Mo Tiange felt she was dreaming. Yet everything also felt real.
In this dream, she was a tiny, faint ball of white light, drifting through an endless sea of clouds. She felt joyful, for in this cloud sea, she was free and unconstrained. But before long, she grew frustrated, because she could not traverse this sea of clouds.
At first, her whiteness was thin, carrying a kind of transparent chill. Not long after, a warm current would often enter her body, bringing a layer of warm red to her whiteness.
This warmth brought her many changes. She found herself growing stronger, her speed of drifting through the cloud sea increasing. Later, she discovered the cloud sea had also become strange—lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, rain scattered and clouds gathered, alternating back and forth, gaining much vitality.
But before long, this warmth disappeared. And the warmth that once was, also dissipated bit by bit.
She fell into a true dream.
"Tian Ge, go quickly and call your father back for dinner."
"Oh, okay." The little girl who had been sprawled over the desk doing her homework jumped up and called out, "Mom, I want fish balls, do we have them today?"
"Yes, of course we do." A voice full of laughter. "Whatever you want to eat, we have. Go quickly and call your father back for dinner."
"Dad, dad..."
...All regrets began with losing her father. So deep in her heart, she would fantasize over and over again: if her father were here, how would things be? Would she then have a perfect life?
This point, she vaguely knew, but had not anticipated how serious it was. Even now, as she had become the personal disciple of a Nascent Soul cultivator, with peerless talent and possessing many, many things others did not, she could not fill the void of regret in her heart.
In the Myriad Laws of Nature Formation, when the Five Bewilderments Entangled Spirits, she finally understood what kind of weakness existed in her mental state. Her heart was not weak, her will was not unsteady, her Dao Heart was not unfirm, but the regret of her childhood remained buried deep within.
And in reality, if she had her father, would her life truly be perfect? Her father was a Core Formation cultivator, a famous cultivator in West Kunwu. But her mother was a mortal. Even if her father had genuinely loved her mother back then, it could not have been a perfectly happy family.
A mortal, marrying a Core Formation cultivator—how could she be happy for a lifetime? When they were in the mortal world, they were indeed a loving couple. But if they had gone to Kunwu, they definitely would not have been happy and complete. Her mother would have been looked down upon, no matter how well her father treated her. And because her mother was a mortal, she herself would also have been looked down upon.
Moreover, as a mortal, her mother only had a hundred years of lifespan, a short dozen or so years of youth. Her father, as a Core Formation cultivator, could live for five or six hundred years, perhaps even seven or eight hundred.
What's more, possessing a pure Yin constitution but lacking spiritual roots, her mother was destined to have only a little over twenty years of life.
Even if she had her father, she would still lose her mother. Even without over a decade of wandering from place to place, she could not have avoided all suffering.
In the dream, Mo Tiange watched herself gain a father but lose a mother, finally understanding this truth.
In a person's life, perhaps many misfortunes can be avoided, but not all regrets can be made up for. Treading the path of seeking immortality and inquiring into the Dao, one must understand this truth even more. Rejoice in what you gain, do not grieve over what you lose, because you will always lose something. It's better to rejoice for every single thing you possess.
She opened her eyes, waking from this long dream, her heart at peace.
"Aunt?!" Ye Zhenji's voice, filled with disbelief yet brimming with joy. "Aunt, you've finally woken up!"
Seeing his excited appearance, Mo Tiange lifted the corner of her mouth and smiled lightly. "You..." Having not spoken for a long time, her voice was hoarse.
"Oh, Aunt, have some water." Ye Zhenji hurriedly poured some tea and helped her sit up.
Mo Tiange drank the water in one gulp and smiled. "It's not like I can't move, no need for this." In fact, her body was now filled with abundant Spiritual Qi, and she felt very energetic.
Ye Zhenji ignored that and continued asking, "Aunt, how are you now, are you alright? Wait, I'll go call Grandmaster." With that, he dashed out before Mo Tiange could even call him back.
Mo Tiange had no choice. She shook her head and climbed out of bed.
She remembered the events before her coma. She just didn't know how long she had been unconscious. Three days? Five days? However, this incident had turned misfortune into blessing. If not for this, she would have likely entered closed-door cultivation for Core Formation without any awareness, and problems would have arisen then.
Even though a Foundation Establishment cultivator's body no longer had any impurities and would not produce filth, the feeling of having slept for so long was still very uncomfortable. Mo Tiange went to wash her face and saw Ye Zhenji hurriedly bringing Daojun Jinghe in.
"Master."
Daojun Jinghe's expression was serious. He nodded, then took her wrist to check her meridians.
After a while, Daojun Jinghe released her hand, his expression easing. "Finally, you're alright."
Mo Tiange was puzzled. "Master, what are you doing? What could possibly be wrong with me?" Since she hadn't been injured by Ruan Mingzhu, she figured it was just her Divine Sense that had been impacted. Was there a need to be so tense?
Hearing this, Daojun Jinghe pointed at her and said, "You girl, you really don't know the danger! What could be wrong? If you had woken up any later, something would definitely have gone wrong!"
"Ah?" Mo Tiange was even more confused.
Ye Zhenji then said, "Aunt, do you know how long you were in a coma?"
"Was it really that long?"
"It's been three years!" Ye Zhenji couldn't help but exclaim. "Aunt, you've been in a coma for three years!"
