After completing a major circulation cycle and withdrawing the spiritual qi surrounding her, Mo Tiange opened her eyes, ready to practice her spells.
Ever since entering the mid-stage of Qi Refining, she had no longer focused solely on cultivating the Art of the Plain Maiden. Her second uncle had said that while this technique was profound, it lacked offensive methods in its early stages and was easily recognizable. For cultivators from major sects, this wasn't a concern, but for loose cultivators like them who often needed to fight, it was better to learn some more practical spells.
Once her realm had stabilized, her second uncle had given her the Azure Wood Formula. This technique was a treasured heirloom of the Ye family; all disciples with wood spirit roots practiced it. Firstly, this technique could be cultivated all the way to the Core Formation stage, which was sufficient for ordinary cultivators. Secondly, this technique was exceptionally powerful in combat. Over the past few years, Mo Tiange had mastered this technique thoroughly, all for the sake of the upcoming Immortal Platform Meet.
Now that she had finished cultivating the Art of the Plain Maiden, she began practicing the spells of the Azure Wood Formula.
With a flip of her palm, several unknown seeds appeared in her hand. With another flick, those seeds landed at the foot of the table, rapidly sprouting tender shoots that grew into thorns in an instant, firmly entangling the table.
Mo Tiange looked at the thorns and shook her head. The speed wasn't fast enough. A table wouldn't move, but a person would.
Then, she concentrated her fingertips, summoning a small fireball. She flung the fireball onto the thorns, which quickly burned to ashes, leaving the table leg completely unscathed.
This was also the result of her two years of practice. By controlling spiritual qi to a subtle degree, she could burn whatever she wanted. It could be said to be an enhanced version of Li Yushan's technique from years ago, where he used a flame to break through a wall without damaging it. Using the Azure Wood Formula's seeds to cast an Entangling Spell, then controlling the enemy with a fire spirit technique, was a method of subduing enemies she had devised herself.
After practicing for a while longer and seeing that the sky was fully bright, Mo Tiange got up, washed up, and went out to get some food.
Cultivators could only achieve Bigu at Qi Refining Level 10, and could only avoid worldly filth at the Foundation Establishment stage. She was only at Qi Refining Level 7 and still needed to eat, bathe, and was essentially still a mortal. Therefore, it was an unwritten rule in the cultivation world that Qi Refining cultivators couldn't go into seclusion for too long. After all, if you secluded yourself for several months, you'd emerge with aching muscles, a sore back, and covered in grime—something no one could stand.
Mo Tiange never ate Bigu Pills. Firstly, although Bigu Pills were cheap, they were still pills. Secondly, how could Bigu Pills compare to real food? Although mortal food would increase impurities in the body, this wasn't a concern with spirit beasts, and they could even provide a tiny amount of spiritual qi. While spirit beasts with combat abilities were rare, other beasts imbued with spiritual qi were everywhere. After all, this was the Kunwu Mountains.
Leaving her dwelling, she headed with familiar ease towards the dense forest behind the market. Most cultivators loved to eat Bigu Pills, thinking that consuming mortal food would lead to impurities. Not everyone knew that eating spirit beasts and spirit plants was fine, and mortals wouldn't dare to eat spirit beasts. Therefore, Mo Tiange never worried about food; she could just come to this forest and catch a bird or a pheasant.
As soon as she entered the forest, she immediately spotted a plump spirit rabbit hopping about. Mo Tiange was delighted. When it came to taste, rabbit was still the best, but rabbits had too many natural predators and weren't commonly seen.
She tossed out a seed, which instantly transformed into an Entangling Spell, firmly trapping the rabbit. The rabbit panicked. With a wave of her hand, a wind blade passed by, and the rabbit fell with a thud. She went over, picked up the rabbit, and tossed it into her Qiankun Bag.
Afraid she might hesitate to kill if she caught it alive, she always eliminated her prey first before collecting it. Her second uncle always said she wasn't ruthless enough. One must know that the cultivation world was full of dangers everywhere. Merely the inner demons of advancement couldn't stop some people from committing evil deeds, after all, inner demons only appeared when advancing to the Core Formation stage. And among the hundreds of thousands of cultivators in Tianji, Core Formation cultivators numbered only about a thousand.
The incident with Li Yushan in her childhood and later being forced to leave Dongmeng Mountain had taught her that she must possess powerful strength and not fear bloodshed. To protect herself, she might even have to strike first and eliminate the other party, just like Ye Jingwen, who, upon discovering Li Yushan's ill intentions, directly eliminated him without even frowning. However, even though she knew this rationally, she still wasn't accustomed to it. Perhaps only after experiencing bloodshed could she gradually get used to taking lives.
