Returning to the Seal Tribe, Mo Tiange parted ways with Jiang Shanghang. After setting up a defensive formation, she entered the Void Heaven Realm.
In truth, she didn't fully believe Jiang Shanghang's words. A place not overly dangerous yet filled with exotic treasures? Such a good thing would absolutely be treated as a complete secret by his sect. They wouldn't invite disciples from other sects, and even within their own sect, it wouldn't be common knowledge.
Yet, she also didn't think Jiang Shanghang harbored any ill intent. Back in the Cloud Mist Sect, she had merely saved him on a whim, and he had been willing to risk himself to rescue her in return. Moreover, he deeply despised Liu Yidao's method of using Xu Jingzhi as a sacrificial pawn. It seemed that while he was self-interested, he wasn't a sinister person. If he had no good intentions towards her, he wouldn't have bothered with this elaborate invitation.
Overall, Jiang Shanghang's character wasn't bad, and he had once saved her life. That was the main reason Mo Tiange agreed to go with him. As for exotic treasures and benefits, she wasn't particularly eager for them now. She already possessed too many things; there was really no need for such greed.
Having thought this through, Mo Tiange began her preparations for the journey.
Although Jiang Shanghang said nothing needed to be prepared, Mo Tiange's nature was to plan before acting. This way, there were fewer surprises, and in a perilous environment, it meant one more chance to preserve her life.
She took out two Stone Sculpture Puppets from her Qiankun Bag. With a thought, the two puppets began working tirelessly.
Her Void Heaven Realm had a few small huts at its very center. Outside the huts was a dense bamboo forest, surrounded by a winding stream. On the other side of the stream were vast medicinal fields.
Since she had claimed ownership of this Void Heaven Realm, although she had done some initial tidying, the layout hadn't changed; it remained the arrangement of the previous owner. Now, after summoning these two Stone Sculpture Puppets, they cleared the bamboo forest in front of the huts in a short time, leaving only the back half. Then, using the felled bamboo, they built several more huts on the cleared ground.
Once the Stone Sculpture Puppets had finished building all the huts, Mo Tiange approached the largest one. With a wave of her hand, several formation disks flew out, settling into their respective positions. Her hands formed incredibly complex seals, sending out streams of spiritual energy that caused all the formation disks to light up. She then tossed out a final formation flag, and the entire formation activated.
Next, she reached into her Qiankun Bag and took out a pill furnace, placing it in the very center. This furnace was about two feet square, wreathed in purple mist and enveloped in spiritual light—it was the Purple Wood Cauldron gifted to her by Zhong Muling.
After taking out the Purple Wood Cauldron and making a final check to ensure everything was in order, she issued another command with her divine sense. The two Stone Sculpture Puppets busied themselves again, this time diverting water from the stream into the bamboo hut.
While the puppets worked, Mo Tiange wasn't idle either. She reached into her robes and took out an object—the Sunlight Stone given by Ziwei Sanren.
Fangzheng Daoist had said the Sunlight Stone could produce Solar True Fire, making it excellent for alchemy and artifact forging. Yesterday, while briefly skimming through the Xuanji Formation Book, she had surprisingly discovered a special formation designed to be used in conjunction with the Sunlight Stone. Now, she needed to prepare some high-grade pills for the trip to the Land of Hidden Dragons. That was why she had rebuilt this alchemy room.
Holding the Sunlight Stone in her palm, she used her other hand to take out a talisman brush from her robes. Then, Mo Tiange focused her divine sense, forcing out a drop of her essence blood. She dipped the brush in the essence blood and swiftly drew patterns around the Purple Wood Cauldron. These patterns seemed to follow no discernible logic, but once drawn on the cauldron, they shimmered with flowing light, appearing almost tangible.
After completing one full circle, Mo Tiange put away the brush, lifted the lid of the Purple Wood Cauldron, placed the Sunlight Stone inside, and performed another series of complex hand seals to seal the stone at the bottom of the furnace.
