Dian Dian's beady black eyes swiveled several times after hearing Yun Xi's words. Then it suddenly exclaimed in surprise,
"Master, you're trying to push Wei Yunqing toward becoming an evil cultivator."
Before it could finish the rest of its sentence, Yun Xi pressed a finger to its snout, her smile bright and full of mischief.
"Dian Dian, some things don't need to be said out loud."
Dian Dian flicked its tail in understanding, and only then did Yun Xi withdraw her hand.
"But Master, how can you be sure she'll actually do what you expect?"
Yun Xi replied with an easy shrug,
"I'm not sure. The choice is hers to make."
Dian Dian could only twitch its ears and start pondering the deeper meaning behind its master's words.
Meanwhile, Wei Yunqing had already been helped back to her room by Du Ruolan. After swallowing a healing pill from her storage pouch, some color finally returned to her face.
Seeing her daughter's eyes slowly open, Du Ruolan asked with concern, "Qing'er, are you alright?"
"Mother, I'm fine. I was too reckless this time," Wei Yunqing replied. Though she accepted her mother's concern, the hatred in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Du Ruolan didn't quite know how to comfort her. After all, her daughter had clearly suffered a loss at the hands of Wei Yunxi. Still, she did her best to soothe her.
"Qing'er, your mother may not be accomplished in cultivation, but I know that improving one's realm doesn't happen overnight. Right now her cultivation might be higher than yours, but you're not far behind. I believe you'll surpass her one day. Just in terms of aptitude, you already outshine her.
Who knows how she formed her Golden Core? It could've been aided by a pill, or perhaps her master stepped in to help.
You've never had a master, yet you still managed to reach the mid-stage Foundation Establishment through your own effort. That alone proves your strength. Forming a core is only a matter of time, and even reaching the Nascent Soul stage isn't out of reach. There's no need to get hung up on this momentary setback."
Du Ruolan clearly understood her daughter well. These words hit Wei Yunqing exactly where she needed, softening her expression and restoring some of her confidence.
Their entire conversation, word for word, was carried back to Yun Xi through the Flying Mist Butterfly. She lightly rubbed the black chess piece in her hand, a faint smile playing on her lips.
From this alone, Yun Xi could see that Wei Yunqing was indeed favored by fate. At the very least, she had a mother who always put her first—someone who could step in and comfort her when her emotions were unstable. In that sense, she was far luckier than someone like Yun Xi, who had no one to rely on.
Still, Yun Xi saw all of this as mere external support. In the end, the path one walked came down to their own choices.
"Yun Xi, about what happened today—it was your Second Uncle's lack of foresight that caused you grievance."
The head of the Wei family spoke up with an apologetic tone, noticing that Yun Xi had yet to place her chess piece.
Only after she set it down did Yun Xi smile and say, "Second Uncle, you were only looking out for the younger generation of the clan. You weren't wrong, and neither was I. It's just that Wei Yunqing's thinking is too extreme. She can't accept that a three-spirit-root cultivator like me might surpass her."
"Wei Yunqing does have the best talent among her peers in our family. The elders all place high hopes on her, so it's only natural she's been affected over time.
But your presence proves that aptitude alone isn't the only thing that determines a clan disciple's future on the path to immortality. In fact, there was a similar disagreement within the clan once before, also due to the issue of talent."
Wei Lingtao paused there, as if reluctant to dig deeper into the topic.
But Yun Xi was intrigued. Smiling, she asked, "Does this have something to do with the Old Ancestor?"
Wei Lingtao looked up at her, impressed by her perceptiveness. He nodded.
"Yes. This matter is indeed related to the Ancestor. The other party involved was none other than Ancestor Chen Yin, who currently cultivates at the Law (fa) Peak of Haoran Sect."
The name was unfamiliar to Yun Xi, but she did know that the Wei clan had a Golden Core elder stationed in the Haoran Sect's inner sect—someone who served as a powerful backing for the family.
Curious, she asked, "Second Uncle, would you tell me what happened?"
Wei Lingtao placed a white stone on the board, carefully choosing his words before recounting a past grievance from the previous generation.
The current clan Ancestor, Wei Nanfeng, and the Law Peak elder from Haoran Sect, Wei Chenyin, were siblings of the same generation—much like Yun Xi and her cousins Zong Hao and Zong Jin. They had entered the family's cultivation hall at the same time to begin their training.
Wei Nanfeng had the best aptitude among their peers—he was a dual-spirit-root cultivator, just like Wei Yunqing. Wei Chenyin's aptitude was slightly lower, possessing three spirit roots, just like Yun Xi.
Back then, the Wei clan hadn't yet established ties with Yu Feng Zhēnjūn, so they didn't have the guaranteed access to sect training they now enjoyed. The only way into a sect was to wait for Haoran Sect's open disciple recruitment.
All of the Wei clan disciples yearned for the wider world, so they entered the Haoran Sect's entrance trials together. Both Wei Nanfeng and Wei Chenyin passed and became outer sect disciples. From there, they began their journey cultivating side by side within Haoran Sect.
Although they came from the same clan and should've supported each other, Wei Nanfeng looked down on Wei Chenyin, believing her inferior aptitude meant she would inevitably be left behind. As a result, he never teamed up with her for training or cultivation.
Wei Nanfeng spent his time beyond cultivation socializing with disciples who had clear paths to immortality. In his eyes, those were the only people worth befriending—the ones who could become part of his future network and offer support on his journey.
But when he formed his Foundation and entered the inner sect, he was shocked to find that Wei Chenyin had already joined the inner sect ahead of him. The realization unsettled him deeply.
After that, he frequently sought her out, trying to uncover how she had advanced ahead of him.
Wei Chenyin wasn't foolish. She was fully aware that Wei Nanfeng had always looked down on her, and his sudden change in attitude was clearly a ploy to uncover her opportunity. But opportunities in cultivation weren't something one simply gave away, especially not to a relative who had always kept his distance.
So she took on a long-term mission and left the sect, avoiding him entirely. Her absence only fueled Wei Nanfeng's suspicions—he became convinced she possessed some rare artifact or secret technique for rapid advancement. While she was away, he "accidentally" let this theory slip to others.
When Wei Chenyin returned from her mission, she found herself surrounded by sycophants. Disciples with ulterior motives approached her constantly—some even proposed dual cultivation, hoping to gain her trust and steal her secrets.
Just as she was becoming fed up, Wei Nanfeng stepped in to "protect" her, offering to deal with these pests if she would simply share her advancement technique with him.
If Wei Chenyin hadn't seen through everything by then, she would've been a fool. Disgusted by her cousin's manipulation, she turned around and offered her cultivation method—Supreme True Essence Conversion Technique—to the sect itself. Her only condition was that Wei Nanfeng be expelled from Haoran Sect.
Yun Xi raised an eyebrow. "What was so special about this technique?"
"It doesn't require any specific spirit root. As long as the cultivator has a spirit root, they can practice it. However, it's best suited to complementary elements. If your roots are oppositional, like water and fire, it's not advisable to train in it."
"I see. That explains how Ancestor Chen Yin got into the inner sect ahead of him."
"Exactly."
Yun Xi let out a soft chuckle, tinged with irony. "So Ancestor Nanfeng's scheming ended up being all for nothing."