Lady Cultivator

“Martial Uncle could be considered lucky.” This youngster, Xiaoguzi, let out an unceasing torrent of words: “The battle two years ago almost wiped out Danding School. Only some of its disciples managed to escape. They’re now homeless and are indeed in a miserable state. Therefore, in Mount Tianhuo, there are only disciples of other cultivation groups like us nowadays…”

Mo Tiange quickly interrupted him. “Then how’s Danding School’s situation now?”

Xiaoguzi, whose story was cut midway, paused for a moment before answering, “Oh, Danding School… During the battle that year, their situation was exceptionally horrific. Several eight rank demonic beasts attacked by surprise, defeating Danding School and resulting in the death of their Nascent Soul cultivator. In the end, Danding School’s two remaining Nascent Soul grandmasters led the elite disciples in escaping from Mount Tianhuo. At that moment, they even had to activate the school’s secret technique to save their lives. Right now, Danding School’s remaining cultivators are staying temporarily on neighboring Mount Xiling.”

“I heard Danding School’s Nascent Soul cultivators are furious because of this whole matter. They claim their fellow cultivation groups didn’t help them out. But now that Danding School has fallen to this point, they have no other choice but to rely on the other six great cultivation groups. Hence, no matter how furious they are, they don’t dare to really cut ties and fall out with the others.”

Mo Tiange was amused by this Xiaoguzi’s proud expression; he actually looked as if he was the one who successfully forced Danding School into its current predicament. But the six other great cultivation groups most likely held the same attitude as him. Based on Danding Schol’s current situation, they more or less suppressed Danding School’s strength, and at the same time, saved Danding School from total extermination. Moreover, Danding School would have to rely on them to regain its former position in the future; it naturally had to act obedient towards them. In fact, it’d be best if they could directly turn Danding School into their private pill-concocting group.

Of course, Danding School wasn’t that easy to handle. In any case, its two Nascent Soul cultivators and its foundation still existed; it still had a chance of rising again.

Xiaoguzi became more excited as he spoke. Regardless of whether Mo Tiange asked or not, he continued to blabber on. “… Martial Uncle, you’re also very awesome. I heard you fought against a fifth rank Two-Headed Eagle in the battle that year, yet here you are, completely safe and sound!”

Mo Tiange was rather surprised. She asked, “Where did you hear about it?”

Xiaoguzi’s eyes suddenly widened. “Martial Uncle, you don’t know? In Xuanqing School, a lot of people know about this!”

Mo Tiange was dumbfounded.  What’s going on?

“In Danding School’s battle that year, two fifth-rank demonic beasts suddenly appeared. One of them was drawn away by you, Martial Uncle. When the battle ended, many people talked about how powerful our Xuanqing School disciples were. A middle stage Foundation Building cultivator was actually able to fight a fifth rank demonic beast alone…” Xiaoguzi’s expression was full of envy, but he continued to say regretfully, “Unfortunately, by the time Grandmaster Xuanyin arrived and killed that fifth rank demonic beast, you were nowhere to be found. Many people thought you perished in that fight. Because of this incident, back then the School Head heaped a lot of praise on Clear Spring Peak!”

“Is that so?”  So doesn’t that mean I became famous from my battle that year?

Xiaoguzi snickered and nodded. “Yep! When you just arrived and Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu said your name, I recognized you in a second! I never expected you would actually come back safe and sound. But this is good! Martial Uncle, you’ll definitely get a lot of rewards when you go back!”

Mo Tiange only revealed a small smile. She didn’t care whether the school rewarded her or not. As long as the school was satisfied with her, that would already be enough.

“By the way,” Xiaoguzi said, “Martial Uncle, since you’re here, you’re under Qianmen Ridge Station’s administration. If you have errands that need to be done, you just need to come directly to me or Xiaozui.” As he spoke, he pointed at a busy young girl behind Xiaobai who looked rather similar to him.

“That being the case, I have to thank you in advance.” Mo Tiange happened to have a matter which she didn’t know how to handle. “Right. What do I need to do here? Where will I stay?”

