Mo Tiange and Qin Xi took turns meditating, so they always had one person on guard. This clearly showed that they didn’t trust Jing Xingzhi. Jing Xingzhi felt bored, so he said he was going to look around.
When his silhouette disappeared, Qin Xi, who was sitting in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes. “This guy’s not honest either.”
From the beginning, Qin Xi’s dislike towards Jing Xingzhi had been very obvious, but from what he said so far, he seemed to be very familiar with Jing Xingzhi. For example, if he wasn’t close to Jing Xingzhi, he wouldn’t have used “guy” to address him.
Mo Tiange asked, “What kind of friendship do you have with him? I always feel that although the two of you don’t talk much, you seem to really understand each other.”
Qin Xi smiled and said, “Of course we understand each other. I’ve known him for more than a hundred years; we met each other even before we got acquainted with Kumu and the others.”
“Oh? How so?”
Qin Xi didn’t immediately answer. Instead, he smiled and said to her, “Take a guess?”
Mo Tiange took a moment to think before answering: “You once said he was a disciple of Venerable Swordsman Zhongguang of Gujian Sect, but unfortunately, his master died early and he was left rather unappreciated in Gujian Sect. Presumably, when his master was still alive, he was also privileged, right?”
Qin Xi nodded. “You’re right.”
Mo Tiange continued on: “His age seems close to yours; presumably the difference is only about a hundred years at most. Since the two of you are similar in age and you two were both proud disciples of Nascent Soul cultivators from big cultivation groups, it wouldn’t be wrong to say you two are the same kind of people. Could it be this was the reason you two were acquainted?”
Qin Xi only smiled and pulled her over to sit next to him.
“Did I guess correctly or not?”
“You’re half-right.” Qin Xi took a breather before continuing on slowly: “In fact, when we first met, we didn’t know each other’s identity.”
“Could it be that you two met when you were traveling around?”
“En. At that time, I just advanced to the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm, and so did he.”
“You met so long ago?” Mo Tiange was quite surprised. The middle stage of the Foundation Building realm… Then didn’t it mean he was only about thirty or forty years old at that time?
Qin Xi smiled and spread out his hands. With a burst of blinding golden light, the Three Yang Real Fire Sword appeared in his hands. He gazed at the sword and said ruefully, “In the blink of an eye, it’s already been more than a hundred and fifty years. That year, I obtained the formula to refine this sword and its coherent cultivation technique with him. The Yang Spiritual Bead was also among the items I found at that time.”
“What?”
Upon seeing Mo Tiange’s incredulous expression, Qin Xi put away his sword then explained slowly, “At that time, I’d just recently advanced to the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm. One day, when I was outside, several others and I happened to enter a place called Mount Lang. That place was extremely strange; the mountain was completely surrounded by great, superior-grade spirit veins, but it didn’t have even a bit of spiritual aura itself.”
“Didn’t have any spiritual aura?” A thought flashed in her mind. “Could it be that the reason had something to do with the Yang Spiritual Bead?”
With a smile on his face, Qin Xi nodded and said, “You’re right. At that time, there was a legend that said a very long time ago, an Immortal’s Cave of an ancient immortal was there, so many people came to look for treasure. I initially didn’t really believe such rumors, but I did think the place was indeed a bit strange, so I followed other people there. Unexpectedly, we were lucky. When we went there, an Immortal’s Cave really appeared on Mount Lang. Mount Lang practically became hell in a flash; low level cultivators swarmed the place, and high level cultivators appeared continuously…”
After a momentary daze, he finally continued on: “At that time, many died. By the end of it, those high level cultivators were naturally the dominant ones, and they went to occupy that Immortal’s Cave. At that time, my cultivation level was still low, so I naturally didn’t fight them over it. I just sent a message to master in secret, telling him about the situation. Later, I happened to meet Jing Xingzhi. He was the same as me; we were both lucky to escape the calamity… We were in the same situation and we were in trouble together, so we automatically worked together.”
“And then? Since you obtained the Three Yang Real Fire Sword and the Yang Spiritual Bead, Jing Xingzhi presumably also had some gains, right?”
