Mo Tiange naturally didn't know what Wei Jiasi was shocked about, but right now, she couldn't care less about it.
Now that her cultivation technique was more or less complete and her pill-concocting had also gradually entered a good state, it was time for her to prepare to build her foundation.
She had one Foundation-Building Pill and two Foundation-Refining Pills. If she could concoct Constitution-Enhancing Pills, then under Martial Uncle Xuanyin's guidance, her chances of building her foundation would be very high.
She had already bought the remaining ingredients for the Constitution-Enhancing Pill one by one. Now, she only lacked the other five-hundred-year-old spiritual herb, Green Fern. Thus, she asked the shop in the inner sanctum to help her keep an eye out for it.
She didn't know whether it was because the sect's shop had a sufficient supply or because of Lord Daoist Jinghe's reputation, but a few days later, she received a Sound-Transmitting Talisman saying the Black Fern had arrived.
Mo Tiange hurriedly packed her things then went to the inner school market square.
The inner sect market was on the main peak. It wasn't big and only had two streets. However, there were many disciples and people coming and going. It was very lively.
Most of the shops here were opened by the various peaks, and the disciples of the peaks could get discounts in the shops.
In addition, disciples who wanted to sell things could directly set up a small stall on the side of the street. It was very convenient.
The Law Enforcement Hall would protect anyone who bought or sold here. If anyone was found to be selling or buying or selling by force, they would be ordered to refund their money. If it was serious, they might even be expelled from the sect.
Therefore, the disciples of the sect liked to come here.
Once she arrived at this small market square, she didn't stop and directly went to the Medicinal Pills Hall on Clear Spring Peak, which had notified her of the arrival of the goods.
This medicinal hall wasn't big, but its business was very good. Aura Refining disciples came and went from time to time, and Foundation Building cultivators were also not uncommon.
Luo Fengxue once told Mo Tiange that Xuanqing School had more than 500 Foundation Building disciples. Mo Tiange believed her. On Mount Taikang, one could easily run into Foundation Building cultivators whenever they went out. Obviously, there were a lot of them.
"Senior Martial Brother," Mo Tiange stepped into the shop and called out to the busy shop assistant, "I'm here to pick up the black fern."
The shop assistant was wearing ordinary disciple's clothes and his cultivation level was only in the fifth layer of the Aura Refining realm. Upon hearing her words, he turned around and saw the clothes she was wearing. He waved his hand repeatedly. "Senior Martial Sister, you're really overpraising me.
Green fern?
Are you Senior Martial Sister Mo from Clear Spring Peak? "
Upon seeing the shop assistant's terrified expression, Mo Tiange finally realized that her identity was different now. She didn't need to be as humble as she was in Yunwu Sect.
She was Patriarch Jinghe's registered disciple — this identity was something even Foundation Building cultivators coveted. In Xuanqing School, it didn't matter if she was a bit arrogant, but if her attitude was too low, people would look down on her instead.
Thinking to this point, she calmly accepted and said to the waiter, "That's right.
You sent me a message saying that the five-hundred-year-old fern has arrived. I'm here to pick it up. "
"Yes, yes. Senior Sister, please wait here for a moment." The shop assistant said and hurriedly ran to the back.
"Senior Martial Sister." Another waiter served tea and said to her with a smile, "Please take a seat and have a cup of tea."
Mo Tiange nodded at him and said, "Thank you."
Just as he picked up his teacup, another person came in.
When the waiter serving tea saw this person, he hurriedly went forward to greet him, "Martial Uncle Ye, you're here!"
The person who came in was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and he had the appearance of a young man.
He casually glanced around the shop then asked, "Are the Seven Stars Begonia in stock?"
The waiter smiled and said, "It just arrived today. Please take a seat, I'll go get it."
As he said that, the waiter shouted towards the inside of the shop. He then invited the young man to sit next to him and served him tea.
