Translator: Cenniwdyl Editor: Henyee
Upon discovering that the incense pot on the altar possessed spiritual aura, Mo Tiange was exhilarated.
This valley was clearly an ordinary valley. The flowers, the plants, the trees—everything here had no spiritual aura. Since this incense pot unexpectedly possessed spiritual aura, there was certainly something unusual about it!
After examining it for a while, Mo Tiange eventually used a spell to move the incense pot away. At last, she finally found the source of the spiritual aura fluctuation.
Mo Tiange flew high in the air then looked down at the scene beneath her. The altar, the stone statue, the surrounding tall trees… This was obviously a formation! A formation which didn’t need any spiritual aura after it evolved!
A smirk appeared on her face. Formations also existed in the secular world. Those formations didn’t need spiritual aura, but they were developed from formations present in the cultivation world. Their function was simply to disturb mortals’ abilities in making good judgments. If cultivators used their divine sense and magic, they would naturally be able to break such formations.
She clasped her hands and cast an art. In a flash, the incense pot on the altar exploded, exposing the things inside it. The spiritual aura suddenly soared to the sky. All of a sudden, the scenery around her changed, and the sky darkened.
Mo Tiange raised her gaze and looked around. A frown appeared on her face.
A formation inside a formation!
This time, the formation was actually a genuine formation from the cultivation world. The stone statue and the altar she saw just now were nowhere to be seen. What was left was only completely deserted wilderness.
Wrong, this was an illusion!
While grasping the Shuttle of Flying Apsara in her hand, Mo Tiange once again summoned the White Silk Handkerchief. In an instant, she was already high in the sky as she formed hand seals with her hands.
After several extremely complicated hand seals, several threads of spiritual aura were simultaneously launched.
In the dark night, she could hear noises which seemed to be the howls and whimpers of malicious ghosts. Soon after, several threads of spiritual aura struck back towards her.
Her hands trembled. She activated the White Silk Handkerchief. It transformed into a four-sided brick wall which fell around her, completely blocking these counterattacks. In the next second, she recalled the White Silk Handkerchief and used the Shuttle of Flying Apsara. It turned into golden beams which went to strike her opponents.
Several soft “pu, pu, pu, pu” noises later, the area sank into silence, and the sky brightened.
Mo Tiange heaved a relieved sigh. She didn’t know how old this formation really was, but it seemed to have been here for several thousand years; its spiritual aura was already weak and its power was greatly decreased. That was why she could break it so easily. However, based on the method used in laying it, she reckoned that with its original power, perhaps even Nascent Soul cultivator would be trapped for inside a while—could it be that the person who laid this formation was also a Nascent Soul cultivator?
With this assumption in mind, Mo Tiange cautiously observed her surroundings.
Since the formation was broken, the scenery returned to how it originally was. However, there was a cave opening under the incense burner now, and it was emitting a surging spiritual aura.
Mo Tiange was surprised. There was obviously no spirit vein in this valley, so how could this cave opening emit such a pure spiritual aura? Furthermore, this spiritual aura fluctuation… was very similar to what she sensed before!
Upon realizing this point, Mo Tiange cautiously made her way towards the cave opening. She first used a spell to probe the inside of the cave then she caught a living animal and put it into the cave. Once she was sure there were no abnormalities, she finally walked into the cave slowly.
This cave opening was extremely narrow; it seemed only one person could pass through it at a time. She went along the stone steps, going downward step by step until she eventually arrived at a spacious hall. Mo Tiange then snapped her fingers, causing flames to appear at her fingertips. With her cultivator’s eyesight, she could still see things in the dark but only barely. However, if she had a fire, she would be able to see clearly.
Mo Tiange lifted her gaze and looked around. This hall burrowed into a rock wall and looked like an Immortal’s Cave. Was it perhaps an ancient cultivator’s Immortal’s Cave? She felt excited for a moment, but then she thought: Wrong! The stone statue back there obviously depicted someone from several thousand years ago. It ought to have nothing to do with ancient cultivators.
She walked through the hall, slowly proceeding forward following the stone path. The hall was very dark, but the spiritual aura inside was very dense. Mo Tiange already came to a conclusion; this must be a small spirit vein which was sealed by humans with formations. It seemed… this was undoubtedly a cultivator’s Immortal’s Cave. Furthermore, this cultivator must be in the Nascent Soul realm at the very least!