Xiaoguzi said, “The cultivators in our station only need to go out at least once a month to kill demonic beasts. The rest of their time is usually spent in the station.” After he said that, he suddenly called out loud, “Xiaozui!”

Upon hearing his call, the young girl following behind Xiaobai hastily ran over. “Brother, what’s wrong?”

Xiaoguzi pointed at Mo Tiange and said, “This is the newly arrived martial uncle. You’ll help find her a place to stay.”

“Oh.” Xiaozui bowed at Mo Tiange. She pondered for a moment then said, “Martial Uncle, there aren’t many female cultivators in our station, so there aren’t many female rooms either. If you don’t mind, how about you stay with me?”

Mo Tiange was only looking for a place to stay for the sake of appearances; she would still enter her Virtual Sky World later. Naturally, she didn’t want to share a room with other people. Thus, she said, “If arranging a room is too inconvenient, can I just look for another place in the vicinity?”

“This…” Xiaozui hesitated. She shot a glance at her elder brother before saying straightforwardly, “If Martial Uncle doesn’t mind, we naturally have no objections. However, I hope Martial Uncle can look for a place inside our station. Otherwise, if something dangerous happens, we might not be able to arrive in time…”

Mo Tiange chuckled. “Sure.”

Before Xiaozui could say anything else, the youngster Xiaobai already gestured in their direction.

Xiaoguzi said, “Xiaozui, go do your things. I’ll accompany Martial Uncle in taking a look around.”

Mo Tiange didn’t refuse his offer. Hence, Xiaozu hurriedly bowed and excused herself.

Once Xiazui left, Xiaguzi directly led Mo Tiange towards the back mountain. It was only after the two of them reached a rather secluded area that he spoke again. “Although this is our station, Kunwu Alliance is a combination of several cultivation groups in the end. Since the war against demonic beasts has reached this point, it’s naturally impossible for the relationship between each group to be completely harmonious. Martial Uncle is from our Xuanqing School; there are several areas you’d better avoid.”

Upon hearing what he said, Mo Tiange just smiled. After all, she didn’t have any plans to understand the harmony and disharmony within the alliance. She simply asked, “By the way, doesn’t Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu manage the affairs here?”

Xiaoguzi smiled wryly. “Martial Uncle must not know; Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu specializes in concocting pills and healing techniques. He doesn’t like to get involved in these things, so those various tasks are mainly performed by me and my sister, Xiaozui. He and Senior Martial Brother Bai focus on treating the injured.”

“Oh?”  This is one strange relationship… The “Senior Martial Brother Bai” Xiaoguzi mentioned seems to be the early stage Foundation Building youngster—the one called “Xiaobai” by Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu. Why do two Foundation Building cultivators focus on treating the injured and allow Aura Refining disciples to manage things in their place?

After being isolated from the outside world for two years, Mo Tiange’s curiosity was piqued by this young disciple who seemed to know about everything. She asked, “You call him ‘Senior Martial Brother’—which martial uncle is your master?”

Xiaoguzi seemed to be rather surprised to hear her question. He scratched his head and said, “Martial Uncle overestimates me. I and Xiaozui are just ordinary disciples; we’re not any Core Formation grandmaster’s disciples. Because Senior Martial Brother Bai is our foster brother, we just copy Senior Martial Brother Bai in calling Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu ‘Senior Martial Brother’.”

“Foster brothers…”  Sure enough, their relationship is weird!  She couldn’t help but mutter, “There are foster brothers in the cultivation world?”

Upon hearing what Mo Tiange muttered, a solemn expression appeared on Xiaoguzi’s smiling face. In a very earnest tone, he said, “Senior Martial Brother Bai’s grace towards me and my sister is as weighty as a mountain. In my heart, he’s not just a foster brother; he’s also the most important person to me.”

The moment he saw Mo Tiange’s astonished gaze, Xiaoguzi calmed himself and let out a mischievous laugh. “In fact, our relationship isn’t a secret in our Soul’s Retreat Peak. If Martial Uncle doesn’t think it’s boring, I don’t mind telling you about it.”

