After reading through all the miscellaneous records, Mo Tiange found herself both amused and exasperated. This ancestor of hers not only matched men in talent and methods but even surpassed them in decisiveness and boldness in her actions.
Recalling her brief few days with Zhong Muling within the Void Heaven Realm—how he was unsmiling and serious—it turned out he had once been of such a temperament, completely overpowered in presence by Mo Yaoqing. Even the matter of dual cultivation had been a calculated move on her part...
No wonder there seemed to be no emotional entanglement between Zhong Muling and Mo Yaoqing. So this was the origin of the Mo family's millennia-long inheritance...
After sealing her divine sense within the Mo family ancestral hall, Mo Yaoqing returned to Linhai and left a final request, entrusting the later generations of the Bixuan Pavilion to look after her descendants. However, during her time in Mo Family Village, Mo Tiange had never seen any disciples sent by the Bixuan Pavilion. Perhaps the sect had never discovered anyone with spiritual roots suitable for recruitment, and over time, later successors had simply stopped paying attention. Or perhaps they only came once every twenty, thirty, or even more years, and she had only lived there for a short decade from birth to departure.
Reading this, Mo Tiange sighed. She had a father who was a Core Formation cultivator, a great-grandfather who occasionally visited the Jin Kingdom to check on his descendants, and a great-grandmother who had entrusted her descendants to the care of later generations. Yet, she had still embarked on the immortal path in such a manner. One could only say she truly was not a fortunate person.
However, from another perspective, if not for over a decade of hardship and wandering, she might not have developed her current temperament. She might have been as proud and self-satisfied as Hua Yilin, or as weak and timid as Tang Shen.
Suffering itself was not a beautiful memory, but sometimes, one still had to be grateful for the things it brought—such as a resilient heart and broadened horizons.
After understanding Mo Yaoqing's life story, Mo Tiange began to study the various fragmented things she had recorded. In terms of formations, cross-referencing with the Profound Mechanism Formation Book allowed her to make significant progress. It must be understood that while there were many books within the Void Heaven Realm, most far exceeded her current realm, and she could comprehend very few. Moreover, the environment of the Primordial Era was different from today's, so they couldn't be copied directly. The Profound Mechanism Formation Book and Mo Yaoqing's records perfectly compensated for this deficiency.
Additionally, Mo Tiange noticed a particular passage in Mo Yaoqing's journal.
"Magical Treasures are vessels that contain magical power. Cultivation base affects a cultivator's advancement, but Magical Treasures represent a cultivator's peak combat strength. Especially for Core Formation cultivators, the strength of their Life-Bound Artifact almost determines the strength of their combat ability."
A Life-Bound Artifact could be refined by cultivators at the Core Formation stage and above. Infused with the cultivator's own life essence blood and refined within the Dantian, it could be continuously nourished with essence blood. Over time, the artifact could even develop sentience. Simply put, a Life-Bound Artifact was a growable treasure intrinsically linked to the cultivator. The longer it was nurtured, the greater its power, and if the Life-Bound Artifact was damaged, the cultivator themselves would also suffer.
"In my life, I wandered the world. From Yunzhong to Tianji, I encountered countless opponents and saw countless Magical Treasures. Based on this, I conceived several types of artifacts that could serve as Life-Bound Artifacts for later generations of disciples..."
Mo Tiange's spirits lifted, and she continued reading.
"In the past, at the Tianbao Pavilion in Yunzhong, I once saw ancient records of myths and legends. Among them, the Creation Mother possessed a treasure called the Shanhe Sheji Tu (Mountains and Rivers Society Map). This map was essentially a massive formation. If trapped within it, it was as wondrous as the transformations of the Four Symbols—think of a mountain and a mountain appears, think of water and water appears, think forward and you move forward, think backward and you move backward. I pondered this for a long time and conceived several artifact designs. Today, I can test them one by one..."
The types of Magical Treasures were essentially five: Kill, Protect, Confuse, Trap, and Assist. Kill types focused on attack; Protect types on defense; Confuse types could cloud the mind; Trap types used formations as their method; Assist types either broke formations or cleared the mind, focusing on support.
