Yan Meng grew anxious. She looked to Yan Shi and opened her mouth to argue again, but the village chief cut her off.
"Ran Xi Daoyou is straightforward. Give me a little time to gather spirit stones. Tomorrow I will send you out of our territory."
"Alright." Yunxi was not pretentious and agreed readily.
Xiao Meng then led Yunxi to a stone house on the very edge of Yan Shi Village to arrange temporary lodging, but Yunxi declined without hesitation. She had her own capsule abode. Why stay in a crude stone hut that looked ready to collapse at any moment?
She flicked her hand and deployed the capsule abode. Space was limited, so only a single courtyard unfolded, but it was still far better than the stone hut.
Smiling at the curious Xiao Meng, who was studying the abode, Yunxi said, "If anything comes up, you can find me here."
She stepped through the vermilion door. Under Xiao Meng's complicated gaze, the barrier fell and Yunxi vanished from sight.
Once inside her own domain, Yunxi used the spirit beast pouch as cover to release Li Li and Dian Dian, and also released the Flying Mist Butterfly. She assigned Fei Xia to take the little Flying Mist Butterflies and scout the whole of Yan Shi Village.
Though she had behaved relaxed and unruffled without showing any guilt, this was still someone else's turf. Necessary vigilance could not be spared.
Li Li and Dian Dian were no strangers to the abode. After nosing around and finding they were not allowed outside, they curled up beside Yunxi and began to doze.
At midnight, the abode's barrier was tapped. Yunxi extended her divine sense and found it was Xiao Meng, then waved a sleeve to open the ward.
Xiao Meng's arrival woke Li Li and Dian Dian. Both looked curiously at the maiden who entered.
Dian Dian's nose twitched. Li Li's eyes flashed, then sent a voice transmission to Yunxi. "Zūnshàng, she is a piece of stone."
Yunxi, intrigued, asked back, "Can you tell what kind of stone?"
Li Li flicked an ear. "It seems to be a Dreamstone. I did not expect such a thing to cultivate into essence even in the Spirit Realm."
"So it is a Dreamstone."
Yunxi felt a ripple of wonder. All she knew of Dreamstones came from jade slips. She had never seen one in reality, much less a stone spirit that could take human form and walk and speak.
"If Master likes her, you can try contracting her," Li Li urged. "She is seventh tier. She can draw cultivators into dreams. In a dream, whether human or other race, defenses are down. You can dig up a wealth of useful information."
Yunxi was indeed tempted, but did not show it. She addressed Xiao Meng, "Visiting at such a late hour. What is the matter?"
Xiao Meng cupped her hands. "Ran Xi Daoyou, Yan Shi Village may not be able to produce enough spirit stones to buy my sister's heart."
"So you want this Lord to snatch it? Setting aside whether I could, could you even afford the price afterward?" Yunxi never considered herself a saint. Take a person's money, resolve a person's disaster. That was only right.
As things stood, the other side could not even afford to buy the Fortune-Turning Pearl, let alone pay her. Why should she offend Chong'an City's high level cultivators for their sake? Two fists could not beat four hands. Being chased around over this would be pointless.
Xiao Meng seemed to steel herself. "If you retrieve my sister's heart, I will go with you."
Yunxi feigned ignorance. "What would I use you for?"
Xiao Meng lifted her chin with a touch of pride. "I can aid you in battle and cultivation. I can also let you advance in your sleep."
"Sounds good. But does your village chief agree? Do not have him later accuse me of abducting his villager. Besides, did you not say human cultivators are cunning? Why follow me?"
Xiao Meng frowned, then said at last, "My sister's heart concerns the future of Yan Shi Village. No matter what, she must not come to harm. I am willing to trade myself."
"Seems you sisters are close."
"We were two adjacent rocks. She cultivated by absorbing sun essence, I by absorbing moon essence. After ten thousand years we each nurtured a rock heart. My sister's heart can turn fortune. My heart can lead others into dreams.
Thanks to my sister's heart, Yan Shi Village avoided several great disasters. Who knew she would stumble over a human cultivator. We have always cultivated in Chong'an Mountain and would never set foot in a human city lightly, unless we reached the ninth tier.
At present, aside from the village chief, only the two of us sisters are seventh tier. We have no ability to travel far. We had no choice but to set a maze to screen for a human cultivator who could help us. You entered the inner ring, so the village chief chose to strike a bargain with you.
Also, my sister and I share the same origin. Only by going with you can I mask the aura of the Fortune-Turning Pearl and ensure you can escape smoothly."
She had clearly thought this through, laying out her reasoning in one breath.
"So you plan to act first and report later. What if the village chief refuses to let you leave?" It was not that Yunxi was unwilling, only that trouble annoyed her.
"He will not. My sister has little time left," Xiao Meng said, eyes lowered.
"Have no other high-level cultivators entered Chong'an Mountain since I did?" Yunxi asked.
"None since your arrival."
Yunxi thought for a moment and understood. When she entered Chong'an Mountain, the gates of Chong'an City were still closed. She had no idea how Cen Sen's search for evil cultivators was going.
Who would have thought that killing Mu Zijun would trigger a chain reaction that circled back to her.
Though she felt a bit speechless, she still nodded. "Fine. Since you insist, you will leave with me. As for convincing the village chief, handle that yourself."
"Alright."
Hearing Yunxi finally relent, Xiao Meng's face showed a hint of a smile. She turned crisply and left.
The next day, the village chief handed Yunxi a storage bangle and, with a dark face, permitted Xiao Meng to depart with her.
However, Yan Shi said sternly, "Ran Xi Daoyou, Xiao Meng must form an equal contract with you here in the village before she can leave Yan Shi Village."
"Agreed."
Yunxi accepted cheerfully. It was, after all, to her benefit. She personally drew the equal contract array, still using the Wu Tribe's contract pattern.
A golden contract array bloomed beneath Yunxi and Xiao Meng. Each contributed a wisp of consciousness soul to the array. The arrays then merged, forming a new contract seal that split in the next instant and entered both their brows. The contract was complete.
Through the imprint, Yunxi saw Xiao Meng's true body. She had not expected it to be a pink crystal the size of a baby's fist, dreamy and unreal. No wonder she could lead people into dreams.
Xiao Meng's lips parted slightly. Only now did she realize Ran Xi was a Unity stage cultivator. Yan Shi Village truly could not have kept her. For some reason, that left Xiao Meng a little dejected.
Smiling, Yunxi led Xiao Meng out of Yan Shi Village. As they passed through the barrier, Xiao Meng reverted to her original form and landed in Yunxi's palm.