Mo Tiange gazed at the Flying Sky Shuttle in her hand. It resembled the shuttle used for weaving in the mortal world, only larger, thicker and rounder in the middle with pointed ends. She didn't know what material it was made from, but it shone with a golden light and was impervious to both heat and cold.
A rustling sound came from the forest, and a first-rank spirit beast appeared before her, completely unaware.
Mo Tiange smiled. This little creature had come at just the right time. With a flick of her wrist, the Flying Sky Shuttle transformed into a streak of golden light that shot skyward.
The small spirit beast, which looked somewhat like a squirrel, raised its head. Its pitch-black eyes fixed on the dazzling golden light, and it was astonished to discover that this golden streak suddenly split into hundreds of tiny golden needles, arranging themselves into a circular formation that completely surrounded it.
Only now did the little spirit beast seem to sense danger. It tucked in its head, flicked its tail, and turned to leap away.
But the countless golden needles had already sealed off all its escape routes. No matter how it jumped, it couldn't break free. The little creature grew anxious, bared its teeth, and clapped its paws together. A surge of scorching spiritual energy erupted, actually causing the golden needles to tremble.
Mo Tiange was momentarily startled. She pressed her hand down, and the golden needles scattered then reformed, pressing down densely and solidly. No matter how the little creature charged left and right, it couldn't escape. When it finally grew weary, Mo Tiange gave her hand a shake, and a rope firmly bound it.
Retrieving the Flying Sky Shuttle, she walked forward and picked up the little spirit beast. It bared its teeth at her, struggling angrily. Mo Tiange paid it no mind, rummaged through her Qiankun Bag, pulled out a Spirit Beast Bag, and stuffed it inside.
After finishing this, she summoned her flying sword and flew back to her cave abode on Qingquan Peak.
She had originally just gone out to test the Flying Sky Shuttle's power, but had unexpectedly caught an interesting little creature. This little thing clearly knew extremely advanced fire-attribute spells. Though not particularly powerful, the fire was definitely not ordinary.
Landing outside her cave abode, she happened to see Luo Fengxue returning. She called out, "Senior Sister Luo!"
Luo Fengxue saw her, wiped her face, and walked over. "Tian Ge, you went out?"
Mo Tiange nodded, opened her cave abode, and invited Luo Fengxue inside. Luo Fengxue looked utterly exhausted. Entering the cave, she plopped down on a stone chair and didn't move.
Mo Tiange carefully observed her expression and asked, "Senior Sister Luo, what's wrong?"
Luo Fengxue forced herself to perk up and sighed. "Been busy for over ten days straight, no rest."
Mo Tiange was surprised. She knew Luo Fengxue wasn't the type for arduous cultivation; she was more enthusiastic about administrative duties. Since reaching Foundation Establishment, she had been promoted to a deacon in the Deacon Hall. But Mo Tiange also knew that deacons didn't need to be busy every day. Minor tasks were handled by deacon disciples; usually, they just needed to oversee the hall. What could have kept her so busy?
"Senior Sister Luo, has something major happened in the sect?"
Rubbing her temples, Luo Fengxue said listlessly, "Do you remember last month when Senior Sister Han took several senior brothers and sisters out?"
Mo Tiange nodded. That had happened right after she achieved Foundation Establishment and went to see Martial Uncle Xuanyin. At the time, Martial Uncle Xuanyin had Senior Sister Han Qingyu take three senior brothers and sisters out, seemingly to gather information. Mo Tiange hadn't inquired further about it. Afterwards, she had been busy refining her new magical tools and hadn't heard any news.
"A few months ago, there seemed to be some unusual activity in the southern forest. Senior Sister Han and the others went to investigate. But... they went and never came back."
"What?" Mo Tiange exclaimed in shock.
Luo Fengxue nodded. "It's not just Senior Sister Han and the others who are missing. This time, other senior uncles and aunts from various peaks also sent out fellow disciples. Seventeen people in total, vanished without a trace."
