"Master! Master! That female cultivator is an evil cultivator. Her aura is identical to that red flower!"
Dian Dian didn't even poke its head out, frantically sending a voice transmission to Yun Xi.
"I can see that."
Yun Xi's reply was brief. Her sharp gaze locked onto the woman in red, and at the same time she sent a quiet transmission to the three beside her:
"That woman is the source of the giant beasts' corruption. She's a red evil flower in human form. Everyone, be careful."
Han Lian, Xun Kun, and Yun Chen all exchanged a glance and nodded in unison. Each quickly swallowed a pill to restore their depleted spiritