The white silk handkerchief rose, and a streak of escape light flashed by. This method of soaring through the air left the low-level cultivators of the Ye Family full of envy. Other cultivators in Tong'an City, sensing the pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, all changed expressions. Only when the pressure had faded far away did they dare to look around.
After flying some distance away from Tong'an City on the white silk handkerchief, Mo Tiange retracted all her pressure. The reason she had deliberately displayed her Foundation Establishment cultivator pressure in Tong'an City was to intimidate others, letting them know the Ye Family had connections with a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so they wouldn't be bullied.
This was the mortal world. Most Loose Cultivators here had little hope for the Great Dao, and their cultivation levels were between the first and third layers of Qi Refining. A single Foundation Establishment cultivator was enough to intimidate them.
The escape light of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was already quite fast, and the white silk handkerchief was an exceptional flying magical tool. In less than half a day, she had left the Wei Kingdom.
While at the Ye Family, Ye Cheng had given her some information the family had gathered in the mortal world over the past few decades. However, most of Tianji's Spirit Veins were concentrated in Kunwu. Even if there were Spirit Veins in the mortal world, they were extremely weak, not even interesting to minor sects, and naturally offered little opportunity. Therefore, Mo Tiange had no intention of exploring any secret locations provided by the Ye Family. She only planned to gather some spiritual herbs or search for spiritual materials in some special places.
To the southeast of Wei Kingdom was Jin Kingdom. Mo Tiange also planned to make a trip back to the Mo Village in Liancheng, pay respects to her mother, and retrieve her mother's remains, with the hope of burying them together with her father someday.
Back then, when her father had fallen at the Demonic Mountain, Qin Shoujing had brought back word that he had buried his remains there in the mountain. She had already made up her mind: if she could form her Core in the future, when the restrictions on the Demonic Mountain weakened again, she would go there to retrieve her father's remains and bury them with her mother, fulfilling her mother's lifelong vigil.
Incidentally, she also needed to inform them of Tianqiao's death.
In her childhood, that home had felt cold and lifeless. If not for Tianqiao, she wouldn't have wanted to stay a day longer. Now she was no longer the orphan girl who had lost her parents, but a cultivator who could soar through the skies and dive into the earth. Looking back on those years, all that remained was a sigh.
In truth, her grandparents weren't bad people, but for a child, they hadn't been able to give her enough familial affection. She could understand, but it was also difficult for her to feel close to them.
Just as she entered the territory of Jin Kingdom, Mo Tiange frowned and changed her flight direction, heading northeast.
Because she sensed a strange fluctuation of Spiritual Qi. It didn't resemble cultivators fighting, nor did it feel like the pressure of a high-level cultivator.
After only a moment's hesitation, Mo Tiange decided to go take a look. The Spiritual Qi fluctuation wasn't large, just somewhat peculiar. This was the mortal world, so there likely weren't any high-level cultivators around. She now had a certain level of cultivation and several treasures on her, so there shouldn't be any danger.
But the closer she got, the deeper Mo Tiange's frown became. This Spiritual Qi fluctuation was clean and pure, with faint sounds of wind and thunder. Could it be that some exotic treasure was emerging?
Thinking this, she formed a hand seal and urged the white silk handkerchief forward at full speed. At the same time, she spread out her spiritual sense and indeed discovered other cultivators also rushing rapidly towards the source. However, these cultivators were only at the Qi Refining stage. Touched by her spiritual sense and realizing a Foundation Establishment senior was present, they immediately slowed their speed.
Mo Tiange flew on, feeling increasingly strange. This Spiritual Qi... didn't seem as close as she had thought. She had flown for so long, yet the distance didn't seem to have shortened at all.
Slowly, this Spiritual Qi fluctuation attracted the attention of more cultivators in the mortal world. After flying for several hours, Mo Tiange began to sense Foundation Establishment cultivators joining the chase.
Although most Loose Cultivators in the mortal world were low-level Qi Refining cultivators, there were also Foundation Establishment cultivators who happened to be passing by. Perhaps, like her, they had coincidentally discovered this Spiritual Qi fluctuation and chased after it.
These Foundation Establishment cultivators tacitly maintained some distance from each other, but all flew towards the source without sparing any effort.
Another few hours passed, and the Spiritual Qi fluctuation finally became a bit more pronounced. The many Foundation Establishment cultivators were overjoyed and each increased their speed.
Mo Tiange's white silk handkerchief was naturally far superior to the flying magical tools of these cultivators, but once she discovered other Foundation Establishment cultivators, she no longer urged it at full speed, instead maintaining roughly the same pace as them. The reason was her habitual caution. This Spiritual Qi fluctuation was so abnormal; rather than being alone at the forefront, it was safer to stay with these cultivators. If there really was some exotic treasure, her earlier scan had revealed these Foundation Establishment cultivators were all at the early stage. She wasn't afraid of them.
At this point, with each increment they flew closer, the Spiritual Qi fluctuation became more obvious. Mo Tiange knew the source was not far away.
