down. The altar, the stone statues, and the surrounding tall trees were clearly a formation!
A formation that didn't need spiritual aura after it evolved!
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
There were also formations in the mortal world. Those formations didn't need spiritual aura, but they were evolved from formations in the cultivation world.
Their purpose was to confuse the judgment of mortals. If cultivators used their divine sense and magic, they would naturally be able to break them.
Mo Tiange put her palms together and cast a spell. The incense burner on the altar instantly exploded, revealing the things inside. Spiritual aura soared into the sky, and the surrounding scenery suddenly changed. The sky darkened.
Mo Tiange raised her head and looked around with a frown.
A formation within a formation!
This formation was a real formation from the World of Cultivators.
The stone statues and altars she saw just now were all gone, leaving only an empty wilderness.
No, this was an illusion!
She held the Shuttle of Flying Apsara in her hand and summoned the White Silk Handkerchief. Mo Tiange instantly flew up and made a hand seal.
After making several extremely complicated hand seals, several spiritual auras were sent out at the same time.
Whistling sounds came from the dark night, like the whimpers and roars of malicious spirits.
Then, several spiritual auras counterattacked.
Mo Tiange shook her hand and summoned the White Silk Handkerchief, which turned into four brick walls and firmly blocked the counterattack.
In the next moment, she put away the White Silk Handkerchief and took out the Shuttle of Flying Apsara, which turned into several golden lights and attacked.
"Puff, puff, puff, puff" After several soft sounds, everything quieted down and the sky brightened.
Mo Tiange breathed a sigh of relief. This formation had been around for thousands of years, so its spiritual aura was already weak and its power was greatly reduced. That was why she could break it so easily.
However, based on the technique used to lay this formation, its original power would probably even trap a Nascent Soul cultivator for a while. Could it be that the person who laid this formation was a Nascent Soul cultivator?
With this thought in her mind, Mo Tiange cautiously observed her surroundings.
The formation was broken, and the scenery returned to its original appearance. A hole appeared under the incense burner, and spiritual energy surged out.
Mo Tiange was flabbergasted. There were obviously no spirit veins in this valley, so why did this cave emit such pure spiritual aura?
This spiritual aura fluctuation … was very similar to what she had felt before!
Upon discovering this, Mo Tiange cautiously approached it. She first used magic to probe it then caught a live animal and put it inside. Only after confirming that there were no abnormalities did she slowly step inside.
The cave entrance was extremely narrow, probably only wide enough for one person to pass through. Following the stone steps, they walked down step by step until they reached a spacious hall.
Mo Tiange flicked her finger, causing a cluster of flames to appear on her fingertip.
With the eyesight of an immortal cultivator, although they could see things in the dark, it was very difficult. If there was an open flame, they would be able to see clearly.
He raised his head and looked around. This hall was chiseled into the stone wall, and it looked like a cave. Could it be the cave of an ancient cultivator?
After a brief moment of excitement, Mo Tiange suddenly thought of something. No, that stone statue just now was obviously a person from several thousand years ago, so it shouldn't have anything to do with ancient cultivators.
He walked past the hall and slowly walked along the stone path.
The hall was very dark, but the spiritual aura was very dense.
Mo Tiange concluded that this was a small spirit vein that had been sealed by someone with a formation. Apparently, this was most likely a cultivator's cave, and this cultivator's cultivation level was definitely above the Nascent Soul realm.
With this conclusion, Mo Tiange's interest was finally piqued.
Since the formation was still there, this cave shouldn't be an abandoned one. If that was the case, this Nascent Soul cultivator most likely passed away in this cave.
What did the cave of a Nascent Soul cultivator passing away represent?
This cave must contain the cultivator's treasures!
Mo Tiange took out the Shuttle of Flying Apsara and circled around her vigilantly. After coming to this conclusion, Mo Tiange became even more cautious.
The long stone path was filled with boundless darkness. After walking for a while, Mo Tiange suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
Although she was already an immortal in the eyes of mortals, she still felt a bit scared when faced with this kind of scene.
She recalled her previous adventures. They were just killing each other; she had never faced the ignorant darkness alone.
In the darkness, she could only hear her long and light breathing. The sound of breathing that she usually couldn't hear was exceptionally clear in the boundless silence.
She could only see the flame on her fingertips. The rest was hazy, which made it even more terrifying.
Realizing that her mood wasn't right, Mo Tiange closed her eyes and made a hand seal. The space between her eyebrows shone brightly, and she instantly entered the Virtual Sky World.
Seeing the familiar bamboo house and the brook, her mood calmed down a bit.
Sitting in the bamboo house, Mo Tiange couldn't help but shake her head.
Sure enough, her mental state wasn't tempered enough. If that was the case, there would definitely be problems when she went through the Inner Demon during core-formation. Fortunately, she came out to gain experience. Otherwise, even if her master was a Nascent Soul cultivator, he wouldn't be able to find any problems with her.
She sat cross-legged and began to adjust her breath. She ran her Great Circulatory Circle to confirm that her mood was calm before she prepared to go out and continue exploring.
But before she could chant the incantation, she suddenly stopped.
Outside the Virtual Sky World, a vague voice came: "Big Brother Xiu, take a rest first."
This was Shang Ruwan's voice.
Mo Tiange made a hand seal and pointed her finger. Then, the voice became clear.
"Big Brother Xiu!"
