After reading the contents of the flying sword message, which hovered before her in a shimmering blur of white light, Yunxi smiled with faint amusement. She hadn't expected Yixian Gate to actually go looking for Haoran Sect to discuss the recent events. Fortunately, Ancestor Hao Ran's injuries had already healed completely; otherwise, there'd have been quite a bit of pointless wrangling between the two powerful entities.
After putting away the flying sword message into her storage space, she decided to change her intended route and head to Yixian Gate for a look. She was, after all, half a disciple of Yixian Gate because of the inheritance she carried. She just didn't know what kind of attitude the sect's elders and disciples would take toward her arrival.
Earlier, Master Yu Ling had specifically given her detailed information about the current state of Yixian Gate in the Spirit Realm. After the ancient battlefield ignited the devastating war between righteous and evil factions, Yixian Gate had continuously supplied vital pills and potions to the front lines. Even though they hadn't entered the bloody battlefield themselves, they had contributed in another significant way and earned widespread praise throughout the regions for their logistical support.
Judging from the sect's conduct alone, they could still be considered upright and honorable. Because of that, she didn't want Yixian Gate to be used by evil cultivators as a blade against her, nor did she want to give those evil cultivators a chance to infiltrate the sect's inner ranks. She had to make this trip to ensure the situation remained under control.
She casually replied to Hao Ran Zhēnzūn with a brief message and then left Chong'an Mountain, heading toward the next city. In any case, she hadn't mentioned a specific arrival time in her response.
Not long after she left the rugged peaks of Chong'an Mountain, the Unity cultivator from before once again found the hidden location of Yan Shi Village. By the time he had arrived, the entire village had already moved away to a different secret location. After probing the empty area for a while and finding nothing but cold stone, he finally turned around and left the mountain range.
Yunxi had no idea that a high-level cultivator had been tracking her trail from behind, always remaining one step too late to catch her.
She released her flying boat, the vessel expanding into a sleek craft, and headed toward the next major cultivation city, Songran City.
This time, Dian Dian, Li Li, and Cong Shan were all outside the spirit beast space, accompanying her on the deck. Even Zhu Sheng, who usually cultivated in deep seclusion, rarely transformed into a green bamboo jade hairpin and nestled into her dark hair, experiencing the subtle differences of the Spirit Realm's atmosphere.
Xiao Meng, on the other hand, seemed rather quiet and withdrawn. It's probably because she had just left her clan's ancestral land, and perhaps she also harbored some resentment toward her sister, Yan Yun. In short, her emotions were complicated, and she simply stayed quietly as her master's forehead ornament.
Dian Dian hopped onto her knee, its soft fur brushing against the gray robe, and said, "Master, I haven't seen it myself, but I heard from Li Li that evil cultivators in the Spirit Realm have Yinxi potions that can completely conceal the evil aura around them. Is that true?"
She nodded slowly. "I haven't seen it myself, but it's true. Otherwise, Yixian Gate wouldn't have gone looking for Haoran Sect to address the threat."
The small beast scratched its ear with a velvet paw. "Master, if that's the case, then Dian Dian's nose won't be useful anymore for tracking them."
It looked a little dejected, its ears drooping as it felt like it couldn't help its master as much as before.
She chuckled and picked the creature up, kneading its soft belly gently. "It's fine. Not every evil cultivator can afford rare Yinxi potions. Besides, there's still Li Li. It will be able to tell the difference through other means."
"Ah. These evil cultivators are getting harder and harder to deal with. I thought once Master broke through her bottleneck, we would all benefit and then Master could go on a killing spree again to clear the way."
Dian Dian kicked its short legs with frustration as it spoke.
Yunxi narrowed her eyes slightly, looking out at the passing clouds. "Thanks for having so much confidence in me. But this time, evil cultivators are even using Yinxi potions. It looks like they're very determined to drive a wedge between the Spirit Realm cultivators and this Lord."
Li Li, who was resting nearby, asked after hearing that, "Zūnshàng, what do you mean by that?"
"Why didn't Yinxi potions appear earlier or later, but only after the entire Wei Yu Realm ascended, and then get deliberately exposed so all cultivators of the Wei Ling Realm know about it? That's an evil cultivator's hidden trump card. After the cultivators of the Wei Yu Realm ascended as a whole, they gradually scattered throughout the various spirit regions. The fact that Běnjūn obtained Yixian Gate's inheritance is also widely known by now.
