Spring blossoms and autumn moons passed idly by, and in the blink of an eye, another ten years had gone by.
During these ten years, Mo Tiange traveled across the entire Yunzhong region. Starting from the small cities in the north, she visited every town of significant size in the Dongtang Kingdom, then went to the Southern Zhou Kingdom, witnessing the peculiar phenomenon of Buddhism and Confucianism coexisting and supporting each other. Finally, she traveled to the west, living for several years in the barbaric western lands, befriending the local tribespeople and hearing many strange legends.
Over this decade, she made quite a name for herself under the alias Ye Xiaotian. Most of the high-level cultivators in the Dongtang and Southern Zhou kingdoms were on friendly terms with her, praising her profound cultivation and straightforward character, considering her a reliable person. There were also those who, seeing her youth and numerous treasures, coveted them, but all were eliminated by her.
Ten years flashed by. When she suddenly looked back, she realized that the gains from her decade of wandering in Yunzhong far exceeded those from decades of secluded cultivation in the Void Heaven Realm.
Having traveled to many places, she had heard many things. Now, her understanding of Yunzhong was far deeper than that of many native Yunzhong cultivators. Ten years of trials and tribulations, ten years of sights and stories, had broadened her horizons and unexpectedly allowed her to gain a deeper comprehension of Mo Yaoqing's cultivation insights.
Back then, Mo Yaoqing, with her cultivation completely crippled, had hidden in the mortal world, wandering through Yunzhong, enduring untold hardships before finally achieving the Nascent Soul stage. That life experience had given her many realizations, which she had written into her cultivation insights. The Mo Tiange of the past, though she had experienced much, ultimately lacked the profound understanding that Mo Yaoqing possessed. Only now, having walked the paths Mo Yaoqing once walked, seen the things she once saw, and heard the legends she once heard, did those insights slowly integrate into her own thoughts, becoming her own.
Mo Tiange was originally a person of exceptional aptitude and extremely steady temperament, and she lacked neither spiritual pills nor miraculous medicines. Having fused with these insights, even though she merely followed a routine cultivation schedule day by day without entering seclusion, her cultivation still advanced by leaps and bounds with astonishing speed.
In ten years, her late-stage Core Formation cultivation not only stabilized but also reached the peak of the late stage, only a hair's breadth away from the perfection of the Core Formation stage.
Having reached this stage in her cultivation, Mo Tiange was in no hurry. As long as no accidents occurred, continuing to cultivate steadily like this, it was inevitable that she would form her Nascent Soul before the age of two hundred. By then, relying on her formidable strength, she could cross the South Sea and return to Tianji.
As expected, over these ten years, she had not found any shortcuts to return to Tianji. For this reason, she could only make plans: if, by the final moment, there was still no hope, she would forcibly cross the South Sea.
With this goal in mind, in the later years, she had focused on gathering information about the South Sea.
The South Sea of Tianji was called the North Sea in Yunzhong, and it was similarly little known. Although this sea was not as mysterious as the Guixu Sea, its dangers surpassed it. The Core Formation cultivators she befriended knew little about it. Occasionally, a few seniors who had witnessed the dangers of this sea would shake their heads vigorously upon mentioning it, indicating that unless one was a Nascent Soul cultivator of profound cultivation and immense supernatural powers, entering this sea would most likely mean not returning safely.
Mo Tiange did not give up hope. Over the years, she had not come away completely empty-handed.
For example, there was a type of tree in Yunzhong called Iron-Heart Wood. After growing for a thousand years, this tree would transform into Profound Iron-Heart Wood. This Profound Iron-Heart Wood was incredibly tough; not only could ordinary iron not pierce it, but even spells could not harm it. If used to build a boat, it could withstand fierce winds and massive waves.
Upon learning this, she ventured deep into the Western Barbarian lands and finally obtained a stalk of Profound Iron-Heart Wood, pondering how to forge this wood into a boat.
Apart from her own affairs, the changes in Yunzhong's situation over the past ten years were also quite interesting.
First, the White Floating Mountain sect had retrieved their Sacred Relic, the Heaven and Earth Net, greatly boosting their prestige. Second, the Jiuyan Sect's Sacred Relic, the God-Restricting Bead, had become known to the public. Third, the Nameless Record had appeared not long ago, sparking another round of contention. Thus, including the Heavenly Demon Tower from decades ago, four of the Five Sacred Objects had appeared in succession.
Consequently, the news that the fifth Sacred Relic was the Fusheng Sword was no longer a secret. The few Core Formation cultivators who had seen the Fusheng Sword were greatly dismayed—they had actually watched a Sacred Relic slip away right before their eyes. Afterwards, the news that the Fusheng Sword had fallen into the hands of the foreign sea cultivator Qin Wei spread throughout Yunzhong.
This foreign cultivator from afar, who had previously been obscure in Yunzhong, suddenly became the hottest topic in the region. Many sects began investigating Qin Wei's whereabouts. Among them, the Jiuyan Sect, the Huayan Temple, and Guifang City were the most eager—these three factions had literally watched Qin Wei slip away from under their noses.
Unfortunately, this Qin Wei seemed to have vanished from Yunzhong. No matter how they searched, they could not find any trace of her, even when Nascent Soul experts took action.
Thus, some said that this Qin Wei was not originally from Yunzhong and had perhaps already returned to the foreign seas.
