Lady Cultivator

Coming out of Lord Daoist Jinghe’s Closed Room, both Mo Tiange and Qin Xi felt heavy-hearted.

As they walked a little further, the two stopped by the railings simultaneously.

“Tiange…” Qin Xi called, but then stopped.

Mo Tiange smiled and sighed. She approached him to hold him around his waist, saying lightly, “I know what you want to say. Rest assured–if there’s anything useful to Master in the Virtual Sky World, I won’t be stingy.”

Qin Xi was moved to hear this and he continued, “Thank you for saying that.”

“There’s no need to thank me.” Mo Tiange chuckled. “He’s not only your Master but also mine. Aside from you, no one in this world is nicer to me than him.”

Qin Xi didn’t say anything. He held her tightly.

He knew she was an indifferent and decisive cultivator, but she also valued feelings. She kept in mind whoever treated her nicely, and she would seek opportunities to pay them back in the future.

They knew Master’s injuries were very serious, but it didn’t mean there were no solutions. With the spirit herbs in Virtual Sky World in addition to Qin Xi’s extensive knowledge of pill recipes, their Master would definitely be cured.

“Later on, let’s see if there are any medicinal pills that can heal Master,” Mo Tiange said lightly.

“En.” Qin Xi agreed. It was the only thing they could do for their Master.

They then sensed a Foundation Building cultivator coming their way, and the two of them didn’t move.

There were only maid servants in Shangqing Palace, and they wouldn’t dare to bother them even when within sight.

But this person shouted as he saw them, “Auntie! Master!” His voice sounded very pleasantly surprised.

Upon hearing this sound, Qin Xi and Mo Tiange separated immediately. Then they saw Ye Zhenji standing not far away and watching them, almost in tears.

“Zhenji!”

Ye Zhenji wiped away the shadows in his eyes and mumbled, “You finally came back… I knew you’d come back… ”

Mo Tiange recalled what he went through all these years as recounted by Wu De and Li Yang. She saw his gaunt face and couldn’t help pitying him. Zhenji wasn’t her disciple, but she brought him up by herself. It wouldn’t be too much to say that he was her own son.

“Zhenji, why have you lost so much weight?” Mo Tiange checked Ye Zhenji’s pulse and probed to discover that he didn’t have any injuries. Besides, the spiritual aura in his body was stable and he had already reached the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm.

Upon hearing this question, Ye Zhenji actually bowed his head and began to cry.

He never cried even when he was a little weak and inexperienced back in the day, so his current behavior startled both Mo Tiange and Qin Xi.

The first thing Mo Tiange thought about was that Wu De and Li Yang said he was imprisoned for ten years. Was he treated inhumanely during that time? Did their sudden encounter make him feel wronged?

Qin Xi sighed and asked, “What’s making you so sad?”

Ye Zhenji wiped away his tears and raised his head. “Master, Auntie, please save Linbo, save Linbo!”

Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged looks and both were very confused. “Linbo?” Then they remembered that Ye Zhenji was trapped by Master Daoist Baiyu because of a woman. Could she be the Linbo he was talking about?

Upon thinking this, the two of them considered something covertly. What was the relationship between Zhenji and the woman?

Ye Zhenji continued, “Linbo… Come with me and I’ll tell you everything.”

As Ye Zhenji led the way, he asked about their situation in the past ten years. After learning that they’d become husband and wife, he was very happy that they finally made the decision. Then he talked about what had happened to him over the years, which wasn’t largely different from what Wu De and Li Yang told them. Ye Zhenji was indeed imprisoned by Wanderer Baiyu. During those ten years, he pretended to be incompetent and suffered a lot to paralyze Wanderer Baiyu. Finally, he caught Wanderer Baiyu unprepared and killed him with a magic talisman, which was left by Qin Xi to protect him.

After hearing all this, both Mo Tiange and Qin Xi were quite surprised. Although they loved Ye Zhenji, they believed his character was a little too weak and that he didn’t have great promise. They didn’t expect he could show such scheming and perseverance when in danger. It seemed that they were right to put him out there; otherwise, he wouldn’t have reached his potential.

Linbo, as Ye Zhenji mentioned, was actually called Shui Linbo. She was originally from the Eastern Sea. The Eastern Sea had been in chaos for decades, but she got lucky and found a way to pass through Demonic Mountain then arrived in Kunwu. She didn’t have good qualifications and couldn’t enter cultivation groups. She never stopped struggling and cultivating, even though she was just a weak woman in Kunwu. Later, she got lucky again and encountered a fated chance, so she successfully advanced to the Foundation Building realm.

Apart from everything else, she was a Human Furnace desired by many cultivators when she was spotted by Wanderer Baiyu in Kunzhong City. Coincidentally, on the day Wanderer Baiyu wanted to catch her, Ye Zhenji passed by and was mistaken as Shui Linbo’s partner, so Wanderer Baiyu kidnapped him along with Shui Linbo.

Later, Wanderer Baiyu discovered the identity of Ye Zhenji and realized he’d kidnapped the wrong man, but he didn’t dare to release Ye Zhenji for fear that Ye Zhenji would bear a grudge against him. Also, he didn’t dare to kill him, fearing that his Life Lantern might be traceable. Nothing good would come of it. So, Wanderer Baiyu imprisoned Ye Zhenji and trapped him with layers of restrictions in case others came to track him.

As for Shui Linbo, she used some kind of technique and made Wanderer Baiyu believe she had lost her primordial Yin, so she was imprisoned, too. Apparently, Shui Linbo was affectionate and faithful. Since Ye Zhenji was implicated by her, she’d protected him all these years and decreased his suffering. Because of this, she was tortured even more than Ye Zhenji, and after they escaped, she was already badly injured with difficult-to-heal wounds.

