Lady Cultivator

Mo Tiange lowered her gaze, seemingly pondering their proposal.

Elder Qingyi and Elder Qingmiao didn’t say anything else and just stared at her.

A long time later, Mo Tiange finally spoke: “According to reason, since Elders presented me with my ancestor’s secret technique, I ought to do something to return the favor. However, I don’t think my current cultivation level is enough for me to be your guest elder.”

Because it didn’t sound like Mo Tiange was refusing outright, Elder Qingyi smiled and said, “Us two old women won’t be able to live for long. At that point, there wouldn’t be any Core Formation cultivators in the group, so there’s nothing inappropriate about letting you become the guest elder. Besides, with your current cultivation level and talents, I believe it won’t be hard for you to form your Gold Core.” At that point, she paused for a moment then sighed before she continued on: “Tiange, we can’t only rely on the three of them to rebuild Bixuan Court. I hope you can lend us a hand out of consideration for your ancestor.”

Such a heartfelt and sincere plea actually made Mo Tiange unable to refuse.

She took some moment to think then asked, “If I agree to become the guest elder, how long will I need to stay in Linhai?”

Smiles appeared on Elder Qingyi’s and Elder Qingmiao’s faces. Elder Qingmiao then said, “It won’t be too long. You’ll be our ‘guest’ elder; after Haolan manages to summon all the disciples back and establishes her prestige, you can say you’re entering Closed Door Meditation as an excuse and return to Kunwu.”

“But… I’m a Xuanqing School disciple. It wouldn’t be too appropriate for me to become the guest elder of another cultivation group, right?”

Elder Qingyi said, “You don’t have to worry about that. It isn’t unheard of for disciples of big cultivation groups to become guest elders of other cultivation groups—it’s alright as long as there’s no conflict between the two cultivation groups. Bixuan Court’s situated in Linhai, and we have no intention of going to Kunwu, so this matter naturally won’t affect you. If you’re not at ease with this, you can just report this matter to you master when you return to Kunwu later.”

Upon hearing Elder Qingyi speaking so lightly about it, Mo Tiange deliberated the matter again then nodded slowly. “If that’s the case, Junior doesn’t mind exerting some effort for Bixuan Court. This can also be considered returning Seniors’ kindness for gifting me the book.”

Now that they obtained her agreement, Elder Qingyi and Elder Qingmiao finally felt the heavy burdens on their chests easing up. “Good! Good! From today onward, you’re one of us.”

Right after, Elder Qingyi and Elder Qingmiao personally led Mo Tiange down to the third floor, declaring to the three others that they’d invited her to be the guest elder of Bixuan Court.

This news was rather shocking. Xia Qing was in a daze for quite a while, while Wei Haolan, who’d just woken up, and Tang Shen both showed mixed expressions.

Mo Tiange smiled all along. She would just have a title as a so-called guest elder; she’d accept their worship, but she wouldn’t really get involved in the group’s affairs. They also knew that as a Xuanqing School disciple, there was no reason for Mo Tiange to remain at Bixuan Court, and she also had no conflicts with them. Therefore, they were just shocked for a moment before they soon returned to their usual selves. They congratulated her and once again performed ceremonial greetings.

Once the ceremony was over, Elder Qingyi and Elder Qingmiao returned to the fourth floor to continue their recuperation while Mo Tiange remained on the third floor.

“Fellow Daoist Ye,” Wei Haolan called out to her with a smile. Her injuries were still very heavy, but she finally woke up now. “From now on, we’re one group.”

Mo Tiange showed a faint smile. Wei Haolan naturally knew what the two elders’ intentions were. Although they managed to save her, it’d be very difficult for her to have a realm-breakthrough in her lifetime, so the two elders allowed Mo Tiange to become her backing.

“Sect Head Wei doesn’t need to be too polite. In the future, Bixuan Court still has to rely on you; I can’t help out much.”

Wei Haolan smiled. “Both of us know full well what’s really going on. Fellow Daoist Ye, in short, please help us.”

Wei Haolan was a smart person. Dealing with such a smart person was very relaxing because they had a very good mutual understanding of things. Because of that, after they killed Ren Yufeng, being a guest elder shouldn’t be that difficult since Wei Haolan would be with her.

After Mo Tiange finished her brief chat with Wei Haolan, Tang Shen cautiously stole a few glances at her. In the end, he summoned up his courage then said with a small voice, “Fellow Daoist Ye, can we talk for a bit?”

