Before long, the second batch of disciples started their journey and left the mountain to slay the monsters. Among them was Senior Martial Sister Wei.

They left quietly. Mo Tiange only knew about it because she received a Sound-Transmitting Talisman on her doorway.

It was sent by Qin Xi, telling her that he was also among the second batch of disciples, but since there wasn't enough time, he couldn't come and say goodbye to her.

Although Mo Tiange was stunned for a moment, she soon resumed her cultivation and pill-concocting like usual.

She couldn't intervene in these matters. But, in case she was eventually sent out of the mountain and had to protect herself in the fierce battlefield, she had to make proper preparations first.

Large cultivation groups like Xuanqing School had about 500 Foundation Building disciples. The two batches of disciples dispatched totaled about 200 disciples, almost half the total Foundation Building disciples the school had. According to the news transmitted back to the school, the casualties suffered by the first batch were around 30%, which would be about thirty or forty people…

For medium-sized cultivation groups, having about thirty to forty of their Foundation Building disciples perish was a loss beyond measure. Even in large cultivation groups like Xuanqing School, such a loss wasn't trivial. Furthermore, the war had just begun. If the fight continued to get fiercer, perhaps after this demonic beast riot ended, Xuanqing School might lose 100 Foundation Building disciples at the very least. Losing such a number was enough to destroy a medium-sized cultivation group.

If that happened, it would be very likely that none of the school's Foundation Building disciples could escape this ordeal. So, Mo Tiange had to make proper preparations so she wouldn't be defenseless when she was sent to the battlefield.

Day after day pa.s.sed by. A strained atmosphere gradually filled all of Xuanqing School.

From Luo Fengxue, Mo Tiange learned that all of Kunwu was dragged into this demonic beast riot. If Xuanqing School hadn't sealed the mountain and activated the Great Mountain-Protecting Formation from the beginning, all disciples probably would've entered the battle. In that case, the Aura Refining disciples definitely wouldn't be exempt.

Fortunately, although the casualties among the Foundation Building disciples were numerous, the Aura Refining disciples still hadn't been affected. With the presence of Aura Refining disciples, even if Xuanqing School suffered disastrous losses, they could still restore their vitality within 100 to 200 years; the school's strength would be unlikely to drop.

When Mo Tiange learned about all of this, she couldn't help but sigh. Ginger really got spicier as it aged… The Head Grand Supreme Elder, Lord Daoist Zhenyang, actually predicted how the situation would go right from the beginning and prevented heavy damage to the school. If it wasn't for him, Xuanqing School also wouldn't have been able to escape this ordeal.

Luo Fengxue wasn't very busy lately. According to her, because the matters were too important lately, Core Formation elders from the same generation as the School Head had taken over. So, Foundation Building stewards like her only needed to work occasionally. Now that Luo Fengxue was free, she came to see Mo Tiange every day to chat.

Mo Tiange was eager to practice the Soul-Refining Art, but she also knew she mustn't rush it. Therefore, she only practiced step by step every day and gossiped a bit with Luo Fengxue.

Luo Fengxue, this person… She was, in fact, someone who constantly busied herself, sometimes over trivial matters. Her natural endowments were good, but she wasn't too fond of cultivating. On the contrary, she liked to deal with various ch.o.r.es in the school. In all of Clear Spring Peak, there was practically nothing she didn't know about. She even knew a lot of gossip regarding other peaks. Being idle and gossiping like this unexpectedly added a bit of joy to their lives.

Mo Tiange had never been close to someone like Luo Fengxue before. But Luo Fengxue's liveliness reminded Mo Tiange of Murong Yan and she wondered whether she had built her foundation yet.

"Hey, hey! Tiange! What are you dreaming about?"

As she regained her train of thought, Mo Tiange shook her head and said, "Nothing… I just feel that Senior Martial Sister Luo is indeed too free these days. I'm kind of missing the days when you were busy."

