The message talisman flew straight into Yun Xi's hand. As her divine sense swept across it, a familiar voice sounded in her mind:
"Yun Xi, are you in Shuangshan City? I was on my way back to the sect with Uncle Master Sheng when we noticed a distress signal sent by a disciple. Uncle Master Sheng and Feng Zhēnrén rushed ahead while the rest of us followed. We only learned on the road that something had happened in Shuangshan City. If you're there, please reply."
It must have taken quite an effort for Long Daoyu to cram such a long message into a single talisman. Yun Xi guessed he had probably already arrived in Shuangshan City. She immediately pulled out a new message talisman and sent him the address of the small courtyard.
Mu Ning Zhu spoke up.
"I'll deliver the list to Senior Brother Sheng."
"Thank you, Senior Sister (Martial Uncle)," Yun Xi and Qin Tongshuang said in unison.
Qin Tongshuang was just about to excuse herself. She could tell Yun Xi was expecting a visitor.
But Yun Xi gently caught her hand.
"No need to rush off. You know Long Daoyu too."
Qin Tongshuang paused, then sat back down.
"He's here in Shuangshan City too?"
"Mhm. Senior Brother Sheng is here. Of course he wouldn't miss it."
Yun Xi quietly rolled her eyes. Long Daoyu practically worshipped Sheng Yuhong. Now that his idol was here, how could he possibly stay behind?
Sure enough, a quarter of an hour later, Long Daoyu activated the courtyard's array.
Once he was seated, his curiosity got the better of him. He immediately began asking if they knew about the incident with the evil array in Shuangshan City. When he found out they had been directly involved, he began probing even more intently.
After learning of Zhang Yan's death, Long Daoyu let out a deep sigh.
"This is the path of cultivation. We defy the heavens for every breath. Until you stand at the summit, you will never have control over your own fate."
Yun Xi didn't respond. The brutal nature of the cultivation world was something she had already come to terms with. From the moment she killed Chen Feng with her own hands to protect herself, she knew she was no longer some office worker who had stumbled into a fantasy. She was a cultivator—and a competent one at that.
Still, watching life after life vanish before her eyes had left a mark. It was why she hadn't cultivated much lately. Not just because she feared breaking through to Foundation Establishment with an unstable mindset, but because the trauma of the evil array still lingered. She didn't want to plant the seeds of a heart demon.
When she returned to the sect this time, she planned to enter a long period of secluded cultivation to fully settle her spirit.
"I was lucky this time," Qin Tongshuang said honestly. "It was only because I was with Martial Uncle Wei and her spirit beast Dian Dian had just advanced. Otherwise, we would've been dead for sure."
Long Daoyu sighed again, then suggested, "I gained a lot from this training trip. I plan to go into seclusion to break through to Foundation Establishment. Once we've all reached it, we should form a team and go adventuring again."
"Not a bad idea," Qin Tongshuang said. "But the sect's grand competition is coming up in five years. Are you planning to participate?"
"Of course. Sparring with fellow disciples and building experience is way better than getting crushed by enemies out in the wild."
Yun Xi had already decided she wouldn't miss the grand competition.
Even though she would automatically be promoted to the inner sect once she returned, competition within the inner sect was intense. Without a master, without elite or core disciple status, the sect wouldn't invest in her. If she wanted to go further—if she wanted to surpass Wei Yun Qing—she had to prove her worth.
Qin Tongshuang said she would compete as well. Long Daoyu immediately agreed too, adding that if there were team events, they should form a squad for the Foundation Establishment stage battles.
After getting firsthand details from Yun Xi and the others, Long Daoyu returned to the inn and recounted the events in Shuangshan City to the rest of their fellow disciples, painting a vivid picture.
The group stayed in Shuangshan City for three more days. Once Li Cangyuan was executed and they received their compensation, they prepared to leave.
