Mo Tiange wasn't very familiar with this Qin Xi. Although he wasn't like Jiang Shanghang, who completely avoided interacting with them, he was always very aloof. He rarely spoke when he was with them, usually focusing solely on cultivation, seldom going out, and not causing trouble.
Among the Qi Refining disciples of the Yunwu Sect, he wasn't particularly eye-catching. In terms of cultivation, reaching the tenth level of Qi Refining at his age was not easy, but it wasn't that rare either. In terms of diligence, as long as one was determined to pursue the immortal path, six or seven out of ten would be this diligent. In terms of background, he was just a wandering cultivator from a down-and-out cultivation family. There really was no reason for him to attract attention. If one had to say what was outstanding about him, it was that his appearance was truly handsome. But for a cultivator, this really couldn't be considered an advantage, because after cultivation, one naturally undergoes a transformation, and generally wouldn't be ugly.
Therefore, Mo Tiange hadn't paid much attention to Qin Xi, and had even less interest in probing into his cultivation techniques. It was only now that she learned he actually practiced a Body Tempering Technique.
The so-called Body Tempering Technique was also a branch of cultivation techniques. Besides the five elements and yin-yang, there were many techniques in this world with special effects, and Body Tempering Arts were one of them. The origin of this type of technique could be traced back to the ancient times. Back then, heaven and earth had just opened, and Immortals, demons, humans, and beasts all lived together. Spirit beasts had an innate advantage over humans in cultivation because their bodies were strong and robust. They didn't need Magical Treasures; when they cultivated to a certain level, they could withstand the Heavenly Tribulation directly. Humans, however, needed Magical Treasures and other items to undergo the Heavenly Tribulation. Thus, Body Tempering Techniques were born. When a strong and robust body was paired with powerful Magical Treasures, the Heavenly Tribulation became relatively much easier.
However, even in ancient times, Body Tempering Techniques were never the focus of cultivation, because humans were born weak. Cultivating Body Tempering Techniques was far inferior to spirit beasts. Moreover, in ancient times, there were many great supernatural power cultivators, and people often underwent tribulations and ascended to immortality. But nowadays, it wasn't like that. Forget ascending; even cultivating to the Nascent Soul stage was exceedingly rare. The Heavenly Tribulation was also not as powerful as it was in the past. Coupled with the loss of excellent Body Tempering Techniques, cultivators below the Core Formation stage almost never practiced Body Tempering Techniques.
She truly hadn't expected that this Qin Xi actually practiced Body Tempering Techniques simultaneously. It seemed his talent was indeed outstanding. For some reason, he hadn't been taken in by other sects.
After watching for a while, she washed her hands and face by herself and returned the same way. What cultivation techniques one practiced was a private matter for others, and she was too lazy to watch more.
As soon as she returned, Murong Yan exclaimed again, "Junior Brother Ye, you actually took so long just to wash your face!"
Mo Tiange said, "Senior Sister, it's getting late. Aren't you going back yet?"
Murong Yan looked at the sky. It was already afternoon. Reluctantly, she said, "Junior Brother Ye, you must call me next time you come out."
Mo Tiange nodded, "Mhm, mhm, mhm."
Murong Yan took a package out from her bosom and handed it to her, "Here, if you call me next time, I'll give you good stuff."
Seeing this package, Mo Tiange was finally happy for once, "Thank you, Senior Sister." She was willing to be this senior sister's errand boy precisely for this thing.
Ever since learning about the characteristics of her spells, Murong Yan had been using seeds to lure her, which was why she came to be an errand boy. Murong Yan had a senior brother who worked in the sect's medicinal garden, making it easy for her to get seeds. Mo Tiange herself had no connections. Since someone was willing to help, of course she seized the opportunity. After all, it was just roasting things. Exchanging a few packages of seeds that were hard to buy for that was a bargain for her.
"Alright, I know you only let me order you around because of this stuff. Fine, I'm going back." Murong Yan waved at her, wiped her hands clean, put on a ladylike demeanor again, and then walked away gracefully.
Watching her retreating figure, Mo Tiange couldn't help but smile. This was also where this Senior Sister Murong resembled Tian Qiao—clearly having such a playful and lively nature, yet having to pretend to be a lady. Tian Qiao... she probably would never see her again in this lifetime. Back then, Ye Jingwen had said that if she achieved something in cultivation, she could naturally go back to see her relatives. But later she learned that once you left the mortal world, it was best not to look back. Otherwise, the birth, aging, sickness, and death of relatives were very hard to accept. To avoid affecting one's cultivation state of mind, since one had severed worldly ties, it was better not to go back.
