Phoenix flowers dyed the mountain path between the rock walls a deep crimson.
No one could have predicted that within the mountain, there would be such a hidden path, layered from light pink to deep red, surrounded by varying shades of crimson.
Mo Tiange examined it carefully. This was a Fallen Phoenix Wood, and judging by its lushness, it had likely been thriving since the Ancient Era.
The branches of the Fallen Phoenix Wood could be used for artifact refining, while its flowers and fruits were useful for alchemy—truly a treasure. She opened her medicine pouch and slowly gathered the ripe fruits that had fallen to the ground, the most precious part of the Fallen Phoenix Wood. Then she plucked some flowers and took a couple of branch segments that wouldn't harm the main trunk, storing them all in her Qiankun Bag.
After finishing this, Mo Tiange intended to return the way she came. However, she realized she couldn't remember the path back.
There were many forks within the mountain's rock walls, which shouldn't be particularly difficult for a cultivator to distinguish. But standing at a junction, Mo Tiange genuinely found she had forgotten where she came from.
This feeling of disorientation was something she had never experienced before. At first, she wondered if she had actually failed the second test, hence this sensation of being utterly unable to remember the way. Yet everything before her eyes felt too real—the fragrance of the soil, the brilliance of the Phoenix Wood. Everything she saw, heard, and touched was so authentic it seemed impossible to be false.
Could this be the third test? she pondered. The Five Bewilderments Entangling Spirits—everything before one's eyes was an Illusion, yet indistinguishable from reality.
Thinking this, she made a swift decision and found a spot beneath the Phoenix Wood to sit down.
When unsure of the situation, it was best to remain unchanged to cope with the myriad changes. Moreover, since the Five Bewilderments Entangling Spirits were Illusions, if she saw nothing, they should have no effect.
Applying a Clear Heart Talisman, swallowing a Ningxin Pill, and after a moment's thought, removing the Spirit-Hiding Pendant to hold in her hand, Mo Tiange sat cross-legged with closed eyes, preparing to face the third test.
Although wearing it around her neck allowed the Spirit-Hiding Pendant to function, holding it directly against her palm, pressed against her meridians, would enhance its effects.
...That dreamlike sensation appeared again. Her entire being felt muddled, as if her rationality was drifting away. She felt she was about to fall asleep.
"Ancestor!" In her daze, Mo Tiange heard a voice.
She opened her eyes and, through the sparse Phoenix Wood leaves, saw Ruan Mingzhu.
Why was she here? And why was she calling out 'Ancestor'?
One moment she was thinking this, the next it felt perfectly normal for Ruan Mingzhu to be here. Why should she think it strange?
Ruan Mingzhu hadn't noticed her. Wearing a charming, naive smile, she walked while looking beside her, as if accompanied by someone.
Yet the space beside her was clearly empty.
"Ancestor!" Ruan Mingzhu said, pouting as she walked. "Senior Brother ignores me, and you don't even scold him for it!"
After a pause, as if hearing a response from beside her, she pursed her lips unwillingly. "Why should I learn from Senior Brother? We formed our Foundation in our twenties—are we afraid we won't have time for Core Formation? In my opinion, it's Senior Brother who's abnormal, acting like an old man at such a young age!"
After saying this, she paused briefly, then covered her mouth with a giggle, looking utterly delighted. "Anyway, I want to live freely and happily! What's the point of cultivating immortality if not to shut oneself away in a Cave Abode for secluded meditation?"
By now, Ruan Mingzhu had reached the front of the Phoenix Wood.
She looked up at the entirely red tree but didn't see Mo Tiange sitting not far away.
"Wow, so beautiful! I must bring Senior Brother to see this next time!"
After saying this, her expression grew momentarily confused before slowly breaking into a smile again. "Senior Brother, let me show you something good. Ah, come on, come on!"
Then, as if pulling someone along, she walked right under the Phoenix Wood.
"See? Isn't it pretty?"
A moment later, she snorted, displeased. "Senior Brother, you're out with me to have fun. Can't you be more focused?"
"..."
"Ah!" Ruan Mingzhu's laughter now resembled that of a carefree young girl, simple and purely joyful. "Senior Brother, you'll make yourself miserable like this. Always cultivating, cultivating... I don't believe you actually enjoy it. How boring!"
"Haha," she reached out to pull the non-existent person. "Senior Brother, you should smile more. You look so handsome when you smile."
Mo Tiange watched Ruan Mingzhu not far away, her vision blurring momentarily as a figure quietly appeared beside Ruan Mingzhu.
He reached out and patted Ruan Mingzhu's head, saying, "Stop talking nonsense. Once we've had enough fun, we'll go back."
But Ruan Mingzhu turned her head away. "No! I don't want to go back! Senior Brother, we finally managed to get out..."
A chill from the Spirit-Hiding Pendant in her palm jolted Mo Tiange, her consciousness clearing somewhat, yet she was bewildered by what she saw.
Was this real or false? Was it Ruan Mingzhu's Illusion, or her own?
As this thought surfaced, the figure she saw gradually faded. She secretly sighed in relief. It seemed she had been influenced by Ruan Mingzhu. Because Ruan Mingzhu was experiencing an Illusion, Mo Tiange had conjured the image of someone who should be there.
