Lady Cultivator

It was almost nightfall when they arrived at the border of Mount Yunwu. The familiar landscape made Mo Tiange hesitate for a moment. Yet, once she thought of Second Uncle, she straightened her back and moved forward.

Second Uncle had passed away, partially due to them. There was a deep resentment between her and Mount Yunwu; how could she be weak and afraid when she had such deep resentment!?

But the strange thing was that after they arrived, unexpectedly, no one came to question them. Thus, the two of them strolled into the sect easily.

After walking for a quite while, Mo Tiange finally asked in bafflement, “Senior Martial Brother Qin, isn’t this the way to Ten Thousand Laws Pavilion?”

Since they were headed neither to the South Peak nor the North Peak, there could basically be no other destination; this trail only led to Ten Thousand Laws Pavilion.

Qin Xi didn’t answer and simply continued moving silently.

Mo Tiange also stopped talking. She just continued on forward, following his lead.

Once they arrived at the door of the Ten Thousand Laws Pavilion, they used their identity tablets to open the formation and entered the cave.

Mo Tiange, who was walking behind, was confused about what Qin Xi did because the moment she entered the cave, she saw that the disciples in charge of guarding Ten Thousand Laws Pavilion had all fallen asleep.

Soon afterward, Qin Xi led her towards the middle of the cave. After making several complicated hand seals ¹ with his hands, he used his spiritual aura to hit the stone door. The stone door was opened noiselessly.

Upon seeing her astonished expression, Qin Xi smiled and explained, “I’m lucky. A sect’s Core Formation grandmaster took me here once and I remembered how to open it.”

What he said was an understatement. Mo Tiange knew well that good judgment and perception were needed to do what he had just done. Core Formation cultivators’ hand seals weren’t just gestures; corresponding handling of spiritual aura was also required. This was also the reason why pill recipes could be so expensive – concocting certain medicinal pills needed designated hand seals, which people had to slowly try before they could master the gestures.

She couldn’t help but ask herself whether she had this kind of skill or not. After seeing it once, she could only remember some of the hand seals. As for the handling of spiritual aura, she didn’t even have the slightest idea. Her lack of skill was most likely why she wasn’t familiar with hand seals and had never dabbled in concocting medicinal pills or refining tools until recently.

Qin Xi then gave her a talisman and said, “Stick the Body-Concealing Talisman on your body so you don’t touch any restrictions.”

Mo Tiange took it with mixed feelings. There was no market price for Body-Concealing Talismans. She herself only had one piece, which Second Uncle sought for a long time before he managed to acquire. It was far more precious than many high-grade talismans. She had seen the talisman paper used to create this talisman before, so she was certain this talisman was personally created by Qin Xi.

Qin Xi started learning to draw talismans only two years ago. However, in a short span of two years, he actually managed to create Body-Concealing Talismans. When she reflected upon her own abilities and realized she didn’t have this kind of talent, Mo Tiange couldn’t help but feel disappointed. With so many more talented people than her, becoming equally as accomplished was indeed difficult…

This cave was slightly smaller than the caves Aura Refining disciple had access to. There weren’t many things inside; most of them were grotesquely-shaped. There weren’t many Jade Slips and there were even fewer books with only one bookshelf holding them. Furthermore, there were restrictions inside this cave.

Mo Tiange was worried about these restrictions, so she only looked but didn’t dare to touch anything. Qin Xi, on the other hand, was completely unconcerned and rummaged around, throwing whatever he fancied into his Qiankun Bag. However, the restrictions were unexpectedly not triggered by his movements.

Upon observing his behavior, an absurd thought flashed across Mo Tiange’s mind. Could it be that this Senior Martial Brother Qin sneaked into Yunwu Sect to be a robber?

Before long, Qin Xi finally stopped moving. Aside from the things he put into his Qiankun Bag, he still had several things in his hands which he directly threw at her. He said, “Only Core Formation cultivators and higher can come here; these things might be useful to you. Take them.”

Mo Tiange took them and silently put them into her Qiankun Bag. In any case, this was an act of kindness, so she didn’t need to refuse.

Once they erased all traces of their presence, they quietly left the Ten Thousand Laws Pavilion.

Meanwhile, the disciples guarding the Ten Thousand Laws Pavilion felt like they were in a daze. They never imagined that the cave only the sect’s Core Formation cultivators could enter was robbed while they were in a daze.

Without bringing up those disciples, Qin Xi led Mo Tiange onto an unfamiliar trail.

She only knew this path would lead to the North Peak. But seeing how Qin Xi walked with ease, he must’ve been quite familiar with this path.