“En,” Qin Xi said faintly, “The sword in his hand was a sword of an ancient cultivator, and its power is tremendous. Our luck was good—there was a hidden ancient cultivation group on Mount Lang. Compared to it, that ancient Immortal’s Cave was basically nothing—the real riches were found by us. That ancient cultivation group seemed to have died out, leaving behind an immense amount of wealth. According to my estimates, the reason they died out might’ve been because of the existence of the Yang Spiritual Bead. Since all the spirit veins in the mountain got absorbed, that cultivation group naturally couldn’t continue to exist.”
Mo Tiange sighed ruefully. “In other words, you two were the biggest winners on that trip.”
Qin Xi smiled and said, “But we weren’t. We survived with much difficulty. Later, master finally arrived, and so did that Venerable Swordsman Zhongguang—it was only then that we learned of each other’s identities. In the end, all the treasures on Mount Lang were divided between several big cultivation groups. The treasures obtained by Jing Xingzhi and I were nothing compared to those treasures.”
That was indeed true. It was an entire ancient cultivation group, so there must’ve been a lot of treasure—presumably more than the collections of the seven big cultivation groups. Even if many of them could no longer be used, they were still an immense source of wealth.
“But despite everything, I indeed have no good opinion of this person at all. He’s much more trustworthy than Kumu and the others, but after Venerable Swordsman Zhongguang passed away, he was subjected to a lot of unfair treatment, so he really prioritizes benefits. I don’t like people with this kind of character.”
Mo Tiange nodded. “Furthermore, he has a frivolous nature; he isn’t at all on the same page as us.”
Upon hearing what Mo Tiange said, Qin Xi smiled and held her hand tightly.
Throughout the whole journey, Jing Xingzhi obviously tried to flirt with her. Although Qin Xi didn’t really take it seriously, he still felt uncomfortable. Now that he heard her saying that, he felt all the knots in his heart disappearing.
How could the woman he fell for be the same as those superficial people who only looked at outward appearances? No matter how enchanting Jing Xingzhi looked or how sweet-mouthed he was, she still wouldn’t like him.
Just as the two of them silently enjoyed their momentary tranquility, Mo Tiange suddenly recalled something. She said, “Have you recovered your spiritual aura?”
Qin Xi nodded. “I have the Yang Spiritual Bead in my body, so I can recover spiritual aura much faster. I’m fine now.”
Mo Tiange was silent for a second before she suddenly realized what had happened. In other words, did he deliberately let Jing Xingzhi leave so they could talk without him?
Once this thought emerged in her mind, Mo Tiange felt heat starting to spread on her face. She cleared her throat then said, “Then we…”
“Wait a moment,” Qin Xi said, “When I said this guy’s not honest, I was serious.”
Mo Tiange was surprised. “Did you discover something?”
Qin Xi let out a “hmph” and said, “Based on his character, he definitely wouldn’t have followed us to Immortal’s Ruins if he wasn’t certain he’d obtain something. I’m sure this place was his original goal.”
She had no understanding whatsoever of Jing Xingzhi’s personality, so she couldn’t really make a judgment. However, Qin Xi had never been one to speak without thinking. Since he said that, he definitely had his own reasoning. “If that’s the case, will he cause us harm?”
Qin Xi shook his head. “Let’s wait and see. Although I’m not friends with him, I’ve known him for more than a hundred years, after all. He definitely highly values profits, but he’ll never stab others in the back. At most, he’ll only tell us to fend for ourselves.”
Mo Tiange nodded. “You trust him, and I trust you.”
Her words made him smile. He then softly said, “Once we’re out, let’s talk to master… alright?”
She could naturally understand what he implied, but she was a bit hesitant. “This… let’s talk about this later.”
Surprised, Qin Xi asked, “Why?” Hasn’t she already agreed?
Mo Tiange looked away, avoiding looking at him. “When we go back, you ought to enter Closed Door Meditation to tackle your soul-formation, right?”
This was practically pre-determined. He already said he failed his soul-formation three times simply because his heart longed for her and that longing couldn’t be uprooted no matter what he did. Since they’d now ascertained their feelings, according to his temper, he’d naturally tackle his soul-formation when they went back.