Naturally, the evil cultivators lurking in the shadows know it too. So they take the opportunity to use Yinxi potions as bait, guide public opinion against me, and then provoke Yixian Gate's dissatisfaction, pushing them to come question Běnjūn.
But you all know very well that from the day Běnjūn obtained the inheritance, I have never admitted to having a Yinxi potion formula, and I have never refined any Yinxi potion.
Běnjūn even suspects that the one who truly leaked the Yinxi potion formula was someone within Yixian Gate in the Spirit Realm. Evil cultivators must have been using it secretly before, otherwise they wouldn't have infiltrated the various regions of the Wei Ling Realm so smoothly.
The reason it wasn't exposed earlier was to protect the traitor hiding inside Yixian Gate. Once this matter comes to light, anyone with half a brain would know the problem lies within the sect. After all, that's their exclusive inheritance.
Now that Běnjūn has ascended, and I just so happen to have obtained Yixian Gate's inheritance, I become the one carrying the blame. What the evil cultivators did is truly killing two birds with one stone."
After hearing that explanation, Li Li and Cong Shan both cursed the evil cultivators for being despicable and told her to be extra careful on the journey ahead.
She also felt that after ascending to the Spirit Realm, the evil cultivators here were even more insidious than those she had faced before. They hadn't even shown themselves yet, yet they'd already dumped a huge pot of filth on her head. This time, when she went to Yixian Gate, she was definitely going to drag out the traitor hiding inside and clear her name once and for all.
When she had traveled about halfway to Songran City, her flying boat was suddenly stopped by a powerful presence blocking the path.
She looked at the male cultivator hovering ahead of her and sensed that his cultivation was at mid-Unity. Without revealing her own strength, she cupped her hands politely toward the stranger.
"Daoyou, may I ask why you have stopped my flying boat in the middle of my journey?"
The man sized her up for a moment, his eyes scanning her unremarkable gray robes, before speaking with a cold air. "Someone wants to see you. Come with Běnjūn immediately."
Hearing that, she raised an eyebrow. With such vague and demanding words, she definitely wasn't going to follow him into an unknown situation. She replied calmly, her posture neither servile nor overbearing.
"May I ask who Daoyou is, who exactly wants to see me, and where? I have my own plans and a destination to reach. If it conflicts with my schedule, then I'll have to decline your invitation."
The man said with a half-smile that didn't reach his eyes, "You had better come with me quietly. It wouldn't be good if you get hurt during a struggle."
She looked at the arrogant man in front of her and felt her hands itch with the urge to strike. Even an ordinary person wouldn't follow a complete stranger for no reason. Was he brainless, doing this on purpose to provoke her, or just used to being arrogant and never being rejected by those he deemed weaker? No matter which it was, she had no intention of compromising.
She didn't bother wasting any more words on him. With a swift sweep of her sleeve, she put away her spirit pets and the flying boat into her storage. Then she brought her hands together in front of her chest. When she pulled her palms apart, a sphere flickering with intense purple light appeared between them. As she spread her hands wider, the sphere rapidly expanded, enveloping everything within a thousand li radius around them and forming a massive spherical barrier that isolated the space.
Then she gripped the Seven Stars Soul-Shattering Staff, the weapon thrumming with power. She rolled her neck once, a faint crackling sound echoing in the silence, and said coldly, "Since Daoyou's so confident in your strength, let's not waste any more time with talk."
The instant the words fell, the Seven Stars Soul-Shattering Staff came crashing down with unstoppable force toward the man's head. Purple-gold light flashed violently along the length of the staff, and the Yaoguang and Kaiyang stars embedded on it flickered repeatedly, boosting their master's attack with celestial energy.
The Unity cultivator hadn't expected her to be so decisive, starting a fight at the slightest disagreement. He held a heavy Kanglong Mace and blocked her first strike with one hand, his expression shifting to one of surprise.
Cold light gleamed on the Kanglong Mace as it collided with the Soul-Shattering Staff, sparks flying everywhere like tiny stars. Both the man and she were forced back at the same time by the sheer impact. She retreated one step more than him, which made a spark of excitement flash through her eyes. She flashed in front of him with incredible speed and swung out a second strike.
After receiving her first blow, the man had already put away his initial contempt. He'd thought the little girl's cultivation was merely piled up with expensive heavenly materials and earthly treasures. He hadn't expected her attack to be this strong. He also realized that she cultivated her physical body to an extreme degree. That strike just now wasn't only empowered by her spiritual energy; it also carried the staggering force of her own raw strength.