A few days later, servant disciples delivered their disciple robes. Senior Brother Zhou informed them that a Foundation Establishment Uncle-Master would be giving a lecture at the Preaching Palace today, starting at Chen hour and lasting until You hour.
The disciple robes of Yunwu Mountain were cyan in color, with a few wisps of clouds and the characters for 'Yunwu Sect' embroidered on the sleeves. The robes for Qi Refining disciples like them were hardly considered good-looking. Mo Tiange recalled the outfit Ye Jingwen wore in her memory—truly elegant and far more pleasing than these Yunwu Sect robes. She then smiled wryly at herself. Indeed, a woman's nature was hard to change.
Tightening the bindings around her chest, wrapping a few extra layers around her waist, and then donning the outer robe, she looked at her flat figure in the mirror with satisfaction. Not a trace of femininity could be seen. For a cultivator, using spells or spiritual artifacts was not as safe as this method. However, the act of disguising herself was becoming increasingly arduous. After the age of fifteen, the differences from men grew more pronounced. Not only did she have to bind her chest and waist, but she also had to disguise her voice. Fortunately, her voice wasn't particularly sharp, making it less likely to arouse suspicion.
Once she confirmed everything was in order, she opened her door to find the other three already prepared. As for Jiang Shanghang, he had long since left on his own. That person was utterly incompatible with them, but it didn't matter. As cultivators, they didn't particularly care about forming friendships. The reason the four of them often moved together was simply because Liu Yidao and Xu Jingzhi were both very enthusiastic. Thankfully, aside from that, everyone focused on their cultivation. Otherwise, she might have wanted to follow Jiang Shanghang's example and ignore everything else.
Arriving at the Preaching Palace, they each found a seat. Before long, a middle-aged Daoist with Foundation Establishment cultivation walked in and sat on a cushion at the front, facing the crowd. Everyone quickly stood up and bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Uncle-Master."
The Daoist nodded. "Please be seated, disciples."
There were at least several hundred people in the Preaching Palace. At this moment, it was utterly silent, with everyone sitting cross-legged on their cushions, not a sound to be heard.
The Daoist surveyed them for a moment before speaking. "My Daoist title is Qingyu. This month, I will be the one giving lectures to you all. Coincidentally, a new batch of disciples has recently joined the sect, so today, let us discuss the fundamental meaning of the Dao. Disciples, for you, what is the Dao? And why do we cultivate immortality?"
After Daoist Qingyu finished speaking, a disciple in the front row replied, "Reporting to Uncle-Master, the Dao is the law of heaven and earth. Cultivating immortality is for longevity."
Daoist Qingyu nodded and asked again, "Does any disciple have a different view?"
Another person answered, "Reporting to Uncle-Master, this disciple believes the Dao is the Origin. Cultivating immortality is for longevity."
Daoist Qingyu smiled and nodded. "What you both said is correct. 'The Dao begets One, One begets Two, Two begets Three, Three begets all things'—this is the Origin. The sun and moon rise and set, the four seasons alternate, between the realms of light and darkness, all things follow cause and effect—this is the law of heaven and earth. We cultivate immortality for longevity, which is also the process of pursuing the Dao. Logically, life, death, Wither and Flourish are originally part of the Dao of heaven and earth, yet longevity means transcending life and death. Why then do we say it is still pursuing the Dao? It must be understood that the Dao of Heaven is eternal and everlasting. What we pursue is to cast aside the cycle of Wither and Flourish and exist as long as heaven itself. Therefore, cultivating immortality is both following heaven and defying heaven. All things experience Wither and Flourish; we wish to transcend all things, which is defying heaven. Hence, when one achieves great success in cultivation, there are Tribulations to overcome. This is because heaven and earth do not tolerate such defiance. However, after overcoming the Tribulation and ascending to the Great Dao, that is the thread of vitality left by the Heavenly Dao for all living beings. Our cultivation is merely accepting the trials according to the Dao of Heaven, which is following heaven. How to achieve the state of following heaven within the act of defying heaven—that is what we do when we cultivate immortality..."
Everyone listened intently, and Mo Tiange was especially focused. This theory of the Dao was something she was hearing for the first time. The path of cultivation varied greatly; each person had their own realizations. What this Uncle-Master said was different from what Second Uncle had told her.
Thus, the day passed in the blink of an eye. By You hour, when the lecture ended, all four of them had gained some insights. On the way back, Liu Yidao sighed. "My ability to embark on the path of cultivation was itself a stroke of fate. If someone had taught me like this back then, I wouldn't have wasted so much time until now."
Although Liu Yidao had a Four Spirit Root, two of his Spirit Roots were extremely good. Logically, his natural talent was even slightly better than Mo Tiange's. Mo Tiange was confident she could reach Qi Refining Level 10 before the age of twenty-five and attempt Foundation Establishment. Liu Yidao was already around thirty, proving his words were not empty.
Xu Jingzhi, however, laughed. "Senior Brother Liu, you're just over thirty. You still have a very good chance of establishing your Foundation before forty. That's much better than many who have no hope of Foundation Establishment in their entire lives."
Hearing this, Liu Yidao also smiled, patting Xu Jingzhi's shoulder. "Junior Brother Xu is right. I am already very fortunate."
The four returned to their residence, each going to their own room to cultivate and reflect on the insights of the day.
After that, Mo Tiange's life also settled into peace. Every ten days, she would go with the others to listen to lectures. Upon returning to her room, she would focus on cultivation. Every half month, she would go down the mountain once to hand over the formations she and Second Uncle had developed to the sect's shop for consignment sale, then use the Spirit Stones earned to buy medicinal pills for Second Uncle's injuries.
