A year had passed, yet Lord Daoist Jinghe hadn’t left his cave. According to the maid servants, Grandmaster hadn’t even made a sound for the whole year, and the Closed Room had always been quiet.

Upon hearing this, Mo Tiange and Qin Xi looked at each other with some surprise. They weren’t surprised that Master was so badly hurt, but it wasn’t easy for him to hold his tongue for so long.

The two of them entered the Closed Room together. Qin Xi made a hand seal then Lord Daoist Jinghe’s voice sounded. “Xi’er, Tiange, what’s the matter?”

Before his Closed Door Meditation this time, Lord Daoist Jinghe said he wouldn’t leave for ten years. It had only been one year.

Qin Xi said with a high voice, “Master, we wanted to ask your advice about something.”

No sound came from the Closed Room, and after a while, the stone door opened slowly.

When they entered, the stone door closed again. Mo Tiange saw that Lord Daoist Jinghe was sitting cross-legged while healing and his face looked a lot better; at least he didn’t look extremely aged. She felt a little more at ease as it seemed that Master was much better.

“Master, how are your injuries?”

Lord Daoist Jinghe opened his eyes and saw them then smiled. “Thanks to those spiritual panaceas you found, my injuries have been better, and perhaps this whole thing will be a blessing in disguise.”

Mo Tiange and Qin Xi didn’t understand and looked at each other. They thought of a kind of possibility at the same time and were very surprised. “Master, are you going to have an opportunity to advance?”

Lord Daoist Jinghe nodded. Though his appearance hadn’t yet recovered, he looked as radiant as ever. “Right. Through this year of Closed Door Meditation and healing, I’ve gotten some inspiration. Unlike before, there isn’t an insurmountable gap between my current state and the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm any more!”

It was a pleasant surprise. Mo Tiange and Qin Xi were both very happy to hear the news and said, “Congratulations, Master.”

Lord Daoist Jinghe waved his hand and became a little more restrained. “It’s just a possibility. It will take at least twenty or thirty years to heal my injuries, let alone advance.” As he finished speaking, he turned to ask them, “What did you want to ask?”

“En,” Qin Xi answered. “Master, as you advised, I entered Closed Door Meditation a year ago, while Tiange went out…”

Then the two of them roughly told their Master about the experiences Mo Tiange had been through this past year.

After hearing that, Lord Daoist Jinghe tested Mo Tiange’s cultivation level first and was very satisfied. “Good. You just advanced to the middle stage, but your spiritual aura is very stable. Dual Cultivation between you two was really a match made in heaven!”

“…” The mention of Dual Cultivation still made Mo Tiange somewhat embarrassed, so she immediately changed the topic. “Master, in your opinion, what should we do now?”

“What?” Lord Daoist Jinghe was surprised. “It’s up to you, of course. Why did you ask me?”

“Master!” Mo Tiange’s eyes widened. “We came to ask for your advice!”

Lord Daoist Jinghe spread his hands. “My advice is that you can make the decision by yourselves.”

“…” Mo Tiange and Qin Xi were speechless.

After thinking for a moment, Qin Xi said, “Master, I think it’s too dangerous for Tiange to go to Yunzhong alone. What do you think?”

“Dangerous?” Lord Daoist Jinghe circled Mo Tiange with his eyes then looked at Qin Xi. “When you reached the middle stage of the Core Formation realm, did I ever stop you when you wanted to do something?”

“…” Qin Xi blushed and answered, “No.” In fact, after he reached the Core Formation realm, he seldom remained in the School except to enter Closed Door Meditation. He often went out for several years at a time…

But he felt this was different so he stressed again, “But she’s going to Yunzhong…”

Lord Daoist Jinghe curled his lips. “What’s wrong with Yunzhong? Is it any different from the Celestial Pole? Do high-level cultivators run all over the streets or are Core Formation cultivators good at fighting?”

Qin Xi was now completely speechless.

Mo Tiange asked with a little surprise, “Master, you’re not against me going?”

Lord Daoist Jinghe turned to glare at her. “Since you want to go to a place that far, have you prepared everything? Have you made all the arrangements? What’s the plan?”

Mo Tiange was a little embarrassed upon being faced with these questions and said, “Aren’t we asking for your advice, Master? If it’s been determined, of course I’d make all the arrangements…”

“Hmph!” Lord Daoist Jinghe didn’t buy that. “You say that, but you two share the same virtues! You’ve made your own decision. Why ask? Didn’t you want me to help you persuade you?”

“…” Mo Tiange was also speechless.

“You specifically came to interrupt my Closed Door Meditation for this? Are you so bored? Get out, both of you! Just tell me when you make your decision. How old are you?”

Under Lord Daoist Jinghe’s complaints, the two of them were so swept out.

As they left the Closed Room, the stone door behind them shut them outside rudely. Mo Tiange and Qin Xi looked at each other and saw helplessness in each other’s eyes.

They had no choice but to go back.

The two of them went all the way back to the cave in silence, each harboring their own thoughts.

As soon as the cave door was opened, Ye Zhenji’s joyful voice rang out: “Auntie, Master, you’re back!”

Mo Tiange barely smiled and looked up, then was a little stunned.

Next to Ye Zhenji stood a female disciple in the Foundation Building realm, who was dressed in Xuanqing School’s robes, looking plain and neat. She wasn’t an astonishing beauty, but she could catch the eye.

