Lady Cultivator

“Eldest Martial Sister, what should we do?” Luo Fengxue anxiously asked.

Han Qingyu didn’t answer, but she looked very calm. As she watched Wei Jiasi, who was lying on the bed, she finally made a decision. She said, “Let’s wake second martial sister first.”

“En,” Luo Fengxue said while kept nodding her head. Now that they had guessed what those demonic beasts were up to, she felt very anxious. Han Qingyu’s decision actually suited Luo Fengxue’s temperament very much.

“Tiange, come and help.”

Mo Tiange gave a complying grunt before she moved towards the bedside. Meanwhile, Luo Fengxue and Han Qingyu had propped Wei Jiasi into a sitting position.

Han Qingyu looked up and said, “Tiange, your cultivation level is also in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm now. In a moment, the two of us will pour our spiritual power into second martial sister’s dantian and her sea of knowledge to rouse her primordial spirit.”

“Okay.” Mo Tiange nodded. Soon afterward, she sat behind Wei Jiasi with Han Qingyu, all the while listening to Han Qingyu’s instructions.

“I’ll count to three and you’ll immediately pour your spiritual aura into her body from her Lingtai Point. Once we begin, the spiritual aura inside her body will automatically resist, but you have to persist. I’ll help you if I can later.”

“Alright.”

“Let’s begin. One, two, three!”

Once Han Qingyu finished counting, Mo Tiange immediately raised her hand, gathered her aura on her palm, and stuck her palm on the Lingtai Point on Wei Jiasi’s back. At the same time, Han Qingyu directly pressed Wei Jiasi’s Baihui Point.

“Fengxue, watch your second martial sister. If it looks like she can’t hold on, feed her a Spirit-Nourishing Pill.”

“Got it, Eldest Martial Sister.”

Mo Tiange’s spiritual aura had Pure Yin attributes. It was cold yet soft and gentle. Right after she poured it into the Lingtai Point, she immediately sensed some resistance to her spiritual aura from the meridians inside Wei Jiasi’s body. Moreover, the resistance was too strong for her.

Although the classification used in the Foundation Building realm was different from the one used in the Aura Refining realm, the Foundation Building realm was also classified into the early, middle and late stages. These three small realms were also classified further into nine layers. The first, second, and third layer were known as the early stage of the Foundation Building realm; the fourth, fifth, and sixth layer were known as the middle stage; and the seventh, eighth, and ninth layer were known as the late stage. The so-called peak – or the consummation of Foundation Building realm – was when cultivators reached the tenth layer, which was separated only by a thin boundary from the Core Formation realm.

Luo Fengxue had just entered the Foundation Building realm, so she was still in the first layer. It also hadn’t been too long since Han Qingyu entered the late stage of the Foundation Building realm, so she was still in the seventh layer. As for Mo Tiange and Wei Jiasi, although both of them were in the middle stage, Wei Jiasi had been in the Foundation Building realm for almost a hundred years. Even though she was still in the middle stage, she was already in the sixth layer. Mo Tiange, on the other hand, had just made a breakthrough into the middle stage, so she was still in the fourth layer.

Even in the Aura Refining realm, a gap of two layers indicated quite a large difference in strength, let alone in the Foundation Building realm. Once Mo Tiange’s spiritual aura entered Wei Jiasi’s meridians, the pressure from the resistance immediately made Mo Tiange frown.

But a second later, she activated her Spirit-Concealing Pendant. This Spirit-Concealing Pendant was originally meant to hide one’s constitution and gather spiritual aura. One of the consequences of gathering spiritual aura was that it would refine the wearer’s magic. After the pendant was re-refined by Zhong Muling, its effect became even more apparent.

A thread of pure and dense spiritual aura flowed out of the Spirit-Concealing Pendant, causing Mo Tiange to feel an immediate decrease in the pressure. In addition, because Mo Tiange’s spiritual aura had Pure Yin attributes; it was supple but tenacious. So, very quickly, it managed to surpass the power of Wei Jiasi’s resistance and moved forward, following Wei Jiasi’s meridians towards her dantian.

Han Qingyu glanced at Mo Tiange out of surprise. She originally planned on helping Mo Tiange after she was done with her part. She never expected Mo Tiange would actually be able to do it by herself. But, after some thought, she realized that since this junior martial sister of hers had encountered quite a few opportunities, maybe there was something unique about her spiritual aura. Hence, Han Qingyu didn’t say anything and focused her attention on guiding her spiritual aura towards Wei Jiasi.