Three months later, she smoothly advanced to Qi Refining Level 8. Over these months, she had quite a few pills on hand—the ones left behind by the man and woman in the forest, plus the rewards from the Immortal Platform Meet, and the monthly allocation of pills and Spirit Stones from the sect. After finishing all the Qi-Nourishing Pills, she finally advanced to Level 8.
This made Xu Jingzhi quite envious. He was originally at Level 8 and hadn't advanced yet, while Qin Xi had also advanced from Level 9 to Level 10. Among the five people in their house, it could be said only he had made no progress. It was his own fault for frequently taking on assignments. Over these three months, he was often out and about, with little time for cultivation. It would be strange if he *could* advance. Consequently, Xu Jingzhi resolved to go into seclusion, vowing not to go out except to attend lectures.
With Xu Jingzhi in seclusion and the other three also being diligent cultivators, Mo Tiange was happy not to have to socialize with them. Every day was just cultivation, studying formations, and occasionally going out to catch some game to satisfy her cravings. Her days were quite carefree.
Activating her Light Body Technique, she sent out a Wind Blade. The running fawn fell.
Mo Tiange flew over, scooped up the fawn, and tossed it into her Qiankun Bag. She then retraced her path, reaching the stream, where she took out the deer carcass to skin and clean it.
Although the South Peak of Yunwu Mountain was far inferior to the North Peak, it was still a rare spiritual vein. The small animals caught here were much tastier than those from the foot of the mountain.
First, she drained the blood and cleaned the internal organs, then skinned it, and cut it into pieces. She coated most of the pieces with salt, wrapped them in spiritual herb leaves, and stuffed them back into the Qiankun Bag. Selecting one piece, she scored it finely, applied seasoning, and began roasting it over a fire. Fire-attribute spells were meant to be used like this.
"Huh, Senior Sister, someone's roasting something here."
Mo Tiange turned her head to see two Qi Refining female cultivators approaching. Judging by their attire, they were also disciples of the Yunwu Sect. She had sensed their presence earlier, but this was Yunwu Mountain; fellow disciples were everywhere.
She emerged from the grass, revealing a smile. "Greetings, Senior Sisters."
Her sudden appearance startled the two women. Both appeared to be around twenty years old, with decent looks. Especially the senior sister, she could be considered a beauty.
The younger one, noticing Mo Tiange's gaze, frowned and scolded, "Which Senior Brother manages you? How can you be so rude?"
Mo Tiange was taken aback and couldn't help but smile bitterly. Just for looking at someone a bit longer, she was already being treated like a lecher. She immediately said, "Senior Sister misunderstands. It's just that I secretly found a place to hide and roast something to eat. I didn't expect to be discovered by you two Senior Sisters, so I was a bit worried..."
This reason was plausible enough. The senior sister then said, "Junior Brother, don't worry. We just smelled the fragrance and were curious to take a look. We won't tell anyone."
Even if they did tell, it wouldn't matter; Senior Brother Zhou didn't care anyway. Of course, on her face, she still wore a beaming smile. "Thank you, Senior Sisters. Since we've met, it must be fate. Coincidentally, this venison is ready. Why don't we eat together? Consider it my apology for startling you earlier."
Seeing her so polite, the junior sister stopped making an issue of it and smiled. "Junior Brother, are you serious? Don't be reluctant to part with it."
Mo Tiange pulled out another large piece of venison from her Qiankun Bag. "Senior Sister, look, I still have plenty. I can't finish it all by myself."
Her cooking skills were no exaggeration. The venison was roasted to a golden brown, its aroma wafting far and wide, making one's mouth water just smelling it. The junior sister was indeed reluctant to leave and tugged at her companion. "Senior Sister, we..."
The senior sister said helplessly, "We don't know this Junior Brother at all. How can we just..."
"What's the big deal? He said himself it's to apologize to us."
"That's right," Mo Tiange chimed in with a grin. "Senior Sister, don't hesitate. Just think of it as me bribing you after you caught me sneaking a meal."
The junior sister clapped her hands happily, her favorable impression of Mo Tiange greatly increasing. "Junior Brother makes sense. Senior Sister, don't stand on ceremony with him."
What else could the senior sister say? She could only let her have her way.
The three got to know each other. It turned out these two female cultivators were actually disciples of that Uncle-Master Lin from the women's courtyard. From their conversation, Mo Tiange learned that Uncle-Master Lin's name was Lin Qingwan. She was also a notable Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Yunwu Sect. Actually, she didn't reside on the South Peak; she was just in charge of managing the female disciples there. The person who actually managed things on her behalf was the senior sister before her, Shen Bing. The junior sister was called Murong Yan, Uncle-Master Lin's youngest disciple.
Through their conversation, Mo Tiange learned that Shen Bing was a Dual Spirit Root cultivator. Just twenty years old this year, she had already reached the peak of Qi Refining. Murong Yan also had the aptitude of a Three Spirit Root. Eighteen this year, her cultivation was at Qi Refining Level 8. Shen Bing was one thing, but judging by Murong Yan's personality, she was certainly not someone content with diligent cultivation. Her Spirit Root was also ordinary, yet she had reached Level 8. This showed how privileged sect disciples were compared to loose cultivators.
Although Mo Tiange didn't particularly intend to befriend them, within the sect, having more friends was never a bad thing. After all, these two were personal disciples of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Moreover, she felt truly lonely. Unable to reveal her female identity, having to keep a distance from male cultivators, and not easily encountering female cultivators either. She often thought of her childhood days with Tian Qiao, longing for a friend like that.
Sometimes, during breaks in her cultivation, she would also wonder: if life could start over, would she choose to be a mortal, living a peaceful life, or come to the world of cultivation, struggling to cultivate, struggling to walk the path of longevity? If she were truly a man, perhaps she wouldn't hesitate. But as a woman, she was ultimately more emotional.