151, Wenwu Hall

  "Auntie, Auntie!"

  A sound came from outside the practice room. Mo Tian Ge struck a seal, and emerged from the Void Sky Realm, removing the restrictions.

  The one who came into the house was a man in his early twenties, with a tall and strong physique that already had the appearance of a young adult, but whose face still retained the innocence and kindness of a youth.

  Mo Tian Ge saw him and smiled, asking: "Zhen Ji, is there something?"

  This young man was Ye Zhenji, who is now twenty years old. His originally lovely face had grown even more endearing with age, and his good looks were matched by his kindness and generosity towards others, making him very popular among the lower-ranking disciples of the sect. Over the past decade, Mo Tian Ge had spared no expense in providing him with precious elixirs and treasures, and he was now at the tenth level of Qi Refining, awaiting only the sect's examination to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill.

  Ye Zhenji saw her and smiled with two small dimples: "Auntie, you're still practicing!"

  "Nature is in cultivation. Didn't you go to the Martial Arts Hall with Hua Ling? You're back already at noon?"

  Yanwu Hall is a branch of the main peak of Xuqing Gate, specifically for disciples to compete with each other. Generally, there is one Jiedan cultivator and several Zhugong cultivators stationed here to train the disciples' combat skills. Male disciples are always more interested in combat, so they often go to Yanwu Hall every few days. Ye Zhenji was no exception; after reaching the 10th layer of Qi Refining, he would often go to Yanwu Hall with his childhood friend Hua Ling, under the pretext of accumulating experience for the Zhugong Dan exam. Mo Tiange thought this was a good thing and let him go.

  "Never mind!" Ye Zhenji sat down opposite her, looking bored, "There were not many people at the martial arts hall today, I fought two matches that weren't interesting, so I came back."

  "Didn't you say last time that Hua Ling thought of a trick... You didn't know how to deal with it, have you cracked it already?"

  "Of course!" Ye Zhen raised his head, with a proud face, "What can that little brat Hua Ling come up with? I figured it out in two days, Auntie, watch this!"

  As he spoke, he stood up with great enthusiasm, raised his hands, and a Wind Wall Technique and Thick Earth Technique almost simultaneously appeared around him.

  "Auntie, look! I used these two spells together and Hualing's Ice Seal and Earth Splitting Spell can't get in!"

  Mo Tian Ge smiled: "This is indeed a good method, it's hard for you to think of this."

  Praised, Ye Zhenji was a bit embarrassed instead, put away the magic and sat back: "Auntie, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

  "What's up? You tell me."

  Ye Zhen's face showed a hesitant expression, and he stuttered: "I... I want to go home for a while."

  Mo Tian Ge was taken aback for a moment. Ye Zhen Ji had gone up the mountain at the age of nine and recognized her at ten, since then she had been by her side, never leaving, it had been eleven years since she left home. These cultivators, after entering the sect, rarely returned to the secular world, Ye Zhen Ji had never mentioned wanting to go home either, so she didn't think much of it.

  At this time, Ye Zhenji's face faintly revealed a look of melancholy: "When I left home, my mother cried for a night... Auntie, the Foundation Establishment Dan assessment for the genius disciples is still a year away. I...I want to take advantage of this period to return home once, can I?"

  Seeing the child's expectant face, Mo Tian Ge didn't say a word. She naturally understood Ye Zhen Jin's emotions, as she had been in his shoes before. However, being so attached to one's relatives wasn't necessarily a good thing.

  "Auntie," Ye Zhenji looked at her without a response. He begged again, "I will definitely come back as soon as possible, I just want to go back and take a look..."

  "Our Xuan Qing Men doesn't require disciples to cut off worldly ties, but generally speaking, only after building the foundation are you allowed to visit relatives. You haven't built your foundation yet and it's also a year of waiting for trials, so it's really not convenient to leave."

  Ye Zhenji didn't say another word, his face filled with despair.

