Lady Cultivator-Chapter 325 - Inside Story

“That Jing Xingzhi saved you?” Mo Tiange asked after hearing Tang Shen’s experience.

Tang Shen nodded with a red face. “You could say so. After we came out of Demonic Mountain, that fatty was severely injured, so he hid in Mount Yuheng to recuperate. Within those ten-odd years, I tried to escape several times but I never succeeded. When his injuries improved later on, he wanted to take me somewhere, but we ran into Senior Jing. The two of them came from the same cultivation group, but Senior Jing seemed to harbor some grudges against him, so they started fighting. That fatty was originally injured by Senior Jing and the fatty ignored the fact that they came from the same group and wanted to kill Senior Jing to rob him of his treasures. In the end, however, he was killed by Senior Jing.”

“I see…” Mo Tiange mumbled. Just now, Tang Shen said the Nascent Soul cultivator who caught him was called Venerable Swordsman Fuling, one of Gujian Sect’s Nascent Soul venerable swordsmen, and Jing Xingzhi actually fought with his disciple. Apparently, Jing Xingzhi’s life at Gujian Sect was indeed very hard. Now he even killed his fellow disciple and was injured. He would most likely be unable to go back to Gujian Sect now, right?

After thinking for a while, Mo Tiange eventually shook her head. She didn’t need to worry about Jing Xingzhi’s affairs. Recalling how Tang Shen referred to that Core Formation cultivator as “fatty” but to Jing Xingzhi as “Senior Jing,” she asked, “Did Jing Xingzhi treat you well?”

Tang Shen hesitated for a moment then said, “En, he didn’t let me go, but he occasionally gave me advice.” At this point, he scratched his head in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Elder Ye. In the beginning, Senior Jing said he wanted to exchange me for curative medicinal pills. I was nervous, so I used the Ten Thousand of Miles Sound-Transmitting Talisman and consequently caused you to run all the way over just to save me…”

Mo Tiange said with a smile, “It’s no problem. Jing Xingzhi isn’t a good person. Even though he treated you quite well, he would never let you go unconditionally for real. In my opinion, when he said he wanted to exchange you for medicinal pills, he was probably serious.”

“Really?” Tang Shen pondered the matter but eventually heaved a sigh. “I also knew he wasn’t necessarily a good person, but he didn’t treat me too badly. I initially thought I was already careful enough, but when I arrived in Kunwu, I finally realized I’m still lacking in many aspects.”

To be able to say such things, Tang Shen had indeed matured a lot. But there was also nothing strange about this—he wasn’t younger than Mo Tiange, and it’d been a few dozen years since they last saw each other. It was inevitable that Tang Shen matured to some extent.

Mo Tiange showed a faint smile. “Fellow Daoist Tang, it wasn’t your fault. You’ve never been to Kunwu, so you naturally didn’t know what the situation was like here. Besides, you didn’t have anything to conceal your constitution, so if high level cultivators targeted you, they’d be able to see through you very easily.”

Concealing my constitution? Tang Shen’s eyes brightened. “Elder Ye, there are really such things to conceal one’s constitution?”

“Of course there are.” Mo Tiange gave the matter some thought. She remembered Shui Linbo saying that many of her techniques were learned from Bixuan Court’s female cultivators who saved her. Among those techniques, there was a cultivation technique that could cover up one’s physical situation. It was also due to this concealing technique that Shui Linbo was able to deceive Wanderer Baiyu, so why did Tang Shen not know about this technique?

“The sect-founder, Primordial Lady Bishui, had a Pure Yin Constitution, so such techniques should’ve been passed on to the juniors. Why don’t you know about them?”

Tang Shen hung his head dejectedly. “Elder Ye, we never knew exactly where the sovereign passed away that year. Only part of the sovereign’s wealth was left at Bixuan Court, and many of the techniques passed on to us were incomplete. Among them, there was indeed a technique that could mislead high level cultivators’ divine senses, but it can only be practiced by female cultivators.”

