Lady Cultivator

The two spiritual beasts were basically creating a pandemonium, completely trashing Mingxin Residence to an indescribable state.

Xiuqin and Qingqi, who lived nearby, had already rushed over. Both their faces turned green the moment they saw what was happening. “Martial Uncle Mo!” When Mo Tiange was present, the two of them were the ones in charge of tidying up Mingxin Residence!

Mo Tiange raised her hand to stop them. “Wait a moment.”

Xiuqin stamped her feet. “The house will get burned down if we wait any longer!”

The fire Xiaohuo spouted was Sun Real Fire. Right now, it had already burned the fence.

Mo Tiange had never been someone who liked to purposefully increase others’ workload, so despite thinking it was boring, she still used her divine comprehension to call the two spiritual beasts back when she saw Xiuqin and Qingqi losing their heads and running around.

Feifei naturally obeyed her because there was a contract between them. As for Xiaohuo, it had mysterious connections with Mo Tiange because of the Virtual Sky World. Upon receiving Mo Tiange’s divine comprehension, it still fiercely chased after Feifei for a while, but once it saw Feifei leaping into Mo Tiange’s embrace, it finally swung its tail, ran over and climbed onto Mo Tiange’s leg, where it then stayed motionless.

“Alright, the two of you mustn’t fight each other in the future. You have to treat each other as brothers, understand?” As she spoke, she also took out two medicinal pills to feed them, all the while pondering whether she should choose a time to establish a spiritual beast contract with Xiaohuo.

Feifei didn’t react much. In the past few days, it had eaten a lot of spiritual plants and spiritual panaceas inside the Virtual Sky World after all, so it just accepted her medicinal pill very joyously. Xiaohuo, on the other hand… The moment it saw the medicinal pill, its eyes instantly rounded—Mo Tiange unexpectedly hadn’t come back for more than twenty years, so it had long finished all of its medicinal pills.

After Mo Tiange fed Xiaohuo several more medicinal pills, she saw it run into a familiar corner in the cultivating room, curl up and begin cultivating. She then turned around, asking Ye Zhenji: “When did Xiaohuo advance?”

Ye Zhenji took some time to think before he answered: “It seems to be more than fifteen years ago when I almost ran out of medicinal pills to feed it.”

“Then how could it be in the peak of the third rank now?” Mo Tiange asked with bewilderment, “If its medicinal pills were exhausted, it doesn’t make any sense that its cultivation progressed this quickly, right?”

Ye Zhenji answered: “I discussed this with master, so all these years, master never forgot to concoct some medicinal pills for Xiaohuo.”

“…” Mo Tiange thought about something and suddenly felt scared. “Did you let your master see Xiaohuo’s medicinal pills?”

“En…”

Upon hearing Ye Zhenji’s answer, Mo Tiange said anxiously, “Didn’t I tell you that all the medicinal pills I gave you, no matter whether they were for you or Xiaohuo, mustn’t be seen by others?”

Ye Zhenji was also frightened to see her wrinkling her brows. “Auntie, I didn’t show it to master. It was master who happened to walk in on Xiaohuo as it was taking some medicinal pills.” He continued on bewilderedly, “Master didn’t have any particular reaction when he was looking at it, so what’s the problem?”

“Your master didn’t have any reaction when he looked at it?” Mo Tiange calmed down. Her gaze moved towards Xiuqin and Qingqi, who were tidying up the medicinal field. When she saw the two of them simply paying no attention to her and Zhenji, she continued on: “He didn’t say anything? Tell me how he reacted back then in detail.”

Although Ye Zhenji was completely at a loss, he still narrated in full detail: “Master looked at that medicinal pill for a long time. Originally, I was also worried there was something wrong, but in the end, master only said he could also concoct that medicinal pill. Later, he said to give it to him so he could study it and he’d give me a bottle of them in return in the future. He’s the master; how could I refuse him? Besides, after that, master never said there was anything weird about it, so my worries gradually disappeared.” At that point, Ye Zhenji cautiously asked, “Auntie, what was the matter with the medicinal pills in the end? Why can’t we let others know about them?”

