Lady Cultivator

As dusk approached, someone was sitting on a hillside, staring at the sky.

Meanwhile, Qin Xi was leaning against the door of a dilapidated house, watching that very person.

Today, the weather was very good. The pure dark-blue-colored sky was clear with tiny thin clouds and the breeze was blowing gently. In the secular world, this kind of day was when refined scholars went out and traveled around the world. However, cultivators rarely had this kind of sentiment. Whether it was a sunny day or stormy thundery day, all were the same in their eyes.

Because of that, he knew that the person staring at the sky certainly wasn’t staring at the scenery.

After watching that person for a long time, he himself also heaved a sigh. He felt that he had perhaps taken on trouble for himself.

A cultivator who was too emotional… he didn’t think that kind of cultivator could have any future. But, since he already agreed, he couldn’t back out.

In fact, what Ye Jiang said was right. He indeed thought highly of this child and felt that despite her poor natural endowments, she had all the essentials to become a high-level cultivator. For example, she could endure loneliness and wasn’t afraid to work hard at cultivating; she wasn’t greedy but she had initiative; she was creative and intelligent, and she knew to use the proper method at the right time. Furthermore, when she had to be heartless, she was never lenient and was able to quickly make decisions.

If a cultivator possessed all these qualities, the only thing they lacked was a fated chance.

However, he unexpectedly realized she was an emotional person!

Cultivating… wasn’t solely restricted by the progress of one’s cultivation level. A cultivator had to have a strong heart to become powerful. It would be very difficult for cultivators who indulged in their emotions to achieve anything great.

Therefore, he was a bit vexed right now. How should he handle this person? If he let her be, it would be a pity, but he didn’t have the mood to mentor her either.

“Junior Martial Brother Ye.”

Upon hearing that call, Mo Tiange turned around and saw Qin Xi walking towards her.

“Senior Martial Brother Qin, what’s the matter?” she asked. Her voice was very calm – so calm that Qin Xi was dumbfounded by it.

Qin Xi stared at her with a piercing gaze. It was only after he found there was nothing abnormal about her that he said, “We should leave.”

Mo Tiange nodded. She stood up then dusted off her sleeves.

Qin Xi, however, stayed still and asked another question, “Are you really alright?”

Mo Tiange turned to the side to look at the setting sun. The corners of her lips were slightly curved upward as she said, “I’m alright.”

Her appearance now really didn’t look like she was still grieving. Since she indeed hadn’t cried since that fateful day, her strong appearance now should be genuine rather than a pretend act to be strong.

He then asked, “Do you need to prepare anything?”

Mo Tiange was silent for a while and seemed to be thinking about a multitude of things. Eventually, she only let out a soft sigh and said, “Nothing, I don’t need anything. Just leave it all behind.”

What she said seemed to have some other meaning. Qin Xi suddenly felt that his worries a moment ago were a bit unfounded. This woman… was far more rational than he previously thought.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure you can let go?”

Mo Tiange laughed. This time, her laugh wasn’t at all pretentious or forced. After she laughed, she said softly, “Second Uncle once said that loss happens so people can grow up. At the same time, I also think that experience makes people stronger.”

Experience… makes people stronger…  Qin Xi silently recited this sentence in his heart. He felt that he now no longer needed to say anything.

Mo Tiange indeed felt very serene.

If she as a child could get over the sadness from losing her mother thirteen years ago, she certainly wouldn’t be defeated now.

Second Uncle always said she had to have a strong heart to achieve great things. Now, Second Uncle was no longer here, but how could she disappoint him?

She had been telling herself she had to live well and cultivate diligently, not for Second Uncle, but for herself.

Although she had no intention of walking on the path of cultivation in the beginning, cultivating made her feel happy. Learning certain spells, making a breakthrough to the next realm, getting stronger, and defeating enemies – all of them made her feel happy.

That being the case, she would continue on like this, doing something she liked and resolutely moving forward.

She followed Qin Xi onto his flying sword. A moment later, the two of them were on the flying sword, riding the wind, and beginning their journey.

