Regarding Shui Linbo's injuries, Mo Tiange found an opportunity to visit Kuang Zhu. This Senior Brother Kuang Zhu remained as calm and indifferent as before even after forming his Core, neither treating her warmly due to her current status nor giving her the cold shoulder. After a sincere invitation, Senior Brother Kuang Zhu finally agreed to visit Shui Linbo when he had time, which allowed Mo Tiange to breathe a sigh of relief.
The cultivation techniques practiced by medical cultivators were quite different from those of spell cultivators like them. Their techniques focused more on gently nourishing the body's meridians and dantian, similar to mundane health-preserving techniques, but far more powerful. Having reached the Core Formation stage, Senior Brother Kuang Zhu had a thorough understanding of a cultivator's body. Even if he couldn't cure Shui Linbo's injuries, he could at least offer some advice.
After handling these miscellaneous matters, Mo Tiange officially moved into Qin Xi's cave abode.
Although Qin Xi's cave abode wasn't as large as Mo Tiange's previous one, it was still quite spacious. An alchemy room, an artifact-forging room, and a spirit beast room were all fully equipped, as expected. Additionally, there were several smaller cave suites, originally prepared for when he took on disciples. Though not numerous, given both their personalities, they probably wouldn't take on many disciples anyway, so it should be sufficient.
However, living together as two people was different from living alone. Qin Xi had specifically prepared an additional secluded cultivation chamber for occasional needs, while his original cultivation chamber would be shared by both.
Having experienced cultivating together in the Void Heaven Realm, they both knew that cultivating in the same chamber wouldn't affect each other, so they could completely share one without needing to set up another.
However, regarding their usual cultivation space, they had differing opinions again.
"Do we need to arrange the cultivation chamber like this? We can just enter the Void Heaven Realm to cultivate, can't we?"
When Mo Tiange said this, Qin Xi sighed before replying, "Tian Ge, perhaps you haven't noticed, but you feel no pressure cultivating in the Void Heaven Realm, whereas I do."
This statement made Mo Tiange pause. "Pressure?"
"Yes," Qin Xi said. "Your Mixed Spirit Roots, combined with the Hunyuan cultivation method, complement that environment perfectly. But for me, I only feel completely pressure-free inside when cultivating the Three Revolutions Wheel Technique. At other times, whether it's the Pure Yang Art or other techniques, the pressure is immense."
"There's actually such a thing..." Mo Tiange found it unbelievable.
Qin Xi frowned and said, "I've pondered this issue for a long time and still can't figure it out. If we asked Master, with his knowledge and experience, he might be able to offer some advice, but..."
Although both of them trusted Dao Lord Jinghe, if too many people knew a secret, it would cease to be a secret. Therefore, they only planned to help their master recover under other pretexts, not intending to reveal the matter of the Void Heaven Realm.
Qin Xi continued, "I've thought about it myself for a long time. Perhaps it's precisely because the Spiritual Qi inside is too dense. Apart from the Three Revolutions Wheel Technique, which I'm certain is an ancient technique, my other methods have probably been modified by later generations. And I myself have dual Spirit Roots... Tian Ge, I am ultimately different from you."
His tone in the last sentence carried a hint of helplessness. They truly were different. Mo Tiange's aptitude and cultivation methods originated from the Ancient Era, and her cultivation environment was the ancient Void Heaven Realm. Thus, her condition could be said to be that of an ancient cultivator. But Qin Xi was not; he was purely a cultivator of this era, merely practicing one Three Revolutions Wheel Technique.
Mo Tiange also sighed. She knew what Qin Xi said was true. Moreover, he was now at the Nascent Soul stage and could perceive many things more clearly than she could.
But hope rekindled in her eyes. "That Senior Yuanbao cultivates the Pure Yang Art just like you, yet he can cultivate perfectly well in the Void Heaven Realm... There must be a way!"
