Back in Yunwu Mountain, Mo Tian Ge officially entered closed-door training. Except for going back to see Second Uncle every half month, he no longer went out to wander around.
Occasionally when she went out, she would find messages from outside the door, from Murong Yan, Wang Qianyi, and even Shen Bing. She didn't have much of a relationship with them before, but after going through the Misty Valley together, they had become closer, and now they came to ask about her well-being during her closed-door meditation. Shen Bing and Wang Qianyi even expressed that if she needed any help, she should feel free to ask. Knowing that it was not suitable for her to interact with them too much, A Miao Tian Ge only responded politely without making any requests.
Every time she comes out and meets other fellow apprentices, she is ridiculed. Xu Jingzhi is even more envious and jealous, saying that although she looks good, her thin and weak appearance doesn't look like a man at all. Obviously not as tall and handsome as him, with such elegance and refinement, why do the famous beautiful female apprentices in the sect treat her so well?
A stranger's song, a bitter smile in her heart, yet even more distressing. Men and women are different, she feels increasingly that pretending to be a man is getting more and more tiring. If only her cultivation was profound, it would be fine; she could directly use the Shape-shifting Technique, transforming into whatever she wanted. But as a low-ranking Qi-refining cultivator, trying to deceive high-ranking cultivators with the Shape-shifting Technique wasn't seeking death?
Two years passed in the blink of an eye, and she had grown a little taller, but only slightly. Among women, she wasn't considered tall, let alone among a group of men. Liu Yidao was more than a head taller than her, Qin Xi was a head taller, and even Xu Jingzhi, who wasn't particularly tall, was half a head taller than her - or rather, she was just unlucky, surrounded by men who were all quite tall, making her appear even smaller. With her slender shoulders and thin physique, despite having dressed as a man for many years and losing any feminine demeanor, she still drew attention to herself. Xu Jingzhi had more than once teased her about looking like a boy, which hadn't raised suspicions from others but had sounded an alarm for Miao Tian Ge, reminding himself to be cautious at all times.
Two years later, when her spiritual stone was exhausted, she finally broke through to the tenth layer of Qi Refining. At this time, Xiao Bi in the Yunwu Sect also began to make a move. Therefore, after waiting for her realm to stabilize, she left her seclusion.
As soon as he came out, the other three were already waiting in the small hall. In these three years, Liu Yidao and Qin Xiu had become even more refined, while Xu Jingzhi was slightly inferior, but had also reached the ninth layer of Qi refining, not far from the tenth layer.
To celebrate her release, the group decided to go on a trip and have a picnic. Murong Yan expressed her desire for roasted beast meat more than once, so she also sent a message to invite him, since he was invited, Wang Qian and Shen Bing were naturally invited together, and Zhou Shixiong was also notified.
Originally, I thought that although Murong Yan would definitely come, Shen Bing and Wang Qian might not, let alone Zhou Shixiong. Who would have expected that they all came without exception?
A group of people were having a barbecue and chatting beside the South Peak Waterfall pool.
Mo Tian Ge sat by the water's edge, laboriously threading a row of meat onto skewers. With his left hand, he conjured up a flame spell, spreading the flames across the meat. Not far away, under a tree, a piece of canvas was spread out with tea and snacks laid out on it. Beside it, Liu Yi Dao and Zhou Shixiong were exchanging notes on their cultivation experiences. Xu Jing Zhi sat between Shen Bing and Wang Qian, chatting and laughing together. Qin Xi lazily leaned against the tree, basking in the sun, while Mu Rong Yan sat beside him, staring at the meat skewers with drooling mouth, occasionally asking if it was done yet.
This group of people, supposedly celebrating her reaching the tenth level of Qi refinement, ended up saying that her barbecue skills are not bad, so they let her roast meat for everyone to eat, and made her work alone, sigh.
Finally finished roasting a batch, she wiped her sweat and put it on the tray to hand over to Murong Yan: "Okay, call them to eat."
Wherever someone is called, they look at her roasting, originally a few people who are so leisurely that they can't get enough, swarm up, each with a big mouthful of food.
Xu Jingzhi finished eating what was in his hand and exclaimed: "It's really delicious, Ye Shidi, bring a few more pieces."
Mo Tian Ge had just washed his hands by the water pool, and upon hearing this, he rolled his eyes: "You come to start a fire, I'll roast you."
Xu Jingzhi scratched his head: "Start a fire? But I don't have a Fire Spirit Root, so I can't use fire-based magic."
A group of people laughed, and Zhou Shixiong said: "Ye Shidi's craftsmanship is indeed good, much better than ours in the cafeteria."
Murong Yan nodded repeatedly: "Exactly, I haven't eaten it for two years and I'm dying of craving."
Liu Yidao rubbed his belly: "It's just this little, not enough to eat, Ye Shidi, roast some more."
"......" Mo Tian sighed, "Can someone help me start a fire? My fire magic is really not that great, I'm exhausted from trying for half the day."
Murong Yan hastily said: "I don't have a fire-based spiritual root either, otherwise I would use talismans, I have several fire-based spell talismans here."