The escape lights of other cultivators were now visible to the naked eye. Quite a few shared her way of thinking, but they all kept their distance from her. After all, with her peak mid-stage cultivation, she was the strongest among them. It was still unknown whether she was friend or foe, so it was better to keep some distance.
By now, there were no Qi Refining cultivators following anymore. Even if Qi Refining cultivators had sensed the fluctuation and taken off midway, they were suppressed by the pressure of these Foundation Establishment cultivators and ultimately gave up the chase.
The Spiritual Qi fluctuation grew clearer and clearer. Mo Tiange's spiritual sense could already feel the source of the Spiritual Qi, and at the same time, she sensed the spiritual senses of other cultivators, brushing past hers.
She saw cultivators arriving from other directions as well.
After a moment's consideration, she stepped on the white silk handkerchief, and her speed suddenly increased, leaving behind the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been flying alongside her for hours, and she shot straight towards the Spiritual Qi source.
Seeing her white escape light vanish into the horizon, the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had flown alongside her for hours all turned ashen-faced. This speed could have left them behind long ago. It seemed this Fellow Daoist had just been holding back earlier. Now that she suddenly accelerated, had she discovered something?
Thinking this, several Foundation Establishment cultivators also increased their speed, chasing straight after.
Only one among them muttered to himself, "The escape light is actually white... It seems this person is not to be trifled with. Better to slow down a bit."
The color of an escape light was always consistent with one's own Spirit Root and primary cultivation technique. Metal was gold, wood was azure, water was blue, fire was red, earth was yellow. Even those with mixed Spirit Roots would have a mixed-color escape light at most. It absolutely could not be white. A white escape light meant this person was either a rare five-Spirit-Root Foundation Establishment cultivator, or a cultivator practicing a special technique. A five-Spirit-Root cultivator who could achieve Foundation Establishment had endured hardships far beyond ordinary people. Cultivators practicing special techniques mostly had unusual moves. Either type was stronger than ordinary cultivators.
Unfortunately, the other Foundation Establishment cultivators, eager to chase the treasure, hadn't thought of this.
Leaving the others aside, an hour later, Mo Tiange landed on a cliff.
At this moment, a group of cultivators had already gathered on the cliff. Among them were three Foundation Establishment cultivators and over ten Qi Refining cultivators. Their appearances varied, but they all stared intently at the valley below the cliff.
Seeing Mo Tiange land, some of the Foundation Establishment cultivators looked pleased, others worried, while the over ten Qi Refining cultivators remained expressionless.
"Fellow Daoist!" While Mo Tiange was still observing the valley faintly emitting Spiritual Qi, a Daoist with long, graying beard among the Foundation Establishment cultivators stepped forward and courteously clasped his hands.
Mo Tiange had already observed the several people present. Those Qi Refining cultivators didn't warrant much attention; they were likely just Loose Cultivators from the mortal world. There were three Foundation Establishment cultivators: a man and woman around thirty years old, looking intimate, likely a dual cultivation couple, both at Foundation Establishment early stage, with ordinary appearances and attire. Then there was this Daoist, who had been standing with the couple earlier, seeming to be friends or having already reached a common agreement. This Daoist was at Foundation Establishment mid-stage, with white hair and a youthful face, his cultivation quite high.
The other party being so polite, Mo Tiange returned the greeting.
This Daoist had already secretly probed her cultivation. Seeing she still looked like a young girl yet possessed such profound cultivation, he was inwardly astonished. In the cultivation world, techniques with youth-preserving effects weren't rare, but neither were they common goods. Loose Cultivators mostly couldn't obtain such techniques. The Daoist speculated privately: if Mo Tiange's youthful appearance was due to her cultivation technique, then she was likely from a sect. If it wasn't due to technique, then having such profound cultivation at such a young age was even more frightening.
Therefore, his attitude was polite with a touch of reverence. "This humble one's Daoist title is Fangzheng. May I ask how Fellow Daoist is addressed?"
Mo Tiange's gaze swept over this person. She didn't give her real name. "This one is Ye Xiaotian. Pleased to meet you." After leaving Taikang Mountain, she had already changed out of her sect robes. Using an alias, and having rarely ventured outside, she figured no one would recognize her.
"So it's Fellow Daoist Ye." Daoist Fangzheng clasped his hands again and got straight to the point. "Did Fellow Daoist Ye also come to investigate after sensing the Spiritual Qi fluctuation here?"
Mo Tiange nodded. "Indeed." Her gaze returned to the valley below the cliff. This place didn't look like a Spirit Vein at all, and the valley appeared utterly unremarkable. Why would Spiritual Qi emerge from it?
Daoist Fangzheng smiled. "What a coincidence. These two Fellow Daoists and I also came to investigate because of this."
"Is that so?" Mo Tiange responded indifferently. She had already guessed this Daoist's intention—likely to invite her to go down into the valley together. But the valley looked unremarkable; why didn't these three Foundation Establishment cultivators dare to go down?