Among Mo Tiange's possessions, the Soaring Shuttle was an attack-type magical tool, though it possessed its own built-in killing formation. The White Silk Kerchief belonged to the Protect category. The Soul-Bewitching Lamp, despite its name, fell under the Trap category. The Cloud-Treading Boots and Spirit-Concealing Pendant were Assist types.
Mo Tiange estimated that this Shanhe Sheji Tu Mo Yaoqing spoke of should be a combination of Trap and Confuse, with additional Kill effects. Such artifacts were the most difficult to guard against because they targeted the weaknesses of one's mental state directly. High-level Confuse-type artifacts could ensnare people without them even realizing it. If it truly functioned as Mo Yaoqing described—think mountain, get mountain; think water, get water—one would need extremely firm willpower to break free. However, even Nascent Soul cultivators did not possess flawless mental states.
"The Five Elements Plate is essentially a large formation plate, engraved with the following formations... Its advantage lies in requiring minimal spiritual energy to activate, but its weakness is that it is difficult to deal with for those thoroughly versed in formations."
"The Black-White Life-Death Chess takes the form of a chessboard. A single wrong move can lead to execution. The required materials are exceedingly costly, and the crafting method is as follows... Regrettably, its Illusion effect is not strong, making it difficult to achieve the 'think mountain, get mountain; think water, get water' realm."
"The Heaven-Earth Fan paints landscapes on its surface, which is actually a formation. It can be crafted as follows... If successful, its power is immense, but unfortunately, the materials are too difficult to find."
Mo Tiange's gaze fell upon this Heaven-Earth Fan. Its main materials were clearly listed: The handle required the bone of a spirit beast of the eighth rank or higher, infused with Thousand-Year Jade Marrow. The bone of a divine beast was optimal, and the older the Jade Marrow, the better... The ink for the painting on the fan surface required grinding Moonlight Illusion Stone...
She hurriedly flipped back and read it again. Yes, the main materials column clearly stated that. And by coincidence, she happened to possess Divine Dragon Bones and Moonlight Illusion Stone!
Regarding a Life-Bound Artifact, Mo Tiange hadn't given it much thought before. She had a master at the Nascent Soul mid-stage. After forming her Core, she could naturally obtain many artifact formulas from her master and simply choose one. But if this Heaven-Earth Fan truly possessed the powerful effects Mo Yaoqing described, it could basically be considered a top-grade Magical Treasure.
Generally speaking, the Life-Bound Artifacts of Core Formation cultivators weren't particularly excellent, mainly because their capabilities were limited, and materials for mid-grade or higher artifacts were too hard to find. However, the Life-Bound Artifact was too important, and no cultivator was willing to wait until the mid-stage, late-stage, or even Nascent Soul stage to refine one. Compared to a Life-Bound Artifact, even an ordinary Magical Treasure one rank higher would be somewhat inferior. Therefore, they often refined an ordinary Life-Bound Artifact as soon as they formed their Core, then slowly nurtured it with essence blood over the long years. Over time, the artifact would gradually become more powerful. But if the initially refined artifact was exceptionally good, giving one a higher starting point than others, of course, it would become even more formidable in the future.
Another point was that she herself was proficient in formations. If she could use a formation as her artifact, that would be ideal.
After pondering for a while, she sought out Wei Haolan, who was studying ancient texts.
"Sect Leader Wei, do you have a moment?"
Wei Haolan looked up from her book and asked with a smile, "Is something the matter, Fellow Daoist Ye?"
Mo Tiange said, "I have something to inquire about."
Wei Haolan glanced at Xia Qing, who was refining pills nearby, and Tang Shen, who was focused on cultivation, and said, "Let's go downstairs then."
"Alright." Mo Tiange nodded. Pill refining and cultivation generally shouldn't be disturbed. However, the two elders were worried that if something happened while they were unattended, it would be troublesome to handle, so they had the four of them cultivate on the same floor. Usually, the four of them went about their own business without disturbing each other.
The two went down to the second floor, casually found two meditation cushions, and sat down. Mo Tiange raised the jade slip in her hand. "Sect Leader Wei, may I ask if anyone has ever attempted to refine the artifacts recorded in the Founding Patriarch's journal?"
Wei Haolan took the jade slip, immersed her divine sense into it, and after a while, replied, "The Founding Patriarch's journal has only been studied by successive generations of elders and sect leaders. Some of the artifacts and pills mentioned within have indeed been attempted. I remember when I was young, a Core Formation elder of that time tried to refine the Purple-Gold Gourd. Although it failed, it proved that refining such a treasure was quite feasible."