“Of course,” Qin Xi said, “We can immediately go back once we recover your father’s remains. Right now, everything is ready; there’s nothing to worry about when it comes to forming my Nascent Soul.”
“…”
Seeing as she still didn’t say anything, Qin Xi’s expression gradually became heavy. “Tiange, what are you thinking? Why do I feel like I still can’t understand you? You’re not willing to be too dependent on me, so I put myself in your shoes and I can understand. However, now we’re already… Could it be that you still don’t want to practice Dual Cultivation with me?”
Mo Tiange was at a loss for words. After some time, she finally spoke again. “I just feel… it still isn’t the right time now. You’re going to form your Nascent Soul, so you naturally shouldn’t be distracted. As for me… I also have to take some time to adapt to core-formation-related matters, so let’s just take things slow for now.”
“…” Qin Xi didn’t answer, but his gaze was already suffused with unhappiness. After a while, he said, “I didn’t intend on mentioning Dual Cultivation before I formed my Nascent Soul, but… now I don’t want to wait any longer.”
“Why?” Mo Tiange couldn’t help but ask, “Is the way we are now not good enough?”
She asked too quickly; it was as if she was simply unwilling, making Qin Xi’s expression turn uglier. He calmed himself down then asked, “Then… after we go back, are you willing to move into my Immortal’s Cave?”
Mo Tiange was surprised. “You’re going to be in Closed Door Meditation to form your Nascent Soul, and during that time, I might also enter Closed Door Meditation. So, that… isn’t necessary, right?”
Qin Xi chuckled in a rather self-mocking way. “See… You’re always so controlled, and it gives me the impression that your feelings for me aren’t that deep. I’m really baffled sometimes—how can there be a woman like you? You’re so cool-headed that people could think you have no feelings.”
This obviously wasn’t a compliment; even his tone was suffused with dissatisfaction. People were strange. He had hoped there was a calm, rational woman who wouldn’t affect his cultivation, but she was too calm, too rational, and he was unhappy about it. He always felt he wasn’t that important in her heart.
Mo Tiange didn’t refute him. She was silent for a while then said slowly, “I… thought about it. We’re cultivators, so we’re different from mortals. Even if we lived together, would that make any difference? The long, long life of a cultivator is mostly spent in Closed Door Meditation. How much time would we really spend together? Maybe it’d fall short of the time mortal married couples spend together. That being the case, why should we rush?”
“Yes, what you said is correct. However, there’s a way to solve this.”
Mo Tiange was bewildered. “What way?”
“We should practice the same kind of cultivation techniques,” Qin Xi said, “Because of our constitutions, Dual Cultivation would be much more beneficial to us than other people. If we can practice the same kind of cultivation technique, our progress would be astonishing.”
Shocked, Mo Tiange said, “Are you saying… we should give up our current techniques and practice a Dual Cultivation cultivation technique?”
“En!”
Upon obtaining his affirmation, Mo Tiange once again sank into silence.
Dual Cultivation cultivation techniques were cultivation techniques jointly practiced by Dao companions practicing Dual Cultivation. The most famous cultivation group specializing in Dual Cultivation in the Celestial Pole was one of the seven big cultivation groups, Biyun Sect. Most of Biyun Sect disciples practiced Dual Cultivation cultivation techniques, and each and every one of those techniques required males and females to perform Dual Cultivation to attain its extraordinary effects.
But she and Qin Xi weren’t the same. They each had their own particular cultivation technique. Her Sunu Art of the Origin and his Art of Three Primordial Cycles and Pure Yang Technique had both reached a certain realm. Furthermore, those techniques were all very compatible with their respective constitutions. Based on their situation, practicing their respective techniques regularly and occasionally…. occasionally being together should be enough as their Yin and Yang circulated—it would really be a pity if they gave up their cultivation techniques.
“Well… We don’t have suitable cultivation techniques and moreover, if we did that, wouldn’t my Spiritual Roots of the Origin lose its significance?”
“It’s not the same,” Qin Xi said confidently, “You just need to tell me if you agree or not. If you agree, I’ll definitely resolve these matters.”