Seeing her attitude so cold, Daoist Fangzheng showed a hint of awkwardness, but since Mo Tiange's cultivation was slightly higher than his, he endured it. "Fellow Daoist Ye, Brother Yao and his wife and I have already checked it out."
"Oh?" Only then did Mo Tiange shift her gaze from the valley to him.
Daoist Fangzheng then smiled. "Fellow Daoist Ye, are you wondering why we are stopped here and haven't gone down into the valley?"
Mo Tiange nodded. Indeed, the spiritual pressure wasn't that strong. The three Foundation Establishment cultivators weren't moving, and the dozen or so Qi Refining cultivators were also standing at the cliff's edge whispering, but showed no intention of going down. It was truly strange.
"To tell you the truth, Fellow Daoist, earlier when Brother Yao and his wife and I arrived here, we each went down into the valley. Who knew the miasma and Gang Wind inside were extremely fierce? We could block one but not the other. In the end, helpless, we came back up."
"Miasma and Gang Wind?" Mo Tiange was somewhat surprised. If it were miasma and Gang Wind, why would the Spiritual Qi fluctuation be so gentle? Although there were faint sounds of wind and thunder within, it was upright and harmonious. Logically, there shouldn't be harmful miasma and Gang Wind.
Seeing her expression, Daoist Fangzheng gave a bitter smile. "If Fellow Daoist Ye doesn't believe it, you can go down and see for yourself."
A flicker of surprise crossed Mo Tiange's face, but she had already regained her composure. "That won't be necessary. I imagine Fellow Daoist has no reason to deceive me."
"Exactly, little sister. This is the truth."
As soon as she finished speaking, the "Brother Yao and his wife" mentioned by Daoist Fangzheng walked over. The woman smiled and chimed in.
The woman was dressed as a married lady, looking about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, charming and graceful, her brows and eyes carrying a smile. When she spoke, her tone was gentle yet straightforward, quite likable.
After the woman spoke, the male cultivator beside her frowned slightly and said somewhat helplessly, "Wan-mei, this young lady's cultivation is higher than both of ours. How can you casually call her 'little sister'? It's too impolite." He then turned to Mo Tiange and clasped his hands apologetically. "Fellow Daoist Ye, my apologies. My foolish wife speaks her mind directly; she meant no offense."
Before Mo Tiange could reply, the woman chided, "Xiu-ge, don't rush to apologize for me. I'll bet you, this little sister really is a little sister."
There was another layer of meaning to the couple's dialogue. The husband reminded his wife that Mo Tiange's cultivation was higher than both of theirs, so her age might be greater than theirs. Calling her 'little sister' might be offensive, but mentioning a woman's age directly would also offend, so he implied it indirectly. The wife understood her husband's meaning, so her reply focused on 'little sister'.
After the woman said this, her husband asked puzzledly, "How can you be so sure?"
The woman just smiled. "It's a woman's intuition." She then walked over, warmly took Mo Tiange's hand, and asked, "Little sister, am I right or not?"
Mo Tiange also smiled. "I don't know how old you esteemed couple are. If you don't tell me, I can't answer either."
The woman was startled, then covered her mouth and laughed. "Look at my brain, forgetting such an important thing! This year, my foolish husband and I have just reached a hundred years old."
Judging by the lifespan of Foundation Establishment cultivators, this was their true appearance. At a hundred years old, Foundation Establishment early stage... Mo Tiange thought to herself, this couple likely either belonged to a minor sect or were Loose Cultivators. If they were from a major sect, they were probably ordinary disciples.
It had to be known that elite disciples of major sects mostly achieved Foundation Establishment early. Although not many formed Cores, reaching mid or late Foundation Establishment stage wasn't a problem. At this age, few remained at Foundation Establishment early stage.
"This elder sister guessed correctly." Mo Tiange gave a slight smile. "This one's age is indeed slightly younger than both of you."
"Oh?" Not just the couple, Daoist Fangzheng's eyes also brightened. Less than a hundred years old, yet with peak Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivation...
Mo Tiange didn't wish to dwell on this topic and steered the conversation back. "What exactly is the situation in this valley? How much do the three of you know at present?"
Daoist Fangzheng snapped back to attention and immediately replied, "After Brother Yao and his wife and I discovered we couldn't get past the miasma and Gang Wind inside, we joined forces, but the result was the same... Fellow Daoist, look, although this Spiritual Qi isn't intense, it's extremely pure. It's likely some exotic treasure emerging. Missing it would truly be a pity!"
"Exactly, my husband and I think so too." It was the woman who took over. "Little sister, seeing you so young yet with such high cultivation, you must be a sect disciple, right? The three of us, however, are Loose Cultivators. Encountering an exotic treasure emerging is truly rare. If you're also interested in the treasure, let's think of a way together. If you don't want to take the risk, we won't stop you. Of course, if you think you can manage alone, just treat our proposal as unheard."