"Senior Uncle is quite fortunate indeed." The youth called Xiaoguzi chattered on without pause. "That great battle two years ago nearly wiped out the Danding Sect. Only a portion of their disciples escaped, left with no home to return to. It was truly pitiful. So now Tianhuo Mountain is mostly occupied by disciples from our other sects..."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange quickly interrupted, "What about the Danding Sect now?"
Xiaoguzi, cut off mid-sentence, paused before continuing, "...Oh, the Danding Sect. Speaking of that great battle back then, it was truly brutal. Later, several eighth-rank demonic beasts launched a surprise attack, and the Danding Sect couldn't hold out. There were even Nascent Soul cultivators who perished! In the end, the two remaining Nascent Soul Ancestors of the Danding Sect fled Tianhuo Mountain with their elite disciples, even activating a secret sect technique to preserve their lineage. Currently, the Danding Sect cultivators have settled on the nearby Xiling Mountain. I heard their Nascent Soul Ancestors were furious, accusing the other allied sects of not lending a hand. But, well, with the Danding Sect fallen to such a state, they can only rely on the other six major sects and don't dare to truly turn hostile."
Xiaoguzi wore a smug expression, as if he personally had brought the Danding Sect to this state, which Mo Tiange found somewhat amusing. However, the six major sects probably shared his attitude. With the Danding Sect in such a condition, they had both suppressed its power and preserved its lineage. In the future, the Danding Sect would have to rely on them to rise again, naturally having to heed them to some extent. Perhaps they would even directly turn the Danding Sect into a sect that refines pills for them, which would be ideal.
Of course, the Danding Sect wasn't so easy to deal with either. No matter what, with two Nascent Soul cultivators remaining, their foundation still existed, and they still had a chance to rise again.
Xiaoguzi, now enthused, continued speaking volubly regardless of whether Mo Tiange asked or not: "...I say, Senior Uncle, you're also very impressive. In that great battle back then, I heard you were chased by a fifth-rank two-headed eagle, yet you emerged completely unscathed?"
Mo Tiange was somewhat surprised. "How did you know that?"
Xiaoguzi widened his eyes. "Senior Uncle, you don't know? Many people in our Xuanqing Sect know about your deeds!"
Mo Tiange was taken aback. What was going on?
"During the Danding Sect battle, two fifth-rank demonic beasts suddenly appeared among the Foundation Establishment cultivators. One of them was lured away by you, Senior Uncle. After the battle, many people said that our Xuanqing Sect disciples were truly formidable—a mere mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could actually face a fifth-rank demonic beast alone..." Xiaoguzi's face was full of admiration, but then he sighed regretfully, "It's a pity that Perfected One Xuanyin arrived later and exterminated those two fifth-rank demonic beasts but couldn't find any trace of you, Senior Uncle. Many people thought you had perished. For this, the Sect Master even praised the disciples of Qingquan Peak back then!"
"Is that so?" So, it seemed she had become famous from that single battle?
Xiaoguzi nodded with a grin. "Of course! As soon as Senior Brother Kuang Zhu reported your name when you entered earlier, I recognized you. I never expected Senior Uncle to be completely unharmed. This is excellent. When you return, you'll definitely receive commendations from the sect!"
Mo Tiange smiled slightly. She didn't particularly care about commendations. As long as the sect was satisfied with her, that was enough.
"By the way," Xiaoguzi said, "Senior Uncle, since you've arrived here, you'll be under the jurisdiction of our Front Ridge outpost. If you have any miscellaneous tasks to handle, just come find me or Xiaozui." As he spoke, he pointed to a young girl busy following behind Xiaobai. Indeed, she bore some resemblance to him.
"Then I thank you." Mo Tiange actually had one matter she didn't know how to handle. "By the way, what should I do here, and where should I live?"
Xiaoguzi replied, "The cultivators at our outpost need to go out to kill demonic beasts at least once a month. The rest of the time, they stay at the outpost." Then he called out loudly, "Xiaozui!"
The young girl following Xiaobai heard the voice and hurried over. "Brother, what is it?"
Xiaoguzi pointed at Mo Tiange. "This is a newly arrived Senior Uncle. Find a place for her to stay."
"Oh." Xiaozui bowed to Mo Tiange, thought for a moment, and explained, "Senior Uncle, we don't have many female cultivators at our outpost, and not many rooms either. If you don't mind, would you like to share a room with me?"
Mo Tiange only needed a residence on the surface; she would still enter the Void Heaven Realm later. Of course, she didn't want to share with others, so she said, "If it's inconvenient to arrange, could I simply find a place nearby?"
"This..." Xiaozui hesitated, glanced at her brother, then said straightforwardly, "If Senior Uncle doesn't mind, we naturally have no objections. However, we hope the place Senior Uncle finds is within the outpost, lest there be danger and we can't reach you in time..."
Mo Tiange smiled. "Naturally."
Before Xiaozui could say more, the youth called Xiaobai gestured towards them.