Many believed this news, but only the people of the Jiuyan Sect had doubts. Because their Sect Master, Ling Yunhe, knew that the matter she had entrusted to him was of great importance; before leaving, she should have come to claim her reward. However, after searching everywhere without success, they too had to believe it. The high-level cultivators of the Jiuyan Sect couldn't help but sigh in admiration: although Qin Wei was merely a Core Formation female cultivator, her perseverance and decisiveness were extraordinary. She had probably learned that she possessed the Fusheng Sword and immediately abandoned the benefits she was about to receive, hiding far away.
Of these matters, Mo Tiange knew some but not others. What she knew was that she had become the key figure whom every Yunzhong cultivator sought but could not find. However, after using her illusion technique and changing her name, she had no intention of getting involved.
Her illusion technique was very successful. Many Core Formation cultivators in Yunzhong knew of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator named Ye Xiaotian, but they did not know that this young scholar was the Qin Wei who had stirred up a great storm in Yunzhong.
What she did not know was that her disappearance had caused the Nascent Soul grandmasters of Yunzhong to secretly gnash their teeth in frustration.
Of the legendary Five Sacred Objects, four had appeared in the past few decades. If all five could be gathered, they could go to the Guixu Sea to investigate thoroughly and perhaps find the path to Deity Transformation. Yet this Qin Wei had disappeared with the Fusheng Sword, completely ruining their plans. One must know that the Five Sacred Objects had vanished for nearly a hundred thousand years before reappearing in the world. If they missed this opportunity, who knew when the next one would be? By that time, no matter how high one's cultivation, one would already be a pile of dry bones.
Thus, completely unaware, Mo Tiange had become a thorn in the side of Yunzhong's Nascent Soul cultivators.
"Immortal Master!" A crisp voice came from behind.
Mo Tiange stopped and turned to see a girl dressed in Western Barbarian attire running hurriedly towards her, the silver bracelets on her wrists jingling with every step, each step a musical note.
"Immortal Master!" The girl stopped before her, raising her flushed face to look at him. "Are you leaving already?"
Mo Tiange smiled, looking at the girl before her. "Ayi, why have you come?"
The girl lowered her head, fiddling with her braid. After a moment, she looked up again, her bright eyes fixed on her. "Immortal Master, can I go with you?"
Mo Tiange was taken aback by these words. "You..."
"Immortal Master," the girl's face showed shyness but also determination, "I like you, so I want to go with you."
"..." Mo Tiange gave a bitter smile, unable to resist touching her face. This wasn't the first time she had encountered such a situation. Over the past ten years, having traveled to many places, she often had women confess their feelings to her, which truly made her both amused and exasperated.
When she dressed as a woman, although there were men who held favorable impressions of her, she had never encountered a direct confession of love. Yet, when she used her Appearance-Mimicking Technique to transform into a man, she would occasionally attract romantic attention. This puzzled her greatly. Could it be that she was actually more suited to being a man? Or was it that she played the role of a man too successfully, and this appearance was overly handsome... But having her transform into a wretched old man was something she absolutely refused to do.
"Ayi, I cannot take you with me," she said. "Go back. This is your home."
"Why?" The Western Barbarian girl Ayi widened her eyes. "We Western Barbarian women, when we have someone we like, all leave home."
"But I..." She paused, speaking gently yet aloofly, "But I do not have romantic feelings for you, so I cannot take you with me."
"Ah?" Such a blunt rejection left Ayi standing there dumbfounded. After a while, she found her voice again. "Immortal Master... you... don't like me at all? Didn't you say I was very cute? You also said you were very happy when you were with me..."
Mo Tiange was startled. Had she caused this misunderstanding? If so, it was her own lack of discretion. In her heart, she still thought of herself as a woman, and when saying such things, she hadn't considered that others might misunderstand. She sighed. "Being cute and being in love are different things. Ayi, go back. We will not meet again."
With that, she turned, waved her sleeve, and directly transformed into a streak of escaping light, swiftly flying away.
"Immortal Master!" The girl cried out anxiously, her silver bracelets jingling as she hurriedly chased after her. But how could the strength of a mortal compare to the arts of an Immortal? Soon, she could no longer find that streak of escaping light and squatted down, weeping loudly.
Her sleeves fluttering, Mo Tiange gently landed on a mountain peak. Hearing the girl's cries, she couldn't help but sigh, then flicked her sleeves and sat down cross-legged.
This was the Western Barbarian region, the most treacherous place in Yunzhong, with barren mountains and vicious waters, scarce in resources. Looking out from this mountain peak, all she could see were bare yellow rocks, with hardly a trace of green to be found. The tribespeople living here struggled against the heavens, the earth, and fierce beasts, surviving with great difficulty. Perhaps it was this harsh environment that gave them a resilient belief. The people here were all so brave and simple.
After a long time, the girl's weeping gradually subsided. She finally stood up and silently walked back step by step.
Mo Tiange watched her until her figure disappeared.
Although she could not accept it, such persistent and passionate feelings had ignited something within her.
Spring blossoms fall as the autumn wind rises; summer lotuses wither as winter sleeps. Time never stops, year after year. In the blink of an eye, fifty years passed in an instant.
When she first came to Yunzhong, she had never imagined she would not return for fifty years, nor had she imagined that the journey back would be so difficult to find.
When they were together, she always felt that between them was this plain, yet enduring and steady affection. Only now, because of this Western Barbarian girl, did she suddenly realize that deep in her heart, there was also such love. This love was not so intense, but mellow like wine; the longer it was stored in the heart, the deeper it became.
"It's time to go back," she whispered softly. The gains of these ten years had already exceeded her expectations. Perhaps she should find a place to enter seclusion, strive for the perfection stage, and advance to the Nascent Soul stage in one go. Then, relying on her profound cultivation, she could cross the South Sea.
She clenched her fist, having made her decision.