Chapter 106: Gossip

As Mo Tiange fed the little Inferno Beast Aura-Nourishing Pills, she looked up and saw several fleeting lights sweeping across the sky.

She pondered for a moment then moved the little Inferno Beast into the small valley and exited her cave.

After the mountain was sealed, the Great Mountain-Protecting Formation on Mount Taikang was activated, leaving only two spots where one could enter and leave the formation. The disciples who received orders to slay monsters would enter and leave through those spots. However, aside from the 100 disciples who were ordered to leave the mountain in the beginning, rarely any others left or entered. The fleeting lights were probably cultivators in charge of circulating news.

So many days had passed, but there had been no news. Thinking about Ye Jingwen, Mo Tiange contemplated for a while then decided to go to the steward’s hall.

She hadn’t yet entered the hall when the two Aura Refining disciples guarding the door greeted her, “Martial Uncle Mo.”

Mo Tiange smiled. Now that she had built her foundation, she became “Martial Uncle” to them. She tossed a glance at the steward’s hall and asked, “Is there any news about the demonic beast riot?”

One of the Aura Refining disciples asked back, “Did Martial Uncle come to get some news?”

Mo Tiange nodded. “Yes, an old friend of mine is among the disciples who left the mountain. Do you know what their situation is like now?”

The two Aura Refining disciples glanced at each other before one of them answered, “Martial Uncle, we also don’t know too much. We only know that the situation isn’t really good. Martial Uncle shouldn’t tell others about this because Aura Refining disciples still don’t know anything.”

“En, I know. Since the situation isn’t good, have there been any casualties?”

“It seems there have been. Martial Uncle doesn’t need to be anxious – in a bit, you’ll definitely get some news from Martial Uncle Luo.”

Assuming that these Aura Refining disciples didn’t dare to leak too much information, Mo Tiange stopped asking them and simply said, “All right, thanks.”

Not too long after she returned from the steward’s hall, a summon came from Master Daoist Xuanyin, calling all the disciples to his Immortal’s Cave.

Mo Tiange rushed to his cave. When she arrived, she saw that all of Martial Uncle Xuanyin’s disciples seemed to be arriving. All were standing respectfully with worried expressions.

She quietly made her way to Luo Fengxue’s side. Luo Fengxue shook her head at Mo Tiange and heaved a soft sigh.

Upon seeing Luo Fengxue’s exhausted look, Mo Tiange’s heart sank and worry appeared on her face.

When all the disciples had gathered together, Master Daoist Xuanyin finally opened his eyes. His expression was grave. “You probably know that the situation with the demonic beast riot isn’t good. I told you to come because I have something to tell you. Fengxue…”

Luo Fengxue raised her head and stepped forward. “Yes, Master.”

“You can explain the matter to them.”

Luo Fengxue answered “yes” before turning her body around to face the others. With a solemn expression, she said, “Senior Martial Sister and Brothers, the steward’s hall received news from the disciples who left the mountain today. Martial Uncle Hanyu of Drifting Cloud Peak has fallen.”

Everyone’s expressions changed. They knew what the fall of a Core Formation cultivator meant. The war this time must be very fierce. The next step was definitely going to be sending some help. Perhaps, it would be their master’s turn…

Luo Fengxue continued: “The Head Grand Supreme Elder has decided to send another batch of disciples to support the first group. The number of people is similar to last time; each peak will send one Core Formation cultivator, several elite disciples, and about ten ordinary disciples. It has been decided that from Clear Spring Peak, Martial Uncle Shoujing will go. Martial Uncle Shoujing doesn’t have any disciples, so the elite disciples who’ll have to go with him will be chosen from among us.”

Mo Tiange was dumbfounded. Although the cultivators dispatched last time weren’t too prominent, their cultivation levels weren’t low. It was clear then that the situation wasn’t dire. However, Martial Uncle Shoujing was a proud disciple of Grandmaster Jinghe. Whether it was his cultivation level or his divine power, he was considered one of the best among the Core Formation cultivators in Xuanqing School. It hadn’t been that long since the war started, yet they already wanted to send him out… It seemed the situation was bad indeed.

The others around her were naturally thinking the same thing. All of them were whispering with their neighbors, looking either anxious or worried.

“That’ll do.” Master Daoist Xuanyin said, putting a stop to the disciples’ whispers. He then asked, “Who among you are willing to go?”

There were more than a dozen disciples present, but none of them answered. After a long time, someone finally stepped forward and asked, “Master, is the present situation very bad?”

Master Daoist Xuanyin nodded slightly. “I won’t hide it from you. News came from outside that the total casualties from the first batch of disciples dispatched have already reached 30%. Going now will naturally be very dangerous.” He then swept his gaze over the disciples before he said, “Disciples in the early stage of the Foundation Building realm don’t have to go.”

