Everything progressed according to Mo Tiange’s expectations.

　　The creator of this plan wanted to provide an opportunity for the disciples of the three groups to interact with each other, but he probably didn’t foresee that this would actually create opportunities to kill each other.

　　For this reason, Zixia Sect Nascent Soul grandmaster became so furious that he almost slapped the creator of this plan to his death.

　　However, it was a long time after this incident occurred that the Aura Refining disciples found out about this matter. On the day the Aura Refining disciples’ tests finished, the three Core Formation grandmasters, looking completely livid, sent some Foundation Building disciples to clean up the mess. These Foundation Building disciples managed to bring back several heavily injured disciples, but they also recounted the tragic incidents from the forest.

　　Nevertheless, the disciples were left not knowing what the Core Formation grandmasters were discussing – the grandmasters didn’t reveal anything. The grandmasters only brought them back to the sect and forbade them from leaving the mountain. It was only after Senior Martial Brother Zhou asked around and told them not to worry that they calmed down.

　　After this trip, the number of people in their courtyard was considerably fewer. Mo Tiange’s house could be considered lucky – out of the five people, four managed to return alive. The one who didn’t make it out… was Xu Jingzhi.

　　Although Liu Yidao’s injuries were serious, in the end, he still survived. Xu Jingzhi, however, was missing. It was unclear whose hands he died in and where his corpse or ashes were; there wasn’t even the slightest clue as to his whereabouts.

　　In this catastrophe, there were many people who went missing like this, but they never thought Xu Jingzhi would be among this group.

　　Having confirmed this news, people from the Xu Clan came to tidy up Xu Jingzhi’s belongings, thus all traces of Xu Jingzhi in the house disappeared.

　　After some time, the Sect Head directly announced the results of the test. As they expected, instead of carrying out further investigations and punishments, the recipients of Foundation-Building Pills were announced.

　　In this test, forty out of the hundred Yunwu Sect disciples who made it out alive managed to get Foundation-Building Pills. Reportedly, because the number of elite disciples slaughtered was too many, the Nascent Soul grandmaster from Zixia Sect decided to give out more Foundation-Building Pills, hoping that more Foundation Building cultivators might emerge from this group to make up for the loss. The four people in Mo Tiange’s house, as well as Murong Yan, were among the people who obtained Foundation-Building Pills.

　　Nonetheless, this news didn’t make Mo Tiange happy. Murong Zi’s death and Xu Jingzhi’s disappearance made her feel an unprecedented anxiety.

　　She remembered Xu Jingzhi’s irritable appearance before the test began… In fact, that day, she already had an ominous feeling, but she didn’t take it seriously. She never expected that day would mark the day they parted for the last time.

　　“Junior Martial Brother Ye.”

　　Mo Tiange, who was leaning against a tree, raised her head and saw Qin Xi standing in front of her, offering her a wine jar in his hands.

　　Mo Tiange forced a smile and took the wine jar.

　　Qin Xi sat down beside her. The two of them drank wine in silence. On this autumn afternoon, sunshine fell through the gaps in the leaves, illuminating their bodies and making them feel too lazy to move. The surrounding area was tranquil – there was only the crashing sound of a waterfall somewhere far away filling in the void.

　　A couple months earlier, eight people were chatting and joking around at this spot, a group of people who kept making Mo Tiange busy doing this and that. Now, Xu Jingzhi was dead, Liu Yidao was seriously injured, Wang Qianyi was married, Shen Bing became a concubine, Murong Yan was cultivating arduously, and Senior Martial Brother Zhou was busy preparing for his future. The only one who could come accompany her in sitting here was Qin Xi.

　　“Senior Martial Brother Qin.”

　　“En?”

　　“If you can build up your foundation, what will you do after that?”

　　“Of course I’ll continue to cultivate… why do you ask?”

　　Mo Tiange shook her head. She didn’t know how to explain the reason behind the gloominess in her heart. “I just don’t understand. In the end, why do people cultivate?”

　　Why do people cultivate? At this question, 80% of the people in the cultivation world would automatically answer “to live a long life.” But what was the point of living a long life? Fighting each other like this, causing countless casualties… if people wanted to live long lives, why did they treat other people’s lives so recklessly?

　　Qin Xi seriously pondered the answer, but instead of coming up with one, he only shook his head and switched to an irrelevant matter. “I was born in a princely family, but because I’m not from the main branch, I was never valued and was always bullied by others. However, I don’t know why, but ever since I was small, I always thought I was different from others. I didn’t want to fight for favors against my brothers, and I also had no interest in playing around. I always focused on studying instead.”

　　“Then, when I was eight, a guest came to the prince’s residence, claiming to be our ancestor. He seemed to be an extraordinary person. Although he was already several hundred years old, he didn’t look old at all. In front of him, even the imposing Clan Master didn’t dare to say anything.”

　　“Soon afterward, I was taken to see him. After he measured my spiritual roots, he told the clan elders he was going to take me with him. At the time, I was still a child. I didn’t know what to expect; I just felt… that maybe this was the path I should walk on.”

　　After he said this, he turned around and showed a smile. “Indeed, my instincts were right. I’m walking on a completely different path from my brothers from the prince’s residence. I’m still young now, but my past brothers and sisters already turned to dust. Why do people cultivate? I really can’t answer this question. As far as I’m concerned, cultivating is a natural and proper part of life. I don’t need to question why; I just need to continue walking on this path.”

　　This calm narrative made Mo Tiange feel at peace. Furthermore, she also felt like she shared his experience.

　　“Just need to continue walking on this path… really?” Mo Tiange massaged her forehead and whispered, “I know why I want to walk on this path… when I was a child, I was very smart for my age. I was very young, but I already understood how to read people’s expressions, and I was already accustomed to the fickleness of humans. At the time, I often experienced heartache, hating myself for understanding all this and grieving my inability to be like other kids.”