Mo Tiange's words implied that she felt Luo Fengxue was annoying. Luo Fengxue glared at her and grumbled, "If it wasn't because eldest martial sister isn't here, I wouldn't come and bother you! Nowadays, only the two of us are remaining in the area. If I don't come and talk to you, do you think I would talk to those spiritual beasts?"

With a helpless smile, Mo Tiange said, "True… If I let you feel bored until you were forced to talk to spiritual beasts, I would truly be committing a heavy sin."

Luo Fengxue tossed Mo Tiange a sideways glance, but then, something suddenly crossed her mind. She said, "Right! Tiange, how old are you?"

"En?" Mo Tiange thought for a while before she answered with a sigh, "Twenty four. Time pa.s.sed so quickly. It's almost been four years since I came to Xuanqing School." The past four years had been easy for her, so she felt time pa.s.sed so quickly.

"Oh. If I remember my age correctly, you should be about a year younger than me. Are you practicing cultivation techniques that can maintain your appearance? The way you look now and the way you looked when you just arrived aren't too different."

"I think so…"

"I think so!?" Luo Fengxue yelled, "You really can't appreciate the happy life others desire! Cultivation techniques that can maintain one's appearance… Most of us female cultivators cultivate for the sake of obtaining eternal youthfulness. Having a suitable youth-retaining cultivation technique would save a lot of Look-Preserving Pills. Your looks would make countless people jealous, yet here you are with the guts to say 'I think so'!"

Mo Tiange felt a bit guilty. She got her cultivation techniques too easily, so she constantly forgot to cherish them.

"You…" Luo Fengxue shook her head and said with a sigh, "I'm not sure whether you're smart or whether you're actually very dense. Whether you're stupid or whether you have a good grasp of what to do and what not to do... I really can't tell which kind of group you belong to…"

Mo Tiange curiously asked, "Senior Martial Sister Luo, how many categories do you place people in?"

"En…" Luo Fengxue contemplated to herself then said, "Actually, it's very simple. Take a look at the two senior martial sisters who live here and compare them to me - each of us is a different kind. Eldest martial sister is the kind that is the most attractive. She possesses both a woman's empathy and a man's chivalrousness. Second martial sister is the kind that is neither attractive nor loathsome. She doesn't care about others but she also wouldn't deliberately trouble them. As for me, I'm the kind that most people like and few people hate. Take a look at how large my network is; among Clear Spring Peak's disciples, I dare say that I can definitely recognize the most number of people."

Once she finished boasting about herself, Luo Fengxue continued to say, "There's also a kind that few people like and most people hate. It's the kind of person whose character isn't that good but isn't narrow-minded. The last kind is the kind that's completely loathed by others. A cla.s.sic example of this type is that senior martial sister who was banished from Mount Taikang. She has no self-awareness, her mind is only filled with herself, and she always thinks everything has to revolve around her. Hmph! This kind of person… Practically everyone who meets her will hate her."

Upon hearing what Luo Fengxue said, Mo Tiange asked, "Does this senior martial sister really have no charm?"

"En… I don't really remember. This happened long ago. At that time, I was about eleven or twelve years old. I only remember that it happened not long after Martial Uncle Shoujing came back from the Demonic Mountain. His cultivation level dropped greatly; he almost only managed to come back with his life."

"The errand second martial sister received was to take care of his Immortal's Cave when he was in Closed Door Meditation. But who would've thought that senior martial sister would resent second martial sister for being able to get close to Martial Uncle Shoujing and take care of him? She made a scene and even took action against second martial sister. Think about it - Martial Uncle Shoujing almost lost his life, but that senior martial sister was engrossed in her jealousy. It was only natural that both martial uncle and grandmaster were enraged. However, for that senior martial sister's father's sake, grandmaster didn't punish her and only made her leave Xuanqing School to live in a separate courtyard and reflect on her mistakes for dozens of years. Ay… Anyway, I've never heard of anyone liking her."

"Oh…" This kind of person, who didn't have even the slightest sense of propriety, was indeed unlikeable.

"Speaking about eldest martial sister, I wonder how she's doing now. I'm not too worried about second martial sister. After all, she's with Martial Uncle Shoujing." Luo Fengxue looked up at the sky and heaved a sigh.