Upon coming to this conclusion, Mo Tiange’s interest was finally piqued. Since the formation still existed, this Immortal’s Cave shouldn’t be abandoned. That being the case, it was very possible that the Nascent Soul cultivator passed away in this Immortal’s Cave. What did the Immortal’s Cave of a dead Nascent Soul cultivator represent? There must certainly be the accumulated wealth of the cultivator inside it!
Mo Tiange took out the Shuttle of Flying Apsara which then revolved around her body as a precaution. She was even more cautious now that she came into that conclusion.
This stone path was long and completely dark. Mo Tiange kept on walking for a while but she suddenly felt her blood running cold. Although she was now viewed by mortals as an immortal, her heart inevitably felt fear when she was faced with this kind of situation. She recalled that her past adventures included only massacres—she’d never gone through a situation where she had to face uncertain darkness alone.
In the darkness, she could only hear her soft breathing. Her breathing, which normally couldn’t be heard, was exceptionally loud in this absolute quietness. What she could see was limited to the small flames at her fingertips while everything else was enshrouded in darkness. This actually made the whole situation even more frightening.
Realizing that her mental state was deteriorating, Mo Tiange closed her eyes and made a hand seal. All of a sudden, bright light burst from the space between her eyebrows and in a flash, she was inside her Virtual Sky World.
The moment she saw the familiar bamboo hut and brook, she finally regained some calmness.
As she sat inside the bamboo hut, Mo Tiange couldn’t help but shake her head. Sure enough, her mental state hadn’t been tempered enough. If it continued on, it definitely would’ve caused problems when she faced the Inner Demon during her core-formation. Good thing she went out to gain real-life experience. Otherwise, if she only relied on the guidance of her Nascent Soul master, she wouldn’t even have discovered this problem.
Mo Tiange sat cross-legged, began regulating her breath then moved her spiritual aura along her macrocosmic orbit. It was only after she was sure her mental state was calm that she prepared to go out and continue exploring the cave.
Nevertheless, before she read the incantation, she suddenly stopped her movements.
A vague voice was transmitted from outside the Virtual Sky World. “Big Brother Xiu, let’s take a rest first.”
This was Shang Ruwan’s voice. Mo Tiange made a hand seal then made a pointing gesture. Soon after, the voices immediately became clear.
“Big Brother Xiu!” Shang Ruwan was breathing heavily. It was as if she was extremely exhausted. With her cultivation level in the early stage of the Foundation Building realm, there shouldn’t be any reason for her to feel exhausted. Was she perhaps injured?
A while passed before she finally heard Yao Zixiu’s voice. “Little Sister Wan, are you alright?”
Shang Ruwan continued to breathe heavily for a while but gradually, her breathing became smooth. She said, “Big Brother Xiu, what are you in a hurry for?”
Mo Tiange could hear the complaint concealed in her voice.
Yao Zixiu said, “We’ve narrowly escaped death, and now we discovered there’s an Immortal’s Cave here which might have some treasures inside; of course I’m in a hurry. If we allow Daoist Fangzheng and that female cultivator surnamed Ye to find this place, wouldn’t that mean we wouldn’t get our shares of the treasure?”
“So be it!” Shang Ruwan sounded rather irritated. “Didn’t you say that being with me was enough? If we can be together, so what if we don’t get any treasures?”
It took Yao Zixiu a short while before he could answer: “Little Sister Wan! I’m doing this so we can be together! We finally escaped after going through a lot of hardships; what should we do if we get caught again? After all these years, I finally understand that without a high cultivation level and strength, we won’t have a say in anything! Back then, if it wasn’t because my cultivation level was too low, your father wouldn’t have promised you to someone else! If it wasn’t because we were too weak, we wouldn’t have to hide from place to place and flee to the secular world all these years! Little Sister Wan, do you still not understand? In the cultivation world, strength is the foundation of everything. Without it, it’ll be hard for us to be together no matter how badly we want to!”
