Lady Cultivator

Everything was quiet.

After a long time, Mo Tiange eventually heaved a deep sigh.

These were indeed other people’s lives and deaths, but to watch on helplessly like this as things unfolded in front of her still made her feel bitter. Such a bitter ending only happened because those two had the kind of love forbidden to cultivators.

Realizing that her mental state had become volatile, she promptly composed her mood and calmed her spiritual aura. Daoists forget emotions. Forgetting emotions isn’t being without emotions. Forgetting emotions is being detached and unruffled by emotions as if those emotions were forgotten. Words exist because of meaning; once people understand the meaning, the words can be forgotten…

Having emotions wasn’t to blame and love wasn’t to blame; what was to blame here was the fact that there were too many things mixed into Yao Zixiu’s feelings. There was ambition, bitterness, and hatred. It was precisely those things that made Yao Zixiu incapable of figuring things out, unable to enjoy happiness and joy. That was why he constantly felt tortured.

What was to blame wasn’t emotions—it was how he conducted himself.

At that moment, she heard Daoist Fangzheng shouting: “Fellow Daoist Ye, look!”

Mo Tiange directed her gaze towards where Yao Zixiu and Shang Ruwan were, and her eyes instantly widened.

A misty white ray had appeared on their remains. The ray grew brighter and brighter and became increasingly harsh to the eye until suddenly, the ray burst. The surging spiritual aura immediately made their breaths volatile, so they used their own spiritual aura to resist it. However, it was to no avail. In an instant, the ray spread and drowned them inside it.

…

Mo Tiange didn’t know how much time had passed before she eventually felt the spiritual aura subsiding gradually.

She opened her eyes, but upon seeing the scene in front of her, she was thoroughly astounded.

What she saw now were the Five Elements Platforms they stood on at the beginning! So did this mean… the formation was broken?

Feeling ecstatic, she turned around to examine her surroundings. However, she was once again astounded.

The other people were on the other four platforms; some were sitting and some were lying. However, aside from Daoist Fangzheng, none of them were awake!

Daoist Fangzheng, who also realized this, shifted his attention to her. “Fellow Daoist Ye…”

Both of them were filled with utter bewilderment. What was happening here?

Suddenly, the Five Elements Platforms they were standing on emitted a flash of light then slowly began to move to the middle of the hall.

A short moment later, five Five Elements Platforms started to merge into one, accompanied by loud rumbling noises. A bright ray flashed, and the platforms became one huge stone platform. Gold, green, blue, red, and yellow; each color formed a circle, making the stone platform look just like the Five Elements Platforms inside the Illusory Formation. The only difference was that the size of this platform was gigantic.

“What’s going on here?” Daoist Fangzheng asked while looking at her.

Instead of answering, Mo Tiange looked down to examine the other people on the ground. In addition to her and Daoist Fangzheng, the other seven people were also on the stone platforms, including Yan Ruoshu, whose corpse Mo Tiange had put inside her Qiankun Bag when they were inside the Illusory Formation.

Except for their pale complexions, they didn’t look like they were injured. However, they weren’t breathing.

Mo Tiange held out her hand to feel Yan Ruoshu’s pulse then she checked the others—all of them had no pulse, and she couldn’t insert her spiritual aura into their bodies.

With a sigh, she said, “They’re dead.”

Daoist Fangzheng, who was examining Lu Xiangxin and Wang Xiangzhi, also shook his head. “It’s too late.”

The two of them looked at each other; both were perplexed.

The fact that Yan Ruoshu’s corpse was here showed that the entire Illusory Formation was completely fake. What they saw and heard inside the Illusory Formation was all fake. Their real selves most likely had always been on these platforms and never moved.

But the others still ended up dead. Lu Xiangxin and Wang Xiangzhi were killed by Core Formation cultivator Yao Zixiu. Yan Ruoshu was blinded by the illusion inside the Illusory Formation and died because her blood essence was exhausted. As for the two women surnamed Yun and Liu, although Mo Tiange didn’t know what happened to them, they didn’t have strong willpower and were also at odds with each other; it was possible they might’ve entered a trap together in the end. Yao Zixiu suffered from his own Inner Demon and was beguiled by the illusions, while Shang Ruwan was pretty much killed by Yao Zixiu.

Mo Tiange was filled with horror as she went through their deaths in her mind. This Illusory Formation was really terrifying. Everything was fake, but the deaths and the injuries that occurred were real!