"Yes," Qin Xi smiled. "I've never doubted that point. It's just that we might have to wait longer."
Looking at Mo Tiange, many emotions flowed through his eyes—affection, reluctance, helplessness, and distress.
He once believed that his woman should be well protected under his wing. But Mo Tiange made him understand that what she wanted wasn't protection, but a meeting of minds and walking side by side. Now, he had reached the Nascent Soul stage and possessed sufficient power to protect her, yet he felt increasingly helpless—in terms of cultivation realm, she was inferior to him, but in cultivation itself, they couldn't stand together.
For Mo Tiange, the Void Heaven Realm was her best cultivation site. But after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, Qin Xi felt more and more clearly that, in his current state, cultivating in the Void Heaven Realm wasn't a good choice.
Yet Mo Tiange was right. Yuanbao could cultivate in the Void Heaven Realm, so he must be able to as well. Then what exactly was he lacking now?
Yuanbao had a Pure Yang constitution. Although Qin Xi wasn't born with one, after being transformed by the Yang Spirit Pearl, he shouldn't be far off. Yuanbao's main cultivation technique was the Pure Yang Art, and Qin Xi's Pure Yang Art had also been cultivated to a relatively high level. Of course, Yuanbao was a God Transformation cultivator; the profundity of his cultivation realm was still something Qin Xi couldn't compare to...
Wait! A light flashed in Qin Xi's eyes. After advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, he realized that a Nascent Soul was vastly more powerful than a Golden Core. The toughness of the meridians and the capacity for Spiritual Qi in the dantian were at least a hundred times greater than at the Core Formation stage! Similarly, the amount of Spiritual Qi he required for cultivation had increased to a terrifying degree. If the leap from Core Formation to Nascent Soul was like this, what about from Nascent Soul to God Transformation? Could it be that the reason Yuanbao was like a fish in water in the Void Heaven Realm was precisely because he was a God Transformation cultivator? The Spiritual Qi of the mortal world could no longer satisfy his cultivation needs, so he could adapt well to the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the Void Heaven Realm?
But if that were the case, things became troublesome again. Other matters were manageable, but only this cultivation realm was something he couldn't rush. No God Transformation cultivator had appeared in Tianji for tens of thousands of years. He couldn't even be sure if he could advance to God Transformation!
"What's wrong?" Mo Tiange asked, seeing his expression change unpredictably.
Qin Xi sighed and explained the problems he had just considered to her one by one.
Mo Tiange also fell into deep thought.
She originally thought that their Dual Cultivation was a match made in heaven. Coupled with the Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Great Method given by Yuanbao, their future path of cultivation would be much smoother. But when it came down to it, one difficulty after another that they had never imagined surfaced. If this were the case, they could only maintain their original cultivation pace and couldn't better utilize the advantages of their respective constitutions.
Most importantly, during the Ancient Era, quite a few cultivators achieved ascension. Given her condition, even if she couldn't ascend, she could at least cultivate to a level like Zhong Muling. But what about Qin Xi? Qin Xi was a genius cultivator of this era, but the bottleneck to advancing to God Transformation was difficult to cross even for geniuses.
"Forget it, let's not think about it for now," Qin Xi said. "I think maybe once you reach the Nascent Soul stage, everything will be resolved. After all, there's currently a whole major realm difference between our cultivation levels. We can't even fully comprehend the Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Great Method yet."
"Yes," Mo Tiange also knew that if Qin Xi couldn't figure it out, given her cultivation realm and perspective, it would be difficult for her to find a solution. Fortunately, they had plenty of time and didn't need to rush.
Since Qin Xi already knew about the existence of the Void Heaven Realm, there was no need to hide those elixirs anymore. A Nascent Soul cultivator could live for over a thousand years. If their cultivation was profound and they maintained themselves well, reaching two thousand years wasn't impossible. Adding the Longevity Elixir refined from the spiritual herbs of the Void Heaven Realm, Qin Xi's lifespan could reach over two thousand years, and he was currently only a little over two hundred years old.