Mo Tiange quickly sneaked a glance at her surroundings. Everyone looked surprised. Their master actually said that the early stage Foundation Building disciples didn’t have to go… Clearly, the situation was extremely dangerous.

Compared to ordinary disciples, elite disciples like them might be superior in fighting techniques and divine powers, but at the same time, they were also more selfish and prioritized their own lives more. Asking them to volunteer their lives was indeed hard.

A long time passed, yet still, no one stepped forward. Master Daoist Xuanyin frowned and said with annoyance, “Is there no one willing to go?”

“Master,” a crisp woman’s voice rang out. “I’ll go.”

Mo Tiange looked up to see the person and was stunned. It was unexpectedly her second martial sister, Wei Jiasi! In all honesty, Mo Tiange didn’t have the greatest impression of this senior martial sister Wei. Although her natural aptitude was very good, her behavior was extremely arrogant. On most days, she was rarely willing to look others in the eye. Furthermore, Mo Tiange also felt that this senior martial sister Wei had always looked down on her.

But she never expected that this senior martial sister Wei had such courage. The situation was obviously very dangerous, yet she was willing to go!

Seeing as Wei Jiasi volunteered, a smile finally appeared on Master Daoist Xuanyin’s face. He said, “Jiasi, you’ll do great. Is there anyone else willing to go?”

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Mo Tiange swept her gaze around. Wei Jiasi still had a calm expression on her face. There also seemed to be a determination in her eyes – could it be that she had some kind of reason enticing her to go?

“Master. I… I’m also willing.”

“Me too.”

After a while, two other disciples volunteered, revealing a gratified smile on Master Daoist Xuanyin’s face. He said, “Good, very good! You’re willing to go to war for the school. As your master, I am very happy. The rest can head back. The three of you, stay.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Tiange, let’s go.” Once they excused themselves, Luo Fengxue quietly grabbed Mo Tiange’s hand and pulled her to leave the cave together.

After leaving Master Daoist Xuanyin’s cave and walking for quite a while, Mo Tiange finally asked, “Senior Martial Sister Luo, is the situation really that bad?”

While rubbing her already bloodshot eyes, Luo Fengxue nodded and said, “If it wasn’t, grandmaster wouldn’t have let Martial Uncle Shoujing go. Alas, I hope Martial Uncle Shoujing and Martial Uncle Qingyuan ¹ will be able to come back safe and sound… what are you thinking about?”

Mo Tiange thought for quite a while before she answered, “I’m thinking about Senior Martial Sister Wei.”

Luo Fengxue uttered a “Ha!” and patted Mo Tiange’s shoulder before she proceeded to say, “Do you think that because second martial sister is willing to sacrifice herself and take the risk that she’s amazing?”

“Not really… but her actions are indeed rare.” Most cultivators were selfish. Even from famous large cultivation groups that emphasized cultivating both the heart and character, there weren’t many who were willing to go despite being fully aware of the dangers.

Luo Fengxue chuckled, patted Mo Tiange’s shoulder then whispered meaningfully, “Don’t let yourself be easily moved by others. The only reason second martial sister took initiative to go to war is because—” She then stopped and scanned her surroundings. It was only after she confirmed there was no one else around that she continued to whisper, “It’s because of Martial Uncle Shoujing!”

“Huh?” Mo Tiange was confused.

Luo Fengxue couldn’t help but pat Mo Tiange’s head. She said, “Stupid! You just wait, there will definitely be more female disciples from our Clear Spring Peak volunteering to go to war.”

“Huh?” After racking her brain, Mo Tiange seemed to understand and thus asked, “You mean…”

“Hmph!” Luo Fengxue rolled her eyes then grumbled softly, “According to me, all of them are delusional! What kind of person is Martial Uncle Shoujing? If their cultivation levels can’t catch up to his, what’s the use in thinking about him? Cultivators’ lifespans might be far longer than ordinary mortals’, but without the same lifespan, how long can we keep each other company? Alas…” After she finished speaking, she heaved another sigh.

Who said there was a great gap between cultivators and mere mortals? The same thing also applied to cultivators themselves. Between cultivators in the Foundation Building realm and Core Formation realm, there would be at least a 300-year difference in their lifespans. Even if their love was as deep as the ocean, their love would be severed by time in the end.

Mo Tiange asked in bafflement, “We have so many Core Formation cultivators – why do they only like Martial Uncle Shoujing? We’re not mortal women, so don’t tell me they’re still judging based on outer appearance?”