Mo Tiange was stunned. "That long?" To her, it was just a dream. Yet three years had actually passed.
Daojun Jinghe said, "Alright, I see you're perfectly fine. If you have any questions, ask Zhenji." With that, he waved his sleeve and just left.
Mo Tiange always felt something was off. Given Daojun Jinghe's temperament, there was no reason for him to be so calm, right?
After thinking for a moment, she asked Ye Zhenji, "What's going on with your Grandmaster? Why does he seem somewhat unhappy?"
Ye Zhenji said, "Maybe it's because Master still hasn't returned."
Mo Tiange was taken aback. "Your master... hasn't returned?" What exactly happened in these three years?
"Yes. After Aunt had the accident, Master came out of seclusion. Grandmaster said Aunt had sealed her own Sea of Consciousness and wouldn't wake up for a while. To refine pills to help you wake up, Master went out to search for medicinal herbs."
"..."
After a long while, with no reaction from Mo Tiange, Ye Zhenji couldn't help but call out, "Aunt?"
"Ah?" Mo Tiange snapped out of her daze.
Ye Zhenji was full of questions. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Suppressing her chaotic emotions, she showed a smile. "Zhenji, tell me slowly what exactly happened in these three years."
"Oh, okay..."
Back then, she only remembered that Ruan Mingzhu had fallen into a Demonic Obstacle and wanted to harm her. When the Five Bewilderments Entangled Spirits, she only had a sliver of Spiritual Qi left to block her. Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, somehow the formation was triggered. What happened after that, Mo Tiange didn't remember. Now, hearing Ye Zhenji tell it, she learned it was actually excessive stimulation to her Divine Sense that caused her to seal her own consciousness.
When Ye Zhenji mentioned Qin Xi bringing her back for treatment, Mo Tiange's brows furrowed.
"How did your master know I was injured?"
Ye Zhenji glanced at her carefully and said, "Master... sensed an ill omen."
"..." Mo Tiange stared ahead, not speaking for a long time.
"Aunt?" Seeing her expression, Ye Zhenji couldn't figure out what she was thinking.
Mo Tiange came back to her senses and forced a smile. "What is it?"
"What are you thinking about, Aunt?"
"Nothing." Her expression was calm. "What else? Continue."
"Okay." Ye Zhenji continued slowly. "Grandmaster said Aunt had sealed her own Sea of Consciousness. Your person wasn't damaged, but there was no telling when you would wake up. Master said if Aunt was only unconscious for a short time, it would be fine. But if the coma lasted too long, your body might atrophy, so he asked Grandmaster to think of a way... Later, Grandmaster brought out a set of techniques for Master to practice, to use Spiritual Qi to temper Aunt's body every day. After some more days, Grandmaster found a few pill formulas, saying they could help Aunt wake up faster. But many of the spiritual herbs on these formulas were very rare. Not long after, Master left the mountain to search for the herbs."
"And now?"
Ye Zhenji stole a glance at Mo Tiange. Seeing her face was extremely calm, he felt secretly puzzled but didn't have the courage to ask. He continued, "Once Master left the mountain, he never returned. He only occasionally sent messages and sent back the refined pills. The task of tempering your body was all done personally by Grandmaster."
No wonder after three years, not only was her body completely fine, but her Spiritual Qi had even become much more abundant. So this was the reason...
"Why hasn't your master returned?"
"Master never found the most important material for the pill formula, so he never returned." Ye Zhenji hesitated, holding back the words that followed.
He felt somewhat resentful in his heart. Although he had long stopped being angry with his master, he was unwilling to speak well of him.
"So, your master hasn't formed his Nascent Soul all these years?"
Ye Zhenji shook his head. "Master was originally preparing to enter seclusion next. Who knew Aunt would have an accident..."
"..."
"Aunt, what's wrong?"
Mo Tiange felt somewhat uncomfortable and changed the subject. "What about Ruan Mingzhu? How is she?"
"Senior Sister Ruan..." Ye Zhenji said, "Senior Sister Ruan is fine. But it seems the stimulation in the formation was too much; she's forgotten many things."
"Is that so?" Mo Tiange's tone was indifferent. Towards Ruan Mingzhu, she neither liked nor disliked her. She didn't like Ruan Mingzhu's personality. As for what happened in the formation, it couldn't all be blamed on her. She was just unlucky to run into Ruan Mingzhu who had fallen into a Demonic Obstacle at such a time.
"Now Senior Sister Ruan has been sent by Grandmaster to Ganlu Peak. Grandmaster said letting Senior Sister Ruan stay with Perfected One Xuanyin's disciples might be better for her." After saying all this, seeing her expression still calm, Ye Zhenji couldn't help but ask, "Aunt, don't you have any thoughts about this?"
"Thoughts? What thoughts should I have?" Mo Tiange was completely calm, getting up to pour more tea.
"..." Ye Zhenji couldn't say either, but he felt her reaction shouldn't be like this. How to put it? If Aunt really had feelings for Master, she shouldn't be this calm, right? If she didn't, shouldn't she be surprised by Master's attitude?
Ye Zhenji looked up, about to say something, but noticed tea had spilled all over the table. "Aunt! The water spilled!"
"Oh!" Mo Tiange snapped back to reality with a start, forced a smile, and grabbed a towel to wipe her hands.
Ye Zhenji realized something but didn't want to ask. He only said, "Aunt, you rest first. I'll go send a message to Master."