This flying sword was another magic weapon. However, Mo Tiange no longer felt jealous or envious. Since this Senior Martial Brother Qin had quite a big influence, it was expected that he had a lot of treasures.

Nevertheless, after flying for a while, Mo Tiange asked in bewilderment, “Senior Martial Brother Qin, why are we heading towards the east?” East was heading back to Mount Yunwu.

Qin Xi, who was controlling the flying sword, glanced at her then answered, “I still have some matters I need to attend to.”

“Oh…”  Perhaps he still has something he hasn’t taken care of yet.  Mo Tiange thought like that, but she was in fact quite worried. Qin Xi hadn’t explained to her clearly how more than a dozen Foundation Building cultivators retreated that day, so she didn’t know the real story. But, even if he could make more than a dozen Foundation cultivators back down, would he be able to handle the Core Formation cultivators of Mount Yunwu?

She was more than aware she had really antagonized Branch Master Jiang. Jiang Chengxian wasn’t just the Branch Master’s direct descendant – he was the Branch Master’s  only  remaining descendant. Thus, by killing him, she cut off the Branch Master’s bloodline. Furthermore, Yunwu Sect now belonged to Zixia Sect and Zixia Sect had a Nascent Soul cultivator! Even if this Senior Martial Brother Qin had elders backing him up, those elders were too far away.

Just as she felt burdened with layers of worries, she suddenly heard Qin Xi say, “Junior Martial Brother Ye, what are you worrying about?”

Mo Tiange regained her train of thought and answered truthfully, “Worrying that we’ll be caught when we get back.” Even though he was already in the Foundation Building realm, he was still only an ant to Core Formation cultivators. If her enemies were worried about the elders backing Qin Xi, they only needed to catch him alive… for her, on the other hand, there was nothing to guarantee her life.

Qin Xi only displayed a faint smile and said, “Rest assured, we won’t.”

Mo Tiange uttered a soft grunt as an answer, but she remembered another matter and said, “Senior Martial Brother Qin, since you’re already in the Foundation Building realm, I shouldn’t address you like this again in the future.” Normally, after advancing to the next realm, she should call him “martial uncle.”

Qin Xi shook his head. “It’s only because I began Closed Door Meditation one step earlier than you. Right now, you already have everything you need, so building your foundation is only a matter of time. We don’t need to go through such troublesome formalities.”

Nevertheless, Mo Tiange wasn’t as confident as him and said with frustration, “Second Uncle was able to build his foundation because my father provided him with a heap of medicinal pills. Second Uncle said he had to use 5 Foundation-Building Pills before he could finally build his foundation. My natural endowments aren’t as good as Second Uncle’s, so I’m afraid… building my foundation can’t be achieved in one or two years.”

In fact, even if failed, she was already prepared to continue fighting for Foundation-Building Pills for the next ten or twenty years until she could successfully build her foundation.

“Rest assured, when you arrive at Xuanqing School, you’ll naturally receive guidance from the school’s elders, so building your foundation really won’t be so hard. Besides, both of us have been fellow disciples for three years, and we’re already accustomed to how we address each other. There’s no need to change it.”

Since he was talking like that, Mo Tiange felt embarrassed to retort back and simply dropped the subject. But…

She said with hesitation, “Senior Martial Brother Qin, in fact…’Ye Xiaotian’ isn’t my real name.”

Qin Xi smiled and said, “I know you took your mother’s surname, Mo, and your name’s Tiange. Now you no longer have to hide your identity – use your real name in Xuanqing School. However, I’m already used to calling you Junior Martial Brother Ye, so I’m not changing it.”

Qin Xi always maintained a certain distance between himself and others and rarely showed this kind of breezy, casual side, so Mo Tiange couldn’t help but smile and say, “As Senior Martial Brother Qin wishes.”

At this time, the Mount Yunwu Branch Master Mo Tiange was worried about wasn’t in Mount Yunwu.

The stone door of an Immortal’s Cave was opened, and a young Foundation Building girl came out and bowed to greet Branch Master Jiang, who had been waiting outside. She said, “Grandmaster asks Branch Master Jiang to come in.”