This time, Yu Feng Zhēnjūn waved his sleeve and summoned the flying ship that transported new disciples. He intended to bring all the Haoran Sect disciples stranded in Shuangshan City back. He was concerned that evil cultivators might seek revenge, especially since these junior disciples had drawn so much attention—and he had personally brought them back to the sect.
As Yun Xi stepped aboard the ship, her mindset was entirely different from when she had first arrived. Watching white clouds drift past the hull, she felt herself beginning to relax.
This entire journey, she'd been wound tight, never knowing what was waiting for her next. But now she finally recognized that this world was real—not something that could be captured in a few lines of fiction.
Everyone around her was vivid and alive. Each had their own color. Some chased the Dao with tireless devotion; others perished along the way. This made her more determined than ever to grow stronger. Only with power could she endure the chaos of the cultivation world.
Yet after witnessing what Li Cangyuan had done, she realized that even the strongest cultivators could lose their way, consumed by obsession, their Dao heart collapsing.
Li Cangyuan had allied with evil cultivators for the sake of reviving his beloved, willing to sacrifice an entire city's worth of cultivators to bring her back. His love was deep—but what of those innocent lives he cast aside?
Back then, Yun Xi had wanted to shout, "Why didn't you just die? If you loved her so much, why not follow her in death? Trade your own life for hers instead of making us pay the price for your devotion?"
But in the end, she kept those words to herself. He had already lost his mind. There was no point in arguing. His death wasn't unjust.
Yun Xi had no interest in being some savior. She just wanted to cultivate diligently and ascend. One day, when she stood at the peak, perhaps she could return to her original world.
Beyond that, she didn't bother thinking too much. Her principle was simple:
If no one offends me, I won't cause trouble. But if someone dares harm me, I'll make them regret it. So long as I have no regrets in my heart, that's enough.
In that moment, Yun Xi's Dao heart quietly took root.
Before anyone could react, the spiritual energy aboard the flying ship surged toward her, wrapping her in a cocoon of pure light.
Yun Xi's mind was clear and focused. With barely any effort, she pierced the final barrier of the late Foundation Establishment stage. She began circulating her cultivation technique, guiding the influx of energy through her meridians and refining it into spiritual power, which then flowed into her dantian.
As the light of the cocoon gradually faded, her dantian was now eighty percent filled with dense, flawless spirit liquid that swirled calmly within.
Yu Feng Zhēnjūn looked at Yun Xi as she broke through, letting out a sigh of admiration. "What a promising seedling." With a wave of his sleeve, he placed a protective barrier around her to prevent any distractions.
Sheng Yuhong, watching from the side, had mixed feelings. If he recalled correctly, just a month ago this junior sister had only been at the late Qi Refining stage. She'd even needed him to rescue her. But now? She had already reached mid Foundation Establishment. The gap between them was shrinking fast, leaving him with an unexpected sense of pressure.
After Yun Xi finished absorbing all the surrounding energy, she used the Huadian immortal artifact to stabilize her cultivation, making her appear as though she had just reached mid Foundation Establishment.
As soon as she opened her eyes, Yu Feng Zhēnjūn dispersed the protective barrier and resumed his meditation.
Mu Ningzhu, Qin Tongshuang, and Long Daoyu immediately surrounded Yun Xi, all smiling with congratulations.
Mu Ningzhu clasped her hands and said playfully, "Looks like I have to start calling you Senior Sister Wei now. Who would've thought you'd rise so quickly and leave the rest of us behind? I'm honestly a bit embarrassed."
Yun Xi waved her hands, flustered.
"Please don't say that, Senior Sister Mu. I just got lucky, that's all. I had a sudden insight—that's the only reason I broke through."
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If you're curious and want to dive deeper into Dao Heart, feel free to check out my glossary on Webnovel. Just head over to my profile and look for the book titled The Xianxia Handbook: A Guide to Cultivation and Beyond. You'll find it covered in Chapter 12: Tao (道, Dào), and Chapter 13: More about Path and Dao Heart