The two spirit beasts caused such a ruckus, turning Mingxin Abode into a complete mess.
Xiu Qin and Qingqi, who lived nearby, ran over to take a look, their faces turning green: "Aunt Mo!" She was present, but Mingxin Abode was their responsibility to clean!
Mo Tiange raised her hand to stop them: "Wait a moment."
Xiu Qin stamped her foot: "If we wait any longer, the house will burn down!"
What Xiaohuo spat out was True Solar Fire, which had already set the fence ablaze.
Mo Tiange had never been one to deliberately trouble others. Seeing Xiu Qin and Qingqi anxiously pacing around, although she found it uninteresting, she still used her divine sense to call back the two spirit beasts.
Feifei was fine; it had a contract with her. Xiaohuo, however, due to its connection to the Void Heaven Realm, shared a mysterious link with Mo Tiange. Upon receiving the divine sense, it still chased fiercely for a while. Only after seeing Feifei leap into her embrace did it wag its tail and run over, also lying down on her lap without moving.
"Alright, you two are not allowed to fight from now on. You must be as close as brothers, understand?" she admonished while taking out two pills to feed them, thinking to herself that perhaps she should find time to establish a spirit beast contract with Xiaohuo as well.
Feifei was fine; these days in the Void Heaven Realm, it had consumed who knows how many spirit herbs and medicines. It just happily accepted her pill. Xiaohuo, upon seeing the pill, its eyes instantly widened. Mo Tiange had been away unexpectedly for over twenty years, and its pills had long been finished.
After feeding Xiaohuo several more pills and watching it familiarly run to a corner in the small hall to curl up and cultivate, Mo Tiange turned back and asked Ye Zhenji: "When did Xiaohuo advance in rank?"
Ye Zhenji thought for a moment and said, "It seems to be fifteen years ago, around the time I was almost finished feeding it pills."
"Then how is it already at the peak of the third rank now?" Mo Tiange was puzzled. "If the pills were finished, there's no reason for its cultivation to progress so quickly, right?"
Ye Zhenji replied, "I mentioned this matter to Master. Master never forgot to refine pills for Xiaohuo over the years."
"..." Mo Tiange thought for a moment, then was startled. "Did you show Master the pills you gave Xiaohuo?"
"Hmm..."
Hearing Ye Zhenji's response, Mo Tiange grew anxious: "Didn't I tell you that the pills I give you, whether for you or for Xiaohuo, must not be shown to anyone else?"
Seeing her frown, Ye Zhenji became flustered: "Aunt, it wasn't me who showed Master. Master saw Xiaohuo eating the pill and took it to look at it." He added, puzzled, "Master didn't react after looking at it. What's wrong?"
"Master didn't react after looking at it?" Mo Tiange calmed down, glancing at Xiu Qin and Qingqi who were tidying the medicine field and not paying attention to them. "Did he say anything? Describe his reaction in detail."
Although Ye Zhenji was confused, he recounted everything truthfully: "Master looked at that pill for a long time. I was also worried something was wrong, but in the end, Master just said he could also refine this kind of pill, then said he would take this one to study and return a bottle to me later. He's my master; how could I dare to refuse? Moreover, later on, Master didn't say anything was wrong, so I put my mind at ease." At this point, Ye Zhenji cautiously asked, "Aunt, what exactly is the problem with the pill? Can't others know about it?"
Mo Tiange broke out in a cold sweat. How should she explain? Regarding Senior Brother Shoujing's alchemy skills, Luo Fengxue had once said they were the highest in Qingquan Peak, even surpassing their master's. Could he not have noticed something wrong with that pill? That pill was merely an ordinary Beast Spirit Pill for spirit beasts, but the materials used were spirit herbs that were at least a thousand years old. Who would use thousand-year spirit herbs to refine Beast Spirit Pills? Ordinary people at most used herbs a few decades old, with a hundred years being the highest.
She took a deep breath, trying hard to calm herself: "Then has he ever seen the pills you take?"
Ye Zhenji said, "No. Although Master found it strange why my cultivation progressed quickly despite my mediocre aptitude, he didn't ask specifically."
Mo Tiange relaxed slightly. She solemnly warned him again: "Remember, from now on, any pills I give you, no matter what kind, must not be shown to anyone else. Even accidents like this are not allowed."
Although Ye Zhenji didn't understand, he finally nodded: "I understand." After thinking for a moment, he asked worriedly, "Aunt, is it serious if Master knows?"
Mo Tiange shook her head: "You go back first. Let your aunt think about this matter herself."
"Oh..."
Ye Zhenji obediently left. Mo Tiange watched his departing figure, her expression as still as water.
The secret of the Void Heaven Realm absolutely must not be known by others, not even her master who treated her like his own child. In the world of cultivation, who could resist the temptation of a garden full of spirit herbs? Not even a God Transformation cultivator.
But did he know? Mo Tiange had no confidence at all. If he knew, then did her master know?
Thinking of this possibility, she broke out in a sweat again. Carefully recalling the events since her return, her master... seemed normal, not showing any particular emotion. Xiu Qin and the others were also normal. Presumably, even if that person sensed something amiss, he hadn't told her master yet, right? Besides, seeing one pill couldn't explain more problems. Perhaps he was just suspicious. After all, who could guess the truth?
But no matter what, leaking this matter was not a good thing. After thinking for a while, Mo Tiange stood up, deciding to sound out her master.