A while later, Ruan Mingzhu's expression changed again. The formerly charming, cute girl vanished, replaced by a furious, aggressive demeanor.
"You think I don't know what's in your heart?" she angrily pointed at the Phoenix Wood ahead. "Let me tell you, don't even dream about it. Look at yourself! Trying to steal Senior Brother from me? In your dreams!"
"..."
"You dare talk back to me? That's right, so what if I'm actually the Ancestor's grand-disciple? I can call him Senior Brother—can you? Wei Jiasi, remember your place!"
This was... Mo Tiange tried to listen more closely, but her own consciousness began to blur again. Ruan Mingzhu's voice seemed both distant and near.
"Fine! I'll teach you a lesson today, so what?" Anger surfaced on Ruan Mingzhu's face. Treating the Phoenix Wood as Wei Jiasi, she raised her hand and thrust out her sword.
A branch of the Phoenix Wood was sliced off. Mo Tiange wanted to stand up but found her mind growing hazy. What was happening?
Fortunately, Ruan Mingzhu stopped. A look of sorrow appeared on her face. "Ancestor, Ancestor, what did you say?"
"..."
"No, don't send me away!" she cried out. "Ancestor, I didn't mean it, I really didn't mean it. Please don't send me away, okay?" She pleaded pitifully, looking at the person who didn't exist.
"Senior Brother, speak for me. Help me plead with the Ancestor. I didn't do it on purpose. I just wanted to teach her a lesson. I didn't expect to strike so hard..."
"What's the difference between sending me to a branch sect and exiling me? Ancestor, for my father's sake, forgive me this once, okay? I promise I won't do it again. This time I mean it!"
She began to cry, squatting on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
An unknown amount of time passed before she finally wiped her tears away. "Fine, if you won't let me return, then I won't! Let's see when you'll come to fetch me!"
But she was disappointed. Starting with stubborn defiance, her expression slowly turned numb as she sat there in a daze.
Then, after who knows how long, she laughed joyfully. "I can go back? Really, I can go back?" She giggled happily. "I knew it! The Ancestor and Senior Brother care for me the most. They'd never leave me alone here!"
"Ancestor!" She jumped up, but the next moment, her smile froze. "Ancestor, you're still sending me back?"
She shouted, "Why? Sixty years isn't enough? To punish me, keeping me in that place isn't enough? I don't want to go back!"
"Senior Brother!" She seemed to see something again, urgently trying to grasp someone. "Senior Brother, I'm back, I..."
Her smile lasted only a moment before turning into disbelief. "Senior Brother, what did you say? Even you..."
She slumped to the ground, muttering to herself, "You... you really don't like me anymore? Why? Why won't you forgive me after all this time? Why does everyone say it's my fault? Before, even when I made mistakes, you'd forgive me. But this time... do you really intend never to forgive me?"
Tears slowly streamed down her haggard face, dripping onto her hands. She lacked even the strength to cry loudly, her eyes filled with despair.
"I... what's the point of me living? No one likes me. Not even the Ancestor and Senior Brother like me anymore..." She slowly raised her head, staring fixedly at a certain spot as if looking at something.
An unknown time later, a look of mingled hatred and sorrow flashed in her eyes. "So... you already have someone to replace me? Some 'Auntie Mo'? Ancestor, Senior Brother, look at me. I'm Mingzhu. Only I am the Mingzhu you dote on! Ancestor..."
"No... you don't like Mingzhu anymore? I... I refuse to accept this! They were mine! The Ancestor was mine, Senior Brother was mine!" A fierce expression appeared on Ruan Mingzhu's face as she slowly turned her head, now face-to-face with Mo Tiange sitting cross-legged under the Phoenix Wood.
"Wei Jiasi, come to mock me, have you? Hmph!" Ruan Mingzhu's expression clearly mistook her for Wei Jiasi.
Mo Tiange kept her eyes open, sensing something was wrong but unable to articulate it.
Ruan Mingzhu drew her sword and slowly stood up. "What if I teach you another lesson? Just like you said, I have nothing left anyway!"
Mo Tiange watched helplessly as Ruan Mingzhu raised her hand, watched as she thrust her sword forward.
In that split second, she finally moved. Raising a hand, a surge of spiritual energy blocked the sword's path, but she couldn't maintain her grip, and the item in her hand fell.
Ruan Mingzhu bent down and picked it up.
It was a Jade Pendant, round in shape, with a warm, smooth jade hue, carved with cloud patterns and tied with a red cord. In the center of the other side was a small engraved character: "Qin."
Ruan Mingzhu's eyes widened—first in surprise, then confusion, before her face darkened with rising anger. Her fingers trembled. "Senior Brother... Senior Brother, you actually gave this pendant away. You..."
Her gaze gradually turned cold as she looked at Mo Tiange, unsure if she was speaking to her or to herself. "The Ancestor and Senior Brother despise me. Everyone in the sect looks down on me... Why should I remain Ruan Mingzhu? No, I won't be Ruan Mingzhu anymore." Her eyes held a sinister glint as they fixed on Mo Tiange's face. "It would be so much better to be you. The Ancestor's disciple, able to call him 'Senior Brother' openly... with such good aptitude, perhaps in a few decades I could advance to Core Formation. Then..." A dreamlike smile appeared on her lips. "Well then, I'll become you..."