Luo Fengxue once again patted Mo Tiange’s head, but this time, it was in appreciation. She said, “Correct! That’s why I said they’re delusional. They’re walking on the path of cultivation, yet they’re unexpectedly the same as mortal women! However, you don’t really have to wonder… It isn’t weird that Martial Uncle Shoujing is attractive to them. He’s young, has a good natural aptitude, a high cultivation level, and good looks. None of the Foundation Building senior martial brothers in our entire school can compare to him.”

“Really?” Mo Tiange curiously asked. “I still haven’t met Martial Uncle Shoujing yet. What does he look like?”

“…” Luo Fengxue seemed like she wanted to say something but didn’t dare to. In the end, she helplessly said, “Looks like Senior Martial Brother Qin.”

“Oh…”

“Think about it. Martial Uncle Shoujing… en… is only 140 years old this year. At such an age, he has already reached the middle stage of the Core Formation realm. If his luck is good, it wouldn’t be impossible to form his Nascent Soul before he’s 200 years old. Besides, Martial Uncle Shoujing’s temperament is really good. Although he’s reserved and crazy about cultivating, these things are precisely what make him attractive. Sometimes, women are just like men. The colder and the prouder the man is, the more women want to conquer him, don’t you think?”

Mo Tiange looked at the sky as she pondered. However, she finally shook her head and said, “I don’t think so.”

Luo Fengxue said Martial Uncle Shoujing looked like Senior Martial Brother Qin. But in all honesty, regarding Senior Martial Brother Qin, if she hadn’t been in close contact with him for several months and developed a sort of dependency towards him, Mo Tiange would never have thought he was attractive. No matter how ugly, most cultivators wouldn’t be that ugly. There were lots of handsome cultivators. Moreover, most of them were also crazy about cultivating. She didn’t think there was anything special about Martial Uncle Shoujing.

Luo Fengxue looked completely defeated. She said, “My utmost respect to you!”

“I just don’t have those kinds of thought, okay?” Mo Tiange smiled then continued to ask, “Senior Martial Sister Luo, are you saying that Senior Martial Sister Wei likes Martial Uncle Shoujing?”

“Hehe, other people might not know about it, but I certainly do,” Luo Fengxue whispered with disdain. “Martial Uncle Shoujing sometimes comes out to give sermons, and each time, second martial sister always attends. Moreover, you also know Martial Uncle Shoujing doesn’t have any disciples. Because of that, inner disciples like us often receive errands to go to his cave and carry out various chores. Senior Martial Sister Wei always takes errands to go to his cave. Once, she was…”

Luo Fengxue looked left and right. When she saw that no one was around, she lowered her voice and continued to say, “About this matter, I have to mention someone else first. Before, we had a martial uncle called Qingyuan ² . He was grandmaster’s second disciple but died because of an accident. His descendant is our senior martial sister because she was received by grandmaster to our Clear Spring Peak. This happened about 100 years ago. At that time, Martial Uncle Shoujing had just been taken by grandmaster to Mount Taikang. The two of them are similar in age and thus were taught together by grandmaster.”

“Regarding this senior martial sister, her natural aptitude is a bit inferior but not entirely bad. Furthermore, with grandmaster personally teaching her, how bad could she possibly be? Because of that, just like Martial Uncle Shoujing, she succeeded in building her foundation when she was twenty years old. But probably because she was always with Martial Uncle Shoujing, this senior martial sister seemed to fall for him. Furthermore, because she was personally taught by grandmaster, she became conceited and always viewed Martial Uncle Shoujing as her ‘something’.”

Although Luo Fengxue’s explanation wasn’t elaborate, Mo Tiange still got the general idea. Luo Fengxue continued her story. “Later, Martial Uncle Shoujing’s cultivation level surpassed hers. Grandmaster then bestowed an Immortal’s Cave to him and afterward, Martial Uncle Shoujing rarely talked to this senior martial sister.”

“You also know Martial Uncle Shoujing is crazy about cultivating. He didn’t like doing anything else aside from cultivating. This senior martial sister’s dreams naturally fell apart. However, her character was bad. She always harassed female disciples who came to work in Martial Uncle Shoujing’s cave…”

“So Second Martial Sister Wei was harassed?”

“Yep!” Luo Fengxue pursed her lips and said, “At that time, second martial sister was only in the early stage of the Foundation Building realm while that senior martial sister was already in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm. This senior martial sister suddenly went crazy and went as far as beating second martial sister until second martial sister suffered internal injuries and vomited blood. Because of this, grandmaster expelled this senior martial sister out of Mount Taikang. Even now, we don’t know which courtyard she lives at!”

Hearing this story of jealousy between love rivals rendered Mo Tiange speechless. Unexpectedly, this kind of gossip also existed between cultivators of large, righteous cultivation groups!

“You mustn’t talk to anybody else about this. I’ll tell you the details when I have the time. Now, I’m exhausted to death and want to rest first.”