Chapter 200: A Request

The matter regarding whether she should go back or not had to be put off because she had to spend at least several months at Bixuan Court.

Teaching the art of pill-concocting wasn’t an easy matter. Pill recipes could be bought and sold and the procedures could be explained, but the aspects that had to be paid special attention during the concocting process couldn’t be explained clearly in the recipes. Every concoctions master had their own secrets which they would never pass on to others, and those secrets were precisely the key to success during the pill-concocting process.

In addition, how to make hand seals during the pill-concocting process wasn’t explained clearly in pill recipes. Common basic medicinal pills didn’t require hand seals, but particular medicinal pills needed to be combined with hand seals during the concocting process to allow the materials to blend together perfectly. These hand seals usually required modifications unique to each cultivator, so they were different from what was written in the pill recipes. These changes differed depending on the timing and concocting fire used during the concocting process; all of them had to be incorporated with each other completely to obtain optimal concocting results.

Fortunately, Xia Qing was extremely talented in pill-concocting, so she could comprehend things very quickly. Mo Tiange felt Xia Qing’s talents far exceeded hers. It was just that Xia Qing didn’t have sufficient high-quality materials to practice with, so her pill-concocting skills didn’t have a chance to improve.

Bit by bit, Mo Tiange taught her everything from how to determine the material’s fusion degree to what aspects to pay attention to when performing hand seals.

She wasn’t afraid Wei Haolan would break her promise after she finished teaching Xia Qing. When she first arrived at Bixuan Court, she already told Wei Haolan she was ordered by her master to leave the monastery. With Wei Haolan’s insight, Wei Haolan ought to realize she was an elite disciple of Xuanqing School after hearing that. Even though Bixuan Court in Linhai was isolated from the rest of the world and was thousands of miles from Xuanqing School, big cultivation groups definitely had methods of tracking the whereabouts of their disciples. If Mo Tiange was imprisoned in Bixuan Court and Xuanqing School found out about it… a Nascent Soul cultivator was enough to send such a small cultivation group to their doom.

She studied the art of pill-concocting with Xia Qing every day, and when she was idle occasionally, she also discussed cultivating methods with other Bixuan Court cultivators. Thus, several months passed in a flash.

“Fellow Daoist Xia,” Mo Tiange called out as she stared at Xia Qing, who was trying to figure out the weight of materials.

If anyone else had addressed her at that moment, Xia Qing definitely wouldn’t have even looked up. However, since it was Mo Tiange, Xia Qing immediately raised her head. “Fellow Daoist Ye, have I made a mistake?”

“You haven’t,” Mo Tiange said with a smile. She then took out several Jade Slips from inside her robes and passed them over. “It’s precisely because you’ve done very well that I have nothing further to teach you. There are some pill recipes here, and I’ve also written down a summary of the things you have to pay attention to.”

Upon hearing what Mo Tiange said, Xia Qing’s eyes brightened in an instant. She immediately took the Jade Slips then inserted her divine sense into them, skimming through them eagerly.

“This is all I know, and I’ve taught you everything already. You can try figuring things out on your own from now on. Over time, your pill-concocting skills will certainly be better than mine now.”

Mo Tiange felt she had too many things to do. Cultivating was her main focus, and the Law of Formations was also fundamental, while pill-concocting was behind these two in priority. Xia Qing, on the other hand, wholeheartedly devoted herself to pill-concocting. Presumably, even though Mo Tiange had countless high grade spiritual plants to use, her future achievements in the art of pill-concocting wouldn’t necessarily be greater than Xia Qing’s.

Xia Qing immediately withdrew her attention from the Jade Slip. “We’re done? Fellow Daoist Ye, I still have a lot to learn, and I can’t do what you can do yet…”

“Fellow Daoist Xia, my pill-concocting skills aren’t that much better than yours—I can only do this much. However, in pill-concocting, you have to continuously experiment and reflect. Concocting pills isn’t something you can do just by talking about it. I can only make your path a bit easier, but from now on, you’ll have to depend on yourself and try things out slowly.”

Xia Qing’s comprehension in the art of pill-concocting was very deep, so when she heard what Mo Tiange said, she couldn’t help but nod. “You’re right…”

Mo Tiange smiled. “Alright, you should take your time and practice; I’ll be taking my leave first.”