“Fellow Daoist Ye!” Daoist Fangzheng suddenly called her. He was examining Yao Zixiu’s corpse a moment ago, but now, he was pointing at Shang Ruwan.

“What’s wrong?”

“She… seems to be alive,” said Daoist Fangzheng as he looked at Shang Ruwan.

Startled, Mo Tiange walked towards Shang Ruwan then placed her hand on Shang Ruwan’s chest. Sure enough, there was still a little bit of warmth there. She hastily took out several Green Amplifying Pills and fed them to Shang Ruwan while also injecting her spiritual aura into Shang Ruwan’s body.

After some time, Shang Ruwan finally moaned and started to regain consciousness.

“Big Sister Shang!” Mo Tiange called softly.

Shang Ruwan slowly opened her eyes. When she saw Mo Tiange, she seemed to be a bit confused. “Little… Little Sister Ye, I…”

“You shouldn’t talk yet. Your injuries are severe; you should first adjust your breath and recover.”

Instead of doing what Mo Tiange said, Shang Ruwan tried remembering what happened. After she recalled the things she experienced inside the Illusory Formation, her expression suddenly changed, and she immediately looked around. Upon discovering Yao Zixiu lying next to her with his eyes closed, she instantly threw herself at his body. “Big Brother Xiu! Big Brother Xiu!”

Yao Zixiu didn’t respond. Daoist Fangzheng already examined him just now and Yao Zixiu was really dead; he died in the same way as Yan Ruoshu did inside the Illusory Formation—he died because his blood essence was exhausted. Presumably, his blood essence was exhausted because he was too deeply immersed inside his illusion.

Nevertheless, Mo Tiange couldn’t understand why Shang Ruwan survived. Lu Xiangxin and Wang Xiangzhi were also beaten to death by Yao Zixiu, and they died for real. It really made no sense that Shang Ruwan was able to survive.

“Big Brother Xiu…” Once the reality of Yao Zixiu’s death dawned on her, Shang Ruwan was in a daze and didn’t move for a long time.

Mo Tian Ge didn’t know what Shang Ruwan was thinking about, but she knew Shang Ruwan’s injuries were too severe. If Shang Ruwan didn’t hurry and recover, she would soon be at risk of dying for real.

“Big Sister Shang!” Mo Tiange called softly. However, Shang Ruwan still didn’t show any response.

Seeing Shang Ruwan’s current state made Mo Tiange sigh. She lifted her hand then softly directed her spiritual aura towards Shang Ruwan, who fainted immediately afterward.

Daoist Fangzheng was startled.

Mo Tiange simply carried Shang Ruwan to the side and laid her down. She then said, “Fellow Daoist Fangzheng, there are just the two of us now. According to you, what should we do next?”

Daoist Fangzheng looked a bit conflicted. He swept his gaze over everyone’s corpses then said, “Since these fellow Daoists have fallen, we better deal with their remains first.”

Mo Tiange understood what he meant by “dealing with their remains.” There was an unspoken rule among cultivators. If cultivators journeyed together and some among them fell, the things left behind by those people would be divided and taken by the others. Mo Tiange wasn’t averse to this, but because she lacked neither medicinal pills nor spirit stones, she wasn’t too enthusiastic about it either.

So, she just nodded absentmindedly.

If he was with other people, Daoist Fangzheng might not have said anything—he would’ve confidently taken those people’s Qiankun Bags. Nevertheless, he saw the way Mo Tiange dealt with things; she obviously had the mannerisms of an elite disciple from a cultivation group and she wasn’t like ordinary individual cultivators that put personal gains above everything else. Daoist Fangzheng feared her strength, so he toned down his behavior.

In fact, this was only over-cautiousness on Daoist Fangzheng’s part. Mo Tiange also used to be an individual cultivator; she wasn’t one of those mighty young ladies born in cultivation groups, so naturally, she was also accustomed to this and was unlikely to have any objections.

One after another, Daoist Fangzheng took all six Qiankun Bags. Then, just as he was about to burn their corpses, he suddenly heard Mo Tiange’s voice and consequently stopped.

Mo Tiange said, “Give Yao Zixiu’s things to me. Don’t burn his corpse for now.”

Daoist Fangzheng nodded, moved Yao Zixiu’s corpse to the side and handed Yao Zixiu’s Qiankun Bag over. He then asked, “Fellow Daoist Ye, how should we divide these things?”