Before long, Mo Tiange and Han Qingyu’s spiritual auras merged in Wei Jiasi’s dantian. Soon afterward, their combined spiritual auras flowed along the special passage between the dantian and the sea of knowledge, entering the sea of knowledge.

In an instant, the two people grimaced with pain, prompting Luo Fengxue, who had been watching them all along, to feel extremely nervous.

Mo Tiange felt enormous pressure when her spiritual aura reached Wei Jiasi’s sea of knowledge. This was where one’s primordial spirit dwelled. It was located extremely far from one’s dantian. However, the dantian was the only place connected to it. If they wanted to enter one’s sea of knowledge, they had to first go through the dantian, where spiritual aura was stored.

Mo Tiange and Han Qingyu worked together when they took on pressure from the spiritual aura in Wei Jiasi’s dantian, so they didn’t feel much pain. When they went into the narrow passage towards the sea of knowledge, however, they instantly felt helpless. They could only move their spiritual aura forward slowly, bit by bit.

Eventually, their spiritual aura entered the broad, boundless sea of knowledge. The two of them sighed with relief and soon found Wei Jiasi’s sleeping primordial spirit.

“We have to be careful. The primordial spirits of ordinary cultivators are very frail. Even this kind of weak spiritual aura might bring pain to her divine sense. We should cover her primordial spirit first then I’ll gradually put some pressure on it.”

“Yes, Senior Martial Sister Han.”

According to Han Qingyu’s instructions, Mo Tiange steadily controlled her spiritual aura. With the help of her Spirit-Concealing Pendant, she had become very agile in controlling spiritual aura. She released her spiritual aura, spreading it softly around Wei Jiasi’s primordial spirit before stopping.

Han Qingyu was extremely cautious. After a series of complicated processes, Wei Jiasi’s eyelashes finally quivered, and a painful grimace appeared on her face.

“Fengxue! The Spirit-Nourishing Pill!”

Luo Fengxue complied, promptly took out a Spirit-Nourishing Pill, and fed it to Wei Jiasi.

Wei Jiasi’s primordial spirit was stabilized almost instantly. Soon after, she finally opened her eyes.

“Second Martial Sister, don’t move! Wait until we take out our spiritual aura from your meridians before you use your spiritual aura.”

Wei Jiasi stared blankly for a short while after she heard Han Qingyu’s cries, but she soon did as she was told.

Mo Tiange and Han Qingyu once again exerted their strength as they removed their spiritual aura from Wei Jiasi’s meridians.

Losing this amount of spiritual aura wouldn’t cause any damage to them. However, the sea of knowledge was a considerably frail place. If they weren’t careful and left some of their spiritual aura inside, Wei Jiasi would certainly be in trouble.

“Phew…” Mo Tiange sighed. This was the first time she used her spiritual aura to perform this kind of delicate action, so she felt extremely exhausted.

Luo Fengxue immediately helped her down from the bed and fed her a medicinal pill before she asked Wei Jiasi, “Second Martial Sister, are you alright?”

Wei Jiasi opened her eyes. In an apparently muddled state, she asked, “I… What’s wrong with me…?”

Han Qingyu softly explained, “Second Martial Sister, you and Tiange had an accident. An Illusory Formation beguiled your mind. But you’re alright now. Don’t think too much—rest up first. I’ll explain more to you later.”

“…” Wei Jiasi didn’t say anything. She just dropped her head and entered a daze, seemingly recalling everything that happened.

“Second Martial Sister?” Luo Fengxue called out, feeling a bit worried.

After a long time, Wei Jiasi finally regained her train of thought. She shook her head and said, “I’m alright, don’t worry. What’s the situation like now?”

Chuckling, Han Qingyu answered, “I’m here, so what are you worried about? Second Martial Sister, just rest properly. When you regain your vitality, I’ll tell you everything in detail.”

“En.” Wei Jiasi’s expression continued to change, but in the end, she still nodded.

This made both Han Qingyu and Luo Fengxue feel relieved. Han Qingyu stood up and said, “Rest. We won’t disturb you any longer.”

“Wait—” Wei Jiasi raised her head as she spoke. Her gaze fell on Mo Tiange’s body. She then said, “Tiange, I want to talk to you.”

Mo Tiange was startled. She automatically looked at Han Qingyu and Luo Fengxue.

Luo Fengxue was frowning while Han Qingyu looked conflicted. After a short while, Han Qingyu gave her a meaningful glance, and said with a smile, “Tiange, since there are no other issues now, you better keep your Senior Martial Sister Wei company.”