　　“Later… Later, I met Second Uncle and learned I was indeed different from other kids. Why do I cultivate? I also don’t know why. However, Second Uncle once told me that without strength, there would be no freedom.”

　　“Without strength, there would be no freedom.” Qin Xi repeated with a murmur. The gaze he used to look at her became more complex.

　　Mo Tiange put away the wine jar after she drained it. Actually, she never drank wine before – she felt no need to and there was no chance to. Second Uncle also didn’t drink. He said as a cultivator, they mustn’t indulge themselves in secular world pleasures, so she adopted the same manner of thinking. However, she now felt that drinking like this was very pleasant.

　　“Senior Martial Brother Qin, that elder of yours must’ve left you already, right?”

　　Qin Xi paused and said nothing.

　　“In fact, the end of Second Uncle’s life is approaching. If it isn’t this year, it’ll be next year. Sometimes, I feel like I can calmly accept it, but other times I feel it would be hard to imagine. If Second Uncle isn’t here, what would I do? What would I do if he’s like Senior Martial Brother Xu who disappeared so suddenly that we couldn’t even say goodbye?” She hugged herself, hiding her face in her arms, scared to continue.

　　Qin Xi wanted to pat her shoulder, but after hesitating a moment, his hand still didn’t fall on her body. In the end, he said, “I’m not like you. In fact, my natural endowments aren’t the best, but cultivating up to this point, I haven’t experienced any bottlenecks. My great-grandfather said I might’ve been born to cultivate – I haven’t experienced any obsessions or blockades. In short, I don’t have any unnecessary feelings. I can’t understand your feelings, but I know you put too much importance on feelings and obsessions. If you can’t give them up, it’ll be hard for you to succeed in the future.”

　　Mo Tiange was stunned. “Obsession…”

　　Qin Xi sighed. In the end, he still patted her shoulder and said, “That’s all I can say. Whether or not you can achieve it will depend on yourself. Cultivating… maybe for us, it means having to abandon a lot of things…”

　　Mo Tiange thought deeply.  Obsession? Could it be that in my childhood, I longed for so much that I now have obsessions?  She felt she understood somewhat, but she was also a bit confused.

　　As Qin Xi handed her another jar of wine, he said, “Don’t think too much. If you can figure it out so easily, it’s not an obsession. This matter needs a fated chance, so take your time.”

　　After gulping down another jar of wine, Mo Tiange’s head was feeling even dizzier. In her dizzy state, she vaguely heard Qin Xi ridiculing her. “Junior Martial Brother Ye, you’ve never had wine before, haven’t you? How can you drink it like you’re drinking water?”

　　Mo Tiange felt woozy. When she looked up, she seemed to see several Qin Xis swaying in front of her. After tilting her head left and right, she finally reached out, trying to stop the swaying. “Senior… Martial Brother Qin, why do you do a… mirage spell?”

　　Qin Xi was dumbfounded but soon burst into laughter. “You… if I had known earlier, I would’ve made you drink earlier, you actually…”

　　Mo Tiange stared at him for a while before she stood up and walked unsteadily towards the water.

　　Qin Xi shouted behind her, “Junior Martial Brother Ye, what are you doing?”

　　Still proceeding with her unsteady walk, Mo Tiange answered, “Wash… washing my face.”

　　She crouched once she finally got to the water. However, when she saw her reflection in the water, she was instantly stupefied.

　　She hadn’t paid attention to her looks for a long time. Today, she realized there was a huge difference in her current face with the one in her memory. Her originally thin eyebrows were now shapely, the contour of her face seemed more striking, and her cheeks were plumper – they clearly resembled an adult’s face. Although her head was still dizzy, she was still alarmed by what she saw. Because… this face looked increasingly like a woman’s face.

　　“Junior Martial Brother Ye, aren’t you finished yet?”

　　Hearing the voice coming behind her, Mo Tiange hastily cupped some water with her hands and washed her face. Nonetheless, she saw that her face was still as bright and beautiful as before.

　　Afraid of being seen by Qin Xi, she didn’t dare to look back. She was losing her head in a panic, wondering whether someone had already noticed her…

　　“Junior Martial Brother Ye…”

　　All of a sudden, her feet slipped and she couldn’t maintain her balance. With a “plop,” she fell into the water.

　　“Junior Martial Brother Ye!” Qin Xi was dumbstruck by this scene. After a while, seeing as Mo Tiange was still struggling in the water, he finally snapped to his senses. He flew forward and in a flash, he caught Mo Tiange, who was bobbing in and out of the water. He dragged her back to shore.

　　He couldn’t help but shake his head. “I must say… Junior Martial Brother Ye, you must’ve drunk yourself into stupidity… You’re a cultivator, but you still got yourself drowned. What about your Light Body Technique?”

　　When he looked down at her, he felt even more helpless. This wasn’t just ordinary stupidity – she actually fainted from choking on the water…

　　After placing her under a tree, Qin Xi thought to himself then raised his hand. Out of nowhere, there was a bright-colored peach branch in his hand. There were blossoming peach flowers covered in dew at the end of the branch. It was as if the branch was freshly picked from a tree.

　　Qin Xi murmured a few words, brandished his hand, and shouted, “Go!”

　　Finally, the two people vanished without a trace.

　　From Qin Xi’s point of view, however, the two of them were still in their original spot with faint rays surrounding the tiny area. He looked down and stared at the fainted Mo Tiange, appearing to ponder something. After a long while, he finally stretched his hand towards her wet collar and fumbled. Shortly after, he pulled out a red string with a jade pendant.

　　The jade pendant was round, had a warm color and a distinct cloud pattern. Qin Xi sighed. “Sure enough…”