Each day was spent healing, cultivating, and studying the notes Mo Yaoqing had left behind. For Mo Tiange, time seemed to fly by, and in the blink of an eye, several years had passed.
She had always been a person who could endure solitude, having previously gone into seclusion for years at a time. Now, immersed in Mo Yaoqing's cultivation insights, she didn't find the passage of time difficult at all. She simply treated it as another period of seclusion. For Foundation Establishment cultivators, seclusion lasting several years or even over a decade was common.
Wei Haolan was the same, spending most of her time healing and refining the Death Qi, occasionally chatting with Mo Tiange about sect matters. This allowed Mo Tiange to gain a thorough understanding of the Bixuan Pavilion's situation.
Wei Haolan was likely doing this deliberately. She bore the heavy responsibility of rebuilding the Bixuan Pavilion, yet Xia Qing and Tang Shen couldn't share the burden. Mo Tiange was the person designated by the two elders to help her rebuild the sect in the future, so it was only right for her to have a general understanding of the sect's circumstances.
Xia Qing would sometimes discuss alchemy with her. Xia Qing was a simple-minded person; even in their current predicament, her thoughts were still preoccupied with alchemy.
As for Tang Shen, his patience was clearly insufficient. His cultivation was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, and he was still young. He had probably spent little time in seclusion since reaching Foundation Establishment. However, with a great vendetta weighing on him, he knew he had to endure. At first, he often couldn't settle his mind to cultivate, but gradually, he learned to meditate for days or even months at a time, just like them.
As for Ren Yufeng outside the pagoda, he sometimes wouldn't appear for a long time—so long that they thought he had lost patience—only to suddenly show up again.
Initially, Ren Yufeng took pleasure in intimidating the people inside the pagoda, but they never paid him any heed. Eventually, he grew bored and simply occupied the Bixuan Pavilion's mountain gate, playing a game of establishing his own sect—he captured nearby rogue cultivators and some former Bixuan Pavilion cultivators, proclaimed the Divine Dragon Sect, and appointed himself as its sect master.
To survive, these cultivators all became subservient and compliant. This greatly satisfied Ren Yufeng, and he simply continued playing the role of Divine Dragon Sect master, only stationing two cultivators to guard the entrance of the Dao-Attainment Pagoda and paying no further attention to it.
Mo Tiange remembered when Ren Yufeng first gathered his followers and held a so-called sect-founding ceremony outside the Dao-Attainment Pagoda. Wei Haolan had gazed at the crowd below, tears welling in her eyes.
Among those people, she had seen her relatives—emaciated, covered in wounds, having likely endured endless torment, like walking corpses.
Mo Tiange had once asked Wei Haolan how many Bixuan Pavilion cultivators were probably still alive.
Wei Haolan remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Perhaps many are still alive, but after being tortured like this, they've probably lost even the most basic self-respect. Recalling disciples to rebuild the sect wouldn't be difficult, but restoring their confidence as cultivators... that will be very hard."
Mo Tiange fell silent. She had no talent for management; these matters... she couldn't help with.
Year after year, time flowed like water.
Finally, after ten years, Mo Tiange refined all the Death Qi and returned to her peak condition, throwing herself wholeheartedly into cultivation.
Yet the teleportation formation on the fourth floor remained closed, and there was still no news from the two elders. The four juniors had no choice but to wait.
Another five years passed. With the support of Xia Qing's pills, Tang Shen finally advanced to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, bringing a sliver of joy to the Dao-Attainment Pagoda, which had been gloomy for over a decade.
To encourage everyone, Wei Haolan suggested taking a day off to celebrate Tang Shen's achievement.
However, having been trapped in the pagoda for over a decade, they couldn't prepare any feast. Fortunately, Wei Haolan still had some fine wine in her storage bag, which they could make do with.
"Junior Brother Tang, this is your happy occasion. Drink a little more today," Wei Haolan said with a smile, urging him to drink.
