The cultivation world did not have mundane weddings; they called them Dual Cultivation Ceremonies.
A Dual Cultivation Ceremony signified a man and a woman becoming dual cultivation partners. This sounded fair, but as Qin Xi had said, it carried a cold, ruthless undertone.
Dual cultivation was still for the sake of cultivation, so what was placed foremost was always evaluating a cultivator's worth based on their cultivation level, aptitude... They rarely entered dual cultivation for emotional reasons; most did it for cultivation itself. Therefore, many dual cultivation partners would not even establish a Blood Oath. When interests were at stake, husband and wife could turn against each other.
Moreover, one shouldn't think that just because it wasn't called a wedding, there were no mundane affairs. They also discussed dowries and bride prices, only these were replaced with spirit stones, spiritual treasures, and pills. If it was a marriage alliance between two cultivation families, it was even more troublesome, with calculations that absolutely did not lose out to those of mortals.
Occasionally, Mo Tiange would recall Yao Zixiu and Shang Ruwan, whom she had encountered in the Ziwei Cave Mansion. Although they were cultivators, their marriage matters were even more complex than those of mortals.
Of course, for someone like Mo Tiange and Qin Xi, who had no families and shared the same master, things would be much simpler.
But no matter how simple, Mo Tiange inwardly resisted the so-called Dual Cultivation Ceremony.
She knew that although she and Qin Xi had the status of senior brother and junior sister, and were now cultivators of the same realm, the gap between them was not insignificant. A cultivator at the peak of Core Formation, who was highly likely to advance to the Nascent Soul stage after a single seclusion, held a completely different significance for the sect compared to a cultivator who had just formed her Core. The former could potentially enter the Nascent Soul stage in one go, becoming a pillar of the sect, while the latter still needed to rely on her master and sect.
Of course, she believed she would one day form her Nascent Soul too, but what about now? If they truly returned to inform their master and held a Dual Cultivation Ceremony, she and Qin Xi would become the talk of fellow disciples, even outsiders—discussing their disparity, speculating about their possible outcomes.
She wasn't bothered by others' opinions, but she disliked this feeling of being scrutinized and judged.
So, when he said, "Let's hold a wedding for just the two of us," she was actually quite happy inside.
There were no wedding robes, so they found red clothes from the Qiankun Bags they had picked up at Tianmo Mountain, altered them a bit, and used them as wedding attire. There were no red candles, so they used fire-attribute stones from artifact refinement as red candles. There were no guests, only two stone sculpture puppets observing the ceremony from the side. There was no officiant; Little Fire and Feifei were the witnesses.
Heaven and Earth bore witness, the sun and moon served as matchmakers. With their master above, they raised their cups in a distant toast. From this moment, they became husband and wife.
Afterwards, they established the Blood Oath. Essence blood was exchanged, you within me, me within you.
After the wedding, the two sat by the stream under the bamboo grove. There was no alternation of sun and moon within the Void Heaven Realm, so Qin Xi came up with an idea: he had her use a spell technique to tear open the sky of the Void Heaven Realm. Outside, Tianmo Mountain was still shrouded in darkness, demonic energy intertwined. Viewed from within, it looked as if night had fallen, especially with the flashes of lightning and thunder outside, creating a uniquely scenic view.
They sat for a long time. Qin Xi sighed, "It seems we'll be trapped here for at least another two or three years."
Mo Tiange had already mentally prepared for this. They had been trapped here for five years now. At first, there were earth tremors and mountain collapses; even now, restrictions were occasionally triggered. Two or three years was a conservative estimate. If the restrictions remained unstable, it could be over ten years.
Over ten years... by then, people outside would probably think they were dead, right? If their master was still around, with their Life-Soul Lamps in hand, he would of course know they were alive. But if their master hadn't escaped...
Thinking of this, Mo Tiange couldn't help but worry. "I wonder if Master managed to escape..."
Qin Xi smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Don't worry too much. Don't look at how unserious Master usually seems; when it comes to escaping, he's faster than anyone. Besides, Master has lived for nearly a thousand years. He's seen more things and experienced more dangers than the two of us combined. He won't fall so easily here."
"Mm." Mo Tiange accepted his reasoning. She knew her master's capabilities, so although worried, she still believed he must have escaped. What made her most uneasy was actually Zhenji.
After thinking for a moment, Mo Tiange asked, "You didn't leave behind any of Zhenji's essence blood, did you?"
Qin Xi shook his head. "He's only at Foundation Establishment. By convention, Life-Soul Lamps aren't made until Core Formation..."
Mo Tiange knew this too; she had just asked hoping against hope.
"When we entered Tianmo Mountain, Zhenji had already been missing for many years. I wonder if he's returned by now..."
Qin Xi had no answer for this either. Ye Zhenji was his disciple. Although he hadn't raised him from childhood, Zhenji had followed him right after reaching Foundation Establishment. He knew Zhenji lacked experience and acted naively, which was why he strongly approved of him going out to gain experience. But Zhenji's cultivation was still low, and his experience insufficient. Whether he could turn danger into safety in a crisis was truly hard to say.
In the end, Qin Xi said, "Aside from Master, Zhenji is the closest person to us. If something happened to him, we should have some sense of it. But we haven't felt anything, so he should be fine."
