They only stayed one day in Liancheng County before Li Yushan took Mo Tiange away.
Mo Tiange didn't know where he was going to go. She only saw him placing a small piece of jade about two fingers wide on his forehead and closing his eyes as if he was focused on thinking about something. She was very curious, but she didn't dare to ask.
Unexpectedly, when Li Yushan retrieved that thing and saw her expression, he laughed and explained, "You've never seen this, have you? This is a Jade Slip; it's used by cultivators to record things, just like how bamboo slips 1 are used by mortals. Whether you want to read it or write on it, you'll have to use your divine sense. Come, try it."
Maybe it was because he was in a good mood, but he didn't show any other expressions except a friendly smile on his face. He then stuck that thing on her forehead and said, "Try separating a thread of your divine sense and put it into the Jade Slip. This thing doesn't need spirit force."
Mo Tiange was unaccustomed to using divine sense since she had only ever used it to sense whether there were people coming towards her room; moreover, she still had to be vigilant against Li Yushan. Nevertheless, she didn't dare disobey him, so she had no other option except to try to separate a thread of her divine sense.
Once her divine sense made contact with the jade, it was instantly absorbed by it. All of a sudden, a pattern of a mountain appeared in her mind. No, it wasn't a mountain - it was a very long mountain range! There were many sporadic dots above it, marking the area as schools, sects, cities and so on. This was really an eye-opener for her.
Li Yushan retrieved the Jade Slip and said, "This mountain range is Kunwu. The spirit veins of our Celestial Pole are different from those in other places. It's said that in every other place, spirit veins are scattered all over the area, unlike in our Celestial Pole. The largest, as well as the most important, spirit veins in our Celestial Pole are in the Kunwu mountain range. Other scattered spirit veins can't compare to it."
Mo Tiange knew a bit about this. Kunwu was enormous, so most individual cultivators went there to cultivate.
Is Li Yushan planning to go to Kunwu?
Li Yushan said, "For individual cultivators like us, Kunwu is the best. Since the spirit veins are large, there are definitely a few spots unclaimed by any schools, sects or clans. Cultivating in a place with spirit veins is far more effective than cultivating in the secular world." Speaking up to this point, he once again used a warm tone to talk to her: "You see, rather than staying in your house in the secular world, it would be better for you to follow me; your cultivation will progress much faster than if you were to cultivate alone."
Mo Tiange had no idea what he was thinking, but now instead of forcing her, he was trying to entice her. Does he think his future will be easier if I obediently listen to him?
She didn't know Li Yushan was behaving like this only because he thought she was still young and clueless about things. He thought if he showed her kindness, she would gradually listen to him. He thought it was very possible, especially after he saw that she didn't have any aggressive reactions against him yesterday. Since they would be together for a long time, an obedient Human Furnace was naturally better than a disobedient one.
His mood became even better when he saw her now. Although she seemed depressed, she had no other reaction. "When we arrive in Kunwu and find a place to cultivate, I'll let you try entering a sect if you're obedient. If you're accepted, your future will definitely be bright."
A wishful expression appeared on his face. However, when he turned around and saw that Mo Tiange was still in a daze, he couldn't help but frown. He felt rather angry that he talked about benefits with a child who couldn't understand him. Hence, he turned around after uttering a cold snort and proceeded to ignore her.
But Mo Tiange preferred him this way because she really couldn't endure his anger.
The carriage continued onward. Li Yushan once again sat cross-legged and started to cultivate. The space inside the carriage was small, so Mo Tiange didn't dare to use her pearl bracelet to disturb him again. After pondering for a while, she took the book Li Yushan gave her yesterday.
This book clearly wasn't made of paper - it was made with animal skin. The pages felt soft in her hands and didn't cause any noise when she flipped them. Thus, she assumed that things in the cultivation world were different compared to things in the secular world - not to mention the Jade Slips, but even paper wasn't ordinary paper.
She sneaked a glance at Li Yushan. When she saw that he wasn't paying any attention to her, she finally felt relieved and started to read.
In fact, some spiritual plants like ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms also existed in the secular world, though only very old ones were useful. However, in the cultivation world, they were categorized as low-level spiritual plants.
After flipping through several pages, her hand stopped for a moment.