“Oh, so that’s why.” Mo Tiange nodded. This wasn’t strange; after all, Mo Yaoqing passed away more than 5,000 years ago—it was impossible that all of her possessions were passed onto them. Furthermore, she was also a female cultivator, so practicing cultivation techniques for female cultivators was naturally more appropriate for her. Nevertheless, even if all of her possessions were passed down to them, those items would presumably still fall short of the Spirit-Concealing Pendant Mo Tiange had. Back then, Mo Yaoqing was frequently full of worries because of her constitution, hence proving that her constitution-concealing technique wasn’t really effective.

Mo Tiange contemplated for some time then said, “Although constitution-concealing techniques are uncommon, they aren’t impossible to obtain. A high level Breath-Concealing Technique will do. It isn’t necessarily able to keep high level cultivators in the dark, but using one is still better than not using one at all. Since Kunzhong City is a business city, we can look for one at the trade fair here.”

Upon hearing this, hope once again flared up in Tang Shen’s eyes. However, he still said with some hesitation, “Elder Ye, will we need a lot of spirit stones? When I was captured, my Qiankun Bag was also searched. Later, although Senior Jing returned my Qiankun Bag to me, there weren’t many spirit stones left inside it.”

What he said made Mo Tiange smile. “Since I’m Bixuan Court’s guest elder, I naturally can’t just stand by on the side and watch you fall into hardship. You can use my spirit stones first. You can give them back to me if you get a chance in the future.”

“En.” Tang Shen didn’t reject her offer. Right now, he was indeed in dire need of a way to conceal his constitution.

“Right.” Once they finished discussing that matter, Mo Tiange asked, “How’s Bixuan Court now?

Tang Shen became rather excited now that they were talking about this. “Since we found a spirit stone mine in the sea and began accepting male cultivators, we recovered our strength very quickly. It’s just that we still have no Core Formation cultivators at the moment. However, as long as we buy core-formation medicinal pills, we’ll definitely have Core Formation elders again within a few dozen years!” After he said this, the light in his eyes seemed to die out. “Blame me for not handling things well. After disappearing for more than ten years, I wonder how the sect’s doing now.”

“They’ve lost contact with you for so long; they’ve probably long sent people to find you.” Mo Tiange asked, “Bixuan Court must have a branch in Kunwu, right?”

Tang Shen said, “There’s only a small guildhall with about a dozen or so people, and the highest level cultivator among them is only in the early stage of the Foundation Building realm.”

“Then you should try to contact them first and tell them you’re alright. Later on, we can stay in Kunzhong City for a few days and find you a Breath-Concealing Technique manual then we can look around for core-formation medicinal pills.”

Tang Shen’s eyes widened. Without spirit stones, he was too embarrassed to mention his original purpose. After all, core-formation medicinal pills were extremely expensive. Unexpectedly, however, Mo Tiange mentioned the matter first. Tang Shen was moved. He nodded and said prudently, “Elder Ye, when I go back, I’ll report this matter to the sect head. After some time, I’ll return the spirit stones to you along with your share of offerings all these years.”

Mo Tiange nodded. “At that time, you can send them directly to Xuanqing School. If I’m not there, you can give them to my husband.”

What she said gave Tang Shen a shock. “Elder Ye. you… you’ve performed Dual Cultivation?”

This matter was no secret, so Mo Tiange smiled and nodded. “I’ve formed my Gold Core now; my Daoist name’s Qingwei. My husband’s Daoist name’s Shoujing. If anything’s the matter, you can come look for us.”

Tang Shen couldn’t explain how he felt when he heard what Mo Tiange said; he just felt lost. Honestly speaking, what he felt towards Mo Tiange couldn’t really be called love. However, people with a Pure Yang Constitution or Pure Yin Constitution only appeared once every several thousand years. Even if they appeared, they might not be able to run into each other. It just so happened that the two of them lived in the same era, and the age difference between them also wasn’t too drastic. Although Mo Tiange had rejected him, he still harbored a faint hope. He felt that since they had Pure Yang and Pure Yin Constitutions, they ought to be fated to be together. But now that Mo Tiange said she already performed Dual Cultivation, the two of them really weren’t fated to be.

“Congratulations.” A long while later, Tang Shen finally managed to speak.

Mo Tiange only smiled faintly. She then stood up and said, “Fellow Daoist Tang, you should rest here for now. If anything comes up, I’ll come for you.”

“En,” Tang Shen answered compliantly, but he then called her again: “Elder Ye, you’re already a Core Formation senior now. I can’t afford to be called ‘fellow Daoist’ by you, so please just call my name.”