Even though Mo Tiange didn't involve herself in sect affairs, she understood how serious this was. Seventeen Foundation Establishment cultivators, all elite disciples. If all of them were lost, even for a major sect like the Xuanqing Sect, it would be a significant blow. Although the sect had over five hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, these were the elite among elites, the ones most likely to form their Golden Cores.
"For the past ten-plus days, we've been contacting other sects. We discovered that the other six major sects have experienced similar incidents. That's when everyone realized this matter isn't simple." As she spoke, Luo Fengxue rubbed her reddened eyes and said to Mo Tiange, "Tian Ge, don't you worry either. This matter will be handled by the sect elders; it won't affect us. Alright, I need to go rest now. No more talking."
"Mm, Senior Sister, get some good rest."
Luo Fengxue waved a hand, rubbing her eyes as she returned to her own cave abode.
Mo Tiange didn't dwell on it. As Luo Fengxue said, such matters didn't require Foundation Establishment disciples to worry about; the elders would handle them.
She opened the Spirit Beast Bag and released the little spirit beast. As soon as it emerged, the little thing blinked its pitch-black eyes at her, seemingly pleading.
Mo Tiange gave a tug, removing the rope binding it. The little creature, now free, immediately twisted around and dashed toward the cave entrance. Mo Tiange raised her hand, and the Flying Sky Shuttle shot out again, a curtain of golden needles surrounding it completely.
"Wuu wuu..." Knowing the Flying Sky Shuttle's power, the little creature immediately turned back to beg for mercy.
Mo Tiange retrieved the Flying Sky Shuttle and said, "If you don't run, I won't tie you up."
The little beast seemed to understand her words. It sat with its hind legs together, placing its front paws together in a pleading gesture.
Mo Tiange couldn't help but find it amusing. She opened her hand and recalled the Flying Sky Shuttle.
The little creature looked longingly at the stone door but finally slunk back. Spirit beasts were sensitive to danger, and this little thing naturally could sense that Mo Tiange's strength far surpassed its own. Since it couldn't escape, it had no choice but to submit.
Seeing the little creature behaving, Mo Tiange beckoned it over. It had glossy brown fur, pitch-black eyes, and an enormous tail, somewhat resembling a squirrel. However, Mo Tiange recognized it as a small spirit beast called a Fierce Fire Beast. This type of spirit beast generally couldn't cultivate to very high ranks, but it was born with fire techniques. Its fire wasn't ordinary fire but the Fierce Sun True Fire—a type of innate true fire even purer than the Dantian True Fire of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It was excellent for alchemy and artifact refinement.
Picking up the little creature, Mo Tiange stroked its fur and said, "If you behave, I'll help you cultivate. If one day I form my Golden Core, I'll set you free."
The little thing's eyes lit up as it looked at her.
"It seems you agree." Mo Tiange smiled, placed it on the ground, fished out a few Qi-Nourishing Pills she no longer needed, and poured them out for it. "I should give you a name... Since you're a Fierce Fire Beast, I'll call you Little Fire."
The little creature swallowed the Qi-Nourishing Pills in one gulp, raised its head, and let out two "wuu wuu" cries, as if protesting her utterly unoriginal name.
Mo Tiange chuckled, completely unmoved. "I didn't ask if you agreed or not. Anyway, your name is Little Fire now—come here. From now on, you'll live here. You can play in the small valley out back, but no mischief. If you misbehave, I'll put you back in the Spirit Beast Bag."
The little thing cried out "wuu wuu" twice more. Mo Tiange patted it, poured out a few more Qi-Nourishing Pills, placed it in the spirit beast chamber, and returned to the cultivation chamber to meditate.
Only after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage did she realize just how poor her spiritual root was. During the Qi Condensation stage, with the help of a Spirit Gathering Array and pills, her cultivation progress wasn't slower than that of elite disciples. But upon reaching Foundation Establishment, even taking pills didn't produce results as obvious as during Qi Condensation. Over the past month or so, her cultivation hadn't followed the proper method, and her spiritual energy growth was minuscule, forcing her to pause. If she continued cultivating at this speed, even if she used up all her remaining three hundred years of lifespan, she probably still wouldn't be able to form her Golden Core. That's why, upon seeing this Fierce Fire Beast, she had this idea.
