After reuniting with Ye Jingwen, Mo Tiange often received gifts from him. Sometimes they were ancient texts from his collection, sometimes his own insights and experiences—all helpful to her.
Upon careful reflection, back when Ye Jingwen had been on good terms with her Second Uncle and had grown closer to her, it might not have been without the intention of currying favor with Uncle-Master Shoujing. But truthfully, Ye Jingwen had never wronged them. Now that he knew she had suffered many hardships over the years and was constantly looking out for her, Mo Tiange felt only gratitude towards him.
Under the guidance of Martial Uncle Xuanyin, Mo Tiange's cultivation progressed smoothly. Over several months, the spiritual qi within her body had completely transformed into Yin-type spiritual qi, and her alchemy also advanced steadily. Although she wasted many materials, she ultimately managed to refine the Foundation-Solidifying Pill before her supplies ran out.
Once she had adjusted her mindset, she reported to Martial Uncle Xuanyin that she was ready to go into seclusion to attempt Foundation Establishment.
In the main hall of Perfected Person Xuanyin's cave abode, Mo Tiange and Luo Fengxue stood together in the center. Above them, Perfected Person Xuanyin sat cross-legged, with his many disciples standing on either side. Some smiled at them, while others remained expressionless.
After a long while, Perfected Person Xuanyin opened his eyes and looked at the two of them.
Mo Tiange's expression was calm, but Luo Fengxue seemed somewhat agitated.
Today was the day they would both enter seclusion for Foundation Establishment. By coincidence, Luo Fengxue had long since decided to attempt Foundation Establishment recently, so they had chosen the same day.
Perfected Person Xuanyin observed them for a moment before speaking slowly, "Both of you have achieved success in your cultivation. Today, as you enter seclusion to attempt Foundation Establishment and take a new step forward, this master is deeply gratified."
Upon hearing this, Luo Fengxue knelt and said, "It is all thanks to Master's teachings."
Seeing this, Mo Tiange also knelt. Although she was not Martial Uncle Xuanyin's direct disciple, he had been instructing her for these past months, so it was appropriate to treat him with the courtesy due a master.
Perfected Person Xuanyin smiled and continued, "After you enter seclusion, this master will continuously monitor you with his divine sense. If anything goes wrong, I will order you to stop. Therefore, you need only focus on attempting Foundation Establishment without any doubts or worries."
Mo Tiange and Luo Fengxue said in unison, "Thank you, Martial Uncle (Master)."
Perfected Person Xuanyin nodded, gestured for them to rise, then took two jade bottles from his robe and instructed the senior sister Han Qingyu, who was standing nearby, to hand them over. "These are Calming Pills bestowed by your Patriarch. They will help you both consolidate your spiritual qi. After you take the Foundation Establishment Pill, take this pill as well."
"Yes."
"Very well, you may go." Having said this, Perfected Person Xuanyin closed his eyes.
Mo Tiange and Luo Fengxue performed a solemn Daoist salute before slowly withdrawing from his cave abode.
"Tian Ge," Luo Fengxue asked anxiously on their way back, "are you confident?"
Mo Tiange, however, was calm and gently shook her head. "I'm not sure in my heart."
Hearing her words, Luo Fengxue seemed to relax slightly and confessed softly, "To be honest with you, I'm terrified. I have an older brother who was exceptionally talented since childhood. Everyone thought he would have no problem achieving Foundation Establishment, but in the end, he failed twice. He eventually became entangled by inner demons and... took his own life..."
Mo Tiange's heart stirred. She knew that those accepted as disciples by Core Formation cultivators absolutely possessed at least dual spirit root aptitude. Since Luo Fengxue mentioned exceptional talent, her brother's aptitude must have been even better than a dual spirit root—yet such a person had also fallen at the Foundation Establishment hurdle.
Sure enough, Luo Fengxue continued, "Although I also have a dual spirit root, I've never been able to compare to this brother since childhood. Actually, I could have attempted Foundation Establishment three years ago, but my mindset was unstable, so Master told me to wait a few more years. This time, going into seclusion, I'm truly afraid."