Xia Qing also temporarily set aside alchemy matters and nodded repeatedly. "Exactly, Senior Brother Tang! It's only been a little over ten years since your last Advancement, right? Reaching the mid-stage in thirty years is truly amazing!"
Tang Shen scratched his nose somewhat sheepishly. "If I hadn't been trapped in this pagoda, forced to focus my mind, I wouldn't have advanced this quickly... Besides, Junior Sister Xia has been constantly refining pills for me, Fellow Daoist Ye has been explaining insights to me, and Sect Leader Senior Sister has often counseled me. It's all thanks to your efforts that I advanced so quickly." After over a decade of dedicated cultivation, although he was still thin-skinned, he no longer blushed at the drop of a hat, and his demeanor had grown much steadier.
Wei Haolan smiled. "All we could do was provide support. The cultivation itself still depended on you. Junior Brother Tang, you're not even sixty yet and already at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. You are truly a top talent in our Bixuan Pavilion."
Tang Shen smiled, but his expression soon dimmed. "The Bixuan Pavilion... only we remain."
Hearing this, Wei Haolan and Xia Qing fell silent. Outside the Dao-Attainment Pagoda, cultivators occasionally came and went, but they were no longer Bixuan Pavilion disciples.
However, Wei Haolan quickly forced a smile. "What's there to fear? Once the two elders emerge from seclusion and eliminate that demonic cultivator, we can naturally rebuild the sect. Besides, many of the original disciples are still alive. We'll just recall them then."
Tang Shen also realized he shouldn't have brought this up and smiled in agreement. "Right, right, what Sect Leader Senior Sister says is correct. We'll just go out and rebuild. Come, let's drink."
Saying this, Tang Shen downed a cup of wine in one gulp. Unfortunately, he wasn't a drinker, and the wine was quite strong. Immediately, his face contorted into an extremely comical expression.
Seeing his expression, the three women present all laughed. This was Tang Shen, the most popular handsome young master of the Bixuan Pavilion, always graceful, scholarly, and refined. When had he ever been so undignified?
"Junior Brother Tang, if you can't drink, just have a little. Here, wipe your face." Wei Haolan handed him a handkerchief, still unable to suppress her smile as she looked at him.
They had just said he had grown steadier, but now he couldn't help blushing again. Tang Shen finally managed to swallow the wine, took the handkerchief, and wiped the spilled droplets while coughing. "I've embarrassed myself in front of my senior and junior sisters..."
Xia Qing waved her hand. "Senior Brother Tang, what's the big deal? Once, I secretly smeared Three-Leaf Golden Sunflower powder on Senior Sister Hua's pills. Senior Sister Hua's expression was truly a sight to behold!"
The Three-Leaf Golden Sunflower was a common spirit herb without much use, but it tasted very spicy. Just a little would make those who couldn't handle spice feel like their mouths were on fire. Mo Tiange had once used it as a seasoning, so she knew. Hearing Xia Qing's words, she asked, "The Senior Sister Hua you mentioned, is that Fellow Daoist Hua Yilin?"
"Yes," Xia Qing said, her expression disdainful. "I never liked Senior Sister Hua. She always loved putting on airs and giving me dirty looks, never considering that her pills were in my hands!" At this point, her expression dimmed. "I was immature back then. I always thought Senior Sister Hua was detestable and looked for chances to make her lose face. Actually, Senior Sister Hua never did anything truly bad; she was just a bit arrogant and domineering... Now I don't even know how she's doing."
The atmosphere grew somber again. No matter how hard they tried to force cheerfulness, sad thoughts kept surfacing.
"Let's not talk about this," Tang Shen said this time, turning to Wei Haolan. "Sect Leader Senior Sister, are your injuries healed?"
Wei Haolan smiled and nodded. "Almost. The Death Qi has been refined. From now on, I just need to slowly meditate and recuperate, and the injuries will naturally heal."
Xia Qing said, "Sect Leader Senior Sister, during this time, I'll refine another batch of healing pills for you. Don't be reluctant to take them. If you're not well, the Bixuan Pavilion won't be well. You must take good care of yourself."