Just as she stepped out of Mingxin Abode's door, she saw someone standing there—it was that Junior Disciple Ruan.
Mo Tiange had long known she was outside. Seeing her, she couldn't be bothered to greet her, pretending not to see anything and walking forward on her own. After all, no matter what, it should be Ruan Mingzhu, as the junior, who should greet first.
Ruan Mingzhu did indeed greet her, but the tone was far from pleasant: "Stop!"
Mo Tiange thought for a moment and obediently stopped: "Junior Disciple Ruan, is there something?"
Ruan Mingzhu's expression shifted, finally asking: "What is that kid's relationship to you?"
"Which kid?" Mo Tiange raised an eyebrow.
Ruan Mingzhu stamped her foot: "The kid who just left! My senior brother's disciple!"
Your senior brother's disciple? Mo Tiange secretly shook her head inwardly. No matter what, Zhenji is my senior brother's disciple, right?
Although she thought this inwardly, she remained calm on the surface: "You mean Zhenji? He's my nephew. What, is there a problem?"
"Your nephew..." Ruan Mingzhu's expression turned ugly. "How could he be your nephew?"
Mo Tiange found it amusing, curling the corner of her mouth: "Why can't he be my nephew? Junior Disciple Ruan, you're meddling too much!" When she said the words "Junior Disciple Ruan," she deliberately emphasized them, reminding this arrogant woman that she was her master's legitimate disciple.
"You—" Ruan Mingzhu was provoked, but her lips trembled, unable to speak.
Since she had promised her master not to cause trouble for her, Mo Tiange didn't want to continue provoking her and said, "I have matters to attend to, so I won't keep you company for idle chat, Junior Disciple." With that, she left Ruan Mingzhu behind and went on her way.
Ruan Mingzhu, whether from anger or bitterness, remained standing there, motionless.
Arriving at the Shangqing Palace main hall, Dao Lord Jinghe was leaning there with his eyes closed, resting. There wasn't a single maid around him.
Mo Tiange approached: "Master!"
Dao Lord Jinghe opened his eyes slightly, then closed them again: "Is there something?"
"Nothing, it's just that I haven't returned for over twenty years and wanted to chat with you, Master."
Dao Lord Jinghe curled the corner of his mouth and smiled: "Did Mingzhu provoke you?"
Mo Tiange shook her head: "Even if she provokes me, I'll pretend not to see it. She's just a child who never grew up. What good is there in arguing with her?"
Hearing this, Dao Lord Jinghe's eyes revealed a mix of sadness and relief: "At least I didn't teach you wrong..."
Mo Tiange smiled and then asked, "Master, I'm just curious. Why is she so fixated on Senior Brother Shoujing? With Senior Brother's personality, others might be fine, but she interacts with him daily. Wouldn't his personality be dull to her?"
Dao Lord Jinghe smiled bitterly: "Where does she truly like him? It's just that she can't have him, so she's fixated on wanting him. I can only blame myself for spoiling her into this kind of personality—wanting something and having to get it. Finally, there's something she can't have, so she's fallen into an obsession." Thinking to himself at this point, wasn't that kid the same at first? If not for the incident with the God Transformation cultivators, he probably wouldn't have developed such feelings for Tian Ge. At most, he would have had a slight fondness, right? But suddenly, two God Transformation cultivators stood between them, causing his fondness to fall through, so he developed an obsession. The more he couldn't have it, the deeper the obsession grew, until he finally fell into an obsession.
To ask what that kid liked about Tian Ge, he probably couldn't say it himself. Originally, it was merely appreciation, attention, curiosity. If there were no other factors, perhaps it would have remained like this for a lifetime, or after a few hundred years, this feeling would gradually fade. But unexpectedly such an incident occurred, causing him to fall into his own psychological trap. The more he couldn't have it, the more he paid attention. The more thoughts he invested, the harder it became to let go.
Some feelings simply can't be traced back to their beginning. Some don't even have a beginning.
Mo Tiange felt uneasy under Dao Lord Jinghe's gaze. That terrifying thought surfaced again. Did Master really know? Was this a test?
After a while, Dao Lord Jinghe withdrew his gaze: "Don't worry about Mingzhu. After this matter is over, let her return to the branch academy. She can't stay here any longer."
Mo Tiange breathed a sigh of relief. His tone showed no abnormality. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Master, is Senior Brother Shoujing about to form his Nascent Soul?"
Mentioning this, Dao Lord Jinghe's face instead showed worry, with slight hesitation: "He has reached Golden Core perfection. The materials for Nascent Soul Formation have long been prepared. Logically speaking, it's correct for him to go into seclusion for Nascent Soul Formation."
Seeing Dao Lord Jinghe uncharacteristically worried, Mo Tiange couldn't help but ask: "Does Master think there's a problem?"
"Hard to say." Dao Lord Jinghe shook his head. "I always feel that kid will encounter a major problem during his Nascent Soul Formation, but yet he himself is determined and can't be stopped."
"A major problem?" Mo Tiange silently thought. Master had long said he was too impatient, but why had he never had such a problem before? What exactly caused his state of mind to develop a problem that even Master found difficult to handle?
"Forget it, let him attempt Nascent Soul Formation once." Dao Lord Jinghe said lightly, but the worry in his eyes didn't fade. "That child has always been one who won't turn back until he hits a wall, and he's always had his own opinions. If we don't let him go, I'm afraid he himself won't accept it. When he fails, he'll naturally go and resolve it."