Mo Tiange didn't explain. In any case, the Dual Cultivation proposal had long been rejected, and she wouldn't have anything to do with Tang Shen in the future, so there was no need to explain.
Tang Shen also didn't mention it. He just smiled and said, "That being the case, I'd better call you senior martial sister. Senior Martial Sister Mo is so young, but you already have such a high cultivation level — it's only right to call you senior martial sister."
In the cultivation world, seniority wasn't determined by age. Only people who had a very close relationship, such as fellow disciples, would be determined by age. Even after their cultivation levels increased, they still addressed each other like that to show respect.
They'd lived together in this pagoda for more than ten years. Although they spent most of their time doing their own things, their relationship wasn't like ordinary people's, so they talked about age.
Now that he learned Mo Tiange's cultivation level was so much higher than his, Tang Shen sincerely felt he should call her senior martial sister.
Xia Qing said, "In any case, I should call you senior martial sister. Senior Martial Sister Mo, you're so awesome, so you have to take care of me in the future."
"Junior Martial Sister Xia!"
Wei Haolan gave her a sidelong glance and also smiled. "That's true. Fellow Daoist Ye is now a guest elder of Bixuan Court, so you have to take care of us."
Mo Tiange waved her hand. "Please don't laugh at me. I'm just relying on the shadow of my elders."
Wei Haolan was about to speak, but the four of them suddenly felt a spiritual aura fluctuation. They stopped and turned to look at the Transporting Formation at the same time.
The Transporting Formation flashed, and Elder Qingyi's voice came: "The four of you, come up."
Hearing the elder's voice again after fifteen years, the four of them couldn't help but feel excited.
Wei Haolan pressed her chest to calm her excitement and said, "It seems the two elders have come out of Closed Door Meditation. Let's go up to see them."
Of course, no one had any objections. The four of them put down their wine cups, stood up, and walked towards the Transporting Formation.
During these fifteen years, the Transporting Formation had been closed. Now that it was open and they were summoned, the two elders must've come out of Closed Door Meditation.
Standing on the Transporting Formation, there was a flash of light, and the four of them appeared on the fourth floor.
Although they were eager to see the two elders, the three of them didn't dare to look up.
They all knew the consequences of the two elders cultivating the Blood-Prohibition Secret Technique. Although they had fifteen years to prepare, seeing it with their own eyes was a different matter.
Therefore, Mo Tiange was the first to see the two elders' appearances.
The two elders were sitting side by side on the praying mats at the head of the table. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but they had put on their cloaks and veils.
The veil and cloak not only blocked their vision, but also blocked their divine sense. The two elders' cultivation was higher than theirs, so they couldn't see their real appearances.
"Greetings to the two elders." Mo Tiange was the first to greet them.
She could also be considered a member of Bixuan Court now, so she no longer needed to call her senior.
Hearing that there was nothing unusual in her voice, the other three raised their heads. Their eyes were filled with relief, but also sadness.
The two elders must have been afraid of scaring them, so they covered their appearances.
"Greetings, elders." Wei Haolan took the lead and saluted.
Elder Qingyi nodded slightly. "You've worked hard these past fifteen years." Her voice, however, was much more hoarse than before.
Wei Haolan respectfully replied, "Compared to the two elders, this little bit of hard work is nothing at all."
"You're a good child," Elder Qingmiao said.
Elder Qingmiao took over the conversation. Although her appearance couldn't be seen, her voice was obviously aged. "You don't need to blame yourselves. This is a responsibility we must bear as elders of Bixuan Court."
Tang Shen lowered his head and secretly wiped the corners of his eyes.
Upon seeing him, Elder Qingyi said, "Shen 'er, you've made a realm-breakthrough?"
"Yes." Tang Shen lowered his head. "I … I'm sorry, elders. I was too immature before."
Elder Qingyi chuckled softly. "Child, you've finally grown up. If your great-grandmother in the underworld knew about this, she'd definitely be happy."