Mo Tiange was flooded in a cold sweat. What should she say? Back then, Luo Fengxue once told her that her Senior Martial Brother Shoujing’s pill-concocting skills were the best in the entire Clear Spring Peak—even Lord Daoist Jinghe wasn’t as good as he was. Had he spotted the anomaly with those medicinal pills? Those pills were only common Beast Spiritual Pills used to feed spiritual beasts. However, the materials used to concoct them were all over a thousand year old spiritual plants at the least—who would use thousand year old spiritual plants to concoct Beast Spiritual Pills? Ordinary people mostly used several dozen year old spiritual plants; a hundred year old was already the limit.

She took a deep breath, trying hard to calm herself down. “In that case, has he ever seen the medicinal pills you took?”

Ye Zhenji said, “Never. Although master was baffled why my cultivation progressed so quickly despite my general aptitude, he never questioned me about the specific reasons.”

Mo Tiange felt her taut nerves slightly loosening. She once again reminded him gravely: “Remember, in the future, you mustn’t let anyone see the medicinal pills I gave you, no matter what kind of medicinal pills they are. Even if it happened by accident, that wouldn’t do.”

Ye Zhenji was confused, but in the end, he still nodded. “I understand.” He thought about the matter for a moment then asked worriedly, “Auntie, was letting my master know a serious problem?”

Shaking her head, Mo Tiange said, “Go back first. Let Aunt think about this matter.”

“Oh…”

Ye Zhenji obediently left, and Mo Tiange watched his back; the expression on her face became grave.

Her secret Virtual Sky World mustn’t become known by others, not even by the master who’d been treating her as his own child. Who in the cultivation world could resist the temptation of a land filled with spiritual panaceas? Even Deification cultivators couldn’t…

But… Had he discovered it already or not? Mo Tiange was absolutely clueless. If he’d discovered it already, then did her master know about it?

Thinking about these possibilities made her sweat even more profusely. She cautiously recalled everything that happened after she came back. Master… seemed completely normal—he didn’t show any unusual emotions at all. Xiuqin and the others also acted very normal… Presumably, even if that person sensed something wasn’t right with the medicinal pill, he wouldn’t have talked about it to master, would he? In addition, just seeing one medicinal pill couldn’t expose any deeper problems—maybe he just felt doubtful, and that was all. After all, who could’ve possibly guessed the real truth behind it?

But in any case, having this matter revealed to others wasn’t good. Mo Tiange pondered the matter for a while before she finally stood up, deciding to explore what her master’s intentions were.

Just after she stepped out of Mingxin Residence, she saw someone already standing there. It was precisely that Martial Nephew Ruan of hers.

Mo Tiange had long known Ruan Mingzhu was outside, but when she saw her, Mo Tiange was too lazy to greet her. She just pretended to see nothing and continued to walk forward. In any case, Ruan Mingzhu, as the junior, should be the one to greet her first.

Ruan Mingzhu indeed called out to her first, but the tone she used was indeed unpleasant to hear. “Stop!”

After a moment of thought, Mo Tiange finally decided to follow her wishes and stop obediently. “Martial Nephew Ruan, is there a problem?”

Ruan Mingzhu’s expression changed several times but in the end, she still endured and asked, “What’s that boy’s relationship to you?”

“That boy?” Mo Tiange raised her eyebrows.

Ruan Mingzhu stamped her feet. “The boy who just came out! My senior martial brother’s disciple!”

Your senior martial brother’s disciple? Mo Tiange shook her head inwardly. No matter the point of view, Zhenji ought to be my senior martial brother’s disciple, right?

Although she was thinking like that, her expression remained unperturbed. “Are you talking about Zhenji? He’s my nephew. What is it? Is there a problem?”

“Your nephew…” Ruan Mingzhu’s expression became very unsightly. “How could he be your nephew?”

Mo Tiange was amused. A smirk emerged on her lips. “Why couldn’t he be my nephew? Martial Nephew Ruan, you’re sticking your nose into too many things!” She intentionally emphasized “Martial Nephew Ruan” to remind this arrogant woman that she was the real disciple of her master.

“You—” Ruan Mingzhu was indeed enraged, but her lips just trembled while she remained unable to rebuke.

Nevertheless, since Mo Tiange already promised her master she wouldn’t trouble Ruan Mingzhu, Mo Tiange didn’t want to continue provoking her, so she said, “I still have some matters to attend to; I can’t keep chatting with Martial Nephew.” Right afterward, she walked away, leaving Ruan Mingzhu behind.