Having caught Han Qingyu’s meaningful glance, Mo Tiange nodded and answered, “Yes, Senior Martial Sister Han.”

Once Luo Fengxue and Han Qingyu left the room, Mo Tiange stepped forward, tidied the bed, and help Wei Jiasi to sit straighter. She said, “Senior Martial Sister Wei, did you have something to tell me?”

Wei Jiasi remained silent, but her gaze never left Mo Tiange’s body. Her gaze was a scrutinizing gaze, scrutinizing and contemplating.

Mo Tiange stopped moving and sat quietly by the bedside. Han Qingyu’s secret gaze told her to be a bit patient and accommodating because Wei Jiasi had a moody temperament after all and was currently wounded. Because Mo Tiange wasn’t fussy about this kind of thing, she complied.

Even though Wei Jiasi was looking at her in this way, Mo Tiange didn’t feel displeased at all. Her childhood was a tough one. She was already accustomed to the fickleness of human nature, so why would she take this kind of matter to heart?

After an eternity, Wei Jiasi finally spoke. “Tiange, do you have any idea what I want to say to you?” Unexpectedly, her tone was very calm.

Mo Tiange pondered inwardly before the corners of her lips moved, revealing a slight smile. She said, “I have no idea.”

Wei Jiasi closed her eyes, seemingly thinking about something. It was only after a long time that she once again opened her eyes and continued speaking calmly: “I… I remember that I did something bad to you inside that illusion, so I think… I owe you an explanation.”

“Senior Martial Sister doesn’t have to do this,” Mo Tiange didn’t want to hear that, so she said, “Senior Martial Sister doesn’t owe me anything, let alone give me an apology. You were just affected by the illusion; there’s nothing to explain.”

“No!” Wei Jiasi stared at Mo Tiange with a determined and stubborn gaze. She said, “Although my temperament isn’t good and I’m aloof and arrogant, I’ve never bullied others. If I don’t explain myself clearly, I’ll feel bad.”

Mo Tiange was silent. There was a helpless feeling in her heart. The problem between her and Wei Jiasi was actually only felt by Wei Jiasi herself. In reality, it had nothing to do with her. But right now…

Mo Tiange sighed and said, “All right, I’ll listen to what Senior Martial Sister Wei has to say.”

Upon obtaining agreement from Mo Tiange, Wei Jiasi finally softened her gaze and displayed a rare, slight smile. Actually, Wei Jiasi was also pretty herself. There was some elegance in her eyebrows, and her facial features were as fresh as springtime. If she smiled more, she would look extremely friendly and adorable.

Wei Jiasi thought for a long time before she started to speak. “You must know that I don’t like you. The reason is… I don’t know whether you know or not…”

“In Clear Spring Peak, grandmaster is a heaven-blessed genius. In addition to the deceased Martial Uncle Qingyuan, he has six advanced inner disciples in total. Our master ranks first and is also the oldest. Our master also has a lot of disciples himself. A hundred years ago, master was still very young—he had only around six to seven disciples. Among them, the only female disciples were me and eldest martial sister.”

“Although we, the inner disciples of a Core Formation cultivator, were all blessed with double spiritual roots as our natural aptitudes, not all of our natural aptitudes were equally good. Some were better than others while some were inferior. I was one of the disciples with the best natural aptitudes, so my cultivation level advanced very quickly. Even those senior martial brothers couldn’t catch up to me. I was considered to be the best among grandmaster’s third generation of disciples. Time passed by like that. Gradually, arrogance grew inside me.”

“Martial Uncle Shoujing arrived before I entered the school, but he was actually a similar age to us third generation disciples. Because I had a great natural aptitude, I was accepted by the school at a young age. If I remember correctly, when I entered the school, Martial Uncle Shoujing had just succeeded in building his foundation. At that time, I only knew grandmaster had an extremely talented, good-natured, blood-related junior who became his advanced inner disciple. However, at that time, I thought I would surpass him just like I surpassed those senior martial brothers, so I didn’t pay any attention to him. However, against my expectations… Not only have I not achieved that goal, but I’m also being drawn deeper and deeper…”

“Martial uncle was twenty years old when he built his foundation. Around that time, Martial Uncle Lingxi of Sweet Dew Peak also built his foundation at the age of seventeen. Therefore, Martial Uncle Shoujing’s achievement wasn’t sensational. I also thought that for us, elite disciples with good natural aptitudes, building our foundation would be as easy as crossing a doorstep, and that succeeding in building one’s foundation in their twenties only meant they were extremely lucky. I really never thought that on the first day I saw martial uncle…”

Mo Tiange listened silently to Wei Jiasi’s bittersweet memories. She just felt empty in her heart; the emptiness was so profound that she couldn’t hear Wei Jiasi’s voice clearly.

