"So Jing Xingzhi saved you?" Mo Tiange asked after listening to Tang Shen's account.
Tang Shen's face flushed slightly as he nodded. "You could say that. After we came out of Tianmo Mountain, that fatso was seriously injured and hid in Yuheng Mountain to recuperate. Over those ten-plus years, I tried to escape several times but never succeeded. Later, when his injuries healed, he wanted to take me somewhere—I don't know where—and we ran into Senior Jing along the way. They were from the same sect, but Senior Jing seemed to have some grudge against him, so they fought. That fatso thought Senior Jing was injured and, disregarding their shared sect ties, tried to kill him and seize his treasures, but in the end, Senior Jing killed him instead."
"Is that so..." Mo Tiange murmured to herself. Right, Tang Shen had just mentioned that the Nascent Soul cultivator who captured him was titled Fuling Sword Venerable, one of the Ancient Sword Sect's Nascent Soul Sword Venerables. For Jing Xingzhi to fight with his fellow disciple's disciple... it seemed his days in the Ancient Sword Sect were indeed difficult. And now he had killed a sectmate while injured—he probably couldn't return to the Ancient Sword Sect anymore, could he?
After thinking for a moment, Mo Tiange shook her head. Jing Xingzhi's affairs were none of her concern. Remembering that Tang Shen called the Core Formation cultivator "fatso" but addressed Jing Xingzhi as "Senior Jing," she asked, "Did Jing Xingzhi treat you well?"
Tang Shen hesitated before replying, "Mm. Aside from not letting me leave, he occasionally gave me some pointers." At this, he scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Elder Ye. Senior Jing initially said he wanted to trade me for healing pills, so I panicked and used the Ten Thousand Li Sound Transmission Talisman, making you come all this way to rescue me..."
Mo Tiange smiled. "It's nothing. That Jing Xingzhi is no saint. Even if he treated you decently, he wouldn't have let you go unconditionally. In my opinion, his claim about trading you for pills was probably sixty or seventy percent true."
"Really?" Tang Shen thought it over and sighed. "I know he might not be a good person, but he wasn't too bad to me either. I thought I was careful enough, but after coming to Kunwu, I realized I still fall short in many ways."
Hearing him speak like this, Mo Tiange noted that Tang Shen had matured considerably. Of course, he wasn't younger than her, and decades had passed since they last met—it was only natural for him to have grown.
Mo Tiange smiled faintly. "Fellow Daoist Tang, you can't blame yourself. You've never been to Kunwu before, so naturally you wouldn't know the situation here. Besides, without anything to conceal your constitution, if a high-level cultivator targeted you, they'd see through it easily."
Conceal his constitution? Tang Shen's eyes lit up. "Elder Ye, do such things to conceal one's constitution truly exist?"
"Of course they do." Mo Tiange pondered for a moment, recalling that Shui Linbo had mentioned learning many techniques from the Bixuan Pavilion female cultivator who saved her, including a set of techniques to conceal one's condition. It was thanks to those techniques that she had deceived Baiyu Sanren. Why didn't Tang Shen know about them?
"The founding ancestor, Bishui Yuanjun, had a Pure Yin constitution. There should be such techniques passed down. Why don't you know about them?"
Hearing this, Tang Shen hung his head dejectedly. "Elder Ye, we don't know the exact place where our ancestor passed away. What remains in Bixuan Pavilion is only part of her accumulated treasures, and many of the techniques passed down are incomplete. There is indeed a set of techniques that can deceive the spiritual sense of high-level cultivators, but... only female cultivators can practice them."
"Oh, I see." Mo Tiange nodded. That wasn't surprising. After all, Mo Yaoqing had passed away over five thousand years ago—it was impossible for everything to have been passed down. And since she was a female cultivator, techniques suited for female cultivators were naturally more appropriate. However, even if such techniques had been passed down, they likely couldn't compare to her having the Spirit-Concealing Jade Pendant. Mo Yaoqing had suffered plenty of troubles due to her constitution back in the day, indicating that her constitution-concealing techniques weren't very effective.
After some thought, Mo Tiange said, "Although constitution-concealing techniques are rare, they aren't impossible to obtain. A high-level Breath-Concealing Technique would suffice. It might not necessarily deceive high-level cultivators, but using it is still better than not. Kunzhong City is a trading hub—we can look for one at the trade fair here."
Hearing this, hope ignited in Tang Shen's eyes, though he hesitated. "Elder Ye, will it require a lot of Spirit Stones? My storage pouch was searched when I was captured. Later, Senior Jing returned it to me, but there aren't many Spirit Stones left inside."
This made Mo Tiange laugh. "As a guest elder of Bixuan Pavilion, of course I can't stand by and watch you in trouble. I'll cover the Spirit Stones for now. You can repay me when you have the chance later."
"Mm." Tang Shen didn't refuse. He truly urgently needed a method to conceal his constitution.
"By the way," Mo Tiange asked after settling that matter, "how is Bixuan Pavilion doing?"
Speaking of this, Tang Shen grew excited. "Since discovering the Spirit Stone mine in the sea and starting to recruit male cultivators again, our sect's strength has recovered quickly. We just don't have any Core Formation cultivators yet. But as long as we can buy Core Formation pills, in a few decades, we'll have Core Formation elders!" At this point, the light in his eyes dimmed slightly. "It's just my fault for not handling things well. I've been missing for over a decade—I don't know how things are at the sect now."
"With you missing for so long, they've probably already sent people out to search." Mo Tiange asked, "Does Bixuan Pavilion have a branch in Kunwu?"
Tang Shen said, "Just a small meeting hall with about a dozen people. The highest cultivation among them is only early Foundation Establishment."
