Every day, she would heal her injuries, cultivate, and study the notes Mo Yaoqing left behind. Mo Tiange only felt that time flew by. In the blink of an eye, several years had passed just like that.
She had a temperament that could endure loneliness. She had also been in Closed Door Meditation for several years before, so now that she was immersed in Mo Yaoqing's cultivation experiences, she didn't find it difficult at all.
In any case, she just considered it Closed Door Meditation. It was common for Foundation Building cultivators to be in Closed Door Meditation for several years or even dozens of years.
Wei Haolan was also like this. She spent most of her time healing and refining the dead aura. Occasionally, she chatted with Mo Tiange about some matters related to the group, which allowed Mo Tiange to learn more about Bixuan Court's situation.
Presumably, Wei Haolan also did this deliberately. She shouldered the heavy responsibility of rebuilding Bixuan Court, but Xia Qing and Tang Shen couldn't share this responsibility with her. Mo Tiange, on the other hand, was appointed by the two elders to help her rebuild the group in the future, so she had to have a rough understanding of the group's situation.
Xia Qing also sometimes talked about pill-concocting with her. She was a simple-minded person, so even in this kind of situation, she was still thinking about pill-concocting.
As for Tang Shen, he obviously didn't have enough patience. His cultivation level was only in the early stage of the Foundation Building realm, and he wasn't very old, so presumably, he spent very little time in Closed Door Meditation after building his foundation.
However, he also knew how to be patient because of his great hatred. In the beginning, he often couldn't concentrate on cultivating, but gradually, he was able to meditate for several days or even several months like them.
As for Ren Yufeng, who was outside the pagoda, sometimes he didn't show up for a long time, so long that they thought he'd lost his patience, but then he suddenly appeared.
In the beginning, Ren Yufeng was still interested in showing off to the people inside the pagoda, but they never paid attention to him. Later, he got tired of it and simply occupied Bixuan Court's monastery, playing the game of founding a sect. He captured the individual cultivators in the vicinity and some former Bixuan Court cultivators, called it Divine Dragon Sect, and proclaimed himself the Sect Head.
For the sake of survival, these cultivators all became yes-men.
This greatly satisfied Ren Yufeng, so he simply became the Sect Head of Divine Dragon Sect. He only sent two cultivators to guard the entrance of the Dao-Achieving Pagoda and no longer paid attention to them.
Mo Tiange remembered that when Ren Yufeng first gathered people outside the Dao-Achieving Pagoda to hold the so-called sect-establishing ceremony, Wei Haolan looked at the crowd below with tears in her eyes.
She saw her loved ones among these people. Their figures were thin and frail, their bodies covered in scars. They must have suffered great torment, looking like walking corpses.
She once asked Wei Haolan roughly how many Bixuan Court cultivators were still alive.
Wei Haolan was silent for a long time. In the end, she said, "Perhaps there are still a lot of people alive, but after being tortured like this, I'm afraid they don't even have the least bit of self-respect left. It's not difficult to rebuild the sect and call back the disciples, but it's very difficult to restore the confidence they once had as cultivators."
Mo Tiange was speechless.
She didn't have any management skills, so she couldn't help.
Year after year, time flowed like water.
Finally, ten years later, Mo Tiange completely dissolved all the dead aura and returned to her peak state. She then devoted herself wholeheartedly to cultivating.
The Teleportation Formation on the fourth floor was still closed, and there was no news from the two elders.
The four of them had no choice but to wait.
After another five years, with the support of Xia Qing's medicinal pills, Tang Shen finally advanced to the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm, bringing a trace of joy to the Dao-Achieving Pagoda that had been dull for more than ten years.
To encourage everyone, Wei Haolan suggested they take a day off to celebrate with Tang Shen.
However, they'd been locked up in the pagoda for more than ten years, so they couldn't hold any banquets. Fortunately, Wei Haolan left some good wine in her Qiankun Bag, so they could use it to make up for the occasion.
"Junior Martial Brother Tang, it's your happy occasion, so you should drink a bit more today." Wei Haolan urged him to drink with a smile.
Xia Qing also temporarily put aside pill-concocting and nodded repeatedly. "That's right! Senior Martial Brother Tang, it's only been more than ten years since you advanced to the middle stage, right?