The two of them walked for quite a while and entered the North Peak. When faced with the layers of formations surrounding the North Peak, Qin Xi only needed to take out an identity tablet before he could safely bring her into the formations.

After going through numerous turns and detours, a building finally appeared in their line of sight. Mo Tiange already lost the ability to distinguish which direction was north and which direction was south.

Just like before, Qin Xi quietly cut a gap in the restriction then led Mo Tiange into a courtyard.

Once she entered the courtyard, Mo Tiange’s nose was filled with the fragrance of drugs and her body was instantly filled with spiritual aura. As it turned out, this was actually a medicinal garden!

Qin Xi let her stand to the side, but this time, instead of searching around, he seemed to already have a specific target in mind. He took several spiritual fruits and spiritual plants before leading her away from the garden.

This time, Mo Tiange finally realized that this Senior Martial Brother Qin actually came to steal. He might be unfamiliar with Ten Thousand Laws Pavilion, but he definitely knew this medicinal garden well.

Several years ago, he was assigned by a Foundation Building cultivator from the North Peak to perform some errands in the concoctions room. He had probably long fancied these medicinal plants and was now seizing this opportunity to steal them.

She was utterly dumbfounded by this. Although Senior Martial Brother Qin was normally indifferent, Mo Tiange thought he still possessed a noble character… at this moment, the image she had of him had completely crumbled.

As she silently followed him away from the medicinal garden, she wondered if there were any other places unlucky enough to be targeted by him.

After another quarter of an hour, Mo Tiange was totally dumbstruck.

Although she had mentally prepared herself, she never expected that the next location would actually be Guiyuan Hall!

What kind of place was Guiyuan Hall? It was the residence of Yunwu Sect’s Sect Head! Generations of Sect Heads had lived in Guiyuan Hall when they were in power! The last Sect Head, Fang Dingyue, was killed by Zixia Sect, so the person who lived here now was Branch Master Jiang!

It never crossed her mind that Qin Xi would actually be this daring. Nevertheless, she could now only summon up her courage and follow Qin Xi in stealthily entering the hall.

There were restrictions everywhere inside Guiyuan Hall. She didn’t know how Qin Xi did it, but as the two of them walked, the restrictions turned out to actually be useless; the restrictions weren’t at all triggered by their movements. Furthermore, the disciples guarding the hall simply didn’t notice their presence.

She knew Qin Xi must’ve done something, but because these kinds of tricks were usually secret techniques, she didn’t ask him about it.

The two of them continued bypassing several groups of disciples on guard duty as they wandered around Guiyuan Hall until they finally went through a restriction and entered a stone alley.

Mo Tiange didn’t have any knowledge of Guiyuan Hall, yet she knew that a place with this kind of restriction must definitely be important. Nonetheless, she no longer had any opinion now because even though Qin Xi was too daring, he was, after all, had the skill required; even restrictions she couldn’t understand were easily resolved by him.

The path behind the restriction had many bends and curves and stretched out into the distance. The two of them walked for a long time but were still unable to reach the end. Occasionally, they ran into one or two stone chambers with a few treasures inside, but Qin Xi didn’t spare even a glance at them.

Mo Tiange understood Qin Xi must’ve come for a specific treasure. These minor treasures simply weren’t his target.

They walked for another short while before they finally arrived in front of a particular stone chamber and Qin Xi suddenly raised his hand as an indication for her to stop. Soon afterward, he took out a peach branch from his Qiankun Bag. This peach branch still had fresh leaves and blossoming peach flowers on it, as if it was recently taken from the tree.

He then murmured several incantations and waved his hand. Suddenly, the peach branch stood erect on the ground. A peach fragrance spread around, and a barrier slowly emerged around the two of them.

“Senior Martial Brother Qin?” Mo Tiange whispered doubtfully.

Qin Xi simply placed his index finger in front of his mouth, telling her not to speak.

The two of them stood for a moment in the alley in front of the stone chamber before they finally heard voices coming from inside the chamber.

“Senior Martial Brother Lin, what do you think about this Nine Dragons Furnace?”

This voice… it’s Branch Master Jiang!

Mo Tiange raised her head to look at Qin Xi, hoping he could explain to her what he wanted to do. Branch Master Jiang was inside, and there also seemed to be another Core Formation cultivator with him, yet two of them, these little cultivators, were crouching here… weren’t they just courting death!?

However, Qin Xi simply shook his head and said nothing.

After a moment of silence, they finally heard another voice. It bluntly said, “What do you want?”

