The crimson bracelet on Wei Yunqing's wrist could no longer remain invisible. It appeared and began flashing continuously, trying to awaken its master.
Unfortunately, Wei Yunqing was still immersed in the beautiful illusion of digging up Wei Yunxi's spirit roots and Golden Core. This time, it was orchestrated by the Wei Family Ancestor, prompting Sheng Yuhong to intervene. This gave the two of them a shared secret, ensuring they would never be separated in the future.
The exquisite illusion made Wei Yunqing unable to stop, while the crimson bracelet had to draw spiritual energy from the surrounding space to maintain her vitality. This caused the space to shrink steadily, approaching the edge of collapse.
Yun Xi, of course, knew nothing of this. She was exploring the second floating island. This time, she had learned her lesson. Seeing spirit plants absent from her garden, she transplanted a fully grown one and another seedling, planning to cultivate them later.
On this floating island, first to third-rank spirit plants had no guardian beasts nearby. Perhaps it was because of her strength, or because she hadn't uprooted all the plants. Either way, the absence of guardians spared Yun Xi considerable trouble.
After exploring a third of the island, her harvest was already decent. As she proceeded further, she suddenly heard the sounds of combat. Frowning, she released her divine sense and discovered that both combatants were human cultivators, while the beasts cowered in the distance.
Yun Xi narrowed her eyes and instantly appeared at the scene. Both sides recoiled, alert, and fixed their gaze on her.
Zhou Langchen of the Mingjian Sect looked at Yun Xi seriously. Seeing her wearing the robes of a Haoran Sect elder, he spoke with calm authority: "This Daoyou of Haoran Sect, please lend me a hand and subdue this person."
On the other side, a male cultivator with a hollowed mask sneered: "What? Do you ignore our Kunmo Sect and intend to ally with western sect cultivators to destroy us within this secret realm?"
Yun Xi raised her brows, realizing the man was deliberately provoking. She replied with a faint smile:"Daoyou, that is a blatant attempt to sow discord. How have western sect cultivators offended you?"
She glanced at Zhou Langchen while speaking. From her understanding, this man was not naturally troublesome. Sword cultivators of the ruthless path cared only about swords. If one's sword skills were exceptional, challengers might arise, but they would not risk life and death over spirit materials alone.
Zhou Langchen read Yun Xi's gaze and hesitated before speaking: "He seems off. He should not be a Kunmo Sect cultivator."
Though his words were vague, Yun Xi understood. Narrowing her eyes, she scrutinized the man in the black dark-gold patterned robe, his hollow mask concealing the upper half of his face.
The masked man seemed offended by her gaze and snorted coldly: "If you intend to kill and seize treasures, say so. Stop with such unconvincing excuses. I have allies as you do. Just wait."
He prepared to teleport, but Yun Xi blocked him first.
Her afterimage remained, but she had already appeared before him. She stopped him with a faint, sinister smile: "Hmph! I did not expect evil cultivators to infiltrate the secret realm. Truly, nothing is safe from you. What is your plan? Pretend to be an outsider to strike us, then disguise yourselves as us to massacre other sects of the four regions, sowing discord among the five regions. The more die in the secret realm, the greater your gains, is that it?"
As the last word left her lips, the cultivator realized the situation was dire. He crushed the unpredictable teleportation talisman in his hand. A burst of white light enveloped him, vanishing from Yun Xi and Zhou Langchen's sight.
Yun Xi's Mystic Frost Needle had already pierced his dantian. Even though he was teleported, he would be gravely injured.
Zhou Langchen instantly teleported beside Yun Xi and asked: "Daoyou, are you certain he is an evil cultivator?"
Yun Xi nodded: "I am Feng Xiyun of Haoran Sect. My cultivation method allows me to perceive a person's entire aura. Although he disguised himself as a demon cultivator, the auras of demon and evil cultivators differ. I detected the flaw."
Of course, this was her explanation outwardly. In truth, it was Dian Dian who saw through the disguise. Upon arriving, Dian Dian had sniffed carefully and then transmitted to Yun Xi: "Master, that demon cultivator is actually an evil cultivator in disguise. Dian Dian was nearly deceived."
"Are you sure, Dian Dian?"
"Certain. The auras of Dao, Demon, Buddhist, and Evil differ. He tried to mask his evil aura with a demonic one, but some aspects cannot be hidden."
After confirming the true identity, Yun Xi naturally sided with Zhou Langchen. She even tricked the opponent, who fled without a fight—clearly guilty, or unwilling to give her a chance to confirm, which proved her guess correct.
Yun Xi turned to Zhou Langchen: "Daoyou, how did you get entangled with him?"
Zhou Langchen replied calmly: "I found a third-rank Yinxi Grass. He tried to trade other spirit plants for it. I refused, and he attacked, attempting to seize it. During the fight, I sensed something odd about his aura, though his strength in mid-Golden Core matched mine.
I could not be sure of subduing him. Then Feng Daoyou appeared, rescuing me and confirming my suspicion."
He paused, then asked: "Have we met before?"
Yun Xi smiled slightly: "Once, at Shuangshan City. I also heard of a female cultivator fond of you, wanting to become your partner, a practitioner of the ruthless path. I remembered, so I recognized you immediately."
Hearing this, Zhou Langchen's eyes twitched slightly. He cupped his hands and said: "Forgive me, Feng Daoyou. The matter is resolved here. Let us explore separately."
Yun Xi understood. He did not want to team up, which did not bother her. She only reminded: "Zhou Daoyou, if possible, inform your sect about encountering evil cultivators. Others must be cautious. We do not know how many have infiltrated this secret realm."
Zhou Langchen replied in a low voice: "Your warning is noted. I will notify my sect, though I cannot help the other four regions."
"You can transmit a message to the Yuányīng Zhēnjūn. They are connected. Once the message spreads, the Zhēnjūn will be more vigilant than us."
"Agreed."
Maintaining his usual cold demeanor, Zhou Langchen sent communication talismans to familiar disciples and informed his master, Shi Jun Zhēnjūn. Yet, he received no reply.
Yun Xi immediately sent messages to Wei Chenyin and the others. From her understanding of evil cultivators, there would be more than one infiltrator.
Meanwhile, Ye Yirui of Medicine King Valley was locked in combat with Elder Wang.