Advancing to the middle stage in thirty years is really amazing! "
Tang Shen touched his nose somewhat embarrassedly and said, "If I wasn't locked up in the pagoda and could only restrain my thoughts, I wouldn't have advanced so quickly … Besides, Junior Martial Sister Xia has been concocting medicinal pills for me, Fellow Daoist Ye has been explaining her experiences to me, and Senior Martial Sister Sect Head has often comforted me — it's all thanks to all of you that I can advance so quickly."
After more than ten years of devoted cultivation, although he was still thin-skinned, he no longer blushed easily and his temperament also became a lot calmer.
Wei Haolan said with a smile, "This is all we can do; you still have to rely on yourself to cultivate.
Junior Martial Brother Tang, you're not even sixty years old yet, but you're already in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm — you're indeed one of the best talents in our Bixuan Court. "
Tang Shen smiled, but his expression soon turned gloomy again. "Bixuan Court … only has us left."
Wei Haolan and Xia Qing were both silent upon hearing what he said.
Outside the Dao-Achieving Pagoda, cultivators occasionally came and went, but they were no longer Bixuan Court disciples.
Soon, however, Wei Haolan forced a smile and said, "What's there to be afraid of?
When the two elders come out of Closed Door Meditation and eliminate that devil cultivator, we can naturally rebuild the group.
Besides, many of the original disciples are still here; we can just call them back when the time comes. "
Tang Shen also realized he shouldn't have mentioned this matter, so he also smiled and chimed in, "Right, right! What Senior Martial Sister Sect Head said is right; we can just go out and rebuild the group.
Come, let's drink. "
As he said that, Tang Shen gulped down a cup of wine.
Unexpectedly, he didn't know how to drink, and this wine was quite spicy, so his expression immediately became distorted, looking extremely wonderful.
Upon seeing his expression, the three women present all laughed.
This was Bixuan Court's most popular handsome man, Young Master Tang Shen. He was always graceful, gentle, and refined — when had he ever lost his composure like this?
"Junior Martial Brother Tang, if you can't drink, just drink a little less. Come, wipe your mouth." Wei Haolan handed him a towel, but she still couldn't help but look at him with a smile.
She said he was a lot calmer now, but he still couldn't help but blush.
With great difficulty, Tang Shen finally managed to swallow the wine. He took the towel then coughed while wiping the spilled wine. "I've made Senior Martial Sisters and Junior Martial Sisters laugh at me …"
Xia Qing waved her hand. "Senior Martial Brother Tang, this is nothing!
Previously, I secretly smeared Three Leaves Golden Sunflower powder on Senior Martial Sister Hua's medicinal pills — Senior Martial Sister Hua's expression was truly wonderful! "
Three-leafed Golden Sunflower was a kind of commonly seen spiritual medicine. It didn't have much use, but it was very spicy. Just a little bit of it would make people who couldn't eat spicy food feel like their mouths were on fire. Mo Tiange once used it as a seasoning, so she was very clear about it.
Upon hearing what Xia Qing said, Mo Tiange asked, "Is the Senior Martial Sister Hua you're talking about that Fellow Daoist Hua Yilin?"
"Yes," Xia Qing said with a disdainful expression. "I don't like Senior Martial Sister Hua. She always likes to put on airs and even gives me that attitude. She never thought that her medicinal pills were in my hands!"
At this point, Xia Qing's expression turned gloomy. "In the past, I wasn't sensible and always thought Senior Martial Sister Hua was hateful, so I wanted to embarrass her whenever I had the chance. In fact, Senior Martial Sister Hua didn't do anything bad; she was just a bit arrogant and despotic … I wonder how she's doing now."
The atmosphere once again turned silent.
Even though they were forcing themselves to smile, they still remembered their sorrowful past from time to time.
"Let's not talk about this." This time, it was Tang Shen who spoke. He turned towards Wei Haolan. "Senior Martial Sister Sect Head, are your injuries healed?"
Wei Haolan nodded with a smile. "They're almost healed. The dead aura has been dissolved. In the future, as long as I slowly meditate and recuperate, my injuries will naturally heal."
Xia Qing said, "Senior Martial Sister Sect Head, during this period of time, I'll concoct another batch of healing medicinal pills for you. You mustn't be reluctant to take them. If you're not well, Bixuan Court is not well; you have to cherish yourself."
"Yes."
