Having lived for a hundred years and cultivated to the Core Formation stage, having met countless cultivators, Mo Tiange had discovered one thing: those with a firm Dao heart, regardless of gender, were always addressed as 'Fellow Daoist' upon meeting. Those who addressed a woman as 'young lady' at first sight usually had romantic intentions. For example, Jing Xingzhi, when he first met a female cultivator, would mostly address her as 'young lady'.
This Demon Lord Xuanyue not only addressed her as 'young lady' but also did so with an eager attitude. If Mo Tiange couldn't tell he had ulterior motives, she would be feigning ignorance.
However, with the situation unclear, feigning ignorance first wasn't a bad idea.
"I am Qin Wei. May I ask what advice Demon Lord Xuanyue has for me?" Mo Tiange replied indifferently to Demon Lord Xuanyue's question.
"So it's Young Lady Qin." Demon Lord Xuanyue smiled in response. "Meeting is fate. I was somewhat intrusive earlier. This lord wishes to invite you inside to sit as an apology. I wonder if the young lady would honor me with her presence?"
Within that private room, there were auras of several Core Formation cultivators, some strong, some weak. Due to the formation array set up in the room, the sensing wasn't very clear, but there were at least five people, indicating this group was having a gathering. However, it was unclear whether these people already knew each other or, like the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment cultivators in the main hall, had come here to exchange insights and gotten acquainted. If it was the latter, entering wouldn't be a big deal. But if it was the former, that would be less than ideal.
Just as she was hesitating, her gaze suddenly swept over the surrounding attendants who were watching them nervously. She thought for a moment, then smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Since Demon Lord Xuanyue sincerely invites me, then I shall not decline."
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Demon Lord Xuanyue's demonically handsome face. He stepped aside, making room. "Young Lady Qin, please."
Mo Tiange smiled, tucking the Heaven and Earth Fan into her sleeve, and swaggered into the private room. What was there to fear? This was the Ling Family's tea house in Tianxue City. After all, the Ling Family was a major clan with Nascent Soul cultivators. Would anyone dare cause trouble here? Moreover, she considered herself no weakling. Having previously obtained so many spirit treasures from Mo Yaoqing, which she had already refined, she was somewhat confident in her ability to protect herself.
Upon entering the private room, Mo Tiange immediately felt everyone's gazes. With a sweep of her eyes, she saw a very large round table in the center of the room. Six cultivators were seated around it, some closer, some farther, all at the Core Formation stage. Five were at the early stage, one at the mid-stage. Counting Demon Lord Xuanyue, he was the only one at the late stage.
Seeing her, a few showed slight surprise on their faces, whether shocked by her youth or her cultivation level.
"Is this Fellow Daoist Qin?" A middle-aged Confucian scholar among the seated rose and asked very politely with a cupped fist salute, having heard the conversation between Mo Tiange and Demon Lord Xuanyue.
Mo Tiange smiled slightly and returned the salute. "Indeed." Her gaze shifted as she gave a general bow to the surroundings as a greeting.
The others, seeing this, dared not be negligent and rose one after another to return the courtesy.
Mo Tiange's heart was now settled. Among these people, there was a Confucian scholar in scholarly robes, a bald monk, a beautiful Daoist nun, and one who appeared to be from the demonic path. Their attire varied greatly, so they likely weren't a single group—if all these Core Formation cultivators were accomplices, it would be truly shocking.
"Fellow Daoist Qin, this humble scholar is Han Shizhi, a professor at the Yeshan Academy in the Southern Zhou Kingdom. Greetings." This was the Confucian scholar in scholarly robes who had first greeted her, the only mid-stage Core Formation cultivator among them.
"This poor monk's Dharma name is Yuankong, the supervisor of the Taolin Temple in the Southern Zhou Kingdom." This monk, though he looked fierce, had a humble and courteous attitude.
"This poor Daoist is Qingyunzi, a mere wandering cultivator." This was a middle-aged Daoist with a three-inch-long beard, looking quite ethereal and immortal.
"My surname is Yang, Yang Chengji." The speaker was a demonic cultivator entirely concealed within black robes and a cloak, his demonic aura quite ostentatious.
"I am Yong Ruyu. This is my junior martial sister, Qiu Chengruo. We are both cultivators of the Danxia Sect. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Qin."
Hearing the words 'Danxia Sect,' Mo Tiange's eyes lit up slightly. She focused her gaze on this senior brother and junior sister pair. Both were dressed in Daoist robes. The man looked to be in his thirties, the woman somewhat younger. Both were at the early Core Formation stage.
"So the two of you are cultivators of the Danxia Sect." Her mind raced. She immediately gave them another salute.
Her attitude towards this Danxia Sect senior brother and junior sister was clearly different from towards the others. Yong Ruyu, puzzled, couldn't help but ask, "Does Fellow Daoist Qin perhaps know fellow disciples of our Danxia Sect?"
Mo Tiange smiled. "I do not. However, my ancestors had some connection with the Danxia Sect."
"Oh?" Qiu Chengruo interjected, asking, "What kind of connection did Fellow Daoist Qin's ancestors have with our Danxia Sect?"
Mo Tiange's gaze swept lightly over Qiu Chengruo's hand, which was intentionally or unintentionally holding Yong Ruyu's. She smiled and said, "To be honest with everyone, I am not originally from Yunzhong. However, my ancestors a thousand years ago were from Yunzhong. I once heard that when my ancestors were in Yunzhong, they received kindness from the Danxia Sect."
"Oh, I see." Yong Ruyu and Qiu Chengruo exchanged a glance but didn't say more. Although the Danxia Sect had declined now, it was still a major sect with tens of thousands of years of heritage. Such things were too common.