Thus, Xiaoguzi continued accompanying Mo Tiange in strolling around the station. He described several important areas inside the station to her while also talked about how he ended up being a foster brother to Senior Martial Brother Bai.

This Xiaoguzi’s full name was Zhan Xiaogu. Xiaozui was his twin sister, Zhan Xiaozui.

Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu and Zhan Bai both came from mortal clans. Their clans had a close relationship, and Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu always looked after Zhan Bai. Consequently, Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu, who always treated others rather indifferently, also familiarly called Zhan Bai “Xiaobai”.

Not too long after Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu and Zhan Bai entered the school, they returned to the secular world to visit their families. That was when they ran into Xiaoguzi and his sister.

At that time, Xiaoguzi and Xiaozui were severely ill, dying inside a broken temple. When Senior Martial Brother Bai examined their illnesses, he found that they both possessed spiritual roots, so he directly brought them back to the school. If it wasn’t for Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu’s miraculous hands, they probably would’ve died a long time ago. As for the reason the brother-sister pair was able to grow up until this point was because Senior Martial Brother Bai had unhesitatingly sacrificed his cultivating time to raise them, bit by bit.

Upon hearing that Xiaoguzi and his sister were orphans, Mo Tiange said some sympathetic words to him.

However, Xiaoguzi immediately straightened his back and retorted, “Who said I’m an orphan? Senior Martial Brother Kuang Zhu, Senior Martial Brother Bai, my sister and I are one happy family.”

Mo Tiange burst out laughing. She couldn’t help but say teasingly, “When I thought you were an orphan, I originally wanted to give you a few good things. But since you’re not, I think it’s unnecessary.”

Sure enough, Xiaoguzi suddenly looked like his heart ached from shooting himself in the foot. Nevertheless, after struggling for a while, he said, “Compared to a few good things, my family is still more important. Xiaoguzi isn’t an orphan.”

One by one, Second Uncle and Tianqiao’s smiling faces flashed across Mo Tiange’s mind after she heard what Xiaoguzi said.

Upon seeing her dull expression, Xiaoguzi, who was accustomed to discerning others’ thoughts through their expressions and body language, instantly knew she must be reminiscing about someone and immediately changed the subject. “We’ve been strolling for a long time; is there any place Martial Uncle fancies?”

When he asked this, they happened to be standing in front of a comparably quiet stone room. Although it was a bit broken, it still had all the necessary items. Because she was no longer in the mood to stroll around, Mo Tiange said without thinking further, “This will do.”

From his Qiankun Bag, Xiaoguzi took out a white jade tablet engraved with Xuanqing School’s emblem and hung it on the stone room’s door. Apparently feeling a bit embarrassed because he accidentally made his martial uncle sad, he was somewhat hesitant to leave.

Seeing that Xiaoguzi had said and done what he needed but still wasn’t leaving, Mo Tiange cast a glance at him. The originally eloquent Xiaoguzi suddenly stuttered. “If Martial Uncle feels bored without company, Martial Uncle can go to our house to play.”

Without waiting for Mo Tiange’s answer, he fled and disappeared from her sight in an instant.

Mo Tiange smiled. However, once she saw the dust-filled broken room, her expression turned rather dull. It was only after she casually cleaned the dilapidated room and laid a defensive formation that she entered the Virtual Sky World.

Right after she entered the hut in the Virtual Sky World, the little Inferno Beast ran unsteadily towards her. It crouched beside her and started squeaking “wuwuwu.”

As Mo Tiange patted the little Inferno Beast’s forehead, she realized it looked as if it wanted to squeeze itself into her Spiritual Beast Pouch. It continuously arched itself towards her waist.

Dumbfounded, Mo Tiange asked, “Do you want to go out?”

The little Inferno Beast looked up and squeaked “wuwu” again. Its gaze was exceptionally pitiful.

Mo Tiange was silent for quite a long while. She then stroked its head and sighed. “Turns out you too can feel lonely.”

It had been more than two years since she moved this little Inferno beast into this Virtual Sky World. Although there were some little insects like butterflies, various flying insects, and the like, there were no spiritual beasts at all. It would be normal for it to feel lonely. Wasn’t she the same herself?

