Yun Xi did not want to argue with mortals. With a wave of her sleeve, she sent the fainted man into an empty room. She and Xia You then found a random spot and sat down to meditate.
Although Yun Xi had managed to kill the Golden Core evil cultivator earlier by relying on both the formation and her thunder spiritual root, the battle had left her heavily drained. On top of that, her arm had been injured, allowing a trace of evil qi to seep into her meridians.
She had been fleeing for her life and never had a chance to clear it out. Now that she had time, she wasn't going to risk leaving behind hidden dangers that could hinder her future cultivation. Her first priority was to expel the evil qi.
Thunder spiritual power was the bane of evil qi. She held a mid-grade spirit stone in one hand and began circulating the Foundation Establishment stage technique from the Wushuang Sword Lightning Art, guiding thunder spiritual power through every branch of her meridians without missing a single one.
As the power coursed through her body, strands of gray evil qi were forced out of her meridians. Yun Xi became increasingly cautious. Evil qi was incredibly difficult to deal with. If she hadn't had a thunder spiritual root, she might've fallen right into the evil cultivator's trap. Once one's meridians were tainted, cultivation would be doomed to stagnation unless they turned to evil arts.
Resting her chin on her hand, Yun Xi began to ponder. That late-stage Golden Core evil cultivator must have calculated it that way. Their power gap had been massive, so he had likely planned to plant this hidden danger in her body, betting it would ruin a promising Dao cultivation seedling.
What he didn't know was that Yun Xi's cultivation might have been low, but her divine sense was far stronger than his. With a sharp divine sense and thunder spiritual power working together, she had quickly purged the evil qi.
Even so, Yun Xi had made a mental note. When she advanced to Golden Core, she planned to temper her body again using the force of the heavenly tribulation. Even if any hidden trace of evil qi remained, it would be exposed and destroyed.
Because of this caution, when she finally advanced to the Golden Core stage, Yun Xi endured the pain of nearly being torn apart by thunder and let the tribulation lightning scour every corner of her body. Sure enough, she obliterated a strand of evil qi that had begun to cling to her bones, eliminating the danger and destroying the evil cultivator's last trick.
By the time the sun rose, Yun Xi had fully recovered with the help of spirit stones. The wound on her arm had faded into a red mark. She opened the isolation formation and reunited with Xia You.
"Xia Daoyou, how is your recovery?"
"Thank you for asking, Wei Daoyou. I'm doing well. The only issue is that the spiritual energy here is far too thin, so I could only rely on spirit stones to cultivate. Luckily, we retrieved our storage pouches from the evil cultivators and split their hoard. Otherwise, I fear I would have become a burden to you."
She paused, as if recalling something, and quickly took out two high-grade spirit stones and handed them to Yun Xi.
"Wei Daoyou, I found these in the evil cultivators' storage pouches. These two are meant to cover my share of the teleportation cost. Please accept them for now. I still owe one more. Once I return to my clan, I'll make sure to repay you."
Yun Xi didn't stand on ceremony. She accepted the stones and left the dilapidated courtyard with Xia You.
With unspoken coordination, the two of them headed toward the nearest town. Once they purchased a map and determined their location, they could plan their next steps.
One wore a blue Daoist robe, the other green. Both had striking looks. As they passed the base of a mountain, five burly men blocked their path.
The moment the five laid eyes on the two women, they froze. One of them even wiped his mouth and said, "Where are you two little ladies headed? Need some big brothers to escort you?"
Xia You's expression turned icy. She was about to strike them down on the spot.
Yun Xi quickly sent her a voice transmission. "Xia Daoyou, mortals are like Qi Refining cultivators facing a Divine Transformation expert. There's no need to kill and stain our cultivation path with needless karma."
"If they want to escort us, free labor is still labor. Might as well make use of them and save our energy."
Xia You thought it over and agreed. In this realm, using spiritual power meant slow recovery, and spirit stones would be wasted. So she gave the men a soft smile.
"How do you plan to escort us sisters?"
One of them beamed. "You two beauties are smart. Come with us up the mountain. Our boss will surely grant you the honor of becoming his wives."
The man leading them spoke shamelessly, puffing out his chest.
"Sure, lead the way."
Yun Xi smiled, dimples appearing on her cheeks.
The five men had never seen such cooperative women. One of them eagerly led the way, two walked beside Yun Xi and Xia You, and the last two trailed behind, afraid they might run off.
But two hours later, all five of them were drowning in regret. They hadn't kidnapped beauties for their boss. They had invited two walking disasters up the mountain.
With one blow, their so-called boss had his cultivation crippled and his legs broken. He was thrown into a pack of wolves. As for the five of them, they were so terrified by the women's thunderous strength that they dared not move, trembling as they waited for their turn.
"Ladies, I didn't know who I was dealing with. Please spare us. We'll never dare again."
The second-in-command, a strategist of sorts, was the first to kneel and beg for mercy.
Yun Xi basked in the feeling of being a heroine. She sat grandly on a tiger-skin throne, grinning from ear to ear.
Xia You's lips twitched slightly. "This Wei Daoyou had such a childish heart. Just moments ago, she had been preaching not to kill needlessly. Now she had thrown their boss into a wolf den." She might not have personally killed him, but everyone knew that once you were in there, it was over.
Yun Xi had her reasons. Dian Dian had detected a faint scent of evil cultivator lingering on the boss. Though subtle, it hadn't escaped its nose.
After fighting the man, Yun Xi confirmed her suspicion. He had indeed cultivated evil arts. While scanning the mountain with her divine sense, she had even found a pit full of corpses in a hidden corner.
Clearly, the man had used evil cultivation to secure his position as the leader. Too bad he had only reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining. In Yun Xi's eyes, he wasn't worth mentioning.
If not for their arrival, the man would've likely continued to use human lives for cultivation, hidden within the mortal realm. Without the notice of any cultivator, he might've grown strong. Unfortunately for him, he ran into Yun Xi.
After enjoying her moment, Yun Xi gave her command.
"You, go free the captured villagers. Give each of them ten silver taels as travel money. My sister and I are heading to the nearest town. You'll all serve as our attendants and escort us."
The mountain bandits didn't just feel bitter in their mouths. Their hearts were bleeding too. Still, the second-in-command respectfully agreed. Their lives were in her hands.
Xia You added, "If any of you dares to disguise yourself as a commoner and flee, I'll kill two for every one I find. Think carefully about whether you have the luck to leave this mountain alive."
"We wouldn't dare," the second-in-command swore on the spot.
Some of them had been considering just that. They thought of asking the boss of the next mountain over for help.
The only reason this bandit group hadn't been wiped out was because the neighboring groups were in cahoots, shielding one another from the authorities.
But now, with their retreat blocked, they had no choice but to obey.
Half a day later, the innocent villagers were released. Each received ten taels of silver, enough to stir deep gratitude. From a distance, they knelt to thank Yun Xi and Xia You before hurrying down the mountain.
The second-in-command looked at the mostly empty treasure vault, heart dripping blood. Two-thirds of their wealth had vanished in an instant. He couldn't even bring himself to look again.
Yun Xi and Xia You secretly enjoyed the pain on his face, smiling with thinly veiled malice.
"One night. That's how long you have to prepare the most luxurious carriage. We depart at dawn," Yun Xi ordered.
"Yes!"
The next morning, Yun Xi and Xia You boarded an ornate carriage. As they left the mountain stronghold, Xia You said softly,
"This place doesn't need to exist anymore."