"Mm..." Mo Tiange knew these words were just comfort. Cultivators sensing fate depended entirely on chance; not everything could be sensed. But regardless, not having any bad premonitions was a good thing. Some things were beyond their power; they could only leave it to fate.
Seeing her preoccupied with worries, Qin Xi drew her into his embrace. Suddenly, he lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "Worrying about these things is useless. How about we think about what to do now instead?"
"Do what?" Mo Tiange thought for a moment. "Alchemy, cultivation, studying techniques..."
"Not that." Qin Xi laughed. "Besides these, don't we have anything else to do?"
From the look in his eyes, Mo Tiange suddenly understood something and immediately fell silent.
Seeing her reaction, Qin Xi couldn't help but laugh. "You don't need to feel uneasy. We're together not for dual cultivation or anything else. If you don't want to, we can talk about it later."
"I..." Mo Tiange hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Since we're already husband and wife, what's there to be willing or unwilling about..."
Hearing this, Qin Xi's heart leaped with joy. He reached out to embrace her. "So you mean..."
"Wait." Mo Tiange lifted her head, stopping his movement. A somewhat sly smile appeared on her face. "But we haven't finished talking yet!"
"Huh?" Qin Xi was taken aback, puzzled. "What is there to say?"
"There are plenty of things to say. For example, what exactly is your cultivation technique? What's this dual cultivation technique you mentioned? How many more secrets do you have?"
"..."
Seeing him silent, Mo Tiange glared at him. "What, can't you tell me?"
"...Alright." Qin Xi relented helplessly. "But even if I have some secrets, you probably know most of them already."
"Such as?"
"Such as the change in my constitution, my techniques, my Yang Spirit Pearl... Don't you already know about these?" Possessing the Yang Spirit Pearl was his biggest secret, and Mo Tiange had long known about this.
Mo Tiange thought about it and felt he was right. She had guessed the secret of the Yang Spirit Pearl long ago, and later, her master had specifically explained to her what it was.
"Then what about that dual cultivation technique you mentioned last time? You have to explain this to me clearly, right?"
Qin Xi had always been mysterious about this matter, saying she would know when the time came. Now that they were already husband and wife, surely it was time?
Qin Xi smiled. This time, he didn't evade. Instead, he asked her, "Do you have a technique called the Art of the Plain Maiden?"
Mo Tiange nodded. Both her master and he knew about this.
Qin Xi reached into his Qiankun Bag, pulled out a jade slip, and handed it to her. "Take a look at this."
Mo Tiange gave him a puzzled glance, took the jade slip, and probed it with her spiritual sense. The next moment, she was startled. "This is..."
Qin Xi smiled faintly. "The Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Method that Senior Yuanbao gave me."
This technique consisted of three parts. The first part was the Pure Yang Formula, the second part was the Art of the Plain Maiden, and the third part was the Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Method itself.
Mo Tiange carefully compared them. Her Art of the Plain Maiden was basically identical to the one in this technique, with only minor modifications in a few places. She pondered; her version might have been modified by Mo Yaoqing based on cultivation circumstances, or perhaps Mo Yaoqing obtained this technique from her sect, and it was simply a different version from Yuanbao's.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange felt both joy and worry. The joy was that it was a recognized fact that dual cultivation between those with Pure Yang and Pure Yin Constitutions led to extremely fast cultivation speed. Having this Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Method would bring them immense benefits. The worry was that she was not purely of the Pure Yin Constitution. One could even say her Hunyuan spiritual root had a greater impact on her aptitude than her Pure Yin Constitution. If she abandoned the Hunyuan techniques to specialize in this Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Method, the losses might outweigh the gains.
Seeing her brows tightly furrowed, her expression shifting uncertainly, Qin Xi asked, "What's wrong?"
Mo Tiange sighed and honestly told him her thoughts.
Upon hearing this, Qin Xi laughed. "Are you being silly? Who said you can only cultivate one technique? I remember you also have that Hunyuan technique your grand-uncle gave you, right? The technique you're cultivating now is a fusion of the two, which naturally yields the highest efficiency. But cultivating them separately wouldn't be much worse."
Mo Tiange suddenly understood. "Ah, right! How could I forget!" The Hunyuan Primeval Maiden Technique was a fusion of the Taiyuan Record and the Art of the Plain Maiden. But Zhong Muling had also said that this technique did not conflict with the original two techniques. Combining them was to maximize her cultivation efficiency, but cultivating them separately would only require a bit more time. Before this, since she already had the Hunyuan Primeval Maiden Technique, there was no need to separate them for cultivation. But now it was different. With this Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Method, even cultivating separately would yield excellent results.
Her mind raced with thoughts. "Right, maybe we don't need to cultivate separately. The Hunyuan Primeval Maiden Technique was comprehended by a Soul Transformation cultivator. Perhaps it can be applied to the dual cultivation method..."
"Moreover, I'm about to form my Nascent Soul," Qin Xi also thought of a possibility. "After I form my Nascent Soul, my comprehension of techniques will be incomparable to what it is today. We can try it then and see."
Mo Tiange smiled. "If that's the case, then even with our cultivation disparity, it's completely feasible."
Qin Xi nodded. Looking down at her, he suddenly said, "How about we try it now?"
Mo Tiange was about to say she hadn't studied the technique carefully yet when she suddenly realized what he meant by "try." Her cheeks instantly flushed. "This... let's talk about this later..."
"No need to talk later." Qin Xi pulled her close. "There will always be this day..."