Yun Jin tapped the progress bar and collected the 20% and 30% stage rewards.
The system combined the rewards and issued the notification together.
[You have received 1,000 high-tier simplification uses. Partial cultivation insights have been released.]
With the influx of high-tier usage, Yun Jin's Emotional Value suddenly became far more abundant. That meant she could now absorb the third supreme fragment as well.
As for the released cultivation insights, Yun Jin was especially fond of those. She had traveled through countless small worlds, and most of her soul power and cultivation experience had been sealed.
So after returning to her original world, she had to start from scratch all over again.
But this time...
After receiving the system's reward, a portion of those past cultivation insights was released. In several of the small worlds she had visited, she had once reached the realm of immortals and gods.
Now, even if only a small part was recovered, it still granted her a tremendous increase in comprehension. Her talent and perception had both taken a huge leap. Even without the system, she would already count as a once-in-a-generation genius.
With the system?
She was downright inhuman.
Her other main quest, establishing a Holy Land-grade sect, still showed no progress.
However...
Under the line showing her currently bound sect, Tianxing Sect, a new [Change] button had appeared, indicating that she could now switch affiliations.
Yun Jin wasn't in a rush. She left it alone for now.
Just then—
The system's scan results arrived.
A detailed map appeared in Yun Jin's mind. Every Unity-stage or higher combatant was represented by a glowing dot.
In cultivation society, Unity-stage cultivators were already considered elite within mid-tier sects.
There weren't many of them.
Within a thousand-mile radius, the highest concentration of Unity-stage and above experts was clustered inside two mid-tier sects.
Tianxing Sect accounted for a large portion of those.
Several Grand Elders.
Ten Peak Lords. Plus other top experts like Elder Ming.
Altogether, Tianxing Sect had roughly twenty cultivators above the Unity stage.
On the map, pink dots represented Unity stage.
Deep red dots signified Tribulation stage.
And golden dots indicated Mahayana stage.
In and around Tianxing Sect...
There were eight deep red dots.
Eight Tribulation-stage cultivators.
By rights, Tianxing Sect should have only three people at that level—the Grand Elders.
Yet there were five more red dots unaccounted for.
Those five were positioned just outside Tianxing Sect, motionless on He Shan side. Clearly, they had been lying in ambush for quite some time.
And the Grand Elders likely had no idea.
Otherwise, the sudden presence of unfamiliar Tribulation-stage cultivators would have warranted an immediate investigation. Five of them appearing all at once? That could spell disaster for Tianxing Sect if their intentions were hostile.
Aside from that—
Yun Jin's pupils narrowed sharply.
In another region of the map, three golden dots had appeared.
Mahayana-stage.
There were actually Mahayana cultivators among them.
Looking further out, she saw another group making their way directly toward Tianxing Sect.
This group's power was staggering.
There were more than ten Unity-stage cultivators on the map, seven Tribulation-stage, and they were led by a single Mahayana.
Their movement was clearly aimed at Tianxing Sect.
However—
Even though they were already quite close...
Their movements were slow and cautious.
They were clearly being extremely careful.
Nowhere near as brazen as the ones lying in wait near Tianxing Sect.
Yun Jin narrowed her eyes.
There were two separate forces at play here.
One had already hidden themselves near Tianxing Sect. They were confident in whatever technique or item they had, sure that they wouldn't be discovered.
The other group was moving cautiously, clearly afraid of being noticed.
Their contrasting behavior made it obvious—they weren't working together.
Yun Jin recalled the strange matter someone had brought up earlier and narrowed her eyes again. She suspected that the ones near Tianxing Sect were the people summoned by Yang Yun—his subordinates. As for the approaching group, Yun Jin had her own theory.
In her past life...
That approaching force had been a nightmare. Even a high-tier sect wouldn't have been able to handle them easily. That exact lineup had appeared only once.
The day the demon clans massacred Tianxing Sect.
A cold glint flashed in Yun Jin's eyes.
So...
Unless she was wrong...
This group of demon clans was the same one from her previous life. The demon clans had internal conflict. Some didn't want Yang Yun to return alive.
And Yang Yun knew that.
So he deliberately leaked his location, luring the demon clans over. He pretended to be weakened, giving the impression he had no capable allies left.
In truth, before suffering his injuries, he had already planted his pieces in the central region. His powerful subordinates had long been gathering near him.
Once the enemy demon clans arrived—
Yang Yun let them rampage through Tianxing Sect, plunging the place into terror and chaos.
Then—
He and his people descended like saviors from the heavens.
They annihilated the invading demons and were hailed as Tianxing Sect's heroes.
Afterward...
Yang Yun even received a commendation from the Demon-Slaying Alliance. No one suspected him of having any ties to the demon clans after that. Later, he provided information about several more hostile demon groups, prompting the human clans to hunt them down, earning even more trust.
But the truth?
Every group he exposed had been opposed to him within the demon clans. By using the human cultivators to eliminate all opposition, Yang Yun returned to the demon clans and seized power effortlessly.
And now—
Clearly—
Yang Yun wanted to run the same script again. He had lured the demon clans here once more and was fully prepared to act the part of a savior. No doubt, he and Zhao Wuji had already reached some sort of agreement behind the scenes.
Otherwise—
Why would Zhao Wuji be hosting a banquet right before both events?
That happened last time too.
And now, once again, Zhao Wuji was throwing a banquet.
That banquet was absolutely suspicious.
Yun Jin's gaze turned cold.
Colluding with demon clans. Orchestrating the massacre of Tianxing Sect. Then twisting the survivors into feeling grateful toward them.
Yang Yun and Zhao Wuji were truly scheming well.
But this time, they would not succeed.
"Senior, I may need you to unleash Mahayana-level combat power," Yun Jin said to the Lava Dragon.
The Lava Dragon nodded. "Understood. If I go all out, ordinary Mahayana cultivators won't last a single round against me."
That wasn't arrogance.
He was a Lava Dragon, a legendary beast famed for combat prowess even among the strongest of spirit beasts.
If not for the side effect of falling into deep slumber after overexerting himself, he could probably punch a hole through the heavens.
"There may not be a need for you to go all out," Yun Jin said. "With Senior Sword Spirit and the Tian Po Sword as well, the three of you combined should be enough. Just your regular Mahayana strength will suffice."
She had already done the math.
Back then, when the demon clans attacked Tianxing Sect, for some reason, the Grand Elders and Peak Lords couldn't even put up a proper fight. Most were defeated instantly.
Yun Jin suspected this had everything to do with Zhao Wuji's banquet. If they could preempt that and everyone maintained peak condition, Tianxing Sect wouldn't fall so easily.
They just needed to hold out for a while. Reinforcements from the Demon-Slaying Alliance would surely arrive once the battle started.
Yang Yun and his people wouldn't have the chance to swoop in like heroes.
This time—
All Yun Jin had to do was uncover the truth behind that banquet. That alone could prevent the entire tragedy. With the full strength of Tianxing Sect, plus the forces she had brought back, it would be enough.
There were only three Mahayana cultivators in total. Two on Yang Yun's side, one among the approaching force.
An Tong had said the Sword Spirit alone could deal with three ordinary Mahayana cultivators.
With the Lava Dragon and Tian Po Sword added into the mix, stabilizing the situation would be more than possible.