Branch Master Jiang laughed dryly and said, “Senior Martial Brother Lin, you’re the Branch Master of Jindao School now while I’m the Branch Master of Mount Yunwu. In any case, our situations are the same; we ought to get familiar with each other.”

The other person only let out a soft “hmph” and said, “This old Daoist doesn’t dare to be equated to Branch Master Jiang. You’re a great hero who helped Zixia Sect annex Mount Yunwu while I’m just an old Daoist who hasn’t died yet. I don’t know how long I have to live, but if I familiarized myself with you, I’m afraid my lifespan would be shortened!”

Hearing his mockery-filled words, Mo Tiange sensed that both his voice and attitude seemed familiar… Right! The Daoist from Jindao School who led the group at the Foundation-Building Pill test – wasn’t this Jindao School’s Branch Master?

Mo Tiange heard some gossip about this matter. This Daoist Lin was actually a former School Head of Jindao School. Later on, because his lifespan was almost exhausted, he passed the School Head position on to School Head Jin. But, who could’ve imagined that a change would happen in Zixia Sect and Jindao School would face great catastrophe?

With the death of School Head Jin and several Core Formation cultivators, Jindao School was weakened and basically didn’t have the power to fight Zixia Sect. With no other options, this former School Head promised Zixia Sect that Jindao School would be willing to be part of Zixia Sect as long as they stopped the purging at Jindao School.

Since he had enough prestige and his lifespan was almost exhausted, Zixia Sect felt they could buy people’s hearts without worrying that an accident might happen and thus named him as Jindao School’s Branch Master, forcing this retired School Head to once again stand before trials and hardships.

This Branch Master Lin was only willing to become the Branch Master for the sake of Jindao School disciples. He naturally despised Branch Master Jiang, who betrayed Yunwu Sect and was relying on Zixia Sect. His words just now were also extremely harsh. However, because he had so much prestige that even Zixia Sect was very respectful to him, Branch Master Jiang naturally didn’t dare to offend him.

Sure enough, the two of them clearly couldn’t see eye to eye with each other up to this point. Branch Master Jiang just uttered a short, dry laugh before he changed the topic. He said, “I’m going to be honest with Senior Martial Brother Lin – I have run into a difficult matter which I hope Senior Martial Brother Lin could lend me a hand with.”

Branch Master Lind didn’t seem surprised at all and just said, “That matter about your great-grandson having ill intentions towards a female disciple in your sect and losing his life?”

“… Yes, the person who killed my grandson was unfortunately rescued by someone. The person who saved her is…”

Once she listened until this part, Mo Tiange suddenly felt her mind was in a blur, and her body lost its strength.

As Qin Xi carried her and softly positioned her body against the stone wall, he heard Branch Master Lin’s voice coming from the chamber: “Branch Master Jiang, I can’t afford this Nine Dragons Furnace of yours!”

Branch Master Jiang hastily replied, “Senior Martial Brother Lin, I’m not asking you to kill that person. I’m only asking you to trap him for a while so I can have the opportunity to exact my revenge.”

Branch Master Lin sneered coldly, “Don’t bring this matter up again. Even if I have the skills, I’ll never do that. Do you really think I don’t know that he has a Nascent Soul cultivator supporting him?”

“Senior Martial Brother Lin, Xuanqing School is thousands of miles from here…”

“Branch Master Jiang!” Branch Master Lin suddenly became stern and said, “Your own family should take revenge for its grudge. Are you trying to involve my Jindao School in provoking a calamity that would exterminate my entire school!? I can’t afford this Nine Dragons Furnace! Since we can’t see eye to eye with each other, we’ll just end it here today. No need to see me off!”

Soon after he finished speaking, the door of the stone chamber was opened. An old Daoist furiously walked out of the chamber while Branch Master Jiang followed behind him. He looked angry but he didn’t dare to say anything. The two of them appeared to not have seen Qin Xi and Mo Tiange, who were leaning against the wall and they walked away just like that. However, before Branch Master Lin left, he seemed to cast a glance in the direction of Qin Xi and Mo Tiange.

After a while, Branch Master Jiang came back, looking very furious. When he stepped into the stone chamber, however, he found that a youth was standing inside the chamber.

Aghast, he hastily took out his magic weapon and shouted, “Who are you!?”

Instead of answering, the youth only showed a faint smile. With a speed that was neither too quick nor too slow, he took out a sword from his Qiankun Bag and pulled it from its scabbard. This sword was pure gold and the blade was covered with blazing flame. Its momentum was alarming.

“Three Yang Real Fire Sword! You are…”