Mo Tiange's smile froze. She stared at the three Core Formation cultivators without saying a word.
Among the three people in front of them, Elder Qingmiao had a frown on her face, Elder Qingxi had a vigilant look on her face, and Elder Qingyi still had a smile on her face, as if what she said was nothing more than a trivial matter.
Wei Haolan, who was standing next to her, widened her eyes in shock. "Elder, you mean …" She turned to look at Mo Tiange then slowly took a step back.
Although she looked calm on the surface, countless thoughts were flashing through her mind.
Zhong Muling once said that with the Spirit-Concealing Pendant he refined again, it wouldn't be a problem even if she pretended to be a mortal.
He was one of the most powerful cultivators in the human world who had reached the Soul Formation stage for thousands of years. Logically speaking, even Nascent Soul cultivators shouldn't be able to tell.
But how could three completion leveled cultivators see through her real cultivation level?!
So what do we do now?
Fight?
She wasn't arrogant enough to think she had the ability to escape unscathed under the watchful eyes of three great Core Formation cultivators. Besides, a short time wasn't enough for her to enter the Virtual Sky World.
What else could they do?
The three Core Formation cultivators were either expressionless or smiling as they looked at her, but there was a hint of vigilance in their eyes.
In the end, Mo Tiange showed a faint smile. "Senior has good eyes. May I know how you saw through it?"
"Little Friend Ye, you're also very calm." Elder Qingyi nodded with a smile. "In fact, there's no harm in telling you."
Elder Qingmiao, who was standing on the side, also chuckled. She took over the conversation and said, "Little Friend Ye, don't overthink things. This Dao-Achieving Pagoda is a sacred place established by the founder of Bixuan Court. There are many restrictions and mechanisms inside — even we, the juniors who inherited it, can't figure them out.
One of them is that no matter who enters this tower, all illusions will be seen through by cultivators with higher cultivation. In a way, the Breath Concealment Technique is also an illusion. "
"I see …" She originally thought this Primordial Lady Bishui was an outstanding talent of her generation, but now it seemed she was also a heaven-gifted genius who wasn't inferior to Wanderer Ziwei. Even though she was well-read, she still hadn't seen this kind of restriction before.
When she thought up to this point, Mo Tiange warned herself inwardly. Even if her aptitude was outstanding and she had a unique treasure in her hands, she still couldn't underestimate other cultivators.
The world was so big, so how many extraordinary people were there?
Even if they weren't as talented as her, there were still many who were smarter than her.
"You don't seem afraid at all."
Elder Qingxi, who had been silent all this while, finally spoke. Her tone was cold and her gaze was sharp as she stared at Mo Tiange.
Mo Tiange raised her eyebrows and smiled. "In the beginning, Junior was indeed a bit scared. I didn't expect Seniors to suddenly see through my disguise.
However, if the three of you want to harm me, all you have to do is move your fingers. Why do you have to be so polite?
Besides, apart from concealing my cultivation, I haven't done anything detrimental to your sect, so I don't feel guilty. "
"Oh?" Elder Qingyi's interest was piqued. "In that case, how do you explain concealing your cultivation level?
It's hard to believe that you don't have any malicious intent! "
Mo Tiange said unhurriedly, "In fact, Senior already told me the reason why Junior concealed my cultivation level."
The three Elders all revealed puzzled expressions.
She continued, "When this junior said that I was thirty-nine years old, the three seniors raised their eyebrows … The reason why this junior hid my cultivation was because most people would think the same as the three seniors."
"Oh?"
Elder Qingyi paused and glanced at the other two elders. In the end, the three of them put away their last doubts. "With Little Friend's age, reaching the late stage of the Foundation Building realm is indeed too shocking. It's no wonder you were accepted as a disciple by a Nascent Soul cultivator — even in the entire Celestial Pole, such a talent is hard to come by in a thousand years.
A great cultivation group is, after all, a great cultivation group … "
They were all experienced people who had mingled in the cultivation world for several hundred years. The younger disciples might not have been to Kunwu, but the three Core Formation elders had definitely seen the world, so how could they not understand what Mo Tiange said?
In addition to pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger, there was also the consideration of protecting oneself. If others misjudged your strength, they might leave you a slim chance of survival when they schemed against you.
Elder Qingyi sighed inwardly as she watched Mo Tiange's behavior and listened to what she said. Even though this child was still young, the way she handled things was very steady. In Bixuan Court, there were actually very few people who knew how to handle things cautiously.
How could this not make people feel discouraged?
Elder Qingmiao and Elder Qingxi also had the same expression. After their doubts were gone, their expressions became solemn again.
They were shocked to see a genius that was hard to come by in a thousand years, but they also thought about Bixuan Court's current situation. On the other hand, they were also wondering whether they should change the way they managed the group.
To them, reaching the late stage of the Foundation Building realm at the age of thirty-nine was completely unimaginable.
Although they lived in Linhai, they were connected to Kunwu through a Transporting Formation, so their news wasn't lagging behind.
In Kunwu, cultivators who could form their Gold Core in a hundred years were few in a thousand years, and every one of them was called a genius.
That being the case, being in the late stage of the Foundation Building realm at the age of thirty-nine, she might be able to form her Gold Core in twenty to thirty years. Forming her Gold Core at the age of seventy would be a genius among geniuses!
However, Xuanqing School actually let such a genius among geniuses do as she pleased, allowing her to go out and gain experience by herself.
In contrast, Bixuan Court, not to mention having such a genius, even the disciple with mutated spiritual roots they received with great difficulty was carefully kept by their side. For more than a hundred years, they never let that disciple leave the sect.
