After her conversation with Ruan Mingzhu, Mo Tiange couldn't sit still any longer and returned to her own Mingxin Abode.
Xiu Qin and Qingqi had worked quickly; the medicine field had already been tidied up.
As soon as Mo Tiange returned, she saw the courtyard was empty. Xiaohuo was curled up in a corner of the small hall cultivating, while Feifei circled around Xiaohuo, looking very curious.
Feifei was her contracted spirit beast. Since she had ordered it not to trouble Xiaohuo, it wouldn't do anything to Xiaohuo again. And the fact that Xiaohuo, while cultivating, was willing to let Feifei get so close showed it had no intention of harming Feifei either.
After thinking for a moment, Mo Tiange closed the courtyard gate, activated the defensive formation, created a false appearance in her room, then grabbed Xiaohuo and Feifei and brought them into the Void Heaven Realm.
Xiaohuo stopped cultivating. Seeing the long-unseen Void Heaven Realm, it happily ran off to find the spiritual herbs it had previously favored.
Seeing this, Feifei hurriedly followed, afraid the things it had its eye on would be snatched away.
The two spirit beasts ran and fought over things. After a while, they discovered the things they each wanted were different, and only then did their hostility towards each other fade. By the time Mo Tiange had been lost in thought for a while, she found the two of them already tumbling around playing together.
Seeing this scene, Mo Tiange couldn't help but smile. The emotions of spirit beasts were simple—liking was liking, disliking was disliking. One moment they were fighting, the next they were playing. Hmm, back in the day, Xiaohuo was often left alone here and was always lonely. Now that it had Feifei, it should be happier.
Her thoughts drifted, then turned to the messy matters outside.
The pill refined for Xiaohuo had been discovered by Qin Shoujing; Zhenji now had a master; that troublemaker Ruan Mingzhu; and her master's words that were only half-spoken...
She rubbed her temples, feeling only a jumbled mess. Now she was certain her master didn't know about that pill, but she couldn't be sure whether that Senior Brother Shoujing suspected her or not. However, she had already told her master about it, so even if someone came asking, she could just push the matter onto Zhong Muling.
Speaking of which, it had been... over thirty years since they last met, hadn't it? For her, that was truly not a short period of time. Only today did she realize she was actually a person of lasting affection—thirty-some years hadn't made her forget completely.
Letting her thoughts wander aimlessly for a while, she shook her head, gathered her focus, and entered cultivation.
The sixth day of the sixth month wasn't far off. Although her master said she didn't need to exert her full effort, she still had to make some preparations.
With her mind focused on cultivation, several days passed quickly.
By the time Xiu Qin and the others came to summon her, it was already the sixth day of the sixth month.
On this day, all Foundation Establishment disciples of the Xuanqing Sect gathered at the main peak, including Xiu Qin and the others. Mo Tiange saw many familiar faces in the crowd: Han Qingyu, Wei Jiasi, Luo Fengxue, Ye Jingwen, Kuang Zhu, Zhan Bai...
With a major event at hand, no one had the mind for idle chat. After exchanging greetings, they each went to stand in their assigned queues.
Han Qingyu and the others were in the same queue as her. Luo Fengxue stood right next to her and started chatting about trivial matters.
Mo Tiange looked around and was surprised to find Bai Yanfei in her queue. After a moment's thought, she understood—her queue was probably the one with the highest status among the Foundation Establishment cultivators, all being disciples of Nascent Soul cultivators. Bai Yanfei, of course, would be here.
Decades apart had made Bai Yanfei much more steady. Although he still had that proud demeanor, he wasn't as frivolous as before. What reassured Mo Tiange was that since she arrived here, Bai Yanfei hadn't even glanced her way. It seemed those old feelings were gone.
Interestingly, not far from Bai Yanfei stood a young girl who kept glaring at him with a face full of anger. Bai Yanfei, however, pretended not to see anything, not even deigning to glance her way.
Luo Fengxue, noticing where Mo Tiange was looking, leaned over and whispered, "You should recognize this Junior Brother Bai. Haven't met that Junior Sister Jiang, have you?"
Mo Tiange also whispered back, "So that's Junior Sister Jiang from Liuyun Peak. She looks quite good too. Though not a stunning beauty, she's at least charming and lovely."
"Yeah," Luo Fengxue chuckled softly. "In terms of looks, Junior Sister Jiang isn't lacking. It's a pity her personality... is about the same as our Senior Sister Ruan." Although Dao Lord Xuanyin had already established her own branch, Luo Fengxue still used the old form of address.
Mo Tiange glanced sideways at another queue where Ruan Mingzhu stood, dejected and without any of her usual arrogance, and smiled. "Looks like you really don't like that Senior Sister Ruan!"
"Who could possibly like her!" Luo Fengxue pouted. "Although Second Senior Sister's personality isn't great either, she never harms others. She hurt Second Senior Sister so badly—how could I possibly like her!"
Speaking of this, Mo Tiange glanced at Wei Jiasi, whose face was solemn, and was surprised to find she had also advanced to the late stage.
"Senior Sister Wei has advanced?"
"Mhm," Luo Fengxue said. "Senior Sister Wei has finally come to her senses. She's already over a hundred years old now. If she doesn't strive to form her Core soon, it'll be difficult later."
At this point, Luo Fengxue asked her, "Tiange, how did your cultivation progress so fast? We established our Foundation together. I'm still at Foundation Establishment early stage, but you're already at late stage. Won't you be a whole realm above me in just a few decades?" Although she loved managing affairs, she wasn't lazy in cultivation either, spending at least half of each day's twelve hours cultivating.