Originally, she had practiced alchemy only for the Foundation-Solidifying Pill. Now that the Foundation-Solidifying Pill recipe had been handed over to Patriarch Jinghe, Uncle-Master Shoujing periodically sent her a bottle of Foundation-Solidifying Pills. So she had originally planned to set aside alchemy. But now, discovering her aptitude was this poor, she had no choice but to pick up alchemy again.
Sighing, Mo Tiange closed her eyes and began cultivating. She had already tested the Flying Sky Shuttle's power. Martial Uncle Xuanyin had said this item could transform and contain an illusion array, and indeed it was so. This tool could attack and defend, truly a first-rate magical tool. As for the Spirit Refining Art, Martial Uncle Xuanyin had repeatedly warned her to cultivate it slowly and not rush.
Although cultivating the Spirit Refining Art carried considerable risk, it was genuinely powerful. The Spirit Refining Art was a technique specifically for cultivating the Primordial Spirit. It could directly launch attacks against the Primordial Spirit, and the Primordial Spirit was always a cultivator's most vulnerable part. If mastered, this technique would be exceptionally formidable.
The Primordial Spirit was essentially what mortals called the soul. Humans were born with a soul, but cultivators refined both body and soul, eventually forming the Primordial Spirit. Divine Sense was derived from the Primordial Spirit. Under normal circumstances, the Primordial Spirit was deeply hidden within the Dantian's sea of consciousness, and Divine Sense couldn't be used for attacks; instead, it was easily injured. Ordinary techniques also strengthened Divine Sense, but only made it more sensitive and increased its range. This Spirit Refining Art, however, cultivated the Primordial Spirit to give Divine Sense offensive power!
Mo Tiange didn't dare claim there were no other techniques for cultivating the Primordial Spirit, but certainly very few people practiced them. The reason was simple: exactly what Martial Uncle Xuanyin had said—it was easy to suffer Qi Deviation.
Every cultivator knew how fragile the Primordial Spirit was. Cultivating the Primordial Spirit, if one didn't grasp the balance (balance) properly, could easily injure the Primordial Spirit and cause severe backlash. For Nascent Soul cultivators, it was different. Nascent Soul cultivators had already merged their Primordial Spirit with their Golden Core to form the Nascent Soul, so it wasn't as fragile. But for cultivators below the Golden Core stage, if the Primordial Spirit was injured, their cultivation would regress significantly. That's why Martial Uncle Xuanyin hadn't given her this technique from the start and kept warning her not to be greedy for progress.
However, others were others. She had some advantages over others in cultivating this Spirit Refining Art: her Pure Yin constitution and her originally extremely poor aptitude.
Pure Yin constitution, where Yin and Yang didn't conflict; Hunyuan spiritual root, usingEquilibrium (equilibrium) to controlEquilibrium (balance). So-called Qi Deviation occurred when cultivation techniques went awry, disrupting the body's internal balance. With her Pure Yin constitution, she wouldn't experience Yin-Yang imbalance. Moreover, with her Hunyuan spiritual root, her body already had a small internal cycle (cycle). Therefore, for her to cultivate this technique could be said to be exceptionally favored (exceptionally favored by nature). As long as she wasn't greedy, was cautious and careful, the possibility of Qi Deviation was very small.
However, this technique was truly difficult to cultivate. Cultivating the Primordial Spirit naturally started with the Primordial Spirit itself, and the Primordial Spirit was extremely fragile. It could only be strengthened slowly. She had been cultivating for over a month now and still hadn't made any progress.
With no advancement in cultivation and no headway with the technique, Mo Tiange realized that after entering the Foundation Establishment stage, her prospects weren't looking very bright.