A teasing voice interrupted Yunxi and Mu Ningzhu's conversation, immediately drawing Sheng Yuhong's attention.
Yunxi turned toward the sound. The speaker was one of the four cultivators from Baihua Tower, a bold beauty with vivid makeup and sharp phoenix eyes. Those eyes were fixed on Yunxi, and she even winked—clearly trying to provoke.
Sheng Yuhong's expression darkened. This was blatant poaching. His brow tightened, just as he was about to speak, Yunxi stood up, cupped her hands in greeting, and smiled with twin dimples.
"Thank you for your affection, beautiful elder sister, but I've already joined Haoran Sect. I have no intention of betraying my sect. I hope you'll understand."
The enchanting woman narrowed her eyes slightly, then broke into a laugh.
"You're quite the interesting girl. Then let's be friends. I'm Yu Qingcheng from Baihua Tower. This is my communication talisman."
As she finished speaking, she flicked a talisman over.
Yunxi reached out to catch it, stowed it in her storage pouch, then offered her own talisman with a polite smile.
"I am Wei Yunxi, an outer sect disciple of Haoran Sect."
Yu Qingcheng accepted the talisman. Her phoenix eyes gleamed with amusement.
"No wonder Haoran Sect is the second-largest sect in the west. A genius like you is still only an outer sect disciple."
"I only managed to establish my foundation thanks to the help of Senior Brother Sheng and the other senior sisters. I haven't yet had time to upgrade my identity token. Once I return to the sect, I'll be promoted to an inner sect disciple."
Yunxi's explanation was both humble and respectful, and with just a few words, she clarified her situation. Sheng Yuhong and the others all felt quite at ease hearing her say that.
Yu Qingcheng, however, still looked slightly disappointed. Earlier, she had subtly infused a hint of charm into her words, but Yunxi hadn't reacted at all. That was odd—her charm technique affected both men and women, yet it had zero effect on this little girl. That had been the true reason she tried to recruit her.
What Yu Qingcheng didn't know was that Wei Yunxi's divine sense was far stronger than her cultivation level suggested. Even after taking spiritual suppressants, her divine sense remained at Nascent Soul level. As someone only in the middle Foundation Establishment stage, Yu Qingcheng couldn't possibly affect her.
Yunxi wasn't opposed to beautiful people, but she was well aware of the dangers in the cultivation world. One must always remain cautious. So, after a brief exchange, she sat back down and resumed sipping her spiritual tea.
Sheng Yuhong was quite satisfied with Yunxi's response. When out representing the sect, one must know when to stand firm and when to be diplomatic. There was no need to create enemies everywhere.
"Sheng Daoyou," one of the male cultivators from Baihua Tower—whose cultivation was on par with Sheng Yuhong—spoke up, "are you also here under orders to investigate the anomaly in the Baohua Mountains?"
Sheng Yuhong replied calmly, "I took a sect mission to search for missing disciples in the Baohua Mountains and happened upon the anomaly by chance. Fellow Daoists from Baihua Tower arrived quite promptly. Have you learned anything new?"
The handsome male cultivator smiled faintly. "We were delivering Baihua Brew to Baohua City. When we heard the news, we stayed an extra two days. All we know is that it appears to be a new secret realm. I expect the major sects will send their people soon."
That aligned with what Sheng Yuhong had already heard. Since none of the high-level cultivators who went to investigate had returned, the details remained unclear.
After some polite conversation, the two groups left the teahouse separately.
Sheng Yuhong brought everyone back to the sect's outpost. After a few instructions, he dismissed the group and went to send another message to the sect.
Back in her room, Yunxi first pulled out Dian Dian from her robe for a look. The little one was still cultivating, its tiny belly rising and falling in rhythm. She couldn't resist stroking it before tucking it back into her robe.
Then she took out the two treasures she had bought for two thousand eight hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
She first refined the Ziyu Panlong Cauldron with a drop of blood. The purple-gold cauldron radiated nobility, especially the two vividly carved purple dragons coiled around its body. They looked so lifelike, it seemed they could leap out at any moment.
Yunxi slotted a mid-grade spirit stone into the groove at the base. A moment later, a purple flame flared up from beneath—an internal flame that came with the cauldron.
"Let's give it a test run."
From her storage pouch, Yunxi pulled out spiritual rice and auxiliary herbs for crafting Bigu Pills. She formed a water spell to enlarge and thoroughly cleanse the inside and outside of the cauldron. This was the first step in any pill refinement. Any residue from the previous batch could affect the next pill's properties.
Next, she preheated the cauldron until the temperature met her alchemy standards. Only then did she toss in the rice and herbs and begin the first step of refining.
This stage tested the alchemist's control over both divine sense and flame. Luckily, Yunxi's divine sense was more than enough. Every subtle change inside the cauldron was clearly visible to her.
As the ingredients melted, the twin purple dragons on the cauldron's surface began to move, slithering around like they had come to life. Their motion sped up the refining process and added an impressive flair. Meanwhile, Yunxi continued to feed spiritual energy into the cauldron.
Once the herbs were reduced to liquid form, she used incantations to remove the impurities. This also required strong divine sense. After purifying the liquid, she moved to the final stage: pill formation. Her fingers moved rapidly, withdrawing the flame at just the right moment.
Moments later, the aroma of freshly formed pills wafted from the cauldron. Yunxi waved her sleeve to lift the lid and plucked the pills from inside for inspection.
Out of ten pills, two were supreme grade, and the rest were high grade. That was a very satisfying result.
"This cauldron is great. Smooth to use. It'll definitely serve me well until I reach Golden Core."
She waved her sleeve again and stored the Ziyu Panlong Cauldron into her ring.
Next, Yunxi grabbed the Seven Stars Soul-Shattering Staff. Truthfully, she held a small hope that maybe—just maybe—she could light the stars. So, she dropped a bit of essence blood onto the black staff.
As the blood was absorbed, she gripped the weapon and began to sense the connection forming.
The black staff slowly extended until it reached a length of one and a half meters—perfect for her height.
Carved onto the shaft were relief patterns of the Big Dipper. That must have been where its name came from. She gave it a few test swings. The weight was within her comfort zone.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, the staff grew heavier. She immediately used both hands to hold it, barely managing to keep from being pulled over.
"Whoa. That's heavy. Interesting."
Yunxi grinned. For one thousand mid-grade spirit stones, this was worth every coin. Even if she never managed to light the stars, she intended to keep the weapon.
With both hands, she spun the staff once and slammed it down in a vertical arc.
With a dull thud, the place where it struck cracked, and the fissure slowly spread toward the door.
"Oh no. I broke something."
In the next second, Yunxi felt the ground tremble beneath her feet. Her little face wrinkled in alarm.
"Wait, can this thing cause earthquakes too?"