What does she want by telling me this? Should I feel happy? Should I feel sad?

“… Tiange, I’m truly sorry. I thought I managed my feelings well, but they were still exposed inside that Illusory Formation and even made me hurt you… What Fengxue said was right; I’m sinking deeper and deeper to the point where I can no longer control myself. Because martial uncle is kind to you, I still feel unhappy even though I forced myself to suppress that feeling. You know… after I fainted, I still retained some consciousness. I thought for a long, long time…”

“I know that if I still want to succeed in cultivating, I have to give up feelings like this. I’ve tried and tried. I want to give up, but I feel I would also lose my heart… So I’ve thought things through thoroughly. I don’t care anymore. Since I can’t get it, I won’t seek it. Since I can’t give it up, I won’t give it up. Now I’m in my early hundreds and am only a stone’s throw away from the late stage of the Foundation Building realm. If I can’t advance to the Core Formation realm, I’ll probably have about 200 years left in my life. Within those 200 years, I’m afraid martial uncle still won’t be able to form his nascent soul. With martial uncle’s temper, if he doesn’t succeed in his cultivation, he certainly won’t be trapped in his emotions. When he finally has a plan for Dual Cultivation, I’m afraid I would’ve already… already perished.”

When Wei Jiasi finished speaking, she smiled at Mo Tiange. Her gaze had both sorrow and determination. She then said, “This being the case, what am I afraid of? Let me stay like this for the rest of my life. I’ll neither ask for anything nor forcefully persevere. I’ll accept what I can get and I won’t give up if I can’t. Whether it’s the Foundation building realm or the Core Formation realm, I’ll leave it to fate…”

Mo Tiange was still silent. Although this was the best attitude Wei Jiasi ever had towards her, she couldn’t smile, because she could clearly sense the sorrow behind Wei Jiasi’s words.

This Senior Martial Sister Wei was considered to be such a proud person by everyone, yet she was now willing to give up her possibly bright future. However, from another perspective, it could be considered that she had accepted the facts, right?

This is my own love. Even if the person I love has nothing to do with it, I’ll guard my feelings on my own. Whether I obtain love or not, whatever the consequences are, I don’t care…

“Tiange, martial uncle…”

“Senior Martial Sister Wei,” Mo Tiange suddenly spoke, interrupting Wei Jiasi. “I think… you don’t need to tell me all of this. Whatever happens to martial uncle… doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

Wei Jiasi was silent, but she soon chuckled and said, “You’re right, I was confused. Alright, Tiange, regarding the matters from before, I hope you can forgive me. In the future, any problem of mine will have nothing to do with you, whether it involves you or not.”

—

After Wei Jiasi woke up, Han Qingyu exerted some energy in helping her recover then she told Wei Jiasi about the current events.

Wei Jiasi was silent for a long time before she came up with an answer they had all expected. “This must be a scheme.”

Because many of their fellow disciples and masters had stayed behind in Danding School, Luo Fengxue was extremely anxious. She loudly said, “Then what should we do now?”

Han Qingyu pondered then said, “Worrying is useless. We’ve been delayed here for a long time; if those beasts wanted to attack, they would’ve done it already. As for Summoning Talismans, I tried sending some, but I don’t know whether master received them or not.”

They were quite some distance away from Danding School. Unless they had Thousand of Miles or Ten Thousand of Miles Sound-Transmitting Talismans, ordinary Summoning Talismans were essentially useless. Wei Jiasi had used Thousand of Miles Sound-Transmitting Talisman to report the events that occurred there, but it might’ve even been obstructed by the Great Defense Formation.

“Is there any news from the Yu Clan?” asked Wei Jiasi.

“No,” Han Qingyu answered while shaking her head. “I mentioned some things to them, but they don’t know what’s going on either. Clan Master Yu also tried to send a message to the school. I wonder if he succeeded…”

The four of them once again sat in silence.