"Right," Tang Shen chimed in. "In the past, I was immature and always caused trouble for Sect Leader Senior Sister. From now on, I will cultivate diligently."
Wei Haolan smiled, her joy evident. "You've both matured. That's good..." Her gaze then turned to Mo Tiange, who had been silent beside them. "Fellow Daoist Ye, these past few years, it's all thanks to you for often instructing Junior Brother Tang. Junior Sister Xia and I probably have little hope of forming our Cores. We can only pin our hopes on you and Junior Brother Tang."
Mo Tiange smiled faintly. "It's nothing. I am now a Guest Elder of the Bixuan Pavilion. It's only right that I contribute my share." In truth, Tang Shen was quite intelligent. Moreover, he possessed a Pure Yang Constitution, and his spiritual roots weren't bad. Previously, his flaw might have been his personality—he could never settle his mind to cultivate. Over these dozen-plus years, he had no choice but to find stillness, and the great vendetta constantly spurred him, reminding him to be strong. Thus, he had matured quickly. Mo Tiange estimated that whether he could form a Nascent Soul was another matter, but forming a Golden Core shouldn't be a problem.
"Exactly, Fellow Daoist Ye is one of us now," Xia Qing cut in. "So, Fellow Daoist Ye, you can't hold back. We should exchange more on alchemy problems..."
As was her habit, Xia Qing steered the topic back to alchemy, making the other three smile.
Wei Haolan paused, then said, "Since Fellow Daoist Ye is one of us now, isn't it too distant if we still call her 'Fellow Daoist Ye'?"
"That's true," Xia Qing said. "But, I think I heard the two elders call Fellow Daoist Ye something before? It's been too long; I can't remember."
Mo Tiange curved her lips slightly. "My original surname is Mo, and my given name is Tiange."
"Oh... right, I think it was Tiange. Fellow Daoist Ye, why did you use a fake name? Oh, no, we should call you Senior Sister Mo from now on."
"Ye Xiaotian isn't a fake name," Mo Tiange said. This was the first time she had explained the name issue to others. "Mo is my maternal clan's surname. My paternal clan's surname is Ye. Ye Xiaotian is the name my uncle gave me."
"Ye, Mo," Xia Qing pondered. "Both are fine. But since Mo Tiange is your original name, should we call you Senior Sister Mo from now on?"
"Who's older and who's younger isn't certain yet," Wei Haolan, who knew Mo Tiange's background, said with a smile. "Junior Sister Xia, in terms of cultivation realm, you'd both have to call her 'Senior Sister.' But in terms of age, we should compare years first—well, no need to count me. To you all, I'm an old woman."
"Senior Sister, you're only a hundred. How is that old?" Xia Qing said bluntly. "I'm now... fifty-three, I think? I know Senior Brother Tang is older than me by... six years? He should be fifty-nine now, right?"
Tang Shen smiled and nodded.
"Senior Sister Mo, what about you?"
Mo Tiange smiled. "If we compare like this, you really do have to call me 'Senior Sister.' I am now fifty-five, exactly two years older than you."
"Ah!" Xia Qing exclaimed in surprise. Even Tang Shen widened his eyes.
Having taken refuge injured in the Dao-Attainment Pagoda, Mo Tiange no longer needed to conceal her cultivation. Thus, Xia Qing and Tang Shen already knew she was originally a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Since the two elders and Wei Haolan didn't mind, they hadn't said anything. This was also why Xia Qing naturally called her "Senior Sister."
Now, at fifty-five, and having hidden in this Dao-Attainment Pagoda for sixteen years, didn't that mean she was only thirty-nine back then? A thirty-nine-year-old late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was truly astonishing.
Tang Shen was the first to regain his composure, speaking sincerely, "So Fellow Daoist Ye is such a genius. I was truly presumptuous before."
Others might not know, but Mo Tiange understood the implied meaning in his words. However, Tang Shen was mistaken. Back when she refused his dual cultivation proposal, it wasn't because she considered his aptitude insufficient or unworthy of her. It was simply because she didn't want to dual cultivate with him.