  Moy Tian Ge thought for a moment, then smiled at him: "You don't have to be so disappointed. Your master's ancestor said five years ago that after I've been in seclusion for five years, I can let you leave the mountain and travel. Now it just so happens that five years have passed. After some time has passed and miscellaneous matters are settled, your aunt will take you back, how about that?"

  "Ah, Auntie!" Ye Zhenji exclaimed in delight.

  "Are you happy now?"

  Ye Zhenji nodded repeatedly: "Thank you, Auntie." After thanking her, he hesitated again, "But, Auntie, didn't you not want the family to know about you?"

  Mo Tian Ge smiled: "I don't have the surname Ye, what's the relationship? They can't see it anyway, at that time you just call me Shu Shu." Ye Zhen was nominally a fellow disciple of the Guardian of Quiet Truth, so by rights he should indeed be called Shu Shu.

  After comforting Ye Zhenji, Mo Tian Ge ended his cultivation and stepped out of the Dongfu.

  Five years passed, and her cultivation had reached the peak of the middle stage of foundation building. She only needed a bit of opportunity to break through to the later stage of foundation building. However, Mo Tian Ge was not in a hurry. At thirty-seven years old, her cultivation could already be considered very high. Even Qin Shou Jing, back then, had only reached the middle stage of foundation building at this age.

  Crossing into the great hall of Shang Qing Palace, Jing He Dao Jun was sitting cross-legged. Five years ago, he had a fight with Song Feng Shang Ren, and his injuries were not light. In these few years, he had been recuperating from his wounds. Fortunately, his cultivation was deep, and he hadn't damaged his Dan Tian or meridians, so there was no major problem.

  Mò Tiān Gē stopped at a distance and called out: "Shī Fù."

  Jinghe Daojun opened his eyes: "Out of the pass?"

  Mò Tiān Gē nodded, for these five years, she had been confined to her own small palace, never once coming out, now that she was out, it was only natural that she had come out of seclusion.

  Feeling Jing and Dao Jun's divine sense sweeping over herself, Mo Tian Ge was very calm. Her Lian Shen Jue had already reached the second layer, as long as it wasn't intentional suppression with overwhelming power, in front of Yuan Ying cultivators, she could also remain composed.

  After the examination, Jing and Daojun nodded: "Not bad. It's already mid-term peak, I think it won't be a problem to break through to late-term in a few more years——the Lian Shen Jue was actually cultivated by you to the second layer? Such an achievement in just over a decade, I've never seen it before."

  Moy Tian smiled and said: "Master Xuan Yin has considered it thoroughly, and I'm not afraid of walking into the devil's lair. Master, how is your injury?"

  "It's nothing." Jinghe Daojun waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned. "I've already recovered more or less. Heh heh! Song Feng Lao Er must have had a tough time these past few years too. At that time, the Heavenly Stone of Chen Xing was indeed a solid hit on him. Based on my estimate, he'll need to be in seclusion for at least ten to twenty years. Ha! Calculating it this way, I've still come out on top!"

  Jing and Daojun looked pleased with themselves, while Mochen Ge shook his head helplessly. This master probably can only be serious occasionally.

  "Right, you little girl come out, just in time a few days later the gate's small competition is about to start, are you going to participate?"

  Mo Tian Ge hesitated for a moment: "This... I don't think it's a good idea for me to go?"

  The small competitions are mostly participated by ordinary disciples. The small competitions during the Qi-refining period relate to the foundation-building pill, and those during the foundation-building period have separate rewards. Generally speaking, elite disciples rarely participate in small competitions. Firstly, they all have their masters' rewards and won't be greedy for those little rewards. Secondly, if an elite disciple participates, they will mostly win over ordinary disciples, which means an ordinary disciple can't get a reward. Although the cultivation world does not consider humility a virtue, there is still some consideration within the sect.

  "What's wrong with that? If they lose to you, it's because they're not capable."

  Mo Tian Ge was silent, apparently disagreeing.

  "Alright, don't go then. But you can go and join in the fun, it's good to interact with fellow disciples and gain some benefits."

  She nodded in agreement: "Yes, Master."

