Yu Jiaxiu

  Mo Tian Ge stood with his hands behind him on the highest castle tower of the Yu family, focusing his attention on the defensive barrier array above the Yu family.

  On top of this, there were two Taoist priests and a monster fighting. One of the priests saw her and was overjoyed, shouting loudly: "Fellow Taoist, please lend a hand!"

  Mo Tian Ge slightly furrowed his brow, feeling somewhat displeased. That demon beast was only a fifth-grade demon beast, equivalent to the cultivation of a human cultivator at the initial stage of forming their elixir core. However, demon beasts did not possess talismans or magical artifacts, so their ability to engage in combat was slightly weaker than that of an initial-stage elixir core cultivator.

  No matter how you put it, they are only fifth-grade demon beasts. Two mid-stage foundation-building cultivators like them shouldn't be able to fight each other, yet they so naturally led the battle to the Yu family's territory for help. It's too much to ignore the lives of ordinary people and first-grade cultivators in the Yu family. Who knows if they want to shift the disaster to others and save themselves.

  Although this idea is a bit vicious, however, without hesitation to speculate the intention of others with the greatest malice, Amokuren has about 70-80% certainty that these two people are either intentional or subconscious.

  Facing the fifth-grade demon beast, even if they were from a prestigious family, these two had no power to fight back and could only dodge the attacks. As they dodged with increasing difficulty, another person shouted: "Fellow Taoist, are you going to stand by and do nothing?!"

  His tone was not pleasant to hear, Mo Tian Ge swept a glance around and saw that there were only a few low-ranking cultivators nearby who looked at them with reverence. The others had already been arranged by Yu's family master to go elsewhere. She smiled lightly and said indifferently: "I am just a guest here, not the host. This kind of thing should be decided by the host of this place. You two should wait."

  "You—" After saying this, the person's face suddenly turned purple. He could naturally hear that Mo Tian Ge's words were perfunctory, but at this moment their lives hung in the balance!

  Due to this oversight, another person was slapped down by that monster's wing and let out a miserable cry as he flew out.

  "Junior brother!" The man shouted loudly, glaring at Mo Tian Ge for a moment before starting to circle around with the demon beast - he really couldn't hold on any longer.

  Fortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Yu arrived in a hurry at this time, saw the situation, and quickly said to Mo Tian Ge: "Mo Daoist friend, please help!"

  Mo Tian Ge understood his meaning and nodded: "I'll activate the formation, you go grab that injured person. Remember, be quick, we only have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. After that, you won't be able to get in. For everyone's safety, I'll directly shut down the formation."

  "Yes." In the past few days, they had been taking in many monks. The master of the Yu family was also very clear about the rules for Mo Tian Ge. At present, she said that one incense stick was just one incense stick, and exceeding it would be at their own risk. Moreover, this time a fifth-grade demon beast appeared, which exceeded their ability range. Being able to rescue people was already very good.

  Yu Jiazhong shouted loudly: "The Taoist friend above, we will open the formation for a short time of one incense stick. Please come in as soon as possible. If you can't enter, we are also powerless."

  That person was overjoyed upon hearing this and also called out: "Thank you very much, please quickly open the formation method, I won't be able to hold on."

  The melody of the wild sky remains steady and unhurried. At this moment, he clasped his hands together, pinched a finger seal, and began to recite the incantation. This ancient Four Symbols Formation was not inferior to today's by relying on banner flags. On the contrary, there were corresponding hand seals and incantations, making it even more necessary to respond with the heart and hands.

  As she chanted her incantation, a layer of light flashed across the protective shield, accompanied by a "humming" sound. Upon hearing this sound, Mo Tian Ge's chanting sped up, and suddenly, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air as a small hole opened at the top of the shield. Mo Tian Ge shouted: "Faster!"

  Yu's master responded with a sound and immediately flew out with his wife, rushing towards the person who had fallen to the ground.

  The monk who was being chased by the demon beast saw this and was overjoyed, rushing straight over.

  Moyan Song's face turned furious, this person was truly reckless to the extreme, directly charging in like this without fear of bringing the demon beast into the Yu household to cause harm! Her expression grew even more solemn, staring intently at the demon beast behind that person. With a change in her finger movements, several array eyes of the Four Symbols Formation suddenly shone brightly, transforming into the lights of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, shining onto the demon beast's body.

  This light seemed to have a substantial presence, shining on the monster's body. The monster's figure paused, and suddenly smoke burst forth. The monster let out an angry roar, flapping its wings rapidly as it clashed with the light beast that had transformed from this array of magic.