The young man took a sip of tea. As if he sensed Mo Tiange's gaze, he turned around and gave her a kind smile then continued to drink tea with his head lowered.
This person's attitude was peaceful. He obviously didn't know her identity, but he didn't reprimand her for being rude. Apparently, he was a gentle person.
Mo Tiange didn't show the respect ordinary Aura Refining disciples showed when they saw a Foundation Building senior. Instead, she looked hesitant and asked tentatively, "May I ask who this Martial Uncle is?"
Upon hearing her voice, the man looked up.
Mo Tiange carefully looked at this person's extremely heroic face and recalled how he called her Martial Uncle Ye just now. She was about fifty to sixty percent sure, but she still needed to confirm something. "Martial Uncle, is your surname Ye, and your name is Jingwen?"
Once she said that, the person in front of her revealed a puzzled expression. "Yes, you know me?"
Sure enough, it's him!
Ye Jingwen's appearance hadn't changed much. Ten years was nothing to a Foundation Building cultivator. Now that he still looked like a young man, she recognized him at first glance.
Looking at his familiar face, Mo Tiange felt many things from the past resurfaced in her mind. "… Martial Uncle, do you remember the Mo Family's Village in Liancheng City in Jin Country ten years ago?"
Ye Jingwen was stunned for a moment, then he looked a little surprised. He looked at her carefully and finally came to a realization. "You … You're that little girl?!"
Mo Tiange nodded with a smile then stood up and saluted him. "Back then, I didn't appreciate your kindness and left without saying goodbye. Today, I apologize to you."
Seeing her salute him so cautiously, Ye Jingwen hastily stood up and also saluted her. "Please don't regard me as an outsider. It's also my fault for not explaining clearly …"
Before he could finish his sentence, the waiter who fetched the goods ran back and shouted, "Martial Uncle Ye, Senior Martial Sister Mo, your spiritual plants … Ah, you two know each other!"
The waiter was obviously confused and even forgot to hand them the medicine.
The other waiter was quick-witted. He took the medicine and handed it to the two of them. "Martial Uncle Ye, Grandmaster Mo, take a look. Is there any problem with this thing?"
Mo Tiange and Ye Jingwen looked at each other and smiled. They each took the things they wanted.
"Not bad. This black fern is old enough … How much is it?"
The waiter said, "It's 300 spirit stones in total. Since you're a disciple of Clear Spring Peak, you can get a 10% discount, so it's 270 spirit stones."
Even if black ferns weren't rare, this price was already very cheap for a 500-year-old spiritual plant.
Mo Tiange didn't say anything and paid the spirit stones.
By the time she put away the spiritual plants, Ye Jingwen had finished his transaction and walked towards her. "This … Tiange?"
Mo Tiange nodded with a smile.
Ye Jingwen also smiled.
As the two of them walked out of the shop, Mo Tiange heard him say, "I was in Closed Door Meditation a while ago. I only heard you came to Xuanqing School two days ago when I came out, so I didn't have time to greet you … You've really grown up. I couldn't even recognize you."
No wonder he wasn't too surprised. It turned out he already heard about it.
"Martial Uncle Ye …"
"Hey, don't call me that." Ye Jingwen shook his head to stop her. "I already know Grandmaster Jinghe accepted you as a registered disciple. Even if registered disciples aren't ranked according to seniority, you're still being taught by Martial Uncle Xuanyin now, right?
According to the rules, it's enough for you to call me Senior Martial Brother. Besides, back then, you called me Big Brother Ye. "
"This …" Mo Tiange thought for a moment then changed the way she addressed him. "Big Brother Ye."
Ye Jingwen sighed with emotion. "In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed. You're also a big girl now … Tiange, have you been well all these years?"
For a moment, Mo Tiange didn't know how to answer this question.
If she said she was well, she'd actually suffered a lot. If she said she wasn't well, Second Uncle treated her like his own life, which made her feel really happy.
"I've … been doing okay."
Ye Jingwen could see her complicated expression, so he thought she'd had a hard time all these years. He sighed and said, "It's my fault for not explaining things clearly back then. After the two of you went missing, I didn't understand what happened. It wasn't until I heard about you two days ago that I finally knew there was such a reason …"
In fact, Mo Tiange felt very sorry for what happened back then. She always suspected he had bad intentions. Now that she heard he was confused for ten years, she couldn't help but feel apologetic. "I'm sorry, Big Brother Ye. My Second Uncle was just worried, so he caused you to fail your mission."
Ye Jingwen said, "You don't have to be like that. You left on your own accord, and Senior Martial Brother Zheng from Mount Dongmeng testified for me. I wasn't punished, and Martial Uncle Shoujing even gave me a lot of benefits. If it weren't for that, how could I have entered the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm so quickly?"
"Ah, then I have to congratulate Big Brother Ye."
Mo Tiange knew Ye Jingwen wasn't very old. Back then, he seemed to be about thirty years old, so presumably, he was only forty years old now, right?
He was already in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm at this age, so he could be considered very young.
Ye Jingwen smiled and shook his head. "I was just lucky; it wasn't my own ability.
On the contrary, you were only in the second layer of the Aura Refining realm back then, but you reached the peak stage of the Aura Refining realm ten years later. You're not any worse than the elite disciples of big cultivation groups! "
Mo Tiange just smiled. "I just ate a lot of medicinal pills."
What she said was the truth. If Second Uncle didn't make her eat medicinal pills, she would've been in the sixth or seventh layer of the Aura Refining realm at most. It would've been too early for her to build her foundation!
"Don't be so modest. If you'd been at Xuanqing School all these years, I definitely wouldn't have praised you."
Mo Tiange couldn't help but laugh. What he said was true. Others might not know her aptitude, but Ye Jingwen was very clear about it. With five spiritual roots and no big cultivation group to rely on, being able to cultivate to the Foundation Building realm in ten years was already very rare.
"Right, how did you meet Martial Uncle Shoujing?
This is too much of a coincidence. "
"En?"
Mo Tiange was puzzled. "I didn't meet Martial Uncle Shoujing. I just met Senior Martial Brother Qin Xi. My Second Uncle used a Sound-Transmitting Talisman to ask Martial Uncle Shoujing for help. Coincidentally, he was nearby, so I was ordered to come and help."
"Qin Xi?" Ye Jingwen was baffled.
This name … he'd never heard of it. Although there were many people in Clear Spring Peak, since this person could make Martial Uncle Shoujing entrust this kind of thing to him, he should at least be an advanced inner disciple like them.
"Yes, Big Brother Ye, do you know him?
Senior Martial Brother Qin is Martial Uncle Shoujing's blood-related junior, so he should be in the same generation as you. "
Blood-Related junior?
Although Ye Jingwen still didn't understand what was going on, his intuition told him that there must be something wrong.
In fact, he also didn't know what Martial Uncle Shoujing's real name was. Could it be …
With that thought in mind, Ye Jingwen asked again, "The Senior Martial Brother Qin you mentioned … Is he about the same height as me, doesn't like to talk, has few expressions, and only likes to cultivate every day?"
"En … I see. But it's not like Senior Martial Brother Qin doesn't like to talk. After we get to know each other, he often smiles."
"…"
"Big Brother Ye, what's wrong?" Mo Tiange felt a bit strange. Is Senior Martial Brother Qin not popular?
Why does everyone look like this when they know I know Senior Martial Brother Qin?
"It's nothing." Ye Jingwen wiped the sweat from his face and changed the topic. "Are you going to build your foundation now?"
Mo Tiange nodded. "Almost. After some time, I'll finish my preparations and enter Closed Door Meditation to build my foundation."
"En, being well-prepared is only good for building your foundation. There's no harm in doing so … If there's anything you need my help with, don't hesitate to tell me."
Seeing how serious he was, Mo Tiange smiled and said, "Thank you."