Shang Ruwan's breathing was very loud. She seemed very tired. With her cultivation level in the early stage of the Foundation Building realm, there was no reason for her to feel tired. Could it be that she was injured?
After a while, she finally heard Yao Zixiu's voice: "Little Sister Wan, are you alright?"
Shang Ruwan panted for a while before her breathing gradually became smooth. She said, "Big Brother Xiu, why are you in such a hurry?"
Mo Tiange could hear the complaint in her voice.
Yao Zixiu said, "We survived a disaster and found a cultivator's Immortal's Cave here. There might be some treasures inside, so of course I'm in a hurry. If Daoist Fangzheng and that female cultivator surnamed Ye find them, won't we have a share?"
"So what if we don't have a share!" Shang Ruwan was a bit annoyed. "Didn't you say being with me would be good?
If we can be together, so what if we don't have any treasures?! "
After a while, Yao Zixiu finally said, "Little Sister Wan!
I'm doing this for the sake of us being together! We went through all kinds of hardships to escape; what if we get caught again?
All these years, I've thought it through. Without cultivation level and strength, we don't have the right to speak!
Back then, if my cultivation level wasn't too low, your father wouldn't have promised you to someone else. If we weren't too weak, we wouldn't have had to hide from place to place all these years and run to the secular world!
Little Sister Wan, don't you understand?
In the cultivation world, strength is the foundation of everything. Otherwise, it'd be hard for us to be together! "
"What's so hard about this?!"
Shang Ruwan's voice was filled with anger. "If we find a place to live in seclusion, my father and the others won't be able to find us even if they want to die!" As she said that, she once again softened. "Big Brother Xiu, what's wrong with you?
You weren't like this before; why … "
"Don't ask me why!" Yao Zixiu shouted.
Mo Tiange was also startled by him. After thinking about it, she felt somewhat worried, so she tapped the space between her eyebrows. A bead emerged from there and she cast an art on it. A crack appeared in the Virtual Sky World and she saw the Yao couple in the stone path.
Shang Ruwan also seemed to be startled by Yao Zixiu. She stared at him in astonishment.
However, Yao Zixiu's expression softened, and he said in a gentle voice, "Little Sister Wan, I want to give you happiness, and not take you to hide from place to place. I want to bring you back openly one day, and let your father and the others know that your choice of me was right!"
Upon hearing what he said, Shang Ruwan looked touched. "You don't have to be like this. I've already said it before — I don't care what your cultivation level is. It's enough as long as I can be with you …"
"No, Little Sister Wan," Yao Zixiu insisted. "I … I can't be that kind of cowardly man. If that's the case, everything your father said back then would be right.
I only have three spiritual roots; even building my foundation was very difficult for me. If you didn't secretly give me your Foundation-Building Pills, I don't even know if I could build my foundation … I want to prove to your father that although my aptitude isn't good, I can still build my foundation … "
After listening up to this point, Mo Tiange roughly understood what was going on with this Yao Zixiu couple.
These two people weren't individual cultivators whose clans had declined at all; they were cultivators who escaped from their clans.
It was probably true that they were childhood sweethearts. After growing up together, they developed feelings for each other over time. However, Yao Zixiu's aptitude was only average; he couldn't enter Shang Ruwan's father's eyes, so he forbade the two of them from seeing each other. As a result, Shang Ruwan secretly eloped with Yao Zixiu …
Perhaps there were some mistakes in the details, but that was most likely the case.
However, Mo Tiange had a bad premonition when she heard what Yao Zixiu said.
Shang Ruwan was in the middle of the situation, so she probably didn't notice Yao Zixiu's hidden thoughts.
He said he wanted to give her happiness, but his gaze was flickering in a place Shang Ruwan couldn't see.
She was afraid that this man was already unwilling to live a life that only had love.
With a hint of a sneer on her face, Mo Tiange continued to listen to their conversation.
Shang Ruwan was finally convinced. She leaned against Yao Zixiu's chest and said softly, "Big Brother Xiu, don't worry. On our way here, we didn't find any traces left by other people. Presumably, we were the only ones who found them … Ay, I quite like that little sister from Ye Clan, but I wonder if she's still alive."
"Rest assured. That girl's cultivation level is higher than ours. Even if the two of us joined hands, we probably wouldn't be able to defeat her. She also has a spiritual treasure, so she should be fine."
"That's true …"
Yao Zixiu said, "This Fellow Daoist Ye … I really don't know her identity. How old do you think she is?"
Shang Ruwan thought for a moment then answered, "Although this little sister's behavior is steady, I can tell she's still a little girl at first glance.
I can't give a specific age, but she's most likely below eighty years old. "
"Below eighty years old …" Yao Zixiu's gaze flickered as he muttered, "At this age, she's actually already in the peak of the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm … If she's lucky, she'll probably be able to form her Gold Core when she's a hundred years old, right?
She must be an elite disciple of a big cultivation group. "
"Most likely," Shang Ruwan said.
"Judging from the spiritual treasure she has, it's far superior to her peers, so she definitely can't be an individual cultivator. I'm afraid a small cultivation group wouldn't be able to nurture someone like that."
Yao Zixiu nodded inwardly. His gaze was contemplative. "If that's the case, it's actually a gain …"
"What?" Shang Ruwan didn't hear him clearly.
Yao Zixiu promptly chuckled. "It's nothing.
Little Sister Wan, are you feeling better?
Should we keep going? "