Wei Yunting, Zong Han, and Zong Jin all cupped their hands toward Yun Xi and said,
"Many thanks for your support, Cousin Yun Xi. We're deeply grateful."
Yun Xi smiled and replied, "We're all from the Wei family. Of course we should support each other and advance together."
Zong Hao remained silent. He didn't yet possess Yun Xi's strength and didn't dare to make promises lightly.
Still, the fact that the two of them showed up in inner sect disciple robes was already a powerful statement of backing. At the very least, it would keep most outer sect disciples from picking on the Wei family members.
The trio understood their intent. When Yun Xi and Zong Hao mentioned that they were about to enter a brief period of seclusion, Wei Yunting smiled and took the lead in seeing them off from the outer sect peak.
Along the way, many outer sect disciples saw the five of them walking together. Though envious and jealous, they quickly grasped the implication: another member of the Wei family had advanced straight into the inner sect. Most decided it was wiser to maintain good relations with the Wei family.
Once all these minor matters were taken care of, Yun Xi and Zong Hao hung up their seclusion plaques and began consolidating their cultivation.
Sheng Yuhong learned from Song Ke that Yun Xi had updated her identity jade slip for the inner sect. He wanted to meet her and introduce her to his master. Unfortunately, he was a step too late. When he arrived at her new residence, Yun Xi had already gone to the outer sect.
Left with no choice, Sheng Yuhong left a voice transmission talisman at Yun Xi's place. However, as soon as Yun Xi received news of his visit, her mind rang with alarm bells. She wanted no entanglement with the male lead.
Based on her past experience reading this novel, the male lead belonged to the female lead. The second male lead was for the readers. Her role, as a supporting character, was typically just a catalyst to deepen the bond between the protagonists. She wasn't about to waste her time helping the main couple's romance bloom.
So, she chose to ignore the invitation. After hanging the seclusion plaque, she stepped into the courtyard. To prevent Sheng Yuhong from forcibly knocking on her door, she took out the recently acquired fourth-grade formation disk. After embedding nine mid-grade spirit stones into it, she activated the defensive formation and finally sat down cross-legged to cultivate.
Her concern wasn't without reason. Not long after she entered seclusion, Sheng Yuhong arrived.
Seeing the plaque hanging at the entrance, Sheng Yuhong frowned. After some hesitation, he raised his hand and knocked. The protective formation shimmered, but there was no response.
A flash of irritation passed through Sheng Yuhong's heart. He knocked twice more, but the courtyard remained silent. Finally, he could only leave in frustration.
Yu Geng Zhēnjūn noticed that his eldest disciple had been distracted lately. When he asked about it, he learned that the female disciple Sheng Yuhong had wanted to recommend was now in seclusion.
"No matter," Yu Geng Zhēnjūn said calmly. "She's only in seclusion, not gone from the sect. There will be time to meet. If fate has not yet arrived, there's no point in rushing."
"Master is right. I was being impatient," Sheng Yuhong said, adjusting his mindset and deciding not to dwell on Wei Yunxi, who was in seclusion.
Meanwhile, Wei Yunqing returned to Dan Peak and locked herself in her room. She flew into a fit of rage, smashing everything she could until she finally calmed down.
She felt things shouldn't have turned out this way. Deep down, she had a premonition that Wei Yunxi was merely a stepping stone for her, not someone meant to surpass her in everything. This feeling was reinforced not just by the illusion she saw during her inner trial, but also by a persistent voice in her heart that kept telling her so.
"Hmph. Just because she entered the inner sect doesn't mean it's all smooth sailing. Without a master, she's just another ordinary disciple."
Wei Yunqing muttered under her breath.
She then adjusted her expression, deactivated the room's isolation array, and went to check on the Foundation Establishment Grass she had been nurturing. It was nearly mature.
Wei Yunqing slowly channeled wood spiritual power into the grass. Once her energy was depleted, she sat down to meditate and recover. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Ye Shaotian.
"Senior Brother Ye, you're here?"
Wei Yunqing greeted him warmly.
"Junior Sister Yunqing, it looks like this Foundation Establishment Grass is thriving under your care," Ye Shaotian said with a smile.
"Yes, it's almost fully mature."
"Excellent. Our Foundation Establishment Pills are within reach."
Ye Shaotian was in high spirits. He had long been waiting for this pill so he could establish his foundation and enter Dan Peak as an inner sect disciple. He believed his path forward would become much smoother after that.
Wei Yunqing thought the same. She had to enter the inner sect. She couldn't let Wei Yunxi outshine her. Otherwise, how would she ever trample her underfoot?
During her seclusion, Yun Xi resumed her previous cultivation rhythm. She advanced rapidly. With her Dao Heart already planted, her mental state was solid, so she didn't spend much time stabilizing her realm. Instead, she focused more on improving her techniques, ensuring that her strength matched her cultivation level.
Of course, it wasn't a deadlocked seclusion. Occasionally, when she grew tired of training, she would step out for a walk, check any voice transmission talismans stuck to the formation, or browse messages in her communication jade slip. She didn't completely sever ties with the outside world.
Three months into her seclusion, Qin Tongshuang successfully broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage and became an inner sect disciple. Two months after that, Long Daoyu also advanced and moved into the inner peaks.
A year and a half later, Wei Yunting and the others gathered three full sets of spirit herbs needed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills. They sent a message to Yun Xi.
Yun Xi was someone who honored her promises. That very evening, she visited the outer third peak and refined a furnace of Foundation Establishment Pills for the Wei family disciples. Out of the batch, three pills were top-grade, three mid-grade, and three lower-grade.
She handed the top and mid-grade pills to Wei Yunting for distribution and then leisurely returned to the inner peaks.
The five from the Wei family were overjoyed. The extra pill could be sold to the sect in exchange for spirit stones, which they could use to purchase more cultivation resources. They quickly reached an agreement: each person took one pill according to how much they contributed in gathering herbs, and the last pill was sold. They split the proceeds evenly.
Naturally, Wei Yunqing was excluded from all of this. She hadn't helped gather any of the spirit herbs. But they had heard she obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill through Ye Shaotian of Dan Peak and didn't need their help anyway.
Two years into seclusion, Zong Hao emerged and passed the Dan Peak assessment, becoming an alchemy assistant under Elder Lu Danyang. His days were now filled with focused study and practice.
In the third year, Sheng Yuhong once again visited Inner Peak Five. As before, he failed to see Wei Yunxi. He left another voice transmission talisman and departed.
Sheng Yuhong's repeated visits didn't go unnoticed. Some inner sect disciples began to sense something unusual and quietly started paying attention to Yun Xi's movements.
When Long Daoyu heard about it, he felt conflicted. The person he admired was showing interest in Wei Yunxi. He began to recall every interaction he'd had with her, trying to figure out what set her apart enough to catch the attention of the sect's senior disciple.
Wei Yunqing, too, was feeling bitter. She had used the Foundation Establishment Pill to break through in the third year of Yun Xi's seclusion and had finally joined the inner sect.
Upon learning that Sheng Yuhong had gone looking for Yun Xi, she bribed disciples to monitor Yun Xi's residence, hoping to stage an accidental encounter with him.
Unbeknownst to Yun Xi, Wei Yunqing successfully made contact with Sheng Yuhong.