With a faint sense of melancholy, Mo Tiange returned to her room. In the other rooms, there were several auras. Presumably, they were all cultivating. She also returned to her own room and began examining the seeds Murong Yan had given her over these days.
She recognized some seeds, but not others. Most of them were seeds of medicinal herbs, with no special uses and unable to be used for combat. Her Green Wood Art involved embedding Spiritual Qi into the seeds the moment they were launched, instantly stimulating the growth of those plants to attack. Therefore, seeds without special characteristics wouldn't work, and seeds that required too much Spiritual Qi to grow also wouldn't work. This limited the usable plants to only some low-level ones for attacks.
Looking them over, there were some she really couldn't identify, so she got up and prepared to make a trip to the Wanfa Pavilion.
The so-called Wanfa Pavilion was the place where the Yunwu Sect stored cultivation techniques. Sect disciples could go there once a month and, according to their cultivation level, select some to bring back. Since entering the sect, Mo Tiange hadn't gone there because she already had the Plain Maiden Art for cultivation and the Green Wood Art for combat, so there was no need to select other techniques.
Compared to other buildings, the location of the Wanfa Pavilion was rather special. It wasn't on the South Peak or the North Peak, but in a remote mountain valley between the two peaks. Mo Tiange searched for a good while before finally finding the entrance by following the traces of the formation. It was a completely inconspicuous cave.
As soon as she approached the cave entrance, the formation at the door immediately emitted a dazzling light. Seeing this, she didn't panic. She placed her token into a vacant spot on the mountain wall, and the light instantly subsided. For the outermost formation of the Wanfa Pavilion, as long as one had a disciple's token, one could enter.
Stepping into the cave, inside was a very spacious hall. There were cave openings with restrictions on three sides, leading to unknown places. Moonlight stones illuminated the place as bright as day. The cave was cool and dry, perhaps due to the effects of the formation. This environment was not only suitable for preserving jade slips but also allowed books made of paper or other materials to be preserved.
In a corner of the cave, there was a huge table. Behind it sat several ordinary Qi Refining cultivators. Some were meditating, some were dozing off with their heads tilted. When she entered, only one person lazily lifted an eyelid, "Identity token."
Mo Tiange handed over her disciple token. The person took it, then took a jade slip and had her leave her mark in it before saying, "Follow me."
He walked to one of the cave openings, flashed a Jade Token, which emitted a beam of light that fell on the restriction and instantly disappeared. This person threw the Jade Token to her, "The Jade Token must not leave your body. Come out before midnight. Do not privately hide or damage items. If you need to make copies, bring the jade slips here. You can copy up to three jade slips. Alright, go in."
Mo Tiange thanked him and entered the cave with the Jade Token. This cave was even larger than the outer hall. The front was filled with densely packed books. Besides jade slips at the back, there were all sorts of strange things. She walked over, first flipping through the books, and found that most were ordinary techniques or things passed down from the mortal world. Presumably, things recorded in books weren't anything profound. However, at the back, there were things recorded on cauldrons, iron blocks carved with dense characters, and glass beads that seemed to contain many characters inside. The things recorded by these were all unusual—either alchemy, strange objects, or special spells.
Mo Tiange first selected a jade slip called "Complete Compendium of Spirit Herbs," then slowly began searching for useful things within. She didn't need techniques anymore. As for things like alchemy and artifact refining, she didn't have the energy to learn them. So she found a book on the essence of formations. Finally, she selected a jade slip recording the history of the Yunwu Sect.
When she went out, the guarding disciple was somewhat surprised and asked, "You've already chosen?" It was no wonder he was surprised. Looking at Mo Tiange's token, she was a disciple visiting for the first time. Which disciple didn't spend a long time carefully selecting items on their first visit to the Wanfa Pavilion? Who was like her, coming out after only half an hour inside?
Mo Tiange nodded and handed over the Jade Token and the three jade slips, "Troubling you, Senior Brother."
The person took them and gestured with his chin, "Three Spirit Stones."
"Huh?" Mo Tiange was stunned. Spirit Stones?
This person said somewhat impatiently, "Junior Brother, don't you know that copying jade slips requires Spirit Stones?"
She really didn't know. But one Spirit Stone per copied jade slip wasn't too much. She immediately took out the Spirit Stones and handed them over.
The person accepted them and quickly copied the jade slips, handing them to her.
Mo Tiange took them and thanked him. But she still muttered to herself: three Spirit Stones weren't considered a lot, but ordinary Qi Refining disciples only received five Spirit Stones a month. If one came in every month to copy three jade slips, that would take up most of it. It seemed that even after entering an immortal cultivation sect, life wasn't too easy.