Mo Tiange shook her head. "You know, right after I established my Foundation, I got an opportunity that directly pushed me to mid-stage. Now, over thirty years have passed. Reaching late stage isn't strange. Besides, aren't you already at the peak of early stage? All you lack is the advancement."
"That's true, but who knows?" Luo Fengxue wasn't very interested and pulled the topic back. "Actually, we all say behind closed doors that Junior Sister Jiang will definitely suffer in the future. With Uncle-Master Lingxu backing her, of course she was heaven's favored child. But in terms of aptitude, she's actually about the same as us. Her dual cultivation with Junior Brother Bai is really her taking advantage. Uncle-Master Zhenyang's move is nothing more than placating Liuyun Peak."
Mo Tiange said, "If Uncle-Master Lingxu passes away, what will happen to Liuyun Peak? Uncle-Master Lingxu advanced to Nascent Soul nearly a thousand years ago. Liuyun Peak is all his disciples and grand-disciples."
Luo Fengxue pouted. "That's why Liuyun Peak is desperate to produce another Nascent Soul cultivator. Otherwise, Senior Brother Danning wouldn't be in such a hurry to form his Nascent Soul instead of going out to travel. Sigh, in my opinion, it'll be difficult for Senior Brother Danning to form his Nascent Soul now!"
Although Luo Fengxue was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, she was the chief steward of Ganlu Peak and knew much more than the average Foundation Establishment disciple.
Hearing this, Mo Tiange couldn't help asking, "Did you hear this from Uncle-Master Xuanyin?"
Luo Fengxue said, "Master did say something like that before. Also, Uncle-Master Shoujing..." She hesitated for a moment. "...is probably also in a precarious situation."
"...Then why are they being made to go into seclusion to form their Nascent Souls now?" Mo Tiange was puzzled. "Forming a Nascent Soul isn't like forming a Core; the danger is much higher. If they fail during the Inner Demon stage, they could even perish."
Luo Fengxue shook her head. "Who isn't in danger when forming a Nascent Soul? Even my master had to brave it. If they fail, it's fate." After a pause, she smiled and said, "Actually, I think Uncle-Master Shoujing will succeed. If nothing else, given Uncle-Master Shoujing's temperament, he would only proceed to the next step after achieving perfection."
"..." Mo Tiange didn't speak. Luo Fengxue didn't know, but she knew her master was completely pessimistic.
"Oh, right, we should call him Senior Brother Shoujing now. I'm just not used to it. But anyway, soon enough, we'll have to call him Uncle-Master again." Luo Fengxue slapped her forehead. "I've gone off-topic again. What were we talking about just now?"
"About Junior Sister Jiang," Mo Tiange reminded her.
"Oh, I'll make a bet with you. Junior Sister Jiang will still end up marrying Junior Brother Bai. Believe it or not?"
Mo Tiange smiled. "Making a bet with you would be asking to lose. In the entire Xuanqing Sect, who has better information than you?"
"That's true." Luo Fengxue was proud but didn't forget to lower her voice. "Last time, Junior Sister Jiang caused a big scene at Chaoyang Peak because Junior Brother Bai rejected her. In my opinion, Junior Sister Jiang probably still has some fondness for Junior Brother Bai. That's also why his rejection made her feel so humiliated."
The willful Junior Sister Jiang and the self-important Junior Brother Bai... This combination made Mo Tiange smile. "If that's really the case, we'll have a show to watch every day."
"Exactly!" Luo Fengxue chuckled softly. "And besides, Junior Brother Bai... actually has no principles. Although he refused, if Uncle-Master Zhenyang absolutely insists he dual cultivate with Junior Sister Jiang? Junior Sister Jiang is considered beautiful; he'd definitely yield then." At this point, she pouted again. "To be honest, I think Uncle-Master Zhenyang is the one who gains the most. Having Junior Brother Bai and Junior Sister Jiang form a dual cultivation partnership now makes everyone think he's kind-hearted. But this matter definitely doesn't only benefit Liuyun Peak. The likelihood of Senior Brother Danning successfully forming his Nascent Soul isn't high. Among the other Liuyun Peak disciples, few have hope. But Junior Brother Bai's future chances of forming a Nascent Soul are quite high—hmph, when Junior Brother Bai forms his Nascent Soul later, he can take over Liuyun Peak. How perfect."
Mo Tiange was silent for a moment, then said, "But with Junior Brother Bai's current cultivation level, it will take at least two or three hundred years before he forms his Nascent Soul, right? During that time, our Xuanqing Sect might produce more than one Nascent Soul cultivator. Wouldn't Liuyun Peak be split off by then?"
Luo Fengxue was taken aback. "That's true too... Ah, even so, Uncle-Master Zhenyang doesn't lose. Forget forming a Nascent Soul; just forming a Core. In recent years, many fellow disciples have reached Foundation Establishment late stage. I estimate the competition for gathering herbs in the formation this time will be fierce, Tiange. You need to be careful."
"Hmm?" Mo Tiange didn't understand. "Why do I need to be careful?"
Luo Fengxue said, "Although there are many spiritual herbs left over from ancient times within the formation, these all have to be handed over. When you people form your Cores later, the sect will still distribute the existing pills. There's only so many pills in total, divided among you people—think about it. If you take less, others can take more. Could there be people who don't want you to gather many herbs?"
This reasoning wasn't wrong. Mo Tiange asked, "Would someone actually take action against me?"
"Taking action is unlikely; sect rules forbid fellow disciples from harming each other." Luo Fengxue's gaze swept over the crowd. "But tripping you up, blocking you outside—that's very possible."
"..." She hadn't expected the sect task she hadn't paid much mind to actually carried risks. Fortunately, her master had already told her to preserve what was important to herself.
"Come, there are some people you need to be careful of. I'll point them out to you."