Tang Shen was Elder Qingxi's beloved grandson. Ever since he was a child, he grew up in front of the three elders. The two elders also regarded him as their junior. Now that they saw Tang Shen's cultivation level had advanced and he had also matured a lot, they felt very comforted.
Tang Shen wiped his tears and answered with a low voice, "Yes. In the future, Shen 'er will certainly cultivate diligently and won't disappoint the two elders and great-grandmother anymore."
The two elders' gazes then shifted to the others. Elder Qingyi continued to ask, "Haolan, Tiange, are your injuries healed?"
"Yes," Wei Haolan answered.
Wei Haolan answered, "Rest assured, Elder. My injuries are almost healed. Elder Mo already dissolved my dead aura five years ago."
"Oh?" Elder Qingmiao looked at Mo Tiange and said, "Tiange, come up and let us have a look."
"Yes," Mo Tiange answered then walked forward.
Elder Qingmiao stretched out her hand like lightning, grabbing Mo Tiange's wrist and pouring her spiritual aura into it.
Mo Tiange only felt pain and numbness in her meridians. Elder Qingmiao's spiritual aura was stronger than she imagined; it seemed to have reached the peak of the Core Formation realm.
However, her spiritual aura was very strange. There was a kind of hidden mania that made her feel very uneasy.
She looked down and saw her bare hands. They were as dry as an old tree, deathly pale and without any color of blood.
They couldn't even be called hands anymore.
Moreover, she remembered that when she first met this Elder Qingmiao sixteen years ago, she still had a delicate and pretty face and her charm was still there.
Even though she didn't have deep feelings for her like Wei Haolan and the other two, Mo Tiange still felt a bit sad.
Although this was a world where benefits were paramount, it wasn't completely ruthless.
Elder Qingmiao quickly released her hands and said with relief, "Very good. Tiange, not only are your injuries healed, but your spiritual aura is also much purer than before. Presumably, you've been very diligent these past dozen years."
Mo Tiange retreated. "Elders, you've contributed a lot. Since Junior has received your favor, I should also do something for Bixuan Court."
"If you can think that way, we really didn't misjudge you."
Elder Qingyi nodded with a smile. "Alright, I called you here for two reasons. First, we've finished practicing the Blood-Prohibition Secret Technique and we're officially out of Closed Door Meditation today.
Second, this isn't enough to deal with that devil cultivator; we still need to prepare some things. "
"Elder," Wei Haolan said, "If you need to prepare anything, just tell us. We'll definitely do it seriously."
"We need to prepare two things," Elder Qingyi said calmly. "First, that devil cultivator's dead aura is really powerful. If you get touched by it, you probably won't be able to hold on. We searched for a long time and finally found a kind of talisman that can guard against this kind of dead aura.
Therefore, in the following time, you need to put aside everything else and draw this kind of talisman — the more, the better. "
"Elder," Xia Qing said, "we don't know how to draw talismans; how can we learn it in a short time?"
"Then you'll learn until you can draw it."
Elder Qingyi said without hesitation, "As for the second thing, it's a magic weapon. You won't be able to help us with this, so only Junior Martial Sister Qingmiao and I can refine it."
None of them was a refining master. Refining tools was different from drawing talismans. No matter how lacking talisman paper and other materials were, they were still easy to obtain. Besides, the seventh floor of the Dao-Achieving Pagoda was where Bixuan Court stored their treasures for several thousand years.
The materials for refining tools, on the other hand, were much more precious, especially rare materials for magic weapons — they simply couldn't be wasted like this.
"Not bad."
Elder Qingmiao passed her a Jade Slip. "Haolan, later, go to the seventh floor and get the talisman paper and brush you need. Draw according to this. No matter how long it takes, you have to draw at least several hundred talismans. That way, we'll be able to deal with that devil cultivator."
