Lady Cultivator

Mo Tiange didn’t know how long she had soaked inside the Wenyang Pool, but she eventually had the strength to open her eyes.

She looked all around and finally got a clear glimpse of what the Wenyang Pool looked like.

It was a pool made of irregularly-shaped warm jade. Steam from the water spread all over. The water from the pool was a faint milky-white color and emitted a fragrant medicinal scent that she was already accustomed to.

The pool was built into a high platform. The steps below were uniformly made of white jade. Furthermore, coupled with all the gorgeous carved and painted decorations, the place looked extremely luxurious. The light muslin curtains hanging all around occasionally rose and fluttered with the breeze. When that happened, flower petals occasionally flew in along with the wind and fell down slowly…

The high platform itself was surrounded by a boundless sea of clouds, making it seem as if it floated high in the clouds. What Mo Tiange saw made her wonder what kind of place this Wenyang Pool was built in.

As she was engrossed in her wild thoughts, a maid suddenly called out in surprise and delight, “Martial Uncle Mo, you’re awake!”

Mo Tiange turned around to look. Behind her were four Foundation Building female cultivators. Each was a beauty and all of them looked gentle. Presumably, these four were Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum, who took care of her while they bickered with each other back then.

From her voice, the one who just spoke seemed to be Mengzhu, who talked the most. Mo Tiange simply nodded her head as an answer. “Can I come up now?”

Momei answered, “Since Martial Uncle can move already, of course Martial Uncle can come out.”

After she obtained affirmation, Mo Tiange wanted to get up. However, she suddenly realized she was stark naked. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Mo Tiange asked, “Where are my clothes?”

Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum—the four of them parted ways. Two went to fetch towels while the other two held up some clothes. They were most likely going to attend to her.

Mo Tiange deliberated for a moment and decided it wouldn’t matter if they saw her naked—all of them were women, after all. Hence, no longer felt embarrassed, she got up from the pool.

One maid held her hair up, one wiped her body, and the other two helped put on her clothes.

Without moving even a finger, her body was properly clothed.

At that moment, Mo Tiange suddenly recalled a story she once read when she lived in the secular world. In the distant past, there was a kingdom that almost unified the entire Celestial Pole. In that kingdom, one of the imperial concubines was highly favored by the emperor. That concubine liked to bathe in hot springs, so there was a poet who wrote a long poem about that. These sentences were part of the poem:

On a cold spring day, he bestowed upon her the honor of bathing with him at the Huaqing Pool.

 The water of the hot springs was calm and washed over her pale white skin.

 The palace maids helped her leave the pool because she was too delicate and lacked strength.

 This was when she began to receive advances from the emperor…

Because of this unconscious thought, Mo Tiange suddenly got goosebumps all over her body. Even if Lord Daoist Jinghe had the mannerisms of an incapable lord, she was his disciple, not that unlucky concubine in the story. They were completely different!

Mo Tiange shook off the unease she felt. She then looked back and asked, “Should I go and greet my master?”

“Yes,” Mengzhu answered, “Martial Uncle, please step on the lotus seat.”

It was only now that Mo Tiange saw there was a floating lotus seat beside the high platform. She moved toward the lotus seat and stepped onto it. Shortly after, the lotus seat moved, sinking slowly into the sea of clouds.

This time, she finally had a clear look. As it turned out, this high platform was located in the air!

The lotus seat slowly descended. Despite having nothing for support, it steadily brought her down towards the Clear Spring Peak.

Several seconds later, Mo Tiange set foot on Clear Spring Peak, and the lotus seat slowly rose into the air again.

After she watched the lotus seat leaving Clear Spring Peak, Mo Tiange shifted her gaze and looked at her surroundings. This was Lord Daoist Jinghe’s Immortal’s Cave, which she had once visited.

Upon seeing her stepping off the lotus seat, the Foundation Building disciple guarding the door immediately went to greet her. He enthusiastically said, “Are you perhaps Martial Uncle Mo?”

Mo Tiange nodded. These people were really smart. It was only very recently that she turned into an advanced inner disciple from a registered disciple, but the way they addressed and treated her had completely changed.

That disciple smiled and quickly said, “Grandmaster has given instructions that there’s no need to report first if Martial Uncle Mo arrives. Martial Uncle may go in this way.”

Mo Tiange gave him a slight smile. “Thank you.”