Unluckily, when Ye Zhenji brought her back, both Mo Tiange and Qin Xi weren’t in the sect. Lord Daoist Jinghe was also severely injured, in Closed Door Meditation and couldn’t even take care of himself. Thus, although Shui Linbo’s life was saved for the time being, no one could heal her injuries.

After hearing all this, Mo Tiange and Qin Xi looked at each other and both understood something in their hearts. Since the two of them went through thick and thin, they had presumably grown affectionate toward each other, which was why Zhenji was so agitated. Mo Tiange exclaimed intenrally that Zhenji had grown up, and he also had someone in his heart.

“Zhenji,” Mo Tiange asked, “didn’t I give you medicinal pills for healing? Wouldn’t those work on her?”

Ye Zhenji shook his head dejectedly. “After we were caught, my Qiankun Bag was snatched away. Fortunately, I hid some things elsewhere ahead of time, but I didn’t retrieve my Qiankun Bag even after I killed Wanderer Baiyu. I still didn’t get back those magic tools you gave me…”

“It’s okay.” Qin Xi comforted him. “I can refine other magic tools for you.”

Ye Zhenji smiled and said lightly, “Thank you, Master.” After he paused for a while, he continued, “Later, I finally contacted Senior Martial Brothers from the branch in Kunzhong City, and they sent me and Linbo back… After Grandmaster discovered this, he specifically summoned Martial Uncle Mingzhen, then Martial Uncle Mingzhen went to Kunzhong City and destroyed the Individual Cultivator Alliance…”

Mingzhen was the third disciple of Lord Daoist Jinghe, one of his first three disciples. Mingzhen had remained in the Core Formation realm for over two hundred years and was now in the late stage. He possessed skillful magic powers and was strong. The Individual Cultivator Alliance included several Core Formation cultivators, but Daoist Kumu and Tong Tianyun, who were the strongest in terms of magic power, had fallen on Demonic Mountain. Wanderer Baiyu was killed by Ye Zhenji, so the remaining ones were definitely no match for Mingzhen.

However, even though Lord Daoist Jinghe loved killing, he seldom got other people involved. In that case, Zhenji must’ve been tortured so miserably that Lord Daoist Jinghe was enraged to that extent.

“Grandmaster also gave Linbo medicinal pills, but Linbo was injured too badly and the medicinal pills could only save her life. I know Grandmaster is also injured himself, so I didn’t dare to bother him. Both Martial Uncle Mingzhen and Grandmaster Xuanyin couldn’t do anything about Linbo’s injuries, and I really don’t know what to do…”

They talked as they walked, and soon, they arrived at the door of Mingxin Residence. Upon seeing Zhenji opening Mingxin Residence’s restriction, Mo Tiange asked, “Do you live here?”

Ye Zhenji nodded and said, “Grandmaster has mercy and liked Linbo for her integrity, so she stayed. Grandmaster also said the spiritual aura in Mingxin Residence was stable and the place was good for healing, so Linbo could live here. In order to take care of Linbo, I also live here usually.”

Mo Tiange was relieved to see that Ye Zhenji seemed sad but calm, and his smiling baby face had also obtained some reservedness. “Zhenji, you’ve grown up.”

Ye Zhenji smiled. “Auntie, I’m nearly eighty. I should’ve grown up long ago.”

Mo Tiange also smiled. Zhenji was much taller than her, and he now also looked more mature than her. He was indeed no longer the young boy who relied on her before.

Everything in Mingxin Residence hadn’t changed. When Mo Tiange moved away back then, she only took her belongings for daily use. Even the decorations inside hadn’t changed.

Ye Zhenji led them all the way to the lounge. He opened the restriction and called lightly, “Linbo?”

Mo Tiange and Qin Xi followed him in. In the small lounge, the original cold jade bed was covered with a soft fur, and a gaunt young woman sat cross-legged on the bed, her eyes closed as if she was healing.

As soon as Mo Tiange saw Linbo’s expression, she knew the woman’s dantian and meridian vessels had been injured. Judging by the unstable spiritual aura around her, Mo Tiange assumed her meridian vessels had been heavily damaged, which was why she couldn’t keep spiritual aura stable.

Mo Tiange came forward, gently took the woman’s hand, and carefully probed into her spiritual aura. Sure enough, she verified her conjecture. If she hadn’t witnessed it with her own eyes, Mo Tiange wouldn’t simply believe that a cultivator’s meridian vessel could be injured to this extent. The woman’s dantian was also badly damaged, and if a medicinal power hadn’t been deposited within her dantian, she might’ve died already.

“What do you think, Auntie?” Ye Zhenji was quite anxious. Fearing that he might startle Shui Linbo, he asked with a very low voice.

Mo Tiange sighed and looked at Qin Xi. “She’s been very seriously injured. No wonder Senior Martial Brother Mingzhen and Martial Uncle Xuanyin had no solution.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Xi also went up to probe the woman’s pulse and frowned heavily.

Ye Zhenji noticed their expressions and begged, “Auntie, Master, do something. Please do something about it!”

“Don’t worry,” Mo Tiange said. “As long as there’s a solution, I’ll definitely help you. But you also need to cheer up.”

“En.” Ye Zhenji revealed a determined expression. “Auntie, rest assured. No matter what, I won’t give up.”

Mo Tiange showed a small smile on her face and nodded. Since Zhenji entrusted her so sincerely, she would definitely do her best. Furthermore, the woman came from the Eastern Sea and was perhaps related to Bixuan Court, so it might concern her anyway.