Mo Tiange paused for a moment then smiled at him. “Alright then. I’ll see you again tomorrow.”

“See you…”

Regarding Tang Shen’s feelings, Mo Tiange didn’t give them much thought. Everyone had their own thoughts. If they brought her no harm, there was no need for her to worry about them too much.

One night passed by. Mo Tiange didn’t go to the trade fair immediately. Instead, she instructed the branch’s steward to gather news about Breath-Concealing Techniques. The outside branches of Xuanqing School were all considered steward’s halls. As an elder, she could naturally order the steward’s hall to help her handle things.

The branch’s steward was quite skilled in Kunzhong City. After Mo Tiange gave him her instructions, he already brought her the news in just two days, confirming that the Breath-Concealing Technique manual was indeed a high level cultivation technique. Thus, Mo Tiange bought it and gave it to Tang Shen.

After several more days, Tang Shen finally got a reply regarding the news he sent to the guildhall. As it turned out, after Tang Shen disappeared, they also looked for him for a long time. Since they couldn’t find him, they could only do as the sect head instructed and looked for Mo Tiange. Within those ten years, Mo Tiange’s trail happened to disappear in Demonic Mountain. When they heard this news, they thought she had the same predicament as those people who died on Demonic Mountain, and they could only go home in disappointment.

Tang Shen only found out about this matter now. He said with astonishment, “So Elder Ye also went to Demonic Mountain?” Ever since he was captured, he hadn’t heard any news from the outside world.

Mo Tiange chuckled. “En. That year when Demonic Mountain’s restrictions collapsed, I was trapped in there for ten years.”

Tang Shen lamented: “If we saw each other on Demonic Mountain, maybe we wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble…”

They indeed missed each other by an inch. However, Mo Tiange didn’t know that Qin Xi met Tang Shen when she and Qin Xi were separated, and Tang Shen also didn’t know that he’d once had a fated encounter with Elder Ye’s husband.

Bixuan Court’s guildhall also brought him instructions from Wei Haolan. After they received news from Tang Shen, they immediately reported back to Wei Haolan. Wei Haolan, who was surprised but delighted upon hearing that Tang Shen and Mo Tiange were still alive, sent a message, asking Mo Tiange to help bring Tang Shen back.

Mo Tiange pondered the matter carefully. Even though they managed to obtain a Breath-Concealing Technique manual, Tang Shen had just begun practicing it, so accidents might still occur to him on his way. Since she’d rescued Tang Shen, she might as well be a good person and see the matter to the end by sending him back to Linhai, so she agreed to do it.

Because of this, she entrusted the steward of this branch to send a message back, informing Qin Xi and her master about the matter.

Nowadays, her cultivation level had already reached the peak of the early stage of the Core Formation realm. It was time for her to go outside and travel around. Since she was going on a trip to Linhai, she might as well travel around. In any case, Qin Xi’s Closed Door Meditation would last for at least ten to twenty years.

Besides, Tang Shen’s words had reminded her of one thing. They didn’t know the specific location where Mo Yaoqing passed away, while Mo Tiange managed to obtain the Art of Sunu because Mo Yaoqing had sealed a thread of her divine sense in Mo Family’s Village in the secular world. In that case, was it possible that Mo Yaoqing actually passed away in Mo Family’s Village instead of passing away after she sealed a thread of her divine sense in Mo Family’s Village and returned to Linhai?

With this thought in mind, Mo Tiange suddenly had an idea. Ever since she left, she hadn’t returned to Mo Family’s Village; wouldn’t it be better for her to go back to Mo Family’s Village and try to find Mo Yaoqing’s trail? Even now, she still couldn’t resolve the problem regarding conflicting techniques brought about by her Pure Yin Constitution and her Spiritual Roots of the Origin. She’d seen Mo Yaoqing’s personal note. Although that ancestor of hers was a woman, she was indeed an astounding genius. Maybe she’d left something that could give her pointers.

Once she had those thoughts, Mo Tiange came to a decision very quickly. She’d let Tang Shen stay in Kunzhong City for the time being while she herself took a trip back to the secular world. She’d stop if she found some clues, but if she couldn’t, she’d go to Linhai to look around.