But Demon Lord Xuanyue seemed very interested. "So Young Lady Qin is not originally from Yunzhong. May I ask where you hail from? And why did your ancestors leave Yunzhong back then? As far as this lord knows, the cultivation resources in the Outer Sea can't compare to those in Yunzhong itself."
Mo Tiange smiled faintly. "I have only lived for a little over a hundred years. How could I know the details of events a thousand years ago clearly? It's just that a few words have been passed down from my ancestors, so I know the general origins."
"Fellow Daoist Qin's words are reasonable." The middle-aged Confucian scholar Han Shizhi stroked his beard and smiled. "Regardless of origin, since Fellow Daoist Qin's ancestors were also from Yunzhong, then Fellow Daoist Qin is also a person of Yunzhong. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Qin returned to Yunzhong from the Outer Sea to seek your roots?"
"Exactly." Mo Tiange glanced at the senior brother and junior sister pair Yong Ruyu and Qiu Chengruo, smiling and nodding. "Since childhood, I have heard tales of Yunzhong. For so many years, I had never seen it and always longed to travel to Yunzhong. Now, I have finally fulfilled that wish."
"Haha, well said." Han Shizhi laughed heartily. "Fellow Daoist Qin, please sit quickly. It's too discourteous to keep a fellow Daoist standing."
Mo Tiange, still wearing a smile, gave a slight cupped fist salute to the seven people around her and confidently chose a seat.
"Fellow Daoist Qin." This time, it was Qingyunzi who spoke. Compared to Han Shizhi, his attitude always carried a slight distance. He carefully examined Mo Tiange and asked, "Since Fellow Daoist is at the mid-stage Core Formation level, why did you pretend to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator? If not for Demon Lord Xuanyue possessing secret arts, we would have missed meeting you."
Hearing this question, the gazes of all seven people focused on her. Mo Tiange knew that although they had politely invited her in and exchanged greetings, their wariness remained. Unhurried, she smiled and said, "To be honest, although my ancestors all came from Yunzhong, for over a thousand years, almost no other ancestors set foot here. So, regarding Yunzhong, I know nothing. Before this trip, my master repeatedly warned me, instructing me to be extremely cautious, not to think that with a bit of cultivation, I could act recklessly. Yunzhong is teeming with cultivation talents, each with formidable strength. I must not rely on having some magic treasures and offend others. Therefore, upon arriving in Yunzhong, unfamiliar with the place and people, I dared not easily reveal my cultivation level."
Her words were half-truth, half-falsehood. Before leaving, Dao Lord Jinghe had indeed warned her to be extremely cautious when going to the distant Yunzhong across the seas. But Dao Lord Jinghe was inherently a flamboyant person; words like 'must not offend' were something he would never mention.
But the seated Core Formation cultivators didn't know this. They felt Mo Tiange's words were reasonable. Moreover, everyone heard the reverence for Yunzhong in her words, and each felt quite pleased. Their bit of wariness towards her was thus set aside.
"So that's how it. Fellow Daoist Qin is truly cautious in her actions. However, it's really unnecessary. We cultivators in Yunzhong, whether Daoist, Confucian, Buddhist, or demonic, hold no deep-seated hatred. The principle has always been: if others do not offend me, I do not offend them. As long as Fellow Daoist Qin hasn't committed any taboo acts, we won't arbitrarily show hostility towards others."
Mo Tiange gave an apologetic smile. "Just now, I chatted with a young friend in the main hall and also learned this point. I just didn't expect that before leaving, Demon Lord Xuanyue would see through my disguise. Speaking of this, I am quite curious. Not to boast, but this concealment art of mine is passed down from my ancestors. Even a Nascent Soul senior might not be able to see through it. Why did Dao Lord Xuanyue know my true cultivation level at first sight?"
This was indeed something that surprised Mo Tiange. That Ling Yunhe could tell was one thing—he actually inferred she wasn't a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the aura of spirit treasures on her, not truly seeing through. But Demon Lord Xuanyue was different. His divine sense was powerful, stronger than hers even after cultivating the Spirit Refinement Art. It seemed he directly saw her cultivation level, which was unusual. After all, her Spirit-Hiding Pendant was refined by a Deity Transformation senior. Zhong Muling had explicitly stated that with the Spirit-Hiding Pendant, even pretending to be a mortal wouldn't be a problem. There was no reason for a Core Formation demonic cultivator to easily see through it.
After returning to the private room, Demon Lord Xuanyue, who had been sitting in a corner of the round table playing with a teacup, chuckled lightly. His gaze swept over Mo Tiange. He reached up and rather narcissistically smoothed his hair before saying, "What's so strange about that? Young Lady Qin is a Daoist cultivator and doesn't understand matters of us demonic cultivators. We demonic path cultivators have some secret arts that are quite different from you Daoist cultivators. To be honest, Young Lady Qin, your concealment art is quite outstanding. You were in the main hall for so long, and this lord never noticed. However, before leaving, you inadvertently released your divine sense, and divine sense happens to be this lord's most proficient area... Hehe, so, this lord detected it."
These words said nothing while saying something. However, Mo Tiange also knew that some secret arts were simply not passed on to outsiders, even among demonic cultivators. But she hadn't gained nothing. Demon Lord Xuanyue mentioned divine sense, making her realize she had indeed been somewhat arrogant about her exceptional divine sense and had inadvertently released it. Just before leaving, she had only habitually swept her divine sense over the entire tea house. Anyone else wouldn't have noticed, but Demon Lord Xuanyue, with his astonishing divine sense, had seen through her.
It seemed she needed to be even more cautious. Even with the Spirit-Hiding Pendant, she had to ensure everything else was flawless.