As for Mo Tiange, a Core Formation cultivator's lifespan ranged from six hundred to eight hundred years. She had also taken the Longevity Elixir, so she now had over a thousand years to live. Besides, she was very confident in her cultivation speed. If not within a hundred years, she could certainly form her Nascent Soul within two hundred years. Thus, with over a thousand years ahead, these problems could be solved slowly.
"There's another matter," Mo Tiange remembered. "What do you think of Shui Linbo as a person?"
Although Qin Xi hadn't participated in the conversation with Shui Linbo, given the powerful divine sense of a Nascent Soul cultivator, his awareness had never left Mingxin Abode. He clearly knew the content of their conversation.
Qin Xi thought for a moment and said, "Apart from her origins being unverifiable, there are no other flaws."
Mo Tiange nodded. This was also her conclusion. Coming from the East Sea and being an acquaintance from back then—these were things Shui Linbo said herself. However, the little girl from the Shui family back then was still young, and Mo Tiange couldn't recognize her. That is to say, she couldn't confirm whether Shui Linbo was truly that little girl from the East Sea.
Aside from that, the other things she mentioned could be verified. With the manpower of the Xuanqing Sect, investigating the experiences of a rogue cultivator wasn't difficult. And she had already secretly instructed the Duty Hall to handle this matter.
"Don't worry too much," Qin Xi comforted her. "After all, she's only a Foundation Establishment cultivator. The entire Shangqing Palace is within Master's divine sense control. If there was anything amiss about her, Master would have warned us long ago."
"Yes," Mo Tiange thought that made sense. Perhaps the two of them still lacked experience, but their master was a veritable old fox. Even though seriously injured now, it was impossible for a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator to deceive him. It was difficult for low-level cultivators to lie under the pressure of a high-level cultivator.
After pondering for a while, Mo Tiange suddenly laughed. "The two of us are actually worrying over a Foundation Establishment cultivator here. Sigh!"
Qin Xi smiled and said, "We have to be cautious. If she were just an ordinary disciple, it would be fine—which sect doesn't have a few spies from other factions? But Zhenji has feelings for her, so it's different. Zhenji is my only disciple and also your nephew, one could say our closest junior. If they were to engage in Dual Cultivation, Shui Linbo's identity would become significant."
"Yes," Mo Tiange suddenly had an idea. "By the way, if she has no suspicious points, I could take her as my disciple. I remember she has Five Spirit Roots aptitude. Perhaps she could cultivate the Hunyuan technique."
Qin Xi couldn't help but laugh. "How could any cultivator with Five Spirit Roots aptitude casually cultivate the Hunyuan technique? I think it's because Shui Linbo suits your temperament, and you also want to set Zhenji's mind at ease, right?"
Having her thoughts seen through, Mo Tiange lowered her head somewhat sheepishly, but then felt her idea wasn't wrong and said righteously, "I'm already a Core Formation cultivator now. Taking on a disciple is only proper. At least I can have someone run errands when needed."
"Yes, it certainly is proper," Qin Xi nodded, but the next moment he glanced at her with a teasing smile. "However, Perfected One Qingwei, you're a genius who formed her Core within a hundred years, the last disciple of Dao Lord Jinghe, and the Dual Cultivation partner of Dao Lord Shoujing. What kind of aptitude disciple couldn't you take? Why insist on take one with Five Spirit Roots aptitude who's also half-dead from injuries?"
"..." Mo Tiange gave a dry laugh and had to admit, "Alright, if Shui Linbo recovers from her injuries and Zhenji still wishes to engage in Dual Cultivation with her, then I'll take her as my disciple when the time comes. Consider it a gift for Zhenji."
"Yes," Qin Xi agreed, but he emphasized, "We should discuss this matter later. At the very least, we must investigate her origins thoroughly and confirm them without doubt."
"Don't worry, I know that."