"What about this kind?" Mo Tiange asked. "Has anyone ever successfully refined this Heaven-Earth Fan?"
Wei Haolan looked it over and shook her head. "Fellow Daoist Ye, this Heaven-Earth Fan requires the bone of a spirit beast of the eighth rank or higher. Since the Founding Patriarch, our Bixuan Pavilion has only produced one Nascent Soul cultivator. Where would we get such materials?"
"..." That was true.
"Forget about the eighth-rank spirit beast bone; even Thousand-Year Jade Marrow is hard to find. When it occasionally appears on the market, it sells for at least ten thousand spirit stones or more. And this... Qiyun Stone, we don't even know what it is. I estimate the materials for this artifact would cost at least tens of thousands of spirit stones, along with absolutely good luck and exceptional strength." At this point, Wei Haolan shook her head and sighed. "Not only can we not obtain them, but even if we could, we wouldn't refine an artifact of unknown success rate. Our resources are too scarce."
"I see." Mo Tiange felt slightly disappointed. If the Bixuan Pavilion had refined these artifacts before, she would have decided to try refining one herself. If it suited her, she could use it as her Life-Bound Artifact. This artifact was too powerful—combining Trap, Confuse, and Kill. It would be hard to find a more formidable artifact.
"Fellow Daoist Mo, do you wish to refine this artifact?" Wei Haolan asked.
Mo Tiange nodded, then shook her head. "After I return this time, I will go into seclusion to attempt Core Formation. If successful, the first thing will be to refine my Life-Bound Artifact. Originally, I considered this artifact because of its power, but it's not a must-refine."
Wei Haolan then said, "If it's Fellow Daoist Ye, you have much more convenience than us. Your sect is a major one, with far greater access to information and resources. Your master also holds a high status; you can have disciples slowly search for whatever you lack."
"That's true, but the cost is truly exorbitant, and the materials are too rare... I'll consider it for now. After I return to my sect, I'll report to my master to see if it's feasible."
Hearing this, Wei Haolan's expression turned serious. "Fellow Daoist Ye, you are now a Guest Elder of our Bixuan Pavilion. Of course, you can read this journal. However, many matters within are secrets of our Bixuan Pavilion. I hope you will not disclose them."
Mo Tiange said, "Sect Leader Wei, please rest assured. I will not hand over the journal itself. I will only present this artifact formula to my master for evaluation."
Wei Haolan hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "That should be acceptable." After all, this artifact formula was just sitting idle in the Bixuan Pavilion, with no one refining it anyway.
Mo Tiange smiled and asked another question. "Sect Leader Wei, how is your injury?"
Wei Haolan replied, "Same as before. Although my cultivation base is preserved, my Dantian was too severely damaged. Even healing must proceed at a slower pace." At this point, she sighed. "Anyway, the two elders still need a long time to cultivate the secret art. I'll just heal slowly. Fellow Daoist Ye, what about you? Are you feeling better?"
Wei Haolan had always been concerned about her injury. Mo Tiange knew that since she was now a Guest Elder, and Elders Qingyi and Qingmiao had entrusted Wei Haolan with the task of having her assist in rebuilding the Bixuan Pavilion, that was why she was so concerned about her condition.
However, regardless of the reason, it was still a gesture of goodwill to have someone care.
"It's manageable," she answered. "The death qi I was struck with wasn't much and didn't damage my foundation. However, the Dantian True Fire of the Foundation Establishment stage is too weak against this death qi. I estimate it might take seven or eight years, or even over a decade, to completely refine it away."
Hearing this answer, Wei Haolan fell silent for a moment, then said, "In that case, let Junior Sister Xia refine more pills for you. Perhaps it can speed things up."
Mo Tiange shook her head. "I'm not lacking in pills, Sect Leader Wei. There's no need to worry." Although the pagoda held many stored items, pill refining required fresh spirit herbs, so the number of pills that could be refined was limited. Now that she was a Guest Elder of the Bixuan Pavilion, she also had to consider the sect's needs. There was truly no need to compete with Wei Haolan and Tang Shen for these pills.