  In an instant, the Ling Shi in each array shattered one after another, and even the spiritual energy within her body disappeared frantically. Mo Tian Ge gritted her teeth, quietly releasing her divine sense, waiting for an opportunity between the fifth-stage demon beast and the Four Symbols, then fiercely lashing out.

  The fifth-order demon beast let out a painful roar, and the Four Symbols of Light pounced on it, biting down hard. The Taoist took advantage of the opportunity to rush into the formation, and Yu's master also moved quickly, following the Taoist in.

  The stranger's song was so powerful that as soon as it sounded, the protective shield on top of him flashed another ray of light. The monster struggled several times, but to no avail, and finally left reluctantly.

  Seeing the array method converge, the demon beast left, and everyone present let out a sigh of relief. Mo Tian Ge slowly put down his hands, covered his mouth, and coughed out a sound.

  "Stranger on the road!" Madam Yu exclaimed.

  Mo Tian Ge wiped away the blood he had coughed up and shook his head: "Nothing, I just consumed too much spiritual energy earlier. You all go add spirit stones to each of the formation eyes quickly."

  Hearing this, Mrs Yu did not dare to be slow and went there in person.

  Mo Tian Ge turned her head to look at Yu Jia Zhu and the two cultivators who had just entered. Yu Jia Zhu was already examining the injuries of the cultivator who had fainted. The other cultivator had closed his eyes in meditation, not even glancing at her once.

  Mo Tian Ge shook his head and swallowed a small pill, then ignored them.

  These two cultivators, the younger one who had fainted looked to be only in his thirties, while the older one meditating appeared to be under forty. Both wore Dan Ding Sect's robes and had an arrogant attitude, likely being elite disciples with mid- Foundation Establishment cultivation at a relatively young age. They seemed to have a promising future ahead of them, which was why they dared to treat others this way.

  Save them two, it was within his ability, and also the request of Yu's family master, Mo Tian Ge didn't want these two to feel inferior, on the contrary, he didn't put it in his heart.

  Yu's master examined his wounds and Yu's wife came back, both of them worked together to treat the man's injuries.

  Before long, he slowly came to and called out: "Uncle, Aunt!"

  Seeing him wake up, Yu's master happily said: "Good good, you're awake, don't talk for now, go back and rest."

  The stranger's song stunned her, and it turned out that this person was actually the only Qi-refining cultivator of the Yu family in Dan Ding Gate. No wonder he had asked for her help so naturally, as this was his home after all. However, no matter what, she was still a disciple from another sect, and he was being too impolite.

  Someone was sent to send the younger generation of Yu's family back, and Yu's family turned around and sincerely bowed to Mo Tian Ge: "Great kindness doesn't need to be thanked, Mo Dao friend, I will remember this in my heart."

  Mo Tian Ge said calmly: "Master Yu doesn't have to be polite, it's just within our capabilities."

  Yu's master didn't take the words to heart, took out a bottle of Dan medicine, and said: "Mo Dao friend was just injured, this thing is called Bi Huo Dan, it is Yu's family secret medicine, its effect is much better than Xiao Huan Dan, and also for the sake of reporting this matter."

  The wound-healing medicine was exactly what Mo Tian Ge lacked. Without hesitation, he took it over: "Thank you."

  After a while, the monk who was treating his wounds finally opened his eyes and let out a breath.

  He raised his eyes and stood up to salute Mr. Yu: "Mr. Yu, thank you for saving me."

  Yu Jiazu smiled and helped the person up: "I didn't see clearly just now. It's actually Young Master Zhou. Young Master Zhou is too polite. What's with this 'Shibo' business? You and I have the same level of cultivation, if you call me 'Shixiong', I'll already be very pleased."

  This Zhou Shidi didn't say much more, and Mo Tian Ge could see that this person hadn't put the hopeless Yu family master in his eyes at all. He was probably being polite because of that Yu family Shidi's sake, but a hint of disdain flashed across his eyes as he asked the Yu family master: "I wonder where Yu Shidi is? Is he doing well now?"

  Yu Jiazhu said, "Little nephew is fine, he's resting in the back right now. Since Zhou Shidi wants to see him, I'll have someone bring him over." He then called over a low-ranking cultivator and gave him some instructions.

  This week, Shidi nodded and slowly swept his eyes over Mo Tian Ge, then followed the low-ranking cultivator.

  After the man left, Yu's master sighed and turned to Mo Tian Ge: "Mo Dao friend, please don't mind, this Zhou Shidi has always been like this, it's not that he has any ill intentions."

  This kind of person, she has seen many, but none as obvious as this young master Zhou. Even Wei Jiasi was only proud on the surface, and would not use such a gaze to look at people, nor would he be so condescending. Only this young master Zhou is truly detestable.