“There’s nothing difficult about it!” There was anger in Shang Ruwan’s voice. “If we look for a secret place and live a secluded life there, my father and the others can search for us until they die and they still wouldn’t be able to find us!” After she said that, she softened her tone again. “Big Brother Xiu, what happened to you? You weren’t like this before. Why…”
“Don’t ask me why!” Yao Zixiu shouted.
Mo Tiange was startled. She contemplated for a moment then, feeling a bit worried, she pointed towards the space between her eyebrows.
A pearl suddenly emerged from inside the space between her eyebrows. She cast an art at it, and right afterward, a crack appeared in the Virtual Sky World. Now, she could finally see the Yao couple standing on the stone path.
Apparently, Shang Ruwan was also startled by Yao Zixiu’s exclamation. She stared at him with an astonished expression on her face. However, Yao Zixiu soon relaxed his expression and continued on softly: “Little Sister Wan, I want to give you happiness, not hiding you all over. I hope that one day, I can take you back home in a just and open way, and let your father and the others know that you’ve made the right decision by choosing me!”
Shang Ruwan looked touched after she heard what he said. “You don’t have to be like this. I told you long ago that I don’t care what your cultivation level is. For me, as long as I can be with you, that’s already enough…”
“No, Little Sister Wan.” Yao Zixiu remained headstrong, “I… I can’t be that kind of good-for-nothing man. If that’s the case, then what your father said that year would be true. I only have three spiritual roots; I barely succeeded in even building my foundation. If it wasn’t because you secretly gave me your Foundation-Building Pills, I’m not even sure whether I could’ve built my foundation or not… I want to prove to your father that although my aptitude isn’t good, I can still…”
By now, Mo Tiange already had a rough understanding of what happened to this Yao couple.
These two people didn’t simply become individual cultivators because their clans declined. Rather, they were cultivators who escaped their clans. What they said about growing up as childhood friends was probably true. They grew up together, and their feelings developed into love. However, because Yao Zixiu’s aptitude was average, Shang Ruwan’s father didn’t consider him worthy and didn’t allow them to be in a relationship. In the end, Shang Ruwan and Yao Zixiu eloped.
Perhaps there were some mistakes in the details, but in general, that was what happened.
However, hearing the meaning behind Yao Zixiu’s words gave Mo Tiange a bad premonition. But Shang Ruwan, who was physically present at the scene, probably didn’t notice Yao Zixiu’s hidden intentions.
He said he wanted to give Shang Ruwan happiness, but his gaze glittered when Shang Ruwan wasn’t looking. This man probably couldn’t tolerate days in which he had nothing but love, right?
A faint sneer appeared on Mo Tiange’s face, but she continued to listen to their dialogue.
Shang Ruwan was eventually persuaded. She leaned on Yao Zixiu’s chest and said softly, “Big Brother Xiu, don’t worry. On our way here, we didn’t see any traces of other people. Presumably, we’re the only one who found this cave. Ay… I really liked that Little Sister Ye. I wonder if she survived…”
“Rest assured. That young lady’s cultivation level is higher than ours. I’m afraid that even if we joined hands, we still wouldn’t be able to defeat her. Moreover, she also has spiritual treasures; she should be alright.”
“Well, this…”
Yao Zixiu said, “I really wonder who that Fellow Daoist Ye really is. You say… How old do you think she is?”
Shang Ruwan took some time to think before she answered: “Although that little sister has steady conduct and a firm way of handling things, we can already tell she’s still a little girl with one glance. If you made me guess her exact age, I couldn’t. However, she must be under eighty years old.”
“Under eighty years old…” Something flashed in Yao Zixiu’s gaze. He mumbled softly, “She’s that young but she already reached the peak of the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm… If she’s lucky, perhaps she can form her Gold Core within the next hundred years, right? It seems that she’s indeed an elite disciple of a big cultivation group.”
“She most likely is,” Shang Ruwan said, “The spiritual treasures she has far exceeds other Foundation Building cultivators’, so she definitely isn’t an individual cultivator. I’m afraid that small cultivation groups also couldn’t nurture a cultivator like her.”
Yao Zixiu nodded inwardly. His gaze looked like he was pondering something. “Then this could also be considered a harvest…”
“Sorry?” Shang Ruwan didn’t hear him clearly.
Yao Zixiu promptly smiled. “Nothing. Little Sister Wan, are you feeling better now? Can we continue?”
