The three of them separated, each keeping a distance of about ten zhang from the others. They followed at a leisurely pace, neither too close nor too far.
In truth, this distance was practically nothing to Mo Tiange with her divine sense spread out. Still, it was better than nothing; if she retracted her divine sense, the influence on her consciousness would still be reduced.
As for the second trial, Mo Tiange even felt some anticipation. If nothing unexpected happened, after this matter was resolved, she would go into seclusion until she reached Foundation Establishment perfection, then attempt to break through to Core Formation. For cultivators like them who had never experienced it before, the most terrifying part of Core Formation was the Inner Demon trial. If this second trial, the Five Obstacles Covering Consciousness, was similar to an Inner Demon, then it would be equivalent to experiencing a trial akin to an Inner Demon before forming her Core. She would gain some experience and know how to handle it when the time came.
"Why is there no movement?" Ye Jingwen whispered after they had walked for a while.
He was using divine sense transmission, so the surroundings remained quiet.
Mo Tiange also felt something was off. Frowning in thought for a moment, she asked, "Why are there no others besides us?"
Ye Jingwen was startled. "Right! Logically, our speed in breaking the formation should be considered fast. After this much time, shouldn't more people have broken through?"
Luo Fengxue pondered. "Considering the Foundation Establishment stage, the number who can pass the first trial shouldn't be very few, but also not many. Still, it really shouldn't be that there's no one else besides us..."
Luo Fengxue frowned deeply for a long time, then suddenly exclaimed, "Maybe we're already in the second trial! The Five Obstacles Covering Consciousness, so we can't sense the surrounding situation!"
Mo Tiange turned to look around. They were already deep within the mountain. The surrounding rock walls were still like before, but the terrain was no longer the same. The soil had increased, and many dense spiritual herbs grew all around. Light from an unknown source shone down, illuminating the area brightly.
Ye Jingwen drew his flying sword, remaining vigilant. "Junior Sister Luo, are you sure? Could there be some danger around?"
Upon hearing this, Luo Fengxue carefully examined their surroundings, then closed her eyes in deep concentration. Finally, she nodded gravely. "It should be. Try using your divine sense—see how far you can extend it."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange and Ye Jingwen closed their eyes and probed with their divine sense. Soon after, their expressions turned solemn. There was indeed a problem. Their divine sense could only extend a few dozen zhang, sensing only the three of them.
Luo Fengxue said, "It's begun. Let's each guard our own minds and not influence each other further."
While being together allowed for warnings, if one person's perception became distorted, the other two would also be affected. It was better for each to face their own trial.
With Luo Fengxue saying this, Mo Tiange and Ye Jingwen had no objections. Each found a spot to prepare for the trial of the Five Obstacles Covering Consciousness.
Mo Tiange set up a simple defensive array around herself before sitting cross-legged, just in case something unexpected happened.
Closing her eyes, she shut out all external sensations, closed off her consciousness, and focused solely within her sea of consciousness. Spiritual energy circulated naturally, calming her mind and spirit.
Soon, she felt herself entering a wondrous state. Everything around her receded into the distance, as if she were standing in an empty wilderness. The wind whistled softly, a gentle breeze blew, and in all of heaven and earth, she was the only one.
Mo Tiange hadn't expected that this time, she would so coincidentally and easily enter the state of forgetting self and merging with the divine.
Regarding mental states, it was an abstract and mysterious topic. Generally, the sensations of such states were difficult to communicate to others. When masters taught their disciples, they could only guide them slowly. Yet each person's feelings differed, and in the end, one still had to rely on oneself.
As for cultivating one's mental state, there was no other path but to see more, hear more, experience more, and gain insights to make progress.
Having traveled outside for over twenty years, Mo Tiange felt she hadn't experienced much. Most of that time was spent trapped in the Biyun Pavilion's Virtue Attainment Tower. But in truth, the pressure she endured in the tower, with Ren Yufeng watching menacingly from outside, was also a form of mental cultivation. Moreover, within the tower, she had studied the notes left by Mo Yaoqing, reading about Mo Yaoqing's lifetime of insights—this too was mental cultivation.
Reaching the mortal world, visiting the Ye Family, seeing the Ye Family's situation for her second uncle; then coincidentally entering the Ziwei Cave Abode, learning about the life of the Ziwei Hermit, and the ill-fated relationship between Yao Zixiu and Shang Ruwan; then the extreme northern glaciers, encountering the Ren Yufeng incident, all the way to the East Sea.
Over twenty years, just like that, unconsciously, Mo Tiange's mental state had reached a certain level without her even knowing. That was why, in this trial similar to an Inner Demon—the Five Obstacles Covering Consciousness—she easily entered the state of forgetting self and merging with the divine.
She didn't know how much time had passed. In a hazy, half-conscious state, Mo Tiange seemed to return to the Mo Family Village in the Jin Kingdom—
"Husband, are you really leaving?" Though dressed as a married woman, the woman's face still retained a maiden's youthful tenderness. She gazed at the man before her with reluctance.
The man appeared to be in his thirties. Compared to his wife, he was considerably older. Yet he was refined and courteous, poised and calm, possessing a mature charm that young men in their early twenties lacked.
Looking at his young wife, he soothed her, "Don't worry. I'll return in a while."
"But..." The woman hesitated, lowering her head in silence.