  Looking at Mo Tian Ge's expression, Yu Jia Zhu roughly guessed her thoughts, feeling a bit awkward, but didn't say anything more. Zhou Shi Di wasn't a member of the Yu family after all; he had already consoled his nephew enough by speaking up for him once.

  Two people stood silently on top of the Yu family's city tower, gazing into the distance. Occasionally, a flash of light would pass by, as well as the glow of a battle.

  These two days, they heard from the monks who came in from outside about the current situation. The situation is quite bad at present. These disciples of Dan Ding Gate have all been sent to fight, and even the miscellaneous disciples are no exception. The miscellaneous disciples actually went to the battlefield, which can be seen how tragic the war was.

  Later, the mountain protection array of Danding Gate cracked and shattered in part. The immortal families attached to it all received the order from Danding Gate to go to war. Of course, not all families listened to the order. At this time when Danding Gate was in a precarious situation, there were naturally people who wanted to save themselves. However, the demon beasts would not negotiate with humans and could only hope that they were lucky enough not to be encountered by high-ranking demon beasts.

  The Yu family participated in the war for multiple reasons. Firstly, the Yu family was too small and thought that preserving their strength to attach themselves to a stronger power later would be better than risking everything to gamble on the Dan Ding Gate sect's survival. Secondly, one of the Yu family's promising foundation-building cultivators had already died in this battle, leaving them with nothing to lose and thus they let loose.

  Thus, Mo Tian Ge couldn't help but admire this Master Yu, who was able to make such a decisive decision. This Master Yu was indeed a unique individual.

  It's said that Danding Gate has sent out countless distress signals, and it's likely that in about half a month or so, fellow practitioners will come to their aid. If they arrive too early, those people won't want to make sacrifices; if they arrive too late, Danding Gate will be defeated, which would deal a blow to the entire Kunwu's alchemy level. It seems that as long as they can hold on until then, it'll be fine.

  The two of them stood silently for a while, then Yu's master suddenly said: "In just a few more days, it will be the New Year."

  The sky was lost in thought. Cultivation had no concept of years, and cultivators didn't pay attention to such mundane customs. Whether it was in the Cloud Mist Sect or the Profound Clear Sect, or even when she was with her second uncle, they never celebrated New Year's. At most, they would only tell her that she had grown another year older. This master of the Yu family suddenly brought this up, it seemed that people from these immortal families placed more importance on such things.

  Yu's master gazed at the distant flames, and said with a low, mournful smile: "Last New Year's, my other nephew had just turned thirty and was promoted to the rank of foundation builder. At that time, we still thought the Yu family's future was bright, and it was possible that one of us would become an elixir master... but who could have predicted that this year, on New Year's, my nephew would already be gone..."

  Yu's master didn't say anything, but Mo Tian Ge still sensed his sorrow. For a family of cultivators, having no one to inherit their legacy was probably the most sorrowful thing, just like the Ye family back then. Even though they had produced an exceptionally talented cultivator who had reached the Dan stage, with no one to inherit, they eventually declined and withdrew from the world of cultivation.

  Yu's master wiped his eyes and turned to smile: "Don't mind, friend, as people get older, they tend to think wildly, sigh..."

  Mo Tian Ge shook his head: "It's nothing..."

  The two fell silent again, and Yu's master asked: "Mo Dao friend is quite young, but doesn't seem to be using the art of preserving one's looks, how old are you?"

  Mo Tian Ge paused for a moment, asking about her age, which was an extremely rare behavior among cultivators. However, this Master Yu was quite old, and treating him as an elder wasn't out of the question either. She thought for a moment before responding: "After this New Year's, I'll be twenty-five."

  "Twenty-five!" Yu's master was shocked. "A fellow traveler like Mo Dao, who is now in the middle of building his foundation, actually only has twenty-five?"

  Mo Tian Ge nodded. Although it was astonishing when said out loud, the foundation stage middle period wasn't an exceptionally shocking cultivation, and it didn't matter either way.

  Yu Jia's master sighed from the bottom of his heart: "No wonder your Shifu praised you as young and promising. I thought my nephew was also outstanding among the elite disciples of the Dà Mén Pài, but compared to Daoist friends, it's really not worth mentioning."

  Mo Tian smiled and said, "The master of the Yu family is too polite. In fact, I have only recently built my foundation, but because of the love and care of my seniors, and also due to some opportunities, I was able to enter the middle stage. To be honest, it's quite embarrassing."