Mo Tiange comforted her, "Senior Sister Luo, don't worry. Foundation Establishment is not something achieved overnight. Even with the highest talent, one cannot be certain of succeeding on the first attempt. What does it matter if we fail once or twice? We are still young. If we don't succeed in one or two attempts, we'll try three or four, five or six times—we will succeed eventually."
Hearing her words, Luo Fengxue calmed down a little and forced a smile. "You're right. I'm only twenty-two now. The sect distributes Foundation Establishment Pills every three years. Even if it takes me ten attempts to succeed, I'll only be in my fifties."
"Exactly," Mo Tiange smiled. "Even among elite disciples, many don't achieve Foundation Establishment until they're forty or fifty, right? Don't be like your brother. With his good aptitude, he definitely could have succeeded if he had persevered, but he was defeated by inner demons."
As they spoke, the two had already arrived outside their cave abodes. Luo Fengxue took a deep breath and extended her hand to Mo Tiange.
Mo Tiange understood. She also reached out and clasped Luo Fengxue's hand. The two encouraged each other: "See you in six months."
Returning to her cave abode, Mo Tiange first bathed and changed her clothes, then lit incense. Only when her emotions were completely calm did she sit down cross-legged.
The spiritual qi within her body slowly circulated along her meridians until it reached her dantian.
She emptied her mind completely, no longer controlling her thoughts. Gradually, she seemed to hear the sound of the wind blowing outside her cave abode. Her divine sense slowly dispersed into the wind, as if her entire being was rising and falling with it. The fragrance of flowers and grass, the fresh scent of soil... all came to her face one by one. In the end, she could hear nothing and feel nothing, leaving only the vast expanse of heaven and earth.
At this moment, Mo Tiange first took the Calming Pill, then successively took the Foundation Establishment Pill, the Foundation-Solidifying Pill, and the Foundation-Forging Pill.
As the Foundation Establishment Pill entered her abdomen, it seemed as if a great fire ignited with a roar within her dantian. A powerful surge of spiritual qi exploded in her dantian and rushed into her meridians.
This spiritual qi was simply too domineering. For a moment, Mo Tiange didn't know what to do when she heard Martial Uncle Xuanyin's stern voice in her mind: "Calm down! Do not resist it. Guide it slowly!"
This shout immediately steadied Mo Tiange. She immediately followed Martial Uncle Xuanyin's instructions, using her own spiritual qi to slowly guide this domineering force. At first, this spiritual qi wouldn't listen to her at all. She struggled to control just a strand or two, only to have it break free again quickly. She didn't lose heart. Finally, she controlled a little, then slowly increased her control.
She didn't know how much time had passed before she finally completely controlled this spiritual qi and guided it to impact her own meridians. This impact, however, was excruciatingly painful.
Her meridians were forcibly widened, seeming to break inch by inch, yet instantly repaired. But the next moment, as the spiritual qi surged through, they were instantly torn apart again. Amidst this unceasing, agonizing cycle of breaking and repairing, her meridians gradually became wider and more resilient.
The impurities within her body were also pushed out one by one by this powerful force until they were expelled.
Meanwhile, her dantian teetered precariously, struggling to absorb this massive amount of spiritual qi, yet stabilized by other forces and holding on.
Mo Tiange didn't know that it wasn't just Perfected Person Xuanyin monitoring this place with his divine sense.
Dao Lord Jinghe sat on his dragon couch, muttering to himself, "This little girl isn't being honest. The spiritual qi explosion from the Foundation Establishment Pill—she withstood it so easily. She must have taken other spiritual medicines."
Qin Xi, sitting beside him, glanced over but said nothing.
Mo Tiange gritted her teeth and endured the pain. She had already grown accustomed to the medicinal power of the Foundation Establishment Pill, yet her dantian still couldn't absorb it.
She knew this was related to her aptitude. Martial Uncle Xuanyin had mentioned to her that the better one's aptitude, the faster the dantian could absorb spiritual qi. Therefore, whether she could succeed in Foundation Establishment depended on whether her dantian could adapt to this impact force and absorb it for her own use.
One month passed. Mo Tiange was still resisting this intense pain.
Two months passed. The impact force slowly weakened, and her dantian stabilized.