After catching the rabbit, she also gathered some wild vegetables and herbs in the forest. Just as she was about to stand up and return, she suddenly sensed two auras approaching and paused.
There were two sets of footsteps, meaning two people. This place only yielded ordinary beasts and plants imbued with spiritual qi; usually, no one came here at all. Why would two people suddenly appear?
Unable to suppress her curiosity, she concealed her aura and crouched behind a clump of bushes, peeking through the gaps in the grass.
Sure enough, there were two people. She saw two pairs of feet: one wearing black long boots, the other embroidered shoes. It seemed to be a man and a woman.
The man's feet stopped first, then he said softly, "Little Sister Lian, there shouldn't be anyone here."
The woman didn't reply. Mo Tiange shifted slightly and finally saw their full appearance. She saw the two young cultivators, a man and a woman, gazing at each other affectionately, their hands tightly clasped together, clearly in the throes of spring passion.
She immediately regretted it so much she wanted to bang her head. This was clearly a young couple looking for a place for a secret rendezvous.
Not looking over there again, she crouched hesitantly. Leaving now was obviously inappropriate. Of these two, the man was at Qi Refining Level 7 like her, and the woman was at Qi Refining Level 6. If she hadn't cultivated the Art of the Plain Maiden, giving her stronger divine sense and aura-concealing techniques than them, she probably would have been discovered long ago. If she left now, they would both think she had ill intentions. Moreover, having their secret meeting exposed, nine times out of ten they would teach her a lesson. She didn't want to get beaten up for no reason.
Just as she was greatly regretting this, things over there had already become like dry wood meeting blazing fire. The man spread his robe on the ground and actually embraced "Little Sister Lian," intending to engage in indecent acts.
Upon realizing this, Mo Tiange was even more shocked. She had thought it was just a young couple finding a place for some sweet talk. Who knew they actually wanted to...
Listening to the sounds coming from over there, these two were clearly already embracing and kissing. "Little Sister Lian" managed to say between breaths, "Be careful with the clothes."
The man grunted in acknowledgment but didn't stop in the slightest. The two undressed with astonishing speed, proceed directly.
Hearing that the dry wood blazing fire had already ignited over there, Mo Tiange instantly had the impulse to bury herself. She had been disguised as a boy for many years. Usually, she either focused on cultivation or studied the Dao of Formations with her second uncle, completely ignorant of these matters between men and women. Therefore, she now felt extremely awkward, lowering her head and not daring to glance over there even once.
She didn't know how much time had passed when the sounds over there gradually subsided. The man said, "Little Sister Lian, there's only one month left until the Immortal Platform Meet. How is your family preparing?"
Little Sister Lian's voice sounded delicate enough to drip water, sweetly chided playfully, "We finally get to meet, and you ask about these things."
The man quickly coaxed, "Isn't it because I want to enter the Yunwu Sect together with you? If we enter the sect, our families won't be able to control us anymore. Then we can become dual cultivation partners, flying together..."
Little Sister Lian seemed somewhat hesitant. "I... actually have some confidence."
The man said, "Some? What treasure did your family give you?"
Little Sister Lian laughed but didn't answer.
Curious, Mo Tiange secretly peeked through the bushes again and saw the naked man and woman entangled together, only haphazardly covered with some clothes. She silently recited a few times in her mind to ignore them before looking at their appearances again.
Both were around twenty years old. The man was quite handsome, and the woman was gentle and charming. No wonder, judging from their words, they were meeting behind their families' backs. Beauty was truly a scourge.
The man hugged Little Sister Lian and coaxed again, "Good Little Sister Lian, just tell me. Otherwise, I really can't rest easy."
Perhaps moved by the concern in his words, Little Sister Lian finally said, "Father gave me the Soul-Confusing Lamp. I think no matter what opponent I face, I'll have some confidence."
Although her tone sounded modest, the meaning behind it was actually quite confident. Mo Tiange was greatly curious. What exactly was this Soul-Confusing Lamp, and why was this woman so confident? One must know that at the Immortal Platform Meet, there were even cultivators at Qi Refining Level 10. Generally, most were like Mo Tiange, at Qi Refining Level 7, the peak of the mid-stage. This woman was only at Qi Refining Level 6, which was considered on the lower end in terms of cultivation, yet she felt she had some confidence against anyone?
The man said, "So that's how it is. Then I'm not worried anymore. Little Sister Lian, you will definitely enter the Yunwu Sect. When the time comes, we..."
The unspoken meaning in his words made Little Sister Lian blush again. The man leaned in, and the two became intimate once more.
Mo Tiange withdrew her gaze but felt somewhat puzzled. Just now, she seemed to have seen a flash of killing intent in the man's eyes. Could she have been mistaken?