It was unclear whether Ruan Mingzhu felt angry or bitter, but she just stood there without making any move in the slightest.

By the time Mo Tiange arrived at Shangqing Palace’s main hall, Lord Daoist Jinghe was leaning on his couch, resting with his eyes closed. There was unexpectedly no maids at all around him.

Mo Tiange walked over. “Master!”

Lord Daoist Jinghe opened his eyes but soon closed them again. “Is something the matter?”

“It’s nothing important. It’s just that after not coming back for more than twenty years, I want to chat with you now.”

Lord Daoist Jinghe’s lips curved up as he smiled. “Has Mingzhu maybe provoked you?”

Mo Tiange shook her head. “Even if she did provoke me, I’d just pretend I didn’t see anything. She’s just an immature child—what would I get from arguing with her?”

Upon hearing what she said, a sliver of sadness and relief emerged in Lord Daoist Jinghe’s gaze. “I’ve finally not failed in teaching you…”

Mo Tiange smiled then turned to ask him: “Master, I’m really baffled. Why did she obstinately set her heart on Senior Martial Brother Shoujing? Other people might not know, but she used to interact with him every day. Considering senior martial brother’s temper, didn’t she think his personality was dull?”

Lord Daoist Jinghe smiled wryly. “How could she possibly like him for real? It was just that she couldn’t get him, so she set her heart on obtaining him. There’s only me to blame for pampering her until she developed such a personality—absolutely having to obtain anything she wants. It wasn’t easy for her to come across something she couldn’t get, so this matter caused her to enter a demonic barrier.” After he said that, he thought to himself: Wasn’t that brat also like this in the beginning? If he hadn’t run into those Deification cultivators, he might never have developed such feelings towards Tiange, right? At most, he’d only have a favorable impression of her, right? Unfortunately, two Deification cultivators suddenly crossed paths with him, causing the favorable impression he had of her to come to nothing and creating his obsession. The more he couldn’t get her, the deeper his obsession became until he finally entered a demonic barrier.

As for what that boy liked about Tiange, he might not be aware himself. Originally, he simply felt appreciative of her, simply paying more attention to her, simply feeling curious about her—if there were no other factors, that might be the extent of his feelings in his lifetime, or maybe, after several hundred years passed, those feelings would gradually fade. Unfortunately, that incident occurred, causing him to be trapped in his own mentality. The more he couldn’t get her, the more he paid attention to her; the more he paid attention to her, the more thought he placed on her; gradually, he could no longer let go.

There were some emotions which were unclear when they first began—sometimes, they might even have no beginnings at all.

Lord Daoist Jinghe’s stare scared Mo Tiange. That horrible thought once again emerged in her mind. Does master really know? Is he testing me out?

Quite a while later, Lord Daoist Jinghe finally withdrew his gaze. “Don’t worry about Mingzhu. Once the matter’s over, we’ll just have to let her return to the branch courtyard. We really can’t afford to have her stay here.”

Mo Tiange sighed with relief. This tone… there was nothing abnormal about it. She thought about something then threw in another question: “Master, is Senior Martial brother Shoujing going to try to form his Nascent Soul soon?”

Now that this matter was brought up, a hint of worry appeared on Lord Daoist Jinghe’s face. “He’s already in the peak stage of the Core Formation realm, and the matters related to his soul-formation have also been prepared long ago. According to reason, he can indeed enter Closed Door Meditation to form his Nascent Soul.”

Upon seeing Lord Daoist Jinghe’s rarely-seen worried expression, Mo Tiange couldn’t help but ask: “Does master think there’s a problem?”

“It’s hard to say.” Lord Daoist Jinghe shook his head. “I always felt that brat would encounter a huge problem in his soul-formation, but that brat happens to have staunch willpower—I can’t stop him.”

“A huge problem?” Mo Tiange pondered the matter in silence. Master had long said he was too anxious, but why had he never experienced this kind of problem before? In the end, what was it that made him develop a problem with his mental state, a problem which their master thought would be hard to handle?

“Never mind… Let him try once.” Lord Daoist Jinghe spoke faintly, but the worry in his gaze didn’t fade. “That child’s always been stubborn and insisted on his own ideas. If I forbade him from trying, he’d most likely feel unreconciled. Once he fails, we can naturally try to resolve the matter.”