More and more disciples were leaving the cultivation rooms. Everyone had run into the same issue. Not long after, Elder Deng from the outer sect arrived, flying in on his sword. He raised a hand to calm the crowd and then went off to inspect the situation.
Seeing an elder take charge, the disciples settled down. At least someone was looking into it.
Two incense sticks' time passed, but the elder still hadn't returned. Just as murmurs began to ripple through the crowd again, Elder Deng appeared, face dark, and addressed everyone.
"All disciples, please leave for now. There's been a minor issue with the Cultivation Hall. It will not be open today. Any contribution points or spirit stones you spent will be refunded. As for when the Cultivation Hall will reopen, disciples will be notified."
"Yes, Elder!"
The crowd responded respectfully, then began to disperse in small groups. Still, everyone whispered among themselves, speculating what exactly had gone wrong.
Yun Xi returned to her courtyard with a confused look. Seeing the sign for seclusion hanging on Wei Yunying's door, she went straight to her own room.
Once her isolation array was active, her expression changed. She activated her tier-three formation disk, then entered her personal space.
Holding the vibrant green spirit grass, she asked, "Little Grass, what exactly did you do in the Cultivation Hall?"
The spirit grass shook its leaves in response, as if answering her, but didn't offer any details.
Yun Xi rubbed her increasingly gaunt face and asked carefully, "Did you... absorb the spiritual vein buried beneath the Cultivation Hall?"
She hoped for no response. But this time, the spirit grass replied with a childish voice in her mind.
"Yes! That low-grade spiritual vein was tiny. Not even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth. Once I filtered out the impurities, the remaining spiritual energy could only support your cultivation for a year."
Yun Xi's hand trembled. She almost threw the grass across the room but forced herself to stay calm. Twitching at the corner of her mouth, she said, "Xiao Xian, the Cultivation Hall's closed now. Will this be traced back to me?"
"Nope. I'm a Xianling Grass. Completely different from the spiritual plants around here. They won't find anything."
Only then did Yun Xi breathe a sigh of relief. Still, she tried negotiating. "Let's make a deal, okay? Next time you plan to do something like that, give me a heads-up first?"
"Fine, fine. You're my master, after all. I'll reluctantly agree."
Xiao Xian was as arrogant as ever.
After wiping her brow as if there were sweat, Yun Xi reassured the grass, then prepared to leave the space.
Xiao Xian sent her a mental message. "Once you're somewhere safe, you can let me out again. I'll provide you with refined spiritual energy to help your cultivation."
Yun Xi shook her head. "Not for now. I'm staying away from the Cultivation Hall for a while. Don't want to draw any attention."
The Xianling grass gave a little shake, then quieted down. It understood that its master was still too weak. If a powerful cultivator found out about its presence, not only would Yun Xi be in danger, it would also be exploited. Things were fine the way they were.
Once Yun Xi left her space and adjusted her mindset, she dismissed the tier-three formation disk and began drawing talismans. She kept a low profile for the next year, focused solely on cultivation and completing sect tasks.
Ever since the incident with the spiritual energy blackout at the Cultivation Hall, she had drastically reduced her visits there.
Her caution paid off. No suspicion fell on her. After all, a depleted spiritual vein was not a trivial matter. The sect launched a full investigation, taking an entire year to confirm there were no demon cultivators or infiltrators damaging their resources.
Yun Xi stayed dedicated to her path. Over the year, the place she frequented most was the Pill Hall. She had begun learning how to refine pills.
The Pill Hall offered rental pill rooms, equipped with ground fire and basic cauldrons. These were especially useful for beginners or disciples without fire spiritual roots.
Yun Xi had revealed that she did have a fire spiritual root, but since she was still in the Qi Refining stage and lacked spare spirit stones for a personal cauldron, renting was her best option. The hall also allowed payment in pills, which worked perfectly for her. She kept a steady rhythm of renting once a month.
Pill refining required spiritual herbs, which cost spirit stones. Even with her wealth, she knew better than to show off. That would only attract unwanted attention. Her current pace was just right.
Most importantly, Wei Zonghao had started studying spirit herb cultivation. He took responsibility for growing common herbs that didn't require specific years of maturity. This steady supply meant Yun Xi could pick what she needed first and pay later in pills, a sibling's trust-based arrangement.
Her current cultivation allowed her to refine first-tier pills. When she tried second-tier ones, her spiritual power fell short. She didn't force it and instead focused on mastering first-tier pills. Every recipe she could gather with ingredients in reach was added to her refining list.
After achieving self-sufficiency with Fasting Pills, her life became easier. At Wei Zonghao's suggestion, she even improved their bland taste. This earned her a small group of loyal clients. After all, for the same price, why not choose tastier pills?
Many of the Wei siblings were happy to trade for Yun Xi's Fasting Pills. This did not include Wei Yunqing.
Over three years, Wei Yunqing made no visible progress in cultivation. She focused entirely on stabilizing her current level. However, she gained the favor of Senior Brother Ye from Pill Peak and began privately selling low-tier herbs using her access to plantation areas. Her situation improved noticeably.
Still, her relationship with the other Wei siblings remained lukewarm. She preferred solitude, which suited everyone just fine. Although they all cultivated in the outer sect, they rarely crossed paths.
Over these three years, Wei Zonghao broke through to the eighth level of Qi Refining, ending Wei Yunqing's reign as the most advanced among the siblings. Yun Xi also reached the seventh level.
Wei Zongyu and Wei Zongjin each advanced to the sixth level. Only Wei Yunying's progress was slow, but everyone else had shown clear improvement.
That day, Yun Xi refined two more furnaces of Yangling Pills in the pill room. Each furnace produced a full ten pills. She separated out the highest-grade ones for herself, then sorted the rest into mid and low tiers.
After rinsing her cauldron with water and extinguishing the ground fire, she released Xiao Xian for cultivation.
By now, she was on the verge of reaching the tenth level of Qi Refining. However, she deliberately held herself back, guiding spiritual energy to temper her meridians over and over again, not even neglecting the smallest veins. Thankfully, her strong divine sense helped her avoid potential backlash.
Once she had refined every meridian in her body, she directed spiritual energy into her organs, beginning a new stage of body tempering.
Her internal organs were far more delicate, so she progressed slowly and cautiously. Most of the energy from that low-grade spiritual vein had been spent on this tempering alone.