  "Ah!" said Yu Jiazheng seriously, "Opportunity is also a part of one's ability. Mo Dao doesn't need to be so humble. If it were my own incompetent children and grandchildren who had such great opportunities, I'm afraid they still wouldn't be able to reach this level."

  Yu's master praised her, and Mochen still smiled and nodded. Yu's master didn't know that she had encountered such a great opportunity. With the Hunyuan Gongfa, her own abandoned spiritual root suddenly became a heavenly gift; with the guidance of a Hua Shen period cultivator, her cultivation path would be at least 10 to 20 years shorter than others; plus the Five Spirits Cultivation Fate, she was able to reduce the time it took to cultivate the Hua Shen Jue by more than half; and finally, there was the Xukong Realm, although she hadn't had a chance to use its greatest wealth yet, this formation was already derived from it.

  If it were before, she must have thought that the opportunity was just auxiliary, but after getting it, she realized that the opportunity was indeed not to be underestimated. In those years, Kunwu had spread a rumor about a cultivator with extremely poor qualifications who obtained a great opportunity and cultivated to the Yuan Ying period, with divine powers roaming freely in the sky. Now it seems, it's true.

  Yu Jia Zhu asked again: "Mo Dao You, but I don't know which of the true people under the Xuan Qing Men gate your fellow sisters are from?"

  When they came, they only said that they were ordered by their master and accepted the dispatch of Dan Dingmen to come and assist, but did not mention the name of their master. As the master of the Yu family, he probably didn't have the qualifications to know these things.

  However, this matter isn't a secret that can't be revealed. Mo Tian Ge said: "My few female martial arts seniors are all under the gate of Master Xuan Yin, and I was also taught by Master Xuan Yin, so we can be considered to have come from the same school."

  "So it was......" Why did she call Shibo alone? Yu's master didn't ask much, this kind of thing is a personal secret.

  The two of them chatted for a while, and the master of the Yu family thought that she was quite young to have such accomplishments, and her demeanor was very steady, so he had a rather good impression of her. Mo Tian Ge also responded with courtesy, thus forming a connection - who knows, maybe it would be useful in the future.

  Just then, someone came to report that the young Jindan cultivator of the Yu family had taken a turn for the worse. The master of the Yu family was worried and immediately rushed over. Mo Tian Ge originally didn't plan on getting involved, but it just so happened that Han Qingyu had come to take over, and he secretly instructed her to follow and see what the situation was like.

  Followed Yu's master into the inner courtyard of the Yu family, and when entering the room, received that week Shidi's hostile gaze again.

  Mo Tian Ge let out a sigh, somewhat helplessly. This Zhou Shi Di, a foundation-building cultivator, looked to be around forty years old in appearance, but was actually over a hundred years old, yet still so immature. A disciple of the Dan Ding Sect, it seemed they weren't much better either.

  "Ah Xi, how are you?!" This kind of address, it seems that the master of Yu's family is quite close to this monk.

  That young Yu family cultivator lay on the ground, his complexion dull, and forced out a bitter smile: "Eldest Uncle, I...I was wrong..."

  "Ah Xi, don't say such things!" Master Yu grasped his hand tightly and comforted him, "You focus on recovering from your injuries, you'll get better, we still have plenty of Bi Huang Dan..."

  "Big Brother!" The man interrupted him, his eyes revealing a deep sorrow. "Big Brother, my injury... I'm clear about it myself. Maybe the wound can heal, but... I'm probably already been knocked back to the Refining Qi stage..."

  Yu's master heard these words, his expression greatly shocked, Mo Tian Ge saw that he was holding this person's hand and slightly trembling.

  Back to the Refining Qi stage, Mo Tian Ge knew how severe this injury was. Boundary regression, for some it might take a few years to recover their cultivation, but for others... they might never be able to catch up again in their lifetime.

  "Eldest uncle..." This person saw the master of the Yu family with such an expression, and tears rolled out of his eyes. "I... I owe you an apology, for over fifty years, you have tried your best to cultivate me, but I... but..."

  "No," Yu's master came back to his senses, but he had calmed down, his voice was firm. "A Xi, don't worry, after the war is over, your uncle will help you think of a way. Don't think too much now, our Yu family is still okay, we just need to get through this for now."

  He wiped away his tears, roughly not wanting Master Yu to be sad again, and nodded: "Yes, Uncle, you can rest assured, I...I don't want to die yet..."

  However, Mo Tian Ge clearly saw a hint of despair in his eyes, and it was clear that he knew he couldn't get better. Mo Tian Ge secretly shook her head, with her discerning eye, she could probably tell that this person was indeed beyond help, his meridians were severely damaged, even if his dantian was unscathed, at the very least he would have to retreat back to the initial stage of foundation building.