Now, even if they returned to Danding School, they definitely wouldn’t make it in time. Even their own safety couldn’t be guaranteed. In the event a war broke out, they could be considered lucky if Yu Clan’s formation and the surrounding terrain saved their lives. If they left without permission and then happened to run into rampaging demonic beasts, they would most likely be…

“Senior Martial Sisters, I’m afraid we have no other course of action aside from waiting.” Mo Tiange contemplated for a long time before she slowly said, “We’re only four Foundation Building cultivators. Since they have Nascent Soul cultivators, even if they’re attacked, it won’t be easy for the beasts to win. Martial Uncle Xuanyin and our fellow disciples are guests at Danding School; they shouldn’t be in too much danger. It’s actually our own fates that are quite worrying. Yu Clan only has several Foundation Building cultivators who all have cultivation levels below ours. We definitely can’t rely on them.”

Han Qingyu took a long while to ponder over Mo Tiange’s words. In the end, she nodded and said, “Tiange’s right. If an attack on Danding School fails, the beasts’ target would shift. It would certainly be dangerous for us then.”

“In that case, what should we do now?” asked Luo Fengxue.

Wei Jiasi said, “I think we’d better wait.”

Mo Tiange nodded in agreement.

Upon seeing Mo Tiange and Wei Jiasi’s response, Han Qingyu said, “I too think we should wait. We can’t analyze the current situation clearly. We’d better cope by maintaining our situation first.”

Since the three of them were in agreement, Luo Fengxue didn’t have much to say. She only said, “Okay, I can’t come up with any other ideas anyway.”

Thus, the four of them reached an agreement. The task of negotiating with the master of Yu Clan was left to Han Qingyu. Clan Master Yu became very nervous when he learned about their theory. Both parties had the same idea, so they didn’t need to discuss much.

Mo Tiange managed to find some time to enter her Virtual Sky World. But once she was inside, she only sat inside a small lodge and remained silent for a long time.

If she didn’t leave this Virtual Sky World, her safety certainly wouldn’t be a problem. She wasn’t concerned of Yu Clan, so she didn’t need to take them into her consideration, but what about Luo Fengxue and the other two? What would happen to them if she really hid inside the Virtual Sky World?

From a logical perspective, Xuanqing School gave her a place to reside and provided her with all the necessary things for cultivation. She received kindness from Xuanqing School and had no animosity towards it. From an emotional aspect, the three of them were her martial sisters. Aside from Wei Jiasi, both Han Qingyu and Luo Fengxue had always taken care of her. Considering those two aspects, she really couldn’t ignore their safety.

Of course, she could also bring all of them into the Virtual Sky World. However, she rejected this idea from the very beginning. This Virtual Sky World mustn’t ever be shown to others, or her life would be in peril.

After contemplating for a while, Mo Tiange finally made up her mind—she would just accompany them! She was now no longer a small cultivator who didn’t have the slightest ability of protecting herself. Her cultivation level was already in the Foundation Building realm. She had some abilities and also possessed some treasures. Coupled with the fact that demonic beasts weren’t good at using external objects, she was sure she could flee if needed.

With these thoughts in mind, she opened her Qiankun Bag and started to make preparations.

The magic weapons she had were the Purple Wooden Furnace, the White Silk Handkerchief, the Enchanting Lantern, and the Spirit-Concealing Pendant. In addition to these, her Virtual Sky World could also be considered a weapon. Among her magic weapons, the Purple Wooden Furnace and the Virtual Sky World were useless in fights of magical power, while the Spirit-Concealing Pendant’s function was just to aid her. Only the White Silk Handkerchief and the Enchanting Lantern could be directly used to attack.

As for magic tools, she had the Shuttle of Flying Apsara, the Heaven and Earth Cloud-Silk Armor, the Land-Fleeing Ruler, and the flying needles she just bought not too long ago. The Heaven and Earth Cloud-Silk Armor would directly be worn on her body, the Land Fleeing Ruler was used to flee, the Shuttle of Flying Apsara was used to attack, and the flying needles were used to launch secret attacks. Aside from these, she also had talismans and the like, which were bestowed to her by Martial Uncle Xuanyin.

If she was to truly count the items she had at her disposal, she actually had a lot of treasures. Her odds of winning against a cultivator of the same level were rather high, let alone against demonic beasts. Besides, she could retreat to her Virtual Sky World in an extremely short amount of time. This, combined with using the Land-Fleeing Ruler, would lead to even better battle outcomes. Even if faced with a Core Formation cultivator, she believed that as long as she moved quickly enough, she would never have no chances of escaping.

When she thought up to this point, a small smile appeared on Mo Tiange’s face. A Virtual Sky World and opportunities from Deification cultivators weren’t accessible to everyone. She was one of the strongest among cultivators in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm. Even if she faced a late stage Foundation Building cultivator, her odds of winning wouldn’t be low. If she couldn’t defeat her opponent, she still could escape. What did she need to be afraid of?