Tang Shen took over. "In the past, I wasn't sensible and always caused trouble for Senior Martial Sister Sect Head. In the future, I'll definitely cultivate diligently."
Wei Haolan smiled. Her smile was filled with joy. "You're all sensible now. That's good …" Her gaze then shifted towards Mo Tiange, who had been silent all this time. "Fellow Daoist Ye, these past few years, thanks to you often teaching Junior Martial Brother Tang. I'm afraid Junior Martial Sister Xia and I don't have any hope of advancing to the Core Formation realm, so we can only count on you and Junior Martial Brother Tang."
Mo Tiange showed a faint smile. "It's nothing. I'm now Bixuan Court's guest elder, so I naturally have to do my part."
In fact, Tang Shen could be considered quite intelligent. He also had a Pure Yang Constitution and decent spiritual roots. In the past, perhaps because of his flawed character, he was always unable to meditate and cultivate.
In the past ten-odd years, he had to meditate even if he didn't want to. Moreover, he was stimulated by his great hatred, so he constantly reminded himself to be strong, so he grew very fast.
Mo Tiange reckoned that even if he couldn't form his Nascent Soul, forming his Core shouldn't be a problem.
"Yes, Fellow Daoist Ye is now one of us."
Xia Qing interrupted, "Therefore, Fellow Daoist Ye, you mustn't hide anything. We should discuss pill-concocting issues more often …"
Xia Qing once again changed the topic to pill-concocting out of habit, causing the other three people to laugh.
Wei Haolan paused for a moment then said, "Since Fellow Daoist Ye is one of us, wouldn't it be too distant for us to still call her Fellow Daoist Ye?"
"That's true," Xia Qing said, "But I seem to have heard the two elders call Fellow Daoist Ye something before?
It's been too long, so I can't remember. "
The corners of Mo Tiange's mouth curved into a smile. "My original surname was Mo, and my name was Tiange."
"Oh … Right, it seems to be Tiange. Fellow Daoist Ye, why did you use a fake name?
Oh, no, let's just call her Senior Martial Sister Mo from now on. "
"Ye Xiaotian isn't a fake name."
This was the first time she explained the problem of names to others. "Mo is my mother's surname, while my father's surname is Ye. Ye Xiaotian was the name my uncle gave me."
"Ye — Mo."
Xia Qing thought for a moment. "Both are good, but since Mo Tiange is her original name, let's just call her Senior Martial Sister Mo from now on, okay?"
"It's hard to say who's older and who's younger."
Ye Haolan knew Mo Tiange's background, so she said with a smile, "Junior Martial Sister Xia, in terms of cultivation level, you have to call me Senior Martial Sister. In terms of age, you should count your years first. En, I don't need to count my years. To you, I'm already an old woman."
"Senior Martial Sister, you're only a hundred years old. How are you old?" Xia Qing spoke quickly. "Right now … I think I'm fifty-three.
I also know Senior Martial Brother Tang. You're older than me … by six years?
You should be fifty-nine now, right? "
Tang Shen nodded with a smile.
"Senior Martial Sister Mo, what about you?"
Mo Tiange said with a smile, "In that case, you really have to call me Senior Martial Sister.
I'm fifty-five now, so I'm two years older than you. "
"Ah!" Xia Qing was astonished. Even Tang Shen's eyes widened.
Since they were injured and hid inside the Dao-Achieving Pagoda, Mo Tiange didn't need to hide her cultivation level anymore. Therefore, Xia Qing and Tang Shen already knew she was a late stage Foundation Building cultivator, but since the two elders and Wei Haolan didn't care, they didn't say anything.
It was also because of this that Xia Qing called Mo Tiange "Senior Martial Sister" as if it was a matter of course.
She was fifty-five now, and they had been hiding inside the Dao-Achieving Pagoda for sixteen years. Didn't that mean she was only thirty-nine years old back then?
A thirty-nine-year-old late stage Foundation Building cultivator — this was indeed astonishing.
Tang Shen was the first to regain his train of thought. He said sincerely, "It turns out Fellow Daoist Ye is such a genius. I was really rude."
Other people didn't know, but Mo Tiange understood the hidden meaning in his words.
However, this matter was Tang Shen's misunderstanding. Back then, Mo Tiange rejected his Dual Cultivation proposal not because she thought his aptitude wasn't good enough for her, but because she didn't want to perform Dual Cultivation with him.