As the disciple said, “It’s what I ought to do,” she entered the main hall.

“Your injuries healed really quickly. It’s only been a few days, but you were actually able to leave the pool already!”

Before she could step further inside, she already heard someone’s voice. Mo Tiange straightened her gaze and saw Lord Daoist Jinghe sitting upright inside the hall. She promptly kneeled and greeted him, “Disciple greets Master. Disciple also thanks Master for Master’s attention.”

Lord Daoist Jinghe carelessly waved his hand and said, “It’s alright as long as you’re alive.”

“…” This new master of hers—how could he make her revere him if he acted like this?

“That’ll do, get up. I’m not the type of master who likes to treat their disciples harshly, so you don’t need to kneel for no reason. Take a seat!”

Upon hearing what he said, there was a slight twitch on Mo Tiange’s face. However, she still stood up and answered obediently, “Yes.”

As he watched her pick a chair and sit down, Lord Daoist Jinghe’s gaze remained on her, scrutinizing her. Occasionally, he stroked his short beard and sank into his own thoughts. Other times, he would stare at her and mumble to himself.

Being stared at like that made Mo Tiange rather restless.  Is there something wrong?

Lord Daoist Jinghe suddenly clapped his hands. “Right! Why did I just think of this now?!” He then turned towards Mo Tiange. “Since you’re This Lord’s formal disciple, This Lord will bestow upon you a new Immortal’s Cave! Xiuqin!”

The attending female disciple at his side answered, “Yes.”

“Take her to Mingxin Residence!”

“Yes, Grandmaster.” The female cultivator bowed and said to Mo Tiange, “Martial Uncle Mo, please follow me.”

“Oh.” Mo Tiange bowed towards Grandmaster Jinghe and followed the female cultivator out through the side door.

Lord Daoist Jinghe’s Immortal’s Cave could almost be called an imperial palace—it was just built inside a mountain though. It had countless pavilions, halls, and gardens. There were rare and unusual objects everywhere. Mo Tiange had never seen such a gorgeous and extravagant Immortal’s Cave, so she couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.

There were many kinds of cultivators. There was the type that cultivated painstakingly, but there were also some who enjoyed life like Lord Daoist Jinghe. If any mortal people saw this Immortal’s Cave, they would certainly perceive it as a fairyland.

They passed through a moon gate and walked along a veranda before they finally made a detour and entered a small, remote courtyard.

This small courtyard was constructed completely differently with the others. Although it had the same construction as the others, the stairs were also made of jade and the walls were also made of stones; everything inside the courtyard was extremely simple. Inside, aside from some essential furniture, there weren’t any extravagant decorations at all.

There was a row of five small rooms. The maid named Xiuqin explained them one by one: “Martial Uncle Mo, the middle one is the sitting room; you can receive your guests there. This room is for cultivating; this room is for concocting medicinal pills; this room is for refining tools; this room is where you can rest… In addition to these, if you have any spiritual beasts, you can build them nests outside. As for the medicinal garden, it was originally grown by Martial Uncle Shoujing. But from now on, it’s yours.”

Mo Tiange was stunned when she heard her last couple remarks. “Whose residence was this?”

The maid answered with a smile, “This was Martial Uncle Shoujing’s childhood residence. After he entered the Core Formation realm, grandmaster bestowed upon him another Immortal’s Cave.”

“…”

Mo Tiange looked around. There was a pond in front of the rooms while in the back was the medicinal garden. There was enough natural lightning, so moonstones wouldn’t be needed.

She then walked into the sitting room. A simple mahogany table and chairs were arranged against the wall. Except for the tea set on the table, there was nothing else inside this room—not even anything for entertaining.

She originally thought the objects had been taken away by the previous owner, but after she made a trip to the cultivating room, she found two bookshelves full of books, jade slips and other kinds of old manuscripts arranged on the wall.

Xiuqin explained, “When Martial Uncle Shoujing moved away, he didn’t take these things with him.”

“Then… doesn’t he want to take them back now?”

Xiuqin hesitated. “Well… let’s wait until I ask grandmaster first.”

When they walked out of the cultivating room, they saw a female cultivator heading towards them. She bowed towards Mo Tiange and said, “Martial Uncle Mo, grandmaster ordered me to come and pass on this message.”

Mo Tiange nodded. “Please speak.”

