Xia Yiwan respectfully thanked Bing Li as well, bowing her head in sincere gratitude. Even though she had regained consciousness in the end, it really had been just a hair's breadth away from a complete disaster. After that, she respectfully returned the black storage bracelet to Yunxi's hand.
After taking the bracelet, Yunxi spoke to Ancestor Hao Ran. "Ancestor, this disciple was still careless in her movements. Those evil cultivators probably saw through my identity earlier, which is why they used my storage bracelet to hide the Undying Tree. If the Undying Tree couldn't be sent out of Yixian Gate in the end, that would have been the second pot of dirty water they poured on this disciple to frame her."
Bing Li muttered quietly to herself, her voice low. "These evil cultivators are really vicious in their planning. Their methods are truly filthy."
Ancestor Hao Ran burst out laughing, the sound echoing through the rafters. "Ran Xi, you have clashed with evil cultivators many times now. Every time, they couldn't gain the upper hand and instead had their plans ruined by you, even getting a chunk torn off them in the process. That's why they switched to these underhanded tricks. You will have to be careful in the future."
"Ancestor's reminder is well taken. Ran Xi will remember it," she replied, her expression serious.
Yuan Shuang looked at Liang Xiao and Huo Chongshan, her gaze sharp and assessing. "Yebai Daoyou, how should these two be dealt with now that they have been caught?"
Chen Yebai stroked his long white beard and said calmly, his voice steady. "Zisang, search their souls directly. This Lord wants to see how many informants they planted inside Yixian Gate over the years."
"Yes, Ancestor."
You Zisang answered her Ancestor crisply and flashed to Liang Xiao's side, reaching out to search his soul first. He was a sect elder with authority second only to the Ancestors. If he had done things harmful to Yixian Gate's interests, who knew how many disciples would have suffered because of him. She didn't hold back at all as her divine sense plunged into his mind to uncover the truth.
Liang Xiao roared, his face twisting with fear and defiance, "You Zisang, you can't do this to me!"
No matter how much he cursed and struggled against her grip, it couldn't change his fate today.
In the end, his eyes turned dull and vacant, and he collapsed onto the cold stone ground. Her expression didn't look good either after the search. She took out a blank jade slip from her sleeve, recorded the information she had obtained from the soul search, and pushed it across the table in front of her Ancestor.
Then she turned to search Huo Chongshan's soul as he stood there. He was much calmer than Liang Xiao had been. He shifted his gaze to Yunxi, who was absentmindedly petting Li Li's soft fur.
"Wei Yunxi, you can't stop the evil god's return to this world," he said, his voice cold.
She replied without changing her expression or pausing the rhythmic movement of her hand. "The evil god's return isn't something I alone can stop. I'm not arrogant enough to think that I have such power. But as long as they don't want to become mere sacrifices to the evil god, the various cultivators of the Weiling Realm will naturally unite and block the evil god's unsealing step by step."
"What we need to do now is buy more time, let the Weiling Realm remain whole and strong, and then return to the Immortal Region," she continued, her voice level.
After hearing those words, his pupils shrank into tiny dark points. In the next instant, his cultivation scattered with a visible shimmer of light. He aged to death on the spot, his skin wrinkling and his hair turning white so fast that she didn't even have time to search his soul before he expired.
The great hall fell into a deep silence again, as if everyone present was thinking about the heavy exchange they had just witnessed.
Huaxian Gate's Hua Ye Zhēnzūn looked at Yunxi and asked, "Ran Xi Xiaoyou, do you know what the evil cultivators' next plan might be?"
She shook her head slowly, saying she didn't know the specifics of their future movements.
"Then what did you mean by what you just said to him?"
"That was this junior bluffing him to see his reaction," she admitted. "Ever since returning from the Weiyu Realm to the Spirit Region, I have noticed the evil cultivators have grown more and more impatient. Even though this junior hasn't entered the Ancient Battlefield yet, I still know the situation there isn't optimistic. Otherwise, the Western Region garrison closest to the Yunxiao Sea wouldn't have expanded again and again to meet the threat."
Yuan Shuang rolled her wrist, her knuckles cracking in the quiet room. "One day, I'm going to beat all of them back into the Wuwang Ruins where they belong."
The Zhēnzūn present all knew how intense the fighting on the Ancient Battlefield had been in recent years, but they hadn't expected her to be this sharp, drawing so many accurate conclusions just from the evil cultivators' small movements.