  Mò Tiān Gē knew that although she had been through numerous big and small battles, the number of times she had fought after building her foundation was not too many. Although she had participated in the chaos of the demon beasts, she had avoided the most chaotic two years while in the Void Sky Realm. Moreover, her several fights were almost all life-and-death struggles, and her intuition for danger surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. However, her technique might be slightly inferior to that of cultivators who often sparred. Now that she had been in seclusion for five years without taking action, it was indeed time for her to study fighting techniques carefully.

  Out of the Upper Clear Palace, driving a white silk handkerchief. Flying to the main peak.

  The Yanwu Hall is located next to the Sanqing Hall on the main peak, and its scale is only slightly inferior to that of the Sanqing Hall, which is the most grandiose in the entire mountain gate, showing the importance attached to it by the sect.

  Mo Tian Ge stepped into the courtyard with a gentle pace, and immediately, a disciple guarding the gate bowed: "Master Mo." She now has a certain prestige in Xuan Qing Gate, and these disciples all recognized her.

  Then, the disciples of the executive came forward with a smile and said: "Master Mo, are you also coming to the martial arts hall for a spar?"

  Mo Tian Ge slightly nodded and replied: "I'm free today with nothing to do, so I came to take a look."

  "Oh... Master's side is inviting you, the trial for the foundation-building period is inside."

  "Ah, thank you." Following this attendant disciple, Mo Tian Ge walked through the crowd under others' gaze and entered the inner chamber.

  This outer court is where the Qi Refining disciples hold their competitions, presided over by the Qi Refining period's executive disciples, with two Foundation Establishment cultivators sitting in attendance. This inner court, on the other hand, is where the Foundation Establishment disciples hold their competitions, with a Nascent Soul stage cultivator sitting in attendance, and the person receiving them is also an executive from the Foundation Establishment period.

  The servant took her before the steward and went out.

  In the meantime, the officer took her ID card, recorded it, and smiled: "Is this your first time coming to Mo Shifu?"

  Mó Tiān Gē nodded. When she arrived at Xuán Qīng Gate, she was already at the peak of refining her Qi and facing the foundation building stage. After building her foundation, she immediately encountered a demonic beast's chaos, then returned to become an official disciple of Jìng Hé Dào Jūn, being tossed about for five years, then went into closed-door training for another five years, fundamentally not having time to come to Yǎn Wǔ Hall.

  He said, "Then I'll take Master Uncle there."

  "Thank you."

  "This executive is walking with a song, introducing: 'In fact, the rules of the performance hall are simple. The main hall here has a stage where anyone can go up and challenge, the winner will stay on the stage waiting for others to challenge, and win three games in a row to get off the stage. If two people want to fight to the death, they come here to take a room token, go to that side house - of course, an executive needs to be present as a witness. In addition, there is a master who has formed a dan in that room, if two people want to fight without mercy, they need to ask for instructions and can only proceed under the witness of the master."

  Mo Tian Ge nodded while listening. This rule is reasonable, as the referee needs a third party to be present in case of unexpected events or unclear situations. Additionally, some enemy tactics may cause injury if used at full force, and not using full force would render them ineffective. Therefore, it's necessary for a cultivator who has formed their dan to be present to ensure absolute safety.

  As they spoke, they had already arrived at the main hall. Amokuso looked over and saw that in the center of the main hall was a large martial arts platform, surrounded by twenty or thirty monks either standing or sitting.

  The deacon said, "Last time the demon beast went berserk, more than a hundred foundation-building brothers in our sect fell. Now there are less than two hundred foundation-building cultivators in our sect, otherwise there would be at least forty or fifty people here."

  Mo Tian Ge saw a hint of melancholy on the face of this cultivator, and thought that it was very likely that his relatives and friends had fallen in the battle against the demonic beasts. He smiled and said: "The small competition within the sect is about to begin, I suppose there will be another large batch of foundation-building disciples emerging."

  "That's right." The steward also smiled, "Master Shi, you may take your leave, I'll be the first to go."