Three months passed. The medicinal power of the Foundation Establishment Pill within Mo Tiange's body had gradually dissipated.
Qin Jinghe sighed softly. "What a pity. A heaven-defying talent from the Ancient Era, yet in today's world, she can't even pass the Foundation Establishment hurdle."
Qin Xi still didn't speak, but the expression on his face could hardly be called pleasant.
They both knew that Mo Tiange's Foundation Establishment attempt this time had failed.
She had withstood the pressure on her meridians but hadn't fully absorbed the medicinal power of the Foundation Establishment Pill. Without her dantian expanding, it couldn't withstand the spiritual qi of the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Boy, what are you thinking?"
Qin Xi sat still for a while before answering, "If she had cultivation methods from the Ancient Era, could she easily achieve Foundation Establishment, or even Core Formation and Nascent Soul formation?"
Qin Jinghe was taken aback. "That's true in theory, but it's not certain. The environment of the Ancient Era was vastly different from today's. The cultivation methods of the past might not adapt to today's spiritual vein environment."
Six months passed. Mo Tiange opened her eyes.
The spiritual qi within her body had completely settled. Her cultivation hadn't advanced to the next level.
She knew her Foundation Establishment had failed, but she only sighed softly. She didn't feel disappointed—or rather, she had long been prepared for failure. With a five spirit root aptitude, even with several miraculous pills and medicines, succeeding in Foundation Establishment on the first attempt was very difficult. Luo Fengxue's brother, whose aptitude was who knows how many times better than hers, had still failed repeatedly at Foundation Establishment.
Mo Tiange quickly rallied herself. Smelling the sour, foul odor lingering around her, she frowned, got up, and entered the alchemy chamber. She took off her clothes and immersed her entire body in the spring water.
This was a more thorough marrow cleansing than when spiritual qi first entered the body. Although Foundation Establishment hadn't succeeded, the spiritual qi within her body had become more refined, and not a trace of impurity remained. When she attempted Foundation Establishment again in the future, she wouldn't have to go through the Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing stage again.
The spring water washed away the filth, and spiritual qi cleansed her body, removing all dust and grime. Her skin felt like water, so delicate it seemed it could be broken by a touch.
Even though she wasn't particularly vain, Mo Tiange felt pleased. This Foundation Establishment Pill hadn't been entirely without gain.
Feeling refreshed, she put her clothes back on, arranged her hair, and stepped out of her cave abode.
Outside, Ye Jingwen and Luo Fengxue were talking about something. Seeing her come out, they immediately turned their gazes towards her.
She smiled and called out, "Senior Sister Luo, Brother Ye."
After looking her over, the two showed disappointment. Luo Fengxue grabbed her hand, seeming to want to comfort her, but hesitated and said nothing.
Mo Tiange just patted her hand and smiled. Luo Fengxue had succeeded in Foundation Establishment—at least that was good news.
Seeing her relaxed expression, Ye Jingwen also smiled. "Don't worry. There will be other opportunities in the future."
Mo Tiange nodded. "Yes, thank you, Brother Ye. I will persevere." She turned to Luo Fengxue with a smile. "Senior Sister Luo, congratulations."
Her reaction made Luo Fengxue sigh in relief, but she still wore a complicated expression, not looking happy. She felt that being glad about her own successful Foundation Establishment in front of Mo Tiange, who had failed, might be hurtful.
Mo Tiange actually didn't mind and asked, "Senior Sister Luo, is Martial Uncle Xuanyin in his cave abode?"
"He is," Luo Fengxue replied. "Master is waiting for you. Should we go pay our respects to Master first?"
"Alright."
Luo Fengxue led the way, and the three soon arrived at Perfected Person Xuanyin's cave abode.
"Disciple pays respects to Martial Uncle Xuanyin. This disciple failed to achieve Foundation Establishment and has disappointed Martial Uncle."
Perfected Person Xuanyin opened his eyes, looked her over, and smiled. "Rise. Failure is not terrifying. What is terrifying is losing confidence. As long as you persevere, it is enough."
"Yes. Please rest assured, Martial Uncle. This disciple will not become disheartened."
"Good. Prepare yourself. Your Patriarch wishes to see you."