Branch Master Jiang, who already felt impatient from waiting, was overjoyed. He politely bowed back to the girl before following her into the cave.

A thin, wrinkled Daoist sat on a praying mat in the middle of the cave. Once Branch Master Jiang saw him, he immediately bowed and greeted him: “Greetings to Grand Supreme Elder.”

After a long while, this Daoist finally responded with an “en,” opened his eyes and said, “Sit.”

Branch Master Jiang bowed reverentially before he sat down.

“Say it, what’s the matter?”

Although this Daoist’s attitude was somewhat standoffish, Branch Master Jiang didn’t dare to be disrespectful because this seemingly very ordinary Daoist was actually a Nascent Soul cultivator!

“Grand Supreme Elder, disciple came for that previous matter. Please give disciple justice.”

Branch Master Jiang then stared anxiously at the Daoist in front of him. Nevertheless, this Daoist didn’t even look at Branch Master Jiang. The Daoist took the spiritual tea offered by an attending disciple and took his time in sipping the tea before he finally said, “Give you justice? How do you want me to give you justice? By avenging your unworthy great-grandson? If that’s the case, I think you’d better give birth to another one – it’d be much quicker!”

This Daoist might look kind, but his words were completely harsh – so harsh that Branch Master Jiang’s face flushed upon hearing them. Branch Master Jiang was naturally aware that his great-grandson was unworthy, but despite being unworthy, he was still his descendant!

“Grand Supreme Elder,” Branch Master Jiang suppressed his anger and whispered, “Disciple isn’t asking you to act personally; disciple only wishes for you to approve my revenge. Disciple only had that one great-grandson. Even though he had ten thousand shortcomings, it was still my family’s matter. How could I let an outsider kill him!?”

Unfortunately, his words didn’t move the Daoist at all. The Grand Supreme Elder only uttered a “hmph” and said, “It seems you still haven’t woken up yet. For us cultivators, what does one or two dead descendants mean? For such a descendant who only caused trouble and didn’t have the slightest skill, he’s better off dead! Go back and don’t mention this matter again in the future!”

“Grand Supreme Elder!”

Seeing that the Branch Master wasn’t listening to him, the Daoist became strict and said, “What? Are you complaining that I’m not helping you?”

Branch Master Jiang hastily dropped his head but didn’t say no to his question.

The Daoist “hmphed” and said, “Fine, I’ll explain more. This Qin Shoujing you’re talking about – he isn’t just a common Core Formation cultivator. He has a Nascent Soul elder supporting him.”

Branch Master Jiang was startled by what the Daoist said. “Grand Supreme Elder, does that person really have that kind of background?”

The Daoist grunted and said, “Why do you think he dares to be so presumptuous in east Kunwu thousands of miles away from his home? I’m telling you, the one behind this Qin Shoujing is Qin Jinghe, that old codger. You might not understand Qin Jinghe, but I know him well. He is bloodthirsty and loves to cover his shortcomings. Because he’s obstructed by Xuanqing School’s rules, he normally behaves and rarely acts hastily. However, if you hurt his people, it isn’t unheard of for him to travel thousands of miles to come here and take revenge! I’m only an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator and won’t be able to fight him, so you’d better forget your idea.”

“Grand Supreme Elder, isn’t arbitrarily killing supposed to be a taboo for Nascent Soul cultivators?”

“According to you.” The Daoist closed his eyes and explained slowly, “In order to avoid the birth of Inner Demon that would hinder the progress of their cultivation, Nascent Soul cultivators indeed wouldn’t kill arbitrarily. However, if they have strong enough reasons, they’ll naturally act.”

Branch Master Jiang dropped his head and stayed silent.  Based on what Grand Supreme Elder said, I can’t do anything to that little Aura Refining disciple!

The Daoist said, “Furthermore, you’d better go back and see what that Qin Shoujing intends to do, staying in your Mount Yunwu? His Xuanqing School is one of the very best among the great cultivation groups in the Celestial Pole. What kinds of resources do they not have? Yet against all reason, he sneaked into a small cultivation sect and even stayed for three years. I’m afraid his goal can’t be something trivial…”