The man smiled gently, taking his wife's hand and placing it over her flat abdomen. "I'll try my best to return before the child is born. During this time, if anything happens, tell Sister-in-law Awang. I've already asked her to look after you."
The woman felt somewhat shy. "Husband... you already know?"
"How could I not know?" He gazed at his wife's still-unnoticeable belly, a trace of hidden melancholy in his eyes. "...I hope this child can be safe and sound."
Several years later—
"Mother, why don't I have a father?" A little girl with blue and purple marks on her face asked her pale, sickly mother.
The mother gently applied medicine to her wounds. Hearing this question, her movements halted.
"Mother?"
The woman came back to herself and shook her head. "Don't listen to their nonsense. Your father went out on business. He'll return once he's finished."
"But..." The little girl was confused. "Did Father go to a very, very far place? He still hasn't come back?"
"Yes, very, very far..."
And so, that day, she made a wish, hoping her father would return home quickly, so no one would ever call her a fatherless child again.
Then—
"Tian Ge, Tian Ge! Your father is back!"
That day was her birthday. Her mother had made her longevity noodles for dinner and fried a sunny-side-up egg. She heard the voice of Aunt Awang from next door.
A man walked into the yard from outside, travel-worn but smiling.
Her father was exactly as her mother had described—kind, gentle, his smile making her feel warm.
"Tian Ge, so you're Tian Ge!" Her father bent down. "You've grown so big. I'm your father."
Her mother came out of the house, tears in her eyes.
Her father smiled, picked her up, and walked to her mother. "Wife, I'm back. I've come to take you away."
Her wish had come true. Everything was blurry, as if in a dream, yet she saw her father's face, her heart filled with joy. And this feeling of joy was real.
Her father took her and her mother back to Kunwu, teaching her to cultivate. Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment—this life was so smooth... She grew up, advanced to Core Formation, the Ye Family did not decline... Later, she met a man. They took a liking to each other and became cultivation partners... Later still, she advanced to Nascent Soul, roaming the Tianji Continent unmatched...
She possessed more and more. Whatever she wanted, she eventually obtained—family affection, friendship, love, family, cultivation, spiritual treasures... Finally, she reached God Transformation, becoming a god-like existence in the mortal world.
Standing atop the world, looking down at the mortal realm beneath her feet, everything was in her grasp. Yet she felt empty, as if she had gained nothing.
She suddenly began to doubt whether all of this was real. If it wasn't real, why did it feel so authentic? If it was real, why was everything before her eyes always so blurry?
She loved this feeling of perfection too much. Deep in her heart, there wouldn't be profound regret, no matter how hard she tried to bury it. But... why was it so empty, as if she had gained nothing?
Suddenly, a chill spread from her chest, jolting her awake from the beautiful dream.
Mo Tiange opened her eyes, feeling a wave of lingering fear. She had entered the state of forgetting self and merging with the divine and had guarded her mind, yet she had still fallen for it. If someone with an unstable mind encountered this, who knew what would happen?
Looking around, she saw five or six people sitting at various distances, Ye Jingwen and Luo Fengxue among them.
Indeed, Luo Fengxue had guessed correctly. In fact, they hadn't gone far before entering the trial of the second stage, yet they had been unaware, so they couldn't see the surrounding scene.
Greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, doubt—this trial made Mo Tiange realize that while she wasn't trapped by anger, ignorance, arrogance, or doubt, greed was deeply buried within her heart.
She wanted to return to her childhood, find her father, have a complete family; she also wanted to smoothly enter the world of Immortal cultivation, not wander for over a decade; she wanted to have family, friends, a lover, perfect and complete; she also wanted to achieve success in cultivation, advance to God Transformation, and laugh proudly between heaven and earth... So it turned out she was this greedy.
These regrets since childhood had never been forgotten.
Ever since coming to the Xuanqing Sect, her path of Immortal cultivation had been very smooth. She had always thought that aside from the path of cultivation, she desired nothing. Yet it turned out there were greedy desires suppressed in her subconscious.
Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on Mo Tiange's forehead. If not for entering this Myriad Laws of Nature Formation, she wouldn't have realized there were still flaws in her mental state. If she had attempted Core Formation just like that, there would surely have been setbacks.
Fortunately, before forming her Core, she had coincidentally entered this Myriad Laws of Nature Formation and become aware of her mental weakness. In the time to come, she must resolve this greed before attempting Core Formation.
Having settled her thoughts, Mo Tiange closed her eyes again, regulating her breathing for a while to restore her mental state to calmness. Then she stood up and gathered the spiritual herbs around her.
What to do next, however, posed a dilemma. Ye Jingwen and Luo Fengxue were still here, their faces occasionally showing expressions of pain or pleasure, clearly still undergoing the trial of the Five Obstacles Covering Consciousness. They had originally agreed to look out for each other, but her current situation was somewhat special. She hadn't, as Luo Fengxue said, directly entered the third trial after the second. If she stayed here, who knew what illusions might arise? What if she mistook the people around her for enemies?
After a while, no one around her had awakened. Everyone was experiencing their own trial of consciousness.
Mo Tiange thought for a moment, then stood up and continued walking inward.
Whether to stay or leave, both had their doubts. Might as well follow her whims. Besides, there really were many spiritual herbs here. If she could gather more, that would be good.
Walking along, gathering herbs as she went, she traveled farther and farther, slowly forgetting where she was...