Even other Foundation Building cultivators with a bit of future didn't dare to leave the sect to gain experience.
The three elders silently pondered for a while without saying anything.
Wei Haolan, who was standing on the side, kept shifting her gaze between them. At that moment, she couldn't help but step forward and ask, "Elders, is Fellow Daoist Ye … really in the late stage of the Foundation Building realm?"
Elder Qingyi nodded. "Haolan, it's good that you know about this. Don't leak it out, lest you get into a lot of trouble."
"… Yes."
Wei Haolan answered in a low voice then turned her head to look at Mo Tiange. Her gaze was filled with complicated emotions, but in the end, she just sighed quietly and looked away.
Regarding this Fellow Daoist Ye, she was originally just envious of her good luck — she was actually a disciple of one of the biggest cultivation groups in the Celestial Pole.
But that was all. With her status as the Sect Head, she really didn't need to be too fixated on this matter.
Unfortunately … she now found out that this Fellow Daoist Ye was already a late stage Foundation Building cultivator at such a young age … This was really incomparable.
"Little Friend Ye, you're so young, but you already have such a profound cultivation level. Why do you also have top-notch pill-concocting skills?" Elder Qingmiao asked.
Mo Tiange instantly thought of the answer to this question. "To be honest, although my aptitude can be considered excellent, I advanced after I built my foundation because I obtained fated chances. I didn't immerse myself in cultivation every day; I usually study pill-concocting skills to adjust my mood.
Besides … although my pill-concocting skills are very brilliant in the eyes of non-pill-concocting cultivators, compared to pill-concocting cultivation groups like Danding School, they're really nothing. "
"Really?"
Elder Qingxi's eyes were still filled with doubt. "The three of us aren't ignorant frogs at the bottom of a well. In the past, we also concocted Clear Sky Pills. At that time, we went to Danding School to find a concocting master. Reportedly, that master's pill-concocting realm was already extremely high, but he still couldn't achieve a success rate of 60% or 70%.
Fellow Daoist Ye, why is your pill-concocting skills better than those of Danding School cultivators even though you're not a pill-concocting cultivator? "
"It's very simple." Mo Tiange said calmly, "Although Danding School is a pill-concocting cultivation group, not everyone's aptitude for pill-concocting is better than others'.
In terms of aptitude for pill-concocting, Junior is confident I'm not inferior to others'. "
In order to cover up the secret of the Virtual Sky World, she had to boast. If she said her aptitude for pill-concocting wasn't good, who would believe she had a pretty good pill-concocting skill?
She paused for a moment then continued, "Moreover, Seniors, please forgive Junior for speaking the truth.
In the past, Danding School was at its peak and ranked among the seven great cultivation groups. They were arrogant and probably didn't take cultivators from small cultivation groups seriously, so they only used ordinary concocting masters to deal with them … "
Although they were unhappy, the three elders could only admit that what she said was the truth.
Even though they were all Core Formation cultivators, Danding School was quite arrogant before it declined. Even Tiandao Sect and Xuanqing School often needed their help and were polite to them. After a long time, how could they take Core Formation cultivators from small cultivation groups seriously?
Now, after the demonic beast riot, Danding School's strength was greatly reduced. Being ranked among the seven great cultivation groups was just a habit. Now, it was reduced to a concocting room for the other six great cultivation groups.
This was also because Danding School was too arrogant in the past. Otherwise, the other six great cultivation groups wouldn't have deliberately delayed the rescue time. Unfortunately, Danding School could only swallow this bitter fruit.
In the cultivation world, being a person and managing a cultivation group were the same. If you had outstanding strength, it didn't matter if you were arrogant, but if you didn't have enough strength, it was better to keep a low profile.
If you had outstanding strength and kept a low profile, that would be even better.
"In that case, Little Friend Ye just happened to come to our Linhai — it's also our good fortune. Otherwise, it'd be very difficult to find a suitable concocting master in such a short time." Elder Qingmiao glanced at Elder Qingyi and Elder Qingxi then turned around and said with a smile.
Mo Tiange said modestly, "Speaking of concocting, Junior is only so-so. In Kunwu, there are also many great concocting masters and even great concocting masters. It's just that Seniors have been living in Linhai for a long time, so you don't have much contact with them."
Upon hearing what she said, Elder Qingyi nodded. "Little Friend Ye's neither arrogant nor rash. My disciples should learn from you."
Elder Qingxi's expression was no longer cold, but she still looked solemn as she asked, "Little Friend Ye, if you go out to gain experience like this, will your master feel at ease?"
Mo Tiange was slightly surprised and raised her eyebrows. "Junior doesn't quite understand what Senior is saying. Why would my master feel at ease?"
Elder Qingxi said, "With your aptitude, your cultivation level has already reached the late stage of the Foundation Building realm at such a young age. Presumably, your school also focuses on cultivating a genius disciple, right?
Don't tell me your master isn't afraid that something might happen to you when you go out to gain experience? "
Her words weren't very auspicious, but Elder Qingxi's tone was very gentle, so Mo Tiange didn't mind. She smiled faintly and said, "Senior doesn't know, but Xuanqing School is a Dao school. Aside from cultivation level, we also focus on our mental state.
Master often tells me that if one's mental state isn't strong enough, they should be cautious during realm-breakthroughs. Junior deeply agrees.
If we don't go out to gain experience because we're afraid something might happen, then even a genius disciple can't grow into an outstanding cultivator.
If we can't truly grow, what's the use of having great aptitude?
In the end, cultivation depends on one's cultivation level, realm, and ability in fights of magical powers — it doesn't depend on aptitude to advance all the way to the Nascent Soul realm.
Therefore, even if there are some losses, it's still worth it. "