"Then contact them first and let them know you're safe. We'll stay in Kunzhong City for a few days to get you a Breath-Concealing Technique and see if there are any Core Formation pills available."
Tang Shen's eyes widened. Having no Spirit Stones, he had been too embarrassed to bring up his original request, as the pills needed for Core Formation were astronomically expensive. He hadn't expected Mo Tiange to mention it first. His heart stirred with emotion as he nodded solemnly. "Elder Ye, after I return, I will report this matter to the Sect Master. In time, I will send the Spirit Stones to repay you, along with the stipend you've been owed all these years."
Mo Tiange inclined her head. "You can send them directly to the Xuanqing Sect then. If I'm not there, you can leave them with my husband."
Hearing this, Tang Shen was startled. "Elder Ye, you... you've entered a dual cultivation partnership?"
There was no need to hide this matter. Mo Tiange smiled and nodded. "I have now reached Core Formation. My Dao title is Qingwei. My husband's Dao title is Shoujing. If you need anything, you can seek him out."
Hearing these words, Tang Shen couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart, only sensing a vague sense of loss. To be honest, he couldn't say he had feelings of love for Mo Tiange, but individuals with Pure Yang or Pure Yin constitutions only appeared once every few millennia. Even if they appeared, they might not necessarily meet. By chance, the two of them were born in the same era, with similar ages. Although Mo Tiange had rejected him before, he still held a faint hope in his heart, thinking that as Pure Yang and Pure Yin, they should be fated. But now, Mo Tiange said she had entered a dual cultivation partnership. It seemed they truly had no fate.
"Congratulations," Tang Shen finally managed to say after a long pause.
Mo Tiange merely smiled slightly and stood up. "Fellow Daoist Tang, rest here for now. I will come find you if I need anything."
"Mm." Tang Shen acknowledged, then called out to stop her. "Elder Ye, you are now a Core Formation senior. I don't deserve to be called Fellow Daoist by you anymore. Please just call me by my name."
Mo Tiange paused, then smiled. "Alright. See you tomorrow."
"See you..."
Mo Tiange didn't dwell on Tang Shen's thoughts. Everyone had their own private considerations. As long as they didn't harm her, there was no need to make too much of them.
A night passed. Mo Tiange didn't immediately go to the trade fair. Instead, she instructed the manager of the branch to inquire about Breath-Concealing Techniques. The Xuanqing Sect's external branches all belonged to the Deacon Hall. As an elder, she naturally could order the Deacon Hall to handle matters for her.
The branch manager had some connections in Kunzhong City. After Mo Tiange gave her instructions, it took only two days for him to bring back news. After confirming that the Breath-Concealing Technique was indeed a high-level technique, Mo Tiange purchased it and gave it to Tang Shen.
A few more days later, a reply came from the message Tang Shen sent to the meeting hall. It turned out that after Tang Shen went missing, they had searched for a long time but couldn't find him. Following the Sect Master's instructions, they went to look for Mo Tiange. Coincidentally, during that decade, Mo Tiange had lost contact while at Tianmo Mountain. Hearing this news from the Xuanqing Sect, they thought Mo Tiange had also perished at Tianmo Mountain like the others and returned disappointed.
Only then did Tang Shen learn of this. He exclaimed in surprise, "So Elder Ye also went to Tianmo Mountain?" Since his capture, he hadn't heard any news from the outside world.
Mo Tiange smiled. "Mm. Back then, when the restrictions at Tianmo Mountain collapsed, I was trapped inside for ten years."
Tang Shen said regretfully, "If we had met at Tianmo Mountain back then, perhaps all this trouble could have been avoided..."
They had indeed missed each other. However, Mo Tiange didn't know that when she was separated from Qin Xi, Qin Xi had met Tang Shen. And Tang Shen didn't know that he had once crossed paths with this Elder Ye's husband.
The Bixuan Pavilion meeting hall also brought instructions from Wei Haolan. After receiving Tang Shen's message, they reported it to Wei Haolan. Overjoyed to learn that both Tang Shen and Mo Tiange were still alive, Wei Haolan sent a message requesting Mo Tiange to bring Tang Shen back.
Mo Tiange thought it over carefully. Even with a Breath-Concealing Technique, Tang Shen would only have just started learning it. Who knew what mishaps might occur on the journey back? Since she had rescued Tang Shen, she might as well see the good deed through and escort him back to Linhai. So she agreed to the request.
To that end, she asked the manager of this branch to send a message back, informing Qin Xi and her master.
Her cultivation had now reached the peak of early Core Formation—it was time for her to travel outside. Since she had to go to Linhai anyway, she might as well make a journey of it. After all, Qin Xi's seclusion would last at least ten or twenty years.
Additionally, Tang Shen's words reminded her of something. They didn't know the specific place where Mo Yaoqing had passed away. She had obtained the Plain Maiden Art because Mo Yaoqing had sealed a strand of divine sense within the secular Mo family. Was it possible that she had actually passed away at Mo Village, rather than leaving her divine sense there and returning to Linhai to pass away?
With this thought, an idea occurred to Mo Tiange. She hadn't returned to Mo Village since leaving. Why not go to Mo Village to search for clues about Mo Yaoqing? The conflict between her Pure Yin constitution and Mixed Spiritual Roots causing issues with her cultivation method was something she couldn't resolve now. But she had read Mo Yaoqing's journal. This ancestor, though a woman, was a stunningly talented genius. Perhaps she had left something behind that could guide her.
Having decided this, Mo Tiange quickly made a plan: have Tang Shen stay in Kunzhong City first while she returned to the secular world. If she found clues, well and good. If not, she would go to Linhai to search.