"That's such a waste." Xu Jingzhi immediately chimed in, "Fire magic, Qin brother is the most skilled at it, Qin brother, come help out!" This kid, ever since he saw these three sisters, was so eager to please, sticking close to Shen Bing and Wang Qian, not to mention calling them "sister" one after another, his mouth as sweet as honey.
Mo Tian Ge shook his head with a smile, seeing Qin Xi's helpless expression, but didn't refuse. He stood up, brushed off his sleeves and walked over: "Alright, I won't eat for free either. How do you want me to invite Ye Shidi?"
Mo Tian Ge didn't mince words, Qin Xi was a fire element master after all, not some half-baked goods. He took out a thin blade and sliced the beast meat into blocks, stringing them up with tree branches. "Qin Shixiong, don't burn it too fiercely, or if you end up burning through the branches, it'll be a waste."
Qin Xi nodded, his right palm covering the top, and instantly a flame burst out, soon wafting out a savory aroma.
Moyuan saw the situation was not good, and hastily called out: "Qin Shixiong slow down." She hadn't even applied the seasoning yet, nor had she flipped it over, don't let it burn. Alas, this fire control technique is powerful but also inconvenient for controlling the heat.
However, with Qin Xi's help, the roasting went much faster. Before long, a tray was piled high with roasted meat, and the two finally stopped their work.
"Alright, this should be enough for you all to eat!" Mo Tian Ge tidied up the items and pushed the tray towards Mu Rong Yan. This plate of meat was half a spiritual deer.
Murong Yan exclaimed: "Ye Shidi, you're too awesome!"
When she finished washing her face and returned, the plate of meat was left with only half a plate. Qin Xi leaned against the tree and smiled: "Ye Shidi, why don't you just drink tea and eat some snacks? This plate... I think it's enough for them to eat."
The heavenly singer rolled her eyes, roasted for half a day and couldn't even eat it herself.
Liu Yidao laughed and patted her shoulder: "Ye Shidi, who told you to be so skilled? The capable ones have to work harder, after all!"
"Alright, alright, I really owe you guys!" Anyway, she's already able to eat less and hasn't been as fond of food as before.
Several people finished their barbecue, sipping tea while chatting, and the topic couldn't help but revolve around the upcoming sect's small competition.
In general, there are small and large competitions within the sect. The large competition is held once every few decades or even centuries, and all disciples from the Qi Refining, Foundation Building, and Core Formation stages participate. In contrast, only Qi Refining disciples participate in the small competition, which is held every ten years or less. Although the rewards for the large competition are generous, it is too far away for them, so the Qi Refining disciples tend to focus more on the small competition because it affects the distribution of Foundation Building pills.
Among them, Xu Jingzhi and Murong Yan were at the 9th level of Qi Refining, Zhou Shixiong was at the 11th level of Qi Refining, and the others were all at the 10th level of Qi Refining. Except for Zhou Shixiong, the others were all going to participate in the small competition, only by participating in the small competition could they possibly obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill, and with the Foundation Establishment Pill, they could establish their foundation.
They are just a medium-sized sect, and every ten years they release 20-30 foundation-building pills. The success rate is only around 10%. Among them, except for Brother Zhou who will definitely advance to the foundation-building stage, it's hard to say about others. Among hundreds of people, it's not easy to get a spot, let alone getting the foundation-building pill doesn't guarantee success in building the foundation.
In fact, it's not just eating the Foundation Establishment Pill that allows one to establish their foundation. There are a few other methods, but ordinary people don't need to think about them. Taking ancient spiritual medicine or having a high-ranking cultivator above the Nascent Soul stage infuse spiritual energy through secret techniques, or other opportunities, can suddenly infuse a large amount of spiritual energy into the body, allowing one's cultivation level to break through. These methods are not something that ordinary cultivators can think about; only the Foundation Establishment Pill is within their hopes.
The topic became increasingly heavy and eventually everyone lost interest in talking, so they decided to end the gathering and go their separate ways.
The song of the wild sky was also heavy in her heart. Although she had advanced to the tenth level, she still had a 50% chance of getting a spot, but she didn't have even a 1% chance of successfully building her foundation. She hadn't forgotten that she had a five-element spiritual root aptitude. Although her ancestor, Mo Yaoqing, had said that she wasn't just an ordinary five-element spiritual root, but rather a mixed yuan spiritual root that was the average of the five elements, inherited from another ancestor, and if there was a specific cultivation method, the mixed yuan spiritual root wouldn't be slow to cultivate. However, after entering the immortal world for so long, she and her second uncle had searched through all the classics, but still didn't know what the mixed yuan spiritual root was about.
Two years ago, Second Uncle said that her lifespan was only two to three years. Now that the two years have passed, she has successfully advanced to the tenth layer of Qi Refining, but found that the path to immortality is still distant and the road to building her foundation is still far away from her.
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Updated today, probably no time for updates later
Turning point chapter, about to enter the next plot
Finally, thank you for the reward from fellow Taoists!