Ancestor Hao Ran smoothly changed the subject to practical matters. "Now that the Undying Tree has been recovered, we need to deal with the aftermath of the beast tide in the Wolong Mountain Range and the matter of Dengyun Tower. Who knows how many Spirit Realm cultivators they have harmed during their time here. These are all hidden dangers. If they aren't resolved for even a single day, they will become help for the evil cultivators trying to overturn the Weiling Realm in the future."
His warning wasn't an exaggeration. Evil seeds were never good things for the stability of the cultivation world.
Xiao He Zhēnzūn was the first to speak among them. "Lu Zhihui has already regained his consciousness. He will handle those rampaging beasts still in the forest. It's just that we still haven't figured out how he was controlled by an evil soul in the first place, so the few of us shouldn't leave Xiaolong City for now until we are certain of the cause."
Yuan Shuang, Hua Ye, and Hao Ran all agreed with his suggestion.
Chen Yebai also spoke from the head of the hall. "Yixian Gate will send out disciples to handle the aftermath of the sudden beast tide. I will leave that matter to the Sect Master to organize."
Next came the difficult issue of dealing with the evil seeds planted in others. Not every cultivator connected to Dengyun Tower was willing to admit they had been implanted with an evil seed. If things went wrong and they were left alone, it would be disastrous for everyone involved.
Ancestor Hao Ran waved his hand decisively in the air. "Then announce it openly to the region. Who has had dual cultivation with Dengyun Tower's disciples knows it themselves. If they don't want to be controlled by evil seeds and become fallen evil cultivators, they can come to Yixian Gate on their own for treatment and removal."
After hearing her Ancestor's bold words, Yunxi's mouth twitched with a faint amusement. He really passed the buck smoothly to the other sect, without even asking whether the gate agreed to the burden. Extracting evil seeds wasn't easy work at all. If something went wrong, it could easily affect a cultivator's divine soul and their future cultivation.
Chen Yebai's hand paused on his long white beard. He shot him a quick glare, then looked at her with a gentle expression on his face. "Ran Xi Xiaoyou, this Lord knows you inherited the Yixian Gate of the Weiyu Realm and can be considered half a Yixian Gate disciple yourself. Your alchemy skills are also outstanding. If not for the breakthrough pills you refined, the Weiyu Realm wouldn't have had a hundred Out-of-Body cultivators ascend, nor would it have smoothly returned to the Spirit Region. This matter of removing the evil seeds will require your assistance."
As soon as she heard the buildup in his voice, she knew the big shot had his eye on her for the task, especially given that last sentence.
Ancestor Hao Ran immediately protested the idea. "Yebai, I came to Yixian Gate to help you. You can't trap my junior like this. She doesn't mainly cultivate the medical path like your disciples. What if something goes wrong during the process?"
Yunxi also spoke up at the right time to defend herself. "Thank you for Zhēnzūn's regard for my skills. Although this junior is the inheritor of Yixian Gate in the Weiyu Realm, I have spent much more of my energy on alchemy. I really haven't studied the medical path in depth. Simple diagnosis is fine for me, but something like removing evil seeds that requires such exquisite skill is probably beyond my ability."
Chen Yebai smiled kindly at her. "No problem at all. Since you aren't proficient yet, then that's all the more reason to stay at Yixian Gate for a while and refine your medical skills under our guidance. After all, having more skills never hurts a cultivator. If you enter the Ancient Battlefield in the future, it will be another way to save your own life."
She really wanted to refuse the offer, but Ancestor Hao Ran thought for a moment and sent her a private voice transmission. "Ran Xi, Chen Yebai might be weak in combat, but his medical path really is unmatched in the Weiling Realm. If you receive his personal guidance, you will definitely make breakthroughs in your own medicine refining."
"Even though improving the medical path has a cost in time, one thing he said is right," he continued. "Skills don't weigh you down. Besides, you have always been on the evil cultivators' kill list. You need to cultivate more life-saving methods for yourself."
After hearing that advice, she fell silent for a moment. It felt like a new skill had been unlocked for her. In the end, she decided to stay at Yixian Gate for now to learn. She also didn't want to see Bing Li roaming freely on her own where she might get into trouble, so she coaxed her into staying as well.
After sending her Ancestor off to his own duties, Yunxi and Bing Li temporarily stayed at Guest Peak. The first problematic cultivator she received for treatment was Lu Zhihui from the Wolong Mountain Range.
When the two met in the room, an invisible tension spread between them instantly. Even Bing Li, who had wanted to watch the fun, was startled into stepping back twice from the intensity of the atmosphere.