The maid said, “Grandmaster said that from now on, this place is Martial Uncle Mo’s, including all the things inside. You don’t need to ask for permission and may use them as you wish. Furthermore, after Martial Uncle moves in, Martial Uncle doesn’t need to go and greet grandmaster again. Martial Uncle just needs to cultivate at ease. If there are any issues, grandmaster can summon Martial Uncle to go and see him.”

Such a long message could actually be summarized into three words: fend for yourself. Mo Tiange had naturally never harbored any delusions that Lord Daoist Jinghe would value her much, so she wasn’t at all disappointed by the current circumstances. She simply nodded and said, “I understand, please convey my thanks to grandmaster.”

The maid once again bowed then retreated.

When she saw the direction the maid was heading towards, Xiuqin looked rather jealous. However, she still smiled at Mo Tiange. “Congratulations, Martial Uncle. Martial Uncle Shoujing left quite a few good things here. They’re yours now.”

Instead of answering Xiuqin, Mo Tiange asked, “I want to tidy up the things from my previous Immortal’s Cave. Am I allowed to leave?”

“Of course,” Xiuqin said, “but for now, Martial Uncle better follow me first. All of us pass through this road if we want to leave; Martial Uncle should memorize it so you can go by yourself in the future.”

After a lot of turns and detours, the two of them finally exited through the side hall. Xiuqin said to the door-keeping disciple, “This is Martial Uncle Mo. She’s going to live here from now on.”

The door-keeping disciple was also a Foundation Building cultivator. When he heard what Xiuqin said, he didn’t dare to be rude and hurriedly greeted Mo Tiange. “Martial Uncle Mo.”

Having been addressed like this for several days, Mo Tiange was now used to it and no longer nervously answered back like she did at first. She just nodded naturally and asked, “It’s okay for me to go out for a while, right?”

The door-keeping disciple said, “Since Martial Uncle lives here, Martial Uncle naturally can come and go at will.”

“En.” Mo Tiange then turned towards Xiuqin and said, “I’m going to tidy up my cave first. You don’t have to keep accompanying me.”

Xiuqin bowed. “Yes.”

Mo Tiange left Lord Daoist Jinghe’s Immortal’s Cave and made her way toward her former little cave.

Meanwhile, inside Lord Daoist Jinghe’s main hall.

“This little girl is really extraordinary. You said her meridians were remolded by Deification cultivators?” Lord Daoist Jinghe turned to look at the youth sitting in the chair.

Qin Xi nodded with a wooden expression on his face.

“Spiritual Roots of the Origin coupled with the Art of the Origin… This girl… her abilities are comparable to those genius cultivators! We should be glad I accepted her as my disciple. Over time, advancing into the Nascent Soul realm also shouldn’t be a problem for her. At that point, our Clear Spring Peak will certainly have more than three Nascent Soul cultivators! Hahaha…”

Lord Daoist Jinghe laughed out loud, but he suddenly realized Qin Xi didn’t respond at all and raised his eyebrows. “What? Is this not worth getting happy about?”

Qin Xi finally moved. He stood up and spoke in an extremely exhausted tone: “I’ll head back first.”

His response surprised Lord Daoist Jinghe. “Wait! Are your injuries still not healed yet?”

“They were healed long ago.”

“Then what does this dead man’s expression of yours mean?”

“Nothing.”

Nothing your head!  Lord Daoist Jinghe didn’t believe him. “Brat! Your wings must be hard enough now, right? You actually dared to lie to me! Speak your mind! What are you thinking about?!”

“I…” Qin Xi helplessly said, “Is it wrong for me to want to go back and cultivate?”

“Cultivating again!” Lord Daoist Jinghe shouted, “You just exited Closed Door Meditation! What’s left to cultivate!?”

“I just want to form my Nascent Soul as soon as possible.”

His answer once again surprised Lord Daoist Jinghe. “Why are you so eager to form your Nascent Soul? Didn’t you say that Deification cultivator also bestowed upon you a lot of good things so you’ll have a far easier time in forming your Nascent Soul? That being the case, why are you this impatient?”

Qin Xi smirked and “hmphed” softly. “Good things? He beat me half dead before giving me good things—is this still a bestowment!? Feeling powerless in front of someone with absolute power—I bet you don’t know the feeling, right?”

After he finished talking, he turned around and left, leaving behind the stunned Lord Daoist Jinghe who mumbled to himself: “This brat really took that matter to heart.”