After finishing this, a wave of weariness washed over her. Essence blood was the foundation of a person's vitality; every drop was extremely precious. Even as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, losing this one drop left her somewhat fatigued.
She sat down cross-legged on the spot, swallowed several pills, and circulated her spiritual energy through several minor cycles. Only then did she feel somewhat better. By this time, the two Stone Sculpture Puppets had finished setting up the alchemy room. Water from the stream was channeled into the hut via bamboo pipes, dripping and gathering in a small pool.
Putting away the Stone Sculpture Puppets, she pondered for a moment and decided on the types of pills to refine this time. Healing pills were a must. Pills for detoxification, calming the mind, and others were also indispensable. Last time in the Ziwei Cave Abode, she had been fortunate that Fangzheng Daoist carried several Calming Mind Talismans with him; otherwise, she would have had a much harder time.
By the time she finished refining all these pills, several days had passed. During this period, she had specifically instructed the maid assigned to serve her that she would be in secluded cultivation for a few days and should not be disturbed.
Next were tools for setting up temporary formations. With time pressing, she didn't have the leisure to delve deeply into the Xuanji Formation Book. However, her own formation attainments already surpassed those of her peers. She quickly prepared several sets of formations, including one Four Symbols Hundred Flowers Formation. If this composite formation could be fully deployed, even encountering a fifth-rank or higher demon beast wouldn't mean she was powerless to fight back.
For the last few days, Mo Tiange did nothing but sit in meditation, regulating her breath, bringing her entire mind and body to their optimal state.
Ten days later, she emerged from the Void Heaven Realm, dispelled the formations she had set up in the ice dwelling, and walked out.
Jiang Shanghang was already waiting outside. Seeing her come out, he smiled. "Junior Brother Ye is indeed true to his word. Ten days means ten days."
Mo Tiange nodded with a smile. "Since I promised Senior Brother Jiang, how could I break my word?"
At that moment, both of them suddenly looked up. They saw several streaks of light streak across the sky, disappearing to the north.
"Junior Brother Ye," Jiang Shanghang said, "it seems they've already gone. Let's head out too."
The 'they' Jiang Shanghang referred to were the fellow disciples he had arranged to meet. Mo Tiange nodded. Immediately, the two each employed their own methods, transforming into two streaks of light and vanishing in an instant.
After flying for about half a day, the two reached the Extreme North Sea they had visited that day.
From a distance, Mo Tiange saw several Foundation Establishment cultivators, men and women, hovering in the air above the coastline. Judging by their attire, they were indeed Zhengfa Sect disciples.
Jiang Shanghang promptly led Mo Tiange over.
"Senior Brothers and Sisters, my apologies for being late," Jiang Shanghang raised his hand in greeting to the group, all smiles.
Mo Tiange saw that his current manner of conduct was indeed completely different from before.
These Zhengfa Sect disciples all returned the greeting. Only one person didn't move at all, seeming too arrogant to bother with a courtesy.
Jiang Shanghang certainly noticed, but he showed no reaction. Instead, he turned to introduce Mo Tiange to his fellow disciples. "This is Ye Xiaotian, Junior Sister Ye from the Xuanqing Sect, and also an old friend of mine. Junior Sister Ye's cultivation is outstanding, which is why I specially invited her."
Mo Tiange had deliberately worn her Xuanqing Sect robes today. She now bowed neither humbly nor arrogantly, clasping her hands. "I am Ye Xiaotian. Greetings to all fellow Daoists of the Zhengfa Sect."
Upon hearing Jiang Shanghang's introduction, the Zhengfa Sect cultivators' gazes settled on Mo Tiange. A flash of admiration passed through the eyes of several male cultivators, while the two female cultivators looked on guard. However, each person returned the greeting.
The Xuanqing Sect was currently powerful, showing signs of potentially surpassing the Tianji region's number one sect, the Tiandao Sect. Even the Zhengfa Sect, located in the remote Extreme North, dared not show any disrespect. Even that most arrogant male cultivator fixed his gaze on Mo Tiange and raised his hand in return.