“Alright.” Xia Qing was itching to continue studying. After she said goodbye to Mo Tiange, she hurriedly immersed herself in reading the Jade Slips.

Seeing her eagerness made Mo Tiange shake her head. She then slowly walked out of the concocting room.

Yi Liu and Yi Qiu were already waiting for her outside. Once they saw her coming out, they bowed and greeted her: “Senior Ye.”

During this period of time, the two of them obtained quite a few benefits from Mo Tiange, so they now addressed her as Senior Ye out of respect.

Instead of directly going back like she usually did, Mo Tiange said to them, “I want to see your Sect Head.”

Yi Liu and Yi Qiu glanced at each other. Immediately after, Yi Liu said, “In that case, Senior, please wait here for a moment. Junior’s going to notify the Sect Head now.”

Mo Tiange nodded. “Alright.”

Yi Liu bowed to her then dashed away.

Yi Qiu said, “Senior, we’re quite far from the Sect Head’s hall—we might have to wait quite a while for Yi Liu, so how about Junior take you on a stroll first?”

“Sure.” Mo Tiange agreed easily.

Yi Qiu left some instructions for Yi Liu through the stewards of the concocting room then led Mo Tiange towards a garden.

There were a lot of female cultivators at Bixuan Court, so they put a lot of thought into arranging the scenery. Aside from the medicinal fields which every other cultivation group had, they even had gardens. In those gardens, there were many unique species from the Eastern Sea; each was beautiful, creating an extremely stunning sight to behold.

Yi Qiu led her towards a small pavilion next to a rock garden and said, “Senior Ye, take a look at these flowers. Although they’re not very uncommon spiritual plants, you definitely won’t see them elsewhere!”

As Mo Tiange gazed at the flowers and plants in front of her, she couldn’t help but admire the skillful hands of female Bixuan Court disciples. This was her first time seeing such a beautiful garden. Aside from Bixuan Court, what other cultivation group in the cultivation world would think to arrange something like a garden?

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It was already the twelfth month now, so it’d be the New Year soon. This ought to be the coldest month, but the garden had formations protecting it, so it still felt as warm as spring there, and all kinds of flowers were still in full bloom.

“Oh?” Yi Qiu suddenly said, “Martial Uncle Tang?”

Mo Tiange’s gaze shifted, following the direction Yi Qiu was looking at—wasn’t that the popular Young Master Tang? Why did it seem like he was secretly watching them?

Upon seeing that they noticed his presence, Tang Shen’s cheeks flushed in an instant. Mo Tiange laughed inwardly. This Tang Shen was really like a young lady from a noble family—he flushed so easily. However, what was he watching them for?

Just as she was engrossed in her thoughts, Tang Shen clenched his teeth as if he made up his mind. He then walked over towards them.

Mo Tiange felt even more bewildered. On her side, Yi Qiu muttered under her breath, “Martial Uncle Tang, what is he—”

Before she could say anything further, Tang Shang arrived and was standing before them. He still looked at the two of them a bit timidly, but his gaze eventually fell on Mo Tiange. He said with a small voice, “Fe-fellow Daoist Ye…”

During the several months Mo Tiange was at Bixuan Court, aside from going to the concocting room, she only left her residence in accordance with Wei Haolan’s invitations to exchange cultivation methods on occasion. She only met Tang Shen a few times, and each time, they never talked much—at most, they exchanged greetings.

Because of that, Mo Tiange simply gave him a faint nod. “Fellow Daoist Tang; what a coincidence.”

Tang Shen responded with “en.” He was rubbing his hands restlessly and kept glancing at Yi Qiu.

Yi Qiu was a bit baffled, but Tang Shen cast her a look several times. All of a sudden, she seemed to understand something. Although she was astonished, there was no change in her expression at all. She bowed towards the other two people and said, “Senior Ye, Martial Uncle Tang, Junior still has something to attend to—you can take your time and talk, I’ll be leaving first.”

Mo Tiange hadn’t agreed to this, but Tang Shen said impatiently, “Go.”

Since Tang Shen already said that, Mo Tiange could only swallow back her words and looked on as Yi Qiu slowly left the garden.

It was already evening. No one was strolling around the garden, and there were also no working part-time disciples present—the two of them were the only ones there.

Mo Tiange suddenly felt the urge to laugh. If this scene was observed by this Young Master Tang’s admirers, she would most likely become a public enemy throughout Bixuan Court tomorrow. What did this Young Master Tang want to talk to her for anyway?

Even though Yi Qiu already left, Tang Shen still looked hesitant. At times, he rubbed his hands. Other time, he wiped his palms.

Mo Tiange really didn’t like to see a man behaving like this, so she took the initiative to speak: “Fellow Daoist Tang, can I help you?”

“Ah, oh!” Tang Shen was startled and regained his train of thought. He gulped, seemingly trying to calm himself. “Fellow Daoist Ye, let’s sit there and talk.”

Mo Tiange took a brief look at the pavilion. There was only a small table there; no matter how they sat, it would look too intimate for spectators, so she said, “It’s all the same even if we stand and talk.”

Her answer was an obvious refusal; she didn’t want to look too into him. Tang Shen glanced at her quickly with a bit of amazement, but his mood unexpectedly settled down. Ever since he was a child, he had a lot of admirers. Bixuan Court was a cultivation group for female cultivators, and all his fellow martial sisters whom he grew up with always wanted and tried to get close to him, so he always thought all female cultivators were like that. Nevertheless, he could perceive that this Fellow Daoist Ye didn’t want to get too close to him at all. This actually made him feel relieved, and he also felt it was now easier to say what he wanted to say.

“I heard Fellow Daoist Ye’s about to head back to Kunwu. Is that right?”

Mo Tiange nodded. “Yes, I’ve already taught all my pill-concocting skills to Fellow Daoist Xia from your group. I’ll be leaving soon.”

“Then…” Tang Shen cautiously snuck a look at her. “Can I leave with Fellow Daoist Ye?”

Mo Tiange was stunned and consequently stared at him for a long while. Once she saw a flush once again emerging on his cheeks, Mo Tiange said faintly, “Fellow Daoist Tang, as the beloved descendant of Elder Qingxi, you shouldn’t have any problems if you wanted to leave Linhai, right? Why do you want to leave with me?”

Tang Shen restlessly cast her a glance then muttered: “Although I can leave any time I want, great-great-grandmother always feels worried about me leaving by myself. Fellow martial sisters in the group… are too clingy. My fellow martial brothers aren’t friendly towards me at all. I…”

Mo Tiange wrinkled her brows and said with confusion, “Won’t your ancestors worry I have bad intentions?”

“I think Fellow Daoist Ye isn’t a bad person.” Tang Shen glanced at her again. “Fellow Daoist Ye, you might laugh if I say this, but ever since I was a child… ever since I was a child, I’ve always been surrounded by a group of martial sisters, so I don’t like to be in contact with women… But this is how Bixuan Court is—female cultivators are everywhere. I heard great-great-grandmother said that Kunwu’s not like this, so I want—”

“Fellow Daoist Tang.” Mo Tiange cut him short. “Please forgive me for being blunt, but if you’ve never left Linhai, and your ancestors treasure you very much, that’s all the more reason for me to not leave with you. If anything happened to you, I couldn’t afford to bear that responsibility.”

“It’s not like that.” After hearing Mo Tiange’s refusal, Tang Shen hastily said, “I’m just not familiar with Kunwu, and Fellow Daoist Ye’s a disciple of a famous school, so I wanted to follow Fellow Daoist Ye to take a look at Kunwu. I don’t need Fellow Daoist Ye to bear any responsibility.”

“That might be the case, but what would your ancestors think about that?” Even though she wasn’t at all afraid of Bixuan Court’s Core Formation cultivators, Mo Tiange also didn’t want to invite trouble. “Fellow Daoist Tang, have you talked about this with your ancestor?”

Tang Shan couldn’t say anything. He was hemming and hawing for a long time before he eventually shook his head. “I want… to wait until Fellow Daoist Ye agrees before I talk to great-great-grandmother…”

Mo Tiange couldn’t help but sigh when she saw his behavior now. “Fellow Daoist Tang, I don’t want your ancestor to think that I’m abducting her beloved junior, so you better talk to her first. In addition, frankly speaking, with Fellow Daoist’s character and way of handling things, I think it’s better for Fellow Daoist to be accompanied by your fellow disciples. No matter how your fellow disciples treat you, they’ll always be more reliable than an outsider like me.”