“Each of us will take half,” said Mo Tiange indifferently as she placed Yao Zixiu’s Qiankun Bag on Shang Ruwan’s chest.

Hearing Mo Tiange’s answer made Daoist Fangzheng sigh with relief. If Mo Tiange said she didn’t want those things, he would’ve actually been worried because it would’ve indicated that she was too naïve or her temperament was too inflexible. Their journey on these Five Elements Platforms wasn’t over yet; no matter which of those possibilities was true, something would most likely go wrong if they continued to cooperate.

When the two of them finished dividing up the things and burned the corpses, Daoist Fangzheng once again hesitated, but in the end, he still asked, “Fellow Daoist Ye, are we going to bring Madam Yao with us?”

Mo Tiange went silent. If she was by herself, she would’ve directly taken Shang Ruwan with her. It wasn’t like she was a benevolent person or anything; she just had a very good impression of Shang Ruwan. However, she was with someone else now, and she could see that Daoist Fangzheng didn’t want to bring Shang Ruwan along. A severely injured cultivator who was useless would only be a burden to them.

Mo Tiange took some time to think but she eventually shook her head. “We better think about how we’re going to leave this place first.”

Since the Illusory Formation was already broken, they naturally couldn’t use their thoughts to move the platform like they did earlier. Moreover, they also had no idea what would happen if they left this stone platform.

“Oh! Fellow Daoist Ye, take a look! Quick!” Daoist Fangzheng shouted while pointing at the innermost part of the hall.

Once Mo Tiange shifted her gaze in the direction he was pointing in, she immediately felt delighted.

This place looked like a hall, but it didn’t have any floor. There was only this huge floating stone platform, and under it was a boundless abyss which they felt uncertain about. The only door in this hall was the door they passed through when they entered. Before the Illusory Formation became active, it seemed they were able to control the platforms with their thoughts. However, those five platforms had now merged into one, and the Illusory Formation had already been broken; their thoughts were of no use now.

However, a door had actually appeared on what was originally a wall in the innermost part of the hall! The entrance into the innermost part of the Immortal’s Cave was most likely opened when the Illusory Formation was broken.

After a moment of delight, Mo Tiange quickly regained her calmness.

“Fellow Daoist Fangzheng, this Illusory Formation alone was so sophisticated itself. If we want to continue on, we have to be even more careful than before.”

Daoist Fangzheng repeatedly nodded; the excitement on his face was apparent. For him, there was nothing more important than fated chances. During their time in the troublesome Illusory Formation, although none of them managed to gain anything yet, they could be certain that whatever they could find would definitely be remarkable based on how challenging the Illusory Formation was! Since he already reached this point, it’d make no sense for him to turn back.

Mo Tiange wasn’t as eager as Daoist Fangzheng to obtain treasures, but she also had no reason to back out. Even someone like Qin Shoujing, who had a Nascent Soul ancestor, walked on his cultivation path by himself—it was impossible for them to rely on their elders for everything. If one didn’t have any experience and was always under the protection of their elders, they would never grow.

“But, how can we get there?” Under the platform was an endless abyss which they knew nothing about. If this was a killing formation by any chance, the moment they triggered something…

Daoist Fangzheng furrowed his brows. Among the nine people who started off here, six were dead, and one was severely injured; the two of them were the only ones who were practically unharmed. Daoist Fangzheng didn’t have much time left in his lifespan, so he was in dire need of fated chances. At the same time, however, it also made him cherish his life more.

After thinking for a while, Daoist Fangzheng sighed then opened the Spiritual Beast Pouch tied on his waist, letting out a spiritual beast which was actually a first rank bird upon closer examination.

Daoist Fangzheng stroked its head before releasing it from his hands, instructing it to fly towards the innermost part of the hall.

With a chirp, the bird started to flap its wings. It rose in the air then flew towards the direction he pointed at.

The two of them watched on with apprehension. They watched the bird flying smoothly to the other end of the hall and diving for the door.

A while later, the bird once again dove through the door and flew back towards them.

Daoist Fangzheng was ecstatic. “It’s very safe! Fellow Daoist Ye, let’s go!” By the time he finished talking, he already took the lead and was flying in the air.

Mo Tiange’s gaze kept drifting towards Shang Ruwan, who still lay unconscious on the ground. In the end, she sighed, took out a medicine bottle and placed it on Shang Ruwan’s chest. When she finished, she summoned her White Silk Handkerchief then flew out, following Daoist Fangzheng.