Mo Tiange was quite surprised; she didn’t expect Tang Shen would take the initiative to talk to her. It took her only a moment of thinking before she answered straightforwardly, “Sure.”

Tang Shen’s gaze shifted towards the Transporting Formation. “Shall we… go there?”

Mo Tiange nodded. The matter they were going to talk about presumably wasn’t suitable to be heard by Wei Haolan and Xia Qing.

Once they went down to the second floor, Mo Tiange immediately stopped in her tracks and said, “Fellow Daoist Tang, if you have something to say, you may say it directly.”

Tang Shen turned towards her. He was silent for a long time before he finally spoke: “Fellow Daoist Ye should already know that I possess a Pure Yang Constitution, right?”

“… I do.”

Tang Shen still didn’t dare to look at her, so he looked away when he spoke: “Then… What does Fellow Daoist Ye think about it?”

Mo Tiange knew what kind of answer he wanted to hear, but she just chuckled. “Fellow Daoist Tang, you might as well say what you think about it first.”

“…” It took Tang Shen quite some time before he spoke again: “My great-great-grandmother was killed by that devil cultivator, my family’s outside and I don’t know what their situation is like—I want to cultivate properly and kill that devil cultivator to avenge my great-great-grandmother.”

He looked so serious when he said that, finally exhibiting a bit of decisiveness a man ought to have.

Nevertheless, Mo Tiange’s tone remained flat when she answered, “So?”

“So…” Tang Shen finally raised his gaze and looked at her. He spoke with a firmness he never showed before. “Fellow Daoist Ye, could you be my Dual Cultivation partner?”

She already knew he wanted to talk to her about this, but it still came as a surprise that Tang Shen, whose character was as delicate as a woman’s, would say it so directly.

Mo Tiange didn’t reply immediately. But despite Tang Shen’s pleading look, she eventually shook her head. “I’m sorry, Fellow Daoist Tang. Regarding Dual Cultivation, I cannot agree.”

Although Tang Shen already knew Mo Tiange didn’t have any interest in him, he didn’t expect she’d reject his proposal so bluntly. After a moment of astonishment, he said anxiously, “Why? Fellow Daoist Ye, I possess a Pure Yang Constitution, and you have a pure Yin body—the fact that we met shows that we’re God-given partners for each other. Why do you refuse me?”

Mo Tiange maintained the faint smile on her face. “Then Fellow Daoist Tang, why have you been unwilling to perform Dual Cultivation with one of your fellow martial sisters all these years?”

Tang Shen was startled but he then answered in a whisper, “I… I didn’t like them, so…”

“My reason is the same as yours,” Mo Tiange said with a flat tone, “You have no feelings for me; you want to perform Dual Cultivation with me just because I have a Pure Yin Constitution. If there’s no love between us while we’re tied as Dual Cultivation partners, what’s the difference between that and performing Dual Cultivation with one of your fellow martial sisters?”

Tang Shen stared at her but didn’t say anything.

Mo Tiange also stared at the person in front of her, the Young Master Tang who’d never experienced any suffering in his life before, and said, “I won’t perform Dual Cultivation just for this reason. The way of Dao to become an immortal… I’ll walk through it personally, one step at a time.”

She sounded really resolute, causing disappointment to flash across Tang Shen’s eyes. However, he still didn’t give up. “Fellow Daoist Ye, if you perform Dual Cultivation with me, you’ll be able to make realm-breakthroughs even faster.”

Still with the same slight smile, Mo Tiange said, “Fellow Daoist Tang, you’re not a woman in the end. Maybe everyone in the cultivation world puts benefits above all else, but for women, having to stay with someone they don’t love is really a kind of torture.”

“…”

“Of course, this doesn’t mean Fellow Daoist Tang’s not good.” Seeing as he seemed to have received a huge blow, something flickered in Mo Tiange’s eyes, but she still showed a small smile and said, “But this is how matters related to emotion are. I’m a cultivator, but I’m also a woman. Maybe some women could give up their principles for cultivation, but I’m not one of them. I have my pride, so there are some things I’ll persist in until the end.”

“…” Tang Shen stammered for a moment but he was unable to say anything in the end.

Mo Tiange chuckled. “Fellow Daoist Tang, weren’t you originally the same as me? Don’t let the death of your ancestor blind yourself. For cultivators on their journey to achieve the Dao, Dual Cultivation’s only a byway. If your target’s also achieving the Dao, you better persevere with your original heart and guard that heart well. That way, you’ll definitely gain a lot more.”