Fragrant Jade Flower, which could be used after it grew for ten years, was one of the raw materials for Bewitching Powder, the pollen that could slow the movement of spiritual aura in one's body. In the case of low-level cultivators, their spiritual aura would temporarily be sealed.
She lifted her gaze at Li Yushan. Once she was certain that he was cultivating and wasn't paying any attention to her, she cautiously continued to read. There was a drawing as an illustration, but there weren't any antidotes listed. She hesitated for a long time and decided to continue reading. Since all plants' functions were written, maybe she could find some other plant that could act as an antidote to her situation.
With that kind of mindset, she continued to cautiously flip through the pages of the book.
All of a sudden, she felt a fluctuation of spiritual aura. This fluctuation didn't happen because there was someone cultivating beside her; it felt rather like a collision between spiritual auras. Just as she was feeling confused, Li Yushan suddenly opened his eyes. With an excited expression, he said, "There are people fighting with magical power here!"
Mo Tiange was a bit surprised. She just left her house, yet she had already run into other cultivators. Moreover, these cultivators were having a fight with magical powers. However, she didn't understand why Li Yushan was so excited. Wasn't he scared he would get dragged into it?
As she thought about the matter, she suddenly heard him shouting at the coachman to stop. He then ordered the coachman to wait there and pulled her down from the carriage.
"Follow me carefully. You can't use your spiritual aura, so you can only rely on me to protect you. Do you understand?" Without waiting for her answer, he walked slowly towards the spot where the spiritual aura fluctuation came from.
Ever since she confirmed she had no ability whatsoever to fight back, Mo Tiange always looked afraid and didn't dare to say anything when she was confronted with his threats or promises. Li Yushan was also getting accustomed to her silence. After all, as long as she was obedient, that would do.
The two of them walked - one leading in front, one following behind. They hadn't walked too far when they heard some noises.
At times, the noises were loud, like two spiritual auras colliding against each other. Other times, the noises were sharp, like the sound of weapons crashing against each other.
A beam of light suddenly streaked across the sky. It was an extraordinarily bright light that came from a ball of fire.
At this time, Mo Tiange finally saw the two men floating in the sky. Although both of them were wearing Taoist robes, the robes were completely different - one was black while the other was blue.
The flame was produced by the man in black. She saw the man in black controlling the fireball and launching it towards the man in blue. However, the man in blue used the sword in his hand to block the fireball and shoot it back towards the man in black.
Li Yushan's expression changed. He turned around and directly walked away. "Quick, go! This isn't our business!"
Mo Tiange understood that these two men's levels of cultivation were very high, but she really didn't understand why Li Yushan was so excited in the beginning.
The two men floating in the sky seemed to sense their presence. The man in black grunted and waved his hand, sending the fireball towards them.
Li Yushan hastily pulled her into a mad dash away from that place.
Mo Tiange was also terrified. She followed him and ran without even daring to look back.
That fireball came but slanted at the last moment and landed at their side. Li Yushan, completely covered in a cold sweat, didn't dare to stop and rushed to escape.
The two of them ran frantically.
When they finally reached the carriage, Li Yushan looked frightened and commanded the coachman to pick up the pace.
When he finally calmed down after a long time, he said, "Do you know what cultivation level the two men back there had?"
Mo Tiange shook her head.
He scoffed and said, "The two were experts at the eighth layer of the Aura Refining realm. They could've killed us with ease. If the two of them weren't fighting each other and were too busy to worry about us, I'm afraid we would've already been burned to ashes." Right after he said this, a yearning expression appeared on his face again. "If I can reach that cultivation level, I'll have a chance at entering a school or a sect!"
For an instant, he became tense again. Ignoring Mo Tiange, he agitatedly started to meditate to adjust his breath 2 . From time to time, he turned his head to look back.
At this moment, Mo Tiange was drowned in her thoughts. If she could reach that kind of cultivation level, she could trample on Li Yushan… She secretly clenched her fists. I have to endure! There will definitely be a day when I can reach that level, and then…
Long, narrow strips of wood or bamboo used as media for writing before papers.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips The main effects and purposes of breath adjustment in practicing a technique/cultivating are focusing one's mind, transforming one's temperament, boosting/smoothing the movement of aura in one's body, etc. - Baidu (https://baike.baidu.com/item/调息). In short, breath adjustment/breath control refers to stabilizing one's mind and aura by meditating and regulating one's breath.