"Senior Brothers and Sisters," Jiang Shanghang said with a smile, seeing that the group didn't seem displeased, "I took the liberty of inviting Junior Sister Ye. I hope you don't mind?"
No one spoke. Everyone looked towards the arrogant male cultivator. He had been looking at Mo Tiange but shifted his gaze to Jiang Shanghang upon hearing his words, then immediately looked away again. "Since she's a junior sister from the Xuanqing Sect, she can join us."
Hearing this person relent, Jiang Shanghang breathed a sigh of relief and raised his hand. "Thank you, Senior Brother Ren."
The man still didn't respond, standing motionless.
Jiang Shanghang didn't mind. He turned to Mo Tiange. "Junior Sister Ye, come, let me introduce you." It would be strange to call her Junior Brother Ye in front of outsiders, so he changed his form of address.
There were six men and two women. The one with the highest cultivation was that arrogant male cultivator, at late-stage Foundation Establishment. Two other male cultivators were at mid-stage Foundation Establishment. The rest, including Jiang Shanghang, were at early-stage Foundation Establishment.
Jiang Shanghang introduced them one by one. "This is Senior Brother Lu Rongsheng, Senior Brother Xiang Zhiyang, Senior Brother Qiu Zhiming, Junior Brother Tang Fang, Junior Brother Yu Xiaoran." Then he turned to the two female cultivators. "This is Senior Sister Ai Xian, Senior Sister Xiahou Yuan."
Mo Tiange bowed again in greeting. Among these people, Lu Rongsheng and Xiang Zhiyang were at mid-stage Foundation Establishment; the others were at early-stage. The male cultivators were clearly more enthusiastic towards her, while the two female cultivators were lukewarm, which Mo Tiange found somewhat strange.
Finally came the arrogant male cultivator with the highest cultivation. Jiang Shanghang saved him for last, though it was unclear whether out of respect or for some other reason. "This is Senior Brother Ren Yufeng, our team leader for this trip. Senior Brother Ren is the direct disciple of our Senior Uncle Buqi. Not only is his cultivation high, but his skills are also formidable."
Jiang Shanghang said this, but his tone was rather flat.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Ren." Mo Tiange bowed. Since she addressed Jiang Shanghang as senior brother, she naturally had to call this one senior brother as well. Between friendly sects, it was customary to address each other as senior and junior brothers and sisters.
Ren Yufeng returned the greeting and finally spoke. "Junior Sister Ye is truly young and accomplished. I'd say you're not over eighty years old, are you?"
Mo Tiange smiled without denying it. Her appearance was maintained at that of a twenty-year-old. Given the lifespan of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, if she were under eighty, this would be her natural appearance, not the effect of a Beauty Preservation Pill. Although Beauty Preservation Pills could keep one's looks unchanged, experienced cultivators could often tell the difference because as one aged, certain behaviors and movements naturally differed.
"Senior Brother Ren is too kind. It's just good fortune."
"Good fortune?" Ren Yufeng chuckled, his tone meaningful. "If good fortune alone could lead to advancement, wouldn't high-level cultivators be everywhere?"
The remark was somewhat odd. Mo Tiange smiled and didn't reply.
Ren Yufeng swept his gaze over the group. "Alright, everyone's here. We can set off."
No one objected. The group of ten mounted their flying artifacts and flew together towards the massive iceberg.
Mo Tiange and Jiang Shanghang were at the very back. After a moment's thought, Mo Tiange sent a voice transmission: "Senior Brother Jiang, why are their attitudes so strange? Those senior sisters of yours don't seem very welcoming."
A peculiar smile appeared on Jiang Shanghang's face as he replied via voice transmission: "Junior Brother Ye, you've probably been pretending to be a man for so long you've forgotten you're a woman, haven't you? It's perfectly normal for the two senior sisters to dislike you. Women just can't stand others being more beautiful than them!"