"Yes," Wei Haolan answered. However, she hesitated for a moment and said, "Elders, can you … hold on?"
Cultivating the second half of the Blood Prohibition Secret Technique meant death, but she didn't know how long it would take for her to die.
Elder Qingyi said faintly, "Rest assured. We two old women won't dare to die until we get rid of any future troubles for you."
Wei Haolan's gaze wavered, but she didn't dare to ask again. She just lowered her head and answered, "Yes."
"Tiange."
Mo Tiange stepped forward. "I'm here."
"Go with Haolan. Your pill-concocting skills are outstanding; if there's any medicinal pills that might be helpful, just take the materials and refine them."
Mo Tiange paused for a moment then cupped her hands. "I understand."
This was a way of expressing their trust in her. Not only did they let her enter the group's treasury, but they also let her take whatever she wanted. If she wasn't a trusted disciple, they wouldn't do this at all.
Mo Tiange sighed inwardly. She felt her weakness had been found. She didn't think she was a kind person, but if someone treated her well, she'd want to repay them.
The two elders treated her so well — how could she repay them?
Not only was she determined to be their guest elder, but if she succeeded in her cultivation, she'd also have to take care of them often.
"Alright, you two go back first. That's all."
"Yes."
The four of them responded in unison. Xia Qing and Tang Shen went back to the third floor, while Mo Tiange and Wei Haolan went to the seventh floor.
Influenced by the two elders, the two of them didn't say a word on the way.
When they reached the seventh floor, Wei Haolan opened the restriction and said, "Elder Mo, over there is the spiritual panacea area. You can take whatever you want and come back here to register."
"Okay." Mo Tiange looked around then nodded.
Sixteen years ago, when they first hid inside the pagoda, the two elders brought her and Tang Shen up to the seventh floor. At that time, the two elders gave them a lot of medicinal pills and bestowed magic weapons to Tang Shen and Xia Qing. Because they learned about her life experience, they also very generously gave her Mo Yaoqing's personal notes.
Although the notes didn't seem as precious as the magic weapons, Wei Haolan said only the sect head and elders could read the patriarch's notes. Being willing to give them to her was already a huge favor. Moreover, the notes were more important to her than any magic weapons.
Although the two elders treated her like this because they hoped she could help Wei Haolan rebuild Bixuan Court, kindness was kindness. Since she accepted it, she should repay them a little.
Mo Tiange took a deep breath and quickly picked dozens of spiritual panaceas. She then found Wei Haolan and said, "Sect Head, I'm done."
"Oh."
Wei Haolan was rummaging among the cinnabars and other things. Eventually, she found several jars of beast blood. "Let's go. We can go down after we record them."
"En."
Mo Tiange followed Wei Haolan to the altar table. She took out the register and recorded, but Mo Tiange raised her head to look at Mo Yaoqing's statue.
Her great-grandmother had a rough life, but she had always been strong and unyielding, proud and self-reliant. If she knew that the sect she established was almost destroyed by a cultivator in the Foundation Building realm who practiced evil methods, she would definitely be very angry, wouldn't she?
However, while she was angry, she must also be very gratified.
Although her disciples weren't as talented as her, they didn't lose her lofty and unyielding character. As long as her lofty character remained, Bixuan Court could still be rebuilt.
"Elder Mo."
Upon hearing Wei Haolan's voice, Mo Tiange regained her train of thought. "What's wrong?"
"Are you confident?" Wei Haolan didn't look at her. Instead, she was fiddling with the Jade Slip in her hand.
"… No."
Mo Tiange answered honestly in front of Wei Haolan, "I like to take matters into my own hands, but this time, I'm not capable of doing it. I'm not confident at all.
However, it doesn't matter if we're not confident; it's fine as long as the two elders are confident. "
"Correct."
Wei Haolan also raised her head to look at the statue. She then knelt down softly. "Patriarch, please bless Bixuan Court. We'll kill our enemies and take back our monastery!"