"There's still no news about Senior Martial Sister Han?"

"There's some news…" Luo Fengxue thought for a while before she said, "News was transmitted a few days ago saying that they've found secret marks senior martial sister left behind, but they still haven't found the people. I think the odds of senior martial sister being alive are large."

"That's good then! No bad news is good news!"

After thinking for a bit, Luo Fengxue clapped her hands and said, "That's absolutely true!"

The two of them continued to gossip. After a while, both of them simultaneously received a Summoning Talisman.

"Eh~, it's from master."

Mo Tiange nodded and said, "Mine is also from Martial Uncle Xuanyin. It seems we were called for the same reason. Let's go."

"En." The two of them tidied up then rushed towards Master Daoist Xuanyin's cave together.

"Master."

"Martial Uncle."

This time, Master Daoist Xuanyin wasn't meditating. He was walking back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back. When he saw the two of them arriving, he stopped and said, "Good, now everyone's here. Come."

Master Daoist Xuanyin turned around and went to sit on the master seat. He stared at his disciples with a grave expression and said heavily, "I asked all of you to come because the war has intensified. You may also be sent to join the battle next."

Mo Tiange was shocked. She and Luo Fengxue glanced at each other. Both looked bewildered. The school had dispatched twelve Core Formation cultivators in total. Even if Martial Uncle Hanyu had perished, there were still eleven of them left. Xuanqing School had a total of about forty Core Formation cultivators and they dispatched a quarter of them - were those still not enough? Could it be that another Core Formation cultivator had perished?

"Master, eldest and second martial sisters…"

Master Daoist Xuanyin shook his head and said, "Qingyu has been found. She's fine, although with the present situation, whether they can return or not is still unclear. I've decided to leave the mountain and a.s.sist the others in the war. Those among you who are in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm and higher will follow me to the battlefield."

Although everyone was startled, none of them dared to object. Those in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm and higher softly answered, "Yes, Master."

"As for you..." Master Daoist Xuanyin s.h.i.+fted his gaze towards Mo Tiange and Luo Fengxue. "You early stage Foundation Building disciples also can't be too relaxed. According to my estimates, before long, you'll also be dispatched to partic.i.p.ate in slaying the monsters. Because of that, I'll give you a few magic tools and spiritual talismans in advance. Each of you will receive some."

"Yes, Master."

Mo Tiange and Luo Fengxue looked at each other then each took the spirit tools and talismans from Master Daoist Xuanyin. They also listened to a short lecture from Master Daoist Xuanyin before they finally left his cave.

The two of them walked in silence until Mo Tiange finally spoke with hesitation, "Senior Martial Sister Luo, do you have any way to obtain news about the situation?"

"En?" Luo Fengxue absentmindedly answered, "What kind of news would you like to inquire about?"

"The first one is about Big Brother Ye; you also know him. The other is about Senior Martial Brother Qin… Last time, he said he was also going to the battlefield, and I haven't heard any news about him yet."

Luo Fengxue said, "Your Senior Martial Brother Qin will definitely be alright; it's Senior Martial Brother Ye's situation that's hard to say…Rest a.s.sured, after we go back, I'll go to the steward's hall and ask other senior martial sisters and brothers about him."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Of course." Luo Fengxue's eyes s.h.i.+fted around as she spoke. "Senior Martial Brother Qin's status is special; they certainly wouldn't let him handle risky matters. Besides, Martial Uncle Shoujing is there."

"En… that's true."

Nevertheless, Mo Tiange was still worried. In any case, Ye Jingwen had advanced into the Foundation Building realm so many years ago and was even in the middle stage now. Qin Xi, on the other hand, had advanced into the Foundation Building realm only a few years ago. Not to mention methods and divine powers - she was worried his realm was still unstable. Even if he had countless treasures, they would be utterly useless if his cultivation level wasn't solid.

However, she didn't need to be worried for long because soon after Martial Uncle Xuanyin left the mountain, she received a notification to leave the mountain with Luo Fengxue and a.s.sist the others.