  Mo Tian Ge returned a courtesy and watched as the referee walked away. He himself also walked to the edge of the stage, casually finding a spot to watch from.

  On the stage were two foundation-building monks competing against each other. One was a robust man with a thick beard, and the other was a slender middle-aged man.

  The tall and sturdy Han used a small and agile flying sword, while the middle-aged man held a fan. The big man took the lead in attacking, the middle-aged man took the lead in defending, and the two men came and went, fighting fiercely.

  Moy Tian Ge watched for a while, and suddenly realized something. For example, the flying sword of this great Han's control method is more like a hidden weapon, flying silently and quietly, which requires a long time of practice. As for that middle-aged man, his fan also has a mysterious mechanism, which can actually pull the great Han's spiritual energy, so he repeatedly dodges crises.

  After staring intently for a while, Mo Tian Ge's shoulder was tapped by someone, and he turned his head in surprise: "Ye Da Ge!"

  Standing beside her with a smile is none other than Ye Jingwen.

  Ye Jingwen is now nearly sixty years old, so he looks a bit older, with less sharpness but more stability.

  Ten years ago, the two fought side by side and went through a fierce battle with several masters of the ancient sword sect. Their feelings for each other were no longer as superficial as they had been at first. However, both of them were unintentionally injured by Jinghe Daojun, but Mo Tiange was able to recover quickly due to her strong meridians and was put in a nourishing pool by Jinghe Daojun, so she recovered in just a few days. Ye Jingwen's injury was more severe than hers, and it took him over a year to fully recover. At that time, Mo Tiange was being tormented by Jinghe Daojun every day, and the two only met hastily a few times, without even having time for small talk. Later, they closed their doors to cultivate, and didn't see each other for five years.

  Ye Jingwen smiled and pointed to the back of his head, and the two of them withdrew from the crowd and sat down in a corner.

  The two sat down, and Ye Jingwen smiled: "Tian Ge, long time no see."

  "Yes, I just left the customs yesterday."

  Ye Jingwen's divine sense swept over her, astonished: "You've already reached the mid-stage peak?"

  Mo Tian Ge nodded: "Fortunately, this closed-door training went very smoothly."

  Ye Jingwen gazed at her unassuming face and sighed, "I've heard that your innate talent is actually extremely good, I didn't quite believe it, but now I have no choice but to. When we first met, you were just a little girl who had only reached the second layer of Qi Refining, while I had already established my foundation. Yet now, you've surpassed me."

  These years have passed, Ye Jingwen's cultivation has also made progress, but his progress is not as obvious as Mo Tian Ge, and he has been delayed for a period of time in healing his injuries, now he still lags behind by some margin.

  Mo Tian Ge shook his head and smiled, saying: "Brother Ye, don't make fun of me. If I have achieved what I have today, it's all due to fortunate circumstances." If he hadn't coincidentally met Zhong Mu Ling, he would still be a useless spiritual root now. For over a decade, he was probably still wandering around the initial stages of foundation building.

  At that time, after she built the foundation, there was no Hunyuan Gongfa, and even the efficacy of the **Jue was greatly reduced. The spiritual energy absorbed in her body could hardly be retained. Now that she has obtained the Hunyuan Gongfa and cultivated it in the Void Sky Realm, she finally knows how great the gap is between the abandoned Linggen and those single Linggen, alien Linggen geniuses. If we say that before, she could only retain one-tenth of the spiritual energy, then now she can retain nine-tenths! This terrifying ninefold increase makes her realize that if she hadn't met Zhong Muling and obtained the Hunyuan Gongfa, she would have spent her entire life struggling to advance to the Dan stage.

  Ye Jingwen didn't know the emotions in her heart, and hearing her humility, he glanced at her sideways: "I told you long ago that opportunity is also strength, why deny it?" After a pause, he asked, "Tian Ge, are you coming to the Martial Hall to spar?"

  "Hmm, after building the foundation, I rarely take action. It's better to spar with fellow disciples and gain more combat experience."