Seeing this, Xiaoguzi said, "Then, Xiaozui, you go busy yourself. I'll accompany Senior Uncle to look around."
Hearing him say this, Mo Tiange didn't refuse. Xiaozui hastily bowed and took her leave.
After Xiaozui left, Xiaoguzi led Mo Tiange towards the back mountain. When they reached a secluded spot, Xiaoguzi spoke again: "Although this is an outpost, the Kunwu Alliance is ultimately a mix of several sects. With the demon beast war reaching this point, complete harmony between the sects is impossible. Since Senior Uncle is from our Xuanqing Sect, there are a few places we should avoid."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange smiled. She didn't intend to delve deeply into whether the alliance was harmonious or not, and simply asked, "By the way, does Senior Brother Kuang Zhu not handle affairs?"
Xiaoguzi smiled wryly. "Senior Uncle may not know. Senior Brother Kuang Zhu mainly cultivates pill refinement and healing arts. He doesn't like to get involved in these matters. Miscellaneous tasks are handled by me and my younger sister Xiaozui. He and Senior Brother Bai only focus on treating the wounded."
"Oh?" This was truly a strange arrangement. The Senior Brother Bai he mentioned seemed to be that early-stage Foundation Establishment youth—the one Senior Brother Kuang Zhu called Xiaobai. How come two Foundation Establishment cultivators only handled healing, while Qi Refining disciples managed scheduling and coordination?
Having been cut off from worldly affairs for two years, Mo Tiange felt some curiosity towards this seemingly all-knowing junior disciple and casually asked, "You call him Senior Brother. Which Uncle-Master's disciple is he?"
Hearing this, an embarrassed look surfaced on Xiaoguzi's face. He scratched his head and said, "Senior Uncle overestimates me. Xiaozui and I are just ordinary disciples, not accepted under any Core Formation Ancestor. Because Senior Brother Bai is our sworn brother, we follow him in calling Senior Brother Kuang Zhu."
"Sworn brothers..." Indeed a strange relationship. She couldn't help but murmur, "The cultivation world actually has sworn brothers?"
Hearing Mo Tiange's murmur, Xiaoguzi's always cheerful face turned serious. He said solemnly, "Senior Brother Bai has shown great kindness to me and my younger sister. In my heart, he is not just a sworn brother, but the most important person to me, Zhan Xiaogu."
Seeing Mo Tiange's surprised look, Xiaoguzi became embarrassed again and chuckled. "Actually, this isn't any secret within our Lingyin Peak. If Senior Uncle doesn't find it boring, I can tell you."
Thus, as Xiaoguzi accompanied Mo Tiange walking through the outpost, introducing the designated areas of the major alliances within, he also spoke of the origin of his and Senior Brother Bai's sworn brotherhood.
Xiaoguzi's full name was Zhan Xiaogu. Xiaozui was his twin sister, Zhan Xiaozui.
Senior Brother Kuang Zhu and Zhan Bai were both descendants of mortal families, their families having been friends for generations. Senior Brother Kuang Zhu had always looked after Zhan Bai, which was why the usually indifferent and aloof Senior Brother Kuang Zhu also affectionately called Zhan Bai 'Xiaobai.'
As for the two of them, Senior Brother Kuang Zhu and Zhan Bai had encountered them shortly after joining the sect, during a trip back to the mortal world to visit relatives. At the time, the two were gravely ill, lying in a dilapidated temple on the verge of death. When Senior Brother Bai examined them, he discovered they possessed spiritual roots, so he simply picked them up and brought them back to the sect. If not for Senior Brother Kuang Zhu's miraculous healing skills, the two of them probably wouldn't have survived. And the fact that they could grow up like this was also because Senior Brother Bai spared no effort, sacrificing his own cultivation time to raise them bit by bit.
Hearing they were orphans, Mo Tiange sighed with sympathy.
Unexpectedly, Xiaoguzi straightened his back and retorted, "Who says I'm an orphan? Senior Brother Kuang Zhu, Senior Brother Bai, my younger sister, and I are a very happy family."
This made Mo Tiange chuckle, and she couldn't resist teasing, "Since I originally thought you were an orphan, I intended to give you some more good things. But since it's like this, it seems I was being superfluous."
Sure enough, Xiaoguzi showed a pained, regretful expression. After struggling internally for a moment, he still said, "Compared to some good things, my family is more important. I, Xiaoguzi, am not an orphan."
Hearing this, memories of Tianqiao and Second Uncle's past voices and faces flashed through Mo Tiange's heart one by one.
Seeing her expression darken, Xiaoguzi, skilled at reading expressions, knew this Senior Uncle must have recalled someone. He changed the subject: "We've walked around for quite a while. Does Senior Uncle have a place that catches your fancy?"
As he asked this, the two happened to be standing before a relatively quiet stone hut. Though somewhat dilapidated, it was still reasonably complete.
Mo Tiange also didn't feel like continuing to look around and said casually, "Then here it is."
Xiaoguzi took out a white jade plaque marked with the Xuanqing Sect emblem from his Qiankun Bag and hung it on the stone hut's door. Seeming somewhat awkward about having made his Senior Uncle melancholic, he hesitated before taking his leave.