Upon seeing them, the woman bowed to salute them. “Grandmaster Shoujing, Martial Uncle Shoujing.”

As soon as she spoke, Mo Tiange recognized it was Shui Linbo. Judging from her condition, she had recovered from her injuries significantly?

“No need to salute any more.” Qin Xi said faintly then looked at Ye Zhenji. “Are you moving back?”

Ye Zhenji looked at them and scratched his head in embarrassment. “Master…” Was Master joking about him living with Linbo in Mingxin Residence?

Mo Tiange knew he had a thin skin and gave Qin Xi a glare then smiled at them and asked, “Have Linbo’s injuries healed?”

Upon hearing this, Shui Linbo came up and saluted even more respectfully. “Thanks to Martial Uncle Qingwei, I’m much better now.”

Mo Tiange nodded with a smile. This Shui Linbo behaved well and looked even more prudent than Ye Zhenji.

“Auntie!” Ye Zhenji smiled and said, “You were out for a long time again. I haven’t congratulated you on your advancement!”

Mo Tiange smiled. “You’ve also improved a lot these days. But, you need to continue to work hard. You’ve been in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm for so long, and it’s time to think of ways to advance to the late stage.”

“En, I know that, Auntie. I’ve been cultivating hard all this time.”

Mo Tiange encouraged them with a few more words then said, “Zhenji, your Master and I have things to do, so you may go about your own business.”

“…Oh, okay.” Ye Zhenji responded and watched the two of them enter the Cultivation Room and close the stone door.

Upon seeing them, Mo Tiange remembered and asked, “Has Shui Linbo recovered a lot from her injuries?”

“Almost.” Qin Xi didn’t care much, though. “Zhenji said that Martial Nephew Han Ruo on Soul’s Retreat Peak has excellent medical skills. He used some kind of method to repair her dantian, so she’s been better these days and can come outside to walk.”

Han Ruo was Kuang Zhu’s Daoist name, but Mo Tiange felt his original name, Kuang Zhu, was most suitable for this Senior Martial Brother.

Speaking of this, Qin Xi asked again, “About Shui Linbo, what’s your opinion?”

Mo Tiange was stunned and asked back, “What opinion? Zhenji likes her, so what opinion would I have?”

“Didn’t you also like her and want to take her as your disciple?”

“Oh, that…” Mo Tiange remembered she did say something like that. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Even though I want to do that, I’m going to leave now and it’s not the right time. Moreover, it’d be a skyrocketing rise for her, which might affect her cultivation. It’s better to let her grow up on her own first.”

“You have a point.” Qin Xi thought about it and agreed with her. “Seriously, she’s a talented person. Since she’s recovered, she often comes over to help Zhenji take care of the cave. I can see that she handles things more calmly than Zhenji, but I don’t dare to believe her completely and can’t let her do some things.”

Upon hearing this, Mo Tiange smiled and said, “I was in Linhai this time and took the opportunity to inquire about it. What she said was true; her background wasn’t faked. But of course, if I want to take her on as my disciple, it’d be better to take it slowly. She wasn’t a formally-accepted disciple in the sect. If there’s too much value placed on her, it’d be hard for her to make friends with other disciples.”

“You’re right.” Qin Xi agreed. “In that case, just make arrangements for her with other caves when she’s healed and put her name on the list like other ordinary disciples. But we can ask the Steward’s Hall to arrange her to work for us. If she’s really reliable and can handle affairs well, then naturally we can accept her as a disciple and help her cultivate further. In this way, with her reminders from time to time, we won’t need to worry about Zhenji. Furthermore, with her help, we can also concentrate on cultivation later.”

Mo Tiange thought for a while and agreed with him. “En, let it be then.”

In Xuanqing School, Core Formation cultivators or higher basically didn’t appear in public, and they often had disciples handle affairs for them, unlike Mo Tiange and Qin Xi. Qin Xi only had one disciple, who was Ye Zhenji, while Mo Tiange hadn’t even had time to accept one. But now it was time for both of them to consider the matter, as it was sometimes inconvenient to have no trusted disciples in the sect.

After saying this, the two of them were silent.

After a while, they said at the same time: “I…” Upon seeing that the other party also wanted to speak, they shut up again.

They looked at each other fearfully for a while, then Mo Tiange cleared her throat and said, “About that matter, do you agree?”

There it was—they finally got to the key point. Qin Xi was silent for a while then sighed. “I know, actually, Master was speaking for you…”

“But Master also scolded me,” Mo Tiange murmured.

“That’s true, but…” Qin Xi formed a bitter smile. “Fine. It’s no big deal to go to Yunzhong. You’re already a Core Formation cultivator and you can handle many things by yourself.” He recalled when he himself entered the Core Formation realm, he dared to go to any dangerous place, and it was those experiences that made him grow up quickly. Thinking like this, it seemed good for Tiange to travel more.

Now that he had no objections, Mo Tiange felt a little embarrassed instead. She thought for a while and said, “Well, I’d better leave you the exact route. If I don’t come back after a long time and you’re worried, you can come find me…”

“En,” Qin Xi answered gently and added, “Don’t forget Wanderer Ziwei’s matter. The Steward’s Hall has been helping you look for clues these days. When there are any clues, I will accompany you to take care of this thing.”

“Okay, I’ll remember.”