  "This is quite good, as experience is more important than talent in martial arts. A talented cultivator may not be good at martial arts, but a mediocre cultivator who practices diligently will not be much weaker."

  "So, Brother Ye often comes to the Performing Martial Hall?" Mo Tian Ge asked with interest. He had known Ye Jingwen before, but they didn't have a deep relationship and he had never seen him fight, until they met at the front ridge of Tian Huo Mountain and fought side by side, only then did he know that Ye was also a decisive and ruthless person, it seems that he is usually very interested in martial arts.

  As expected, Ye Jingwen nodded: "I usually come to the Martial Arts Hall when I have free time. For us sword cultivators, martial skills and combat methods are more important."

  "I'm afraid every sword cultivator is fond of fighting?"

  Ye Jingwen couldn't help but smile: "Not bad, if it wasn't good for fighting, I wouldn't have chosen to be a sword cultivator."

  The two of them smiled at each other.

  After sitting for a while, Ye Jingwen said: "Right, since you're here to sharpen your skills, and I don't feel like going on stage at the moment, let's have a match?"

  "Great!" Mo Tian Ge naturally couldn't ask for more, Ye Jing Wen's combat strength exceeded that of an average mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his experience was extremely rich, making him a perfect opponent.

  The two of them got up together and went outside to find a servant, took the nameplate, and under the leadership of a servant entered the side room.

  It was called a side room, but it was actually used for martial arts, very spacious, equivalent to a small arena. The two of them went on stage, after the host confirmed, they started exchanging moves.

  Ye Jingwen was a Sword Cultivator. The Sword Cultivators emphasized swift action, and once they confirmed their target, they would immediately launch their flying swords to strike the enemy's vital points.

  A stranger's song stepped on white silk, deliberately not using it to repel the enemy. In an instant, the flying sword rubbed past her, but the flying sword with a sharp edge had a sword aura. This rub against her arm made her arm ache.

  Ye Jingwen saw the situation, flew back with his sword in an instant, condensed his energy onto the sword, and suddenly a million white awns condensed on the sword body, wrapping him up completely, then suddenly opened all the sword awns towards her.

  The song of the wild sky was helpless, the white silk handkerchief was picked up and put down, the brick wall blocked the sword's edge, the flying shuttle flew out, the golden edge rose, and covered Ye Jingwen.

  The two of them came and went, fighting for a while, until the witnesses cheered and applauded, before they finally stopped.

  They walked down from the stage and took a temporary break.

  Ye Jingwen looked at Mo Tian Ge with a thoughtful expression and curiously asked: "What's wrong?"

  Mo Tian Ge replied: "I didn't want to use that treasure at first, but facing Ye Da Ge's sword aura, I don't know how to avoid it."

  She finished speaking, but Ye Jingwen burst out laughing: "You're actually thinking of this."

  Mo Tian Ge didn't understand: "What's wrong?"

  "This time, however, it was the observing executive who spoke up: 'Master Shifu, the sword energy of Sword Repair is very difficult to dodge. In a place as narrow as this, it's natural to choose to use a magic tool or spell to block it. Master has a magic treasure, so why avoid it?'"

  The stranger's song made her pause, her face filled with shame: "It was I who was mistaken, always thinking of being flawless."

  Ye Jingwen said, "Tian Ge, your experience in fighting is quite rich now, but you still haven't adjusted your mindset. You should know that when it comes to fighting, even if you win a little, it's still a win. Whatever means necessary, just use them."

  "Yes, thank you for your guidance, Brother Ye." Although his current cultivation had surpassed that of Ye Jingwen, when it came to combat techniques, Mo Tian Ge knew he was still inferior, so he sincerely thanked him.

  Ye Jingwen smiled: "If you have nothing to do lately, come to the martial arts hall with me often and let's exchange hands. We can sharpen each other and make progress together."

  Thanks to Yōichi's pink ticket, Sa Sa and the 5000-year-old upper and lower classmates' rewards. The recent chapters are transitional chapters, and we will soon enter the next plot ~