Mo Tiange saw he hadn't left after saying his farewells and glanced at him.
The usually eloquent Xiaoguzi actually stammered a bit before saying, "If Senior Uncle feels bored alone, you can come to my place to visit."
Without waiting for Mo Tiange's response, he dashed off in a flash.
Mo Tiange curved the corners of her mouth into a smile. Looking at the dusty, dilapidated hut, she also felt somewhat listless. She casually cleaned the hut, set up a defensive formation, and entered the Void Heaven Realm.
As soon as she entered the small house within the Void Heaven Realm, the Little Fire Beast wobbled over, nestling close to her and chirping and whining.
Mo Tiange patted its head and noticed the Little Fire Beast seemed to want to burrow into her spirit beast pouch, nudging against her waist.
Mo Tiange was taken aback. "You want to go out?"
The Little Fire Beast looked up and whined twice, its gaze pitiful.
Mo Tiange remained silent for a good while, stroking its head and sighing, "So even you feel lonely..."
This Little Fire Beast had been placed in the Void Heaven Realm for over two years. Inside, there were only small things like butterflies and flying insects, no spirit beasts. It was normal for it to feel lonely. And wasn't she herself the same?
Wasn't the reason she was now participating in the demon beast rebellion because she herself felt lonely? This loneliness had nothing to do with her Dao Heart. All living beings needed a trace of the aura of similar beings to feel the interest of being alive.
However, the Little Fire Beast's reaction gave her another idea.
"It's very dangerous outside. I can't take you out now. But I can bring some companions in to keep you company. How about that?"
The Little Fire Beast lifted its head, its dark, glistening eyes watching her, and chirped happily twice.
Mo Tiange smiled, stroked its head, and entered cultivation once more.
Unexpectedly, Xiaoguzi's words from the daytime kept echoing in her mind, making her somewhat distracted. Of course, having walked the path all the way to mid-stage Foundation Establishment, after just a few breaths, the fluctuations in Mo Tiange's heart had already settled.
At daybreak, Mo Tiange sensed a communication talisman flying in from outside, so she stopped cultivating and emerged from the Void Heaven Realm.
It was a communication talisman from Xiaoguzi, stating that her name had been recorded in the roster of participating cultivators at Front Ridge and would be reported to the sect at an appropriate time. It also contained some information about the current state of the war.
After reading it, Mo Tiange sent a simple reply, gathered her things, and left the hut.
Xiaoguzi had said that the most intense fighting currently was in the Tiandao Sect region. With the Danding Sect breached and relocated, Tianhuo Mountain had become a forgotten place. Not many demon beasts or cultivators remained here.
Mo Tiange had an idea. Since that was the case, wouldn't it be quite safe for her to capture some first-rank small demonic beasts here?
Deciding to act on it, she notified Xiaoguzi, then summoned her White Silk Handkerchief and flew towards the forest.
Due to the fighting, the forest had diminished considerably. The demon beasts that usually inhabited this place had either been killed or migrated elsewhere. After using her Divine Sense to observe for a long time, she found no traces of demonic beasts.
Mo Tiange simply stopped mid-air, focusing on probing with her Divine Sense.
The coverage range of a Foundation Establishment cultivator's Divine Sense was approximately several to several tens of li. However, because she cultivated the Divine Sense Refinement Technique, Mo Tiange's Divine Sense was much stronger, nearly reaching a hundred li. Now, as she focused on probing, gradually expanding her Divine Sense, she faintly sensed spiritual qi fluctuations in the northeast direction.
But the location of the spiritual qi fluctuations was already at the edge of what her Divine Sense could detect, so she couldn't distinguish whether it was demonic beasts or cultivators. A distance of a hundred li was merely a moment's travel for Mo Tiange at her mid-stage Foundation Establishment level. Since she sensed nothing else, Mo Tiange manipulated the White Silk Handkerchief to fly northeast, deciding to investigate.
When she was within several tens of li of the spiritual qi fluctuations, Mo Tiange, out of caution, released her Divine Sense to probe again. To her surprise, the probe revealed that the spiritual qi fluctuations had nothing to do with demonic beasts; it was actually people fighting there.
The spiritual auras of several individuals radiated undisguised killing intent, while the spiritual qi fluctuations of the person being surrounded felt familiar.
Mo Tiange's heart jolted. She urged the White Silk Handkerchief to accelerate towards the source of the fluctuations. Mentally eliminating her senior sisters one by one, and among the people she was familiar with—Mo Tiange suddenly thought of one person: Ye Jingwen!
Yesterday, Xiaoguzi had said, 'Uncle-Master Ye is at our place recently. Senior Uncle will be able to see him soon.'
It seemed Xiaoguzi's statement about the Kunwu Alliance's internal disharmony was a very euphemistic way of putting it.
And after so long without seeing Senior Brother Ye, were they really going to meet under such circumstances?
Who knew if it was fortune or misfortune...