Hadn’t she gone to participate in the demonic beast riot because she felt lonely? This kind of loneliness didn’t have anything to do with Dao Heart. Every living being needed the presence of its own kind to feel the joy of being alive.

However, this little Inferno Beast’s reaction gave her another idea.

“It’s very dangerous outside; I can’t take you out right now. But, I can bring you some companions to accompany you. What do you think?”

The little Inferno Beast looked up and stared at Mo Tiange with its big, dark, watery eyes before squeaking with joy.

Mo Tiange laughed, stroked its head, and once again immersed herself in cultivating.

Unexpectedly, the words Xiaoguzi said kept echoing inside her mind and distracted her. But as someone who was able to reach the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm, Mo Tiange was naturally able to pacify her restless heart in just a few seconds.

When dawn arrived, Mo Tiange suddenly sensed a Summoning Talisman flying towards her place. She stopped cultivating and came out of the Virtual Sky World.

It was a Summoning Talisman sent by Xiaoguzi, telling her that he put her name on the list of Qianmen Ridge’s cultivators who would fight against demonic beasts and he had notified the school. There was also some information about the current war situation.

After seeing the content, Mo Tiange simply gave a short reply then proceeded to tidy up her things and walk out of the room.

Xiaoguzi said the fiercest battles now were in Tiandao Sect’s region. Ever since Danding School was breached and the whole school moved away, Mount Tianhuo had become a forgotten place. Whether it was cultivators or demonic beasts, only a few remained there.

An idea popped in Mo Tiange’s head.  Since the current situation is like this, catching a few small demonic beasts in the place is the safest, isn’t it?

She acted without delay. Once she notified Xiaoguzi, she summoned her White Silk Handkerchief then flew towards the forest.

Because of all the fights of magical powers that happened, the demonic beasts that were normally there were either caught or moved to other places. She used her divine sense to search for a long time but she still couldn’t find any trace of demonic beasts.

Mo Tiange stopped in midair, wholeheartedly using her divine sense to check the surrounding area. The coverage range of a Foundation Building cultivator’s divine sense was about several thousand feet to more than 30,000 feet. However, because she practiced the Soul-Refining Art, Mo Tiange’s divine sense was far stronger than that of an ordinary Foundation Building cultivator. The coverage range of her divine sense was almost 200,000 feet!

Right now, she focused on checking the area by gradually spreading her divine sense. Eventually, she felt a faint spiritual aura fluctuation from the northeast.

Nevertheless, the location where she sensed the spiritual aura fluctuation was at the periphery of her divine sense coverage range, so she couldn’t really determine whether it came from demonic beasts or cultivators.

For Mo Tiange, who was in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm, a distance of 200,000 feet could be crossed in just a short while. Because Mo Tiange didn’t sense any other spiritual aura fluctuations except this one, she, having decided to check it out, maneuvered the White Silk Handkerchief and flew northeast.

When she was dozens of feet away from the source of the spiritual aura fluctuation, Mo Tiange suddenly became wary. Once again, she released her divine sense to check the area. After she did, however, she was instantly thunderstruck. This spiritual aura fluctuation didn’t have anything to do with demonic beasts. It occurred because there were people having a fight of magical powers here!

Within several people’s spiritual auras, the killing intent was very apparent. On the other hand, the spiritual aura belonging to the besieged person felt rather familiar to her.

Shocked, Mo Tiange immediately sped up the White Silk Handkerchief and rushed towards the source of the spiritual aura fluctuation. She was guessing who that person might be. In her mind, she eliminated her senior martial sisters one by one; but of the people she was familiar with…

All of a sudden, Mo Tiange remembered one person—Ye Jingwen!

Yesterday, Xiaoguzi said, “Recently, Martial Uncle Ye has been here with us. Martial Uncle will be able to meet him soon.”

Apparently, what Xiaoguzi said as “the relationship between cultivation groups within Kunwu Alliance isn’t harmonious” was simply an extreme understatement.

It had been such a long time since she and Senior Martial Brother Ye last met, yet they were actually going to meet under these circumstances?