A wall of leaf-shaped blades shot up, blocking Li Chang's strike. In the next breath, a figure appeared in front of Liu Haotian and the others.
Liu Haotian immediately stepped forward with deference.
"Master, you're here!"
Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn gave his disciple a somewhat displeased glance.
"Haotian, why do you look so pathetic?"
Liu Haotian quickly replied, "Master, we were ambushed by this City Lord Li. Before that, we'd just captured a few evil cultivators."
He didn't delve into the details, only stating the key point.
Clad in robes of emerald green and jade, Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn waved his sleeve, sweeping the three aside. A pale green jade flute appeared in his hand. He brought it to his lips and began to play. The elegant, lilting melody instantly echoed through the entire forest.
Li Chang's expression shifted. Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn was renowned for his sound-based attacks, which struck directly at the soul—definitely not easy to deal with. Without hesitation, he dodged the first wave of sonic force and immediately chose to flee. There was no reason to stay if victory wasn't assured.
A flicker of disdain crossed Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn's handsome face. He let out a cold snort.
"Quite the runner, aren't you?"
He then turned to Liu Haotian, his tone tinged with frustration.
"Haotian, how many times have I told you? Stop fussing over that compass of yours. Study music properly. My sound techniques form arrays through melody alone—far more efficient than those laborious formations of yours."
Liu Haotian swallowed a healing pill. His face was still pale, but he answered seriously.
"Master's lesson is well-taken. However, this time, I was transported to the mortal realm by chance. It turned out to be a valuable experience, and I even found the opportunity to form my Golden Core. Once we return to the sect, I'll be able to break through. After that, I will dedicate myself to studying sound techniques."
Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn's expression finally eased a little. He frowned and asked,
"How did you end up on Li Chang's radar?"
Liu Haotian cupped his fists.
"Master, please help capture the people from Yin Yang Sect and the evil cultivators first. I'll explain everything to you afterward."
Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn had already sensed the formation nearby, but unaware of what was happening inside, he had prioritized rescuing his disciples first.
Liu Haotian waved at the Flying Mist Butterfly resting on a leaf, signaling it to pass their current situation to Wei Yunxi.
Moments later, the formation ceased. When Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn looked inside, he saw several disheveled figures—only one still standing, clutching the Seven Stars Soul-Shattering Staff: Wei Yunxi.
Yunxi retracted the fourth-tier formation plate, then dragged over a Yin Yang Sect cultivator whose dantian had been destroyed. She respectfully cupped her fists.
"Disciple Wei Yunxi under Haoran Sect's Yu Ling Zhēnjūn greets Zhēnjūn."
A faint smile spread across Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn's striking features.
"I didn't think that icy block would actually take in a disciple. But he's always had a sharp eye. To think you've already formed your Golden Core at such a young age—truly enviable."
Yun Xi offered a bitter smile.
"Zhēnjūn, I only broke through out of necessity. It was a matter of survival."
"Sounds like your little expedition has been quite eventful."
Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn chuckled.
He had already noticed her bone age—only fifteen. Forming a Golden Core this early was clearly not something Leng Ruohan had planned.
"Yes. Zhēnjūn, please first subdue these people. They're working with evil cultivators. Their role is to locate mortals with special physiques in the mundane world, raise them as cauldrons, and then transport them to the cultivation Realm."
Yun Xi succinctly reported the most critical information.
Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn swept his sleeve, knocking the remaining enemies unconscious. With a flick of his wrist, his sleeve-world technique activated, swallowing them all into the folds of his robe. Then he summoned a flying vessel and brought the four of them aboard.
Before leaving, he erased all traces of their presence in the area—including taking the nineteen mortals with special physiques. Not a single mark was left behind.
Once they were safely away, Liu Haotian began explaining their experience at Xiafei Valley—how they'd stumbled across the corpse-rearing grounds and zombies, discovered the Soul-Gathering Mirror in Taoyuan Village, and eventually uncovered the evil cultivators' secret trafficking of special-physique mortals. Just as they were catching the perpetrators, City Lord Li ambushed them.
The others filled in the missing details. Half an hour later, Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn had a full picture of the events. His expression grew grim. If an entire sect was collaborating with evil cultivators, the implications were serious.
Wei Yunxi, ever perceptive, took the memory jade from her waist and offered it.
"Zhēnjūn, this contains a record of the events, enough to verify everything we've said."
The others presented their own memory jades as well. Between the four of them, it was enough to reconstruct the full timeline.
Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn's expression softened.
"Well done. You even thought to collect evidence. Leave the rest to me."
Yun Xi glanced over the side of the flying vessel. Seeing they had already left the border zone, she cupped her fists.
"Zhēnjūn, may I trouble you to drop me near Kunyu City? I originally left the sect to return to my clan, but the journey took many unexpected turns."
Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn did not object. He simply smiled.
"You were the one to uncover the evil cultivators' new scheme. Shouldn't you return to the sect and report it?"
Yun Xi answered without hesitation.
"Senior overpraises me. I may have contributed, but I don't dare claim the main credit.
If it weren't for Liu Daoyou noticing the mortal realm's disrupted fate threads, we'd never have found the corpse-rearing ground. Without Liu Daoyou uncovering the spatial fold of the Soul-Gathering Mirror, we couldn't have destroyed the mirror spirit.
And it was Liu Daoyou and Yu Daoyou who first identified the special physique of the courtesan. Without that, we'd never have uncovered the Yin Yang Sect's involvement. The credit belongs to the two Daoyou from Baihua Tower."
Her words made both Yu Qingcheng and Liu Haotian slightly embarrassed, but on reflection, they had to admit she wasn't wrong—though Yun Xi had modestly downplayed her own role.
"Hahaha, you're a clever little girl."
Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn could tell Yunxi was intentionally giving credit to Baihua Tower. Still, he accepted the gesture—his own two elite disciples had indeed played a part in uncovering the conspiracy.
But Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn didn't want to owe a favor. He lightly tapped his storage ring and produced a green jade hairpin, pushing it toward Yun Xi with a smile.
"This defensive hairpin is for you. It can block three strikes from a Nascent Soul cultivator. Next time you run into Li Chang, you won't be so helpless."
Yun Xi accepted it with both hands, tracing her fingers along the surface. The hairpin was crafted from pale pea-green jade, its shaft carved like a bamboo joint about the width of a child's pinky finger. At one end, three delicate bamboo leaves fanned out—simple, but exquisitely made.
"Many thanks for the treasure, Zhēnjūn. I truly like it."
She expressed her gratitude respectfully and immediately bound it with a drop of blood. Then she tucked it into her hair and turned to ask Yu Qingcheng and Xia You with a playful smile,
"How does it look?"
"Of course it looks good. Zhēnjūn has the best taste in all of Baihua Tower."
Yu Qingcheng squinted her phoenix-like eyes and delivered a colorful compliment. Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn's smile grew deeper.
Knowing they'd soon part ways, the four exchanged the aura signatures from their communication jade slips, promising to team up again when the opportunity arose. Yunxi even traded for three spare memory jades from Xia You.
Finally, Wei Yunxi disembarked at the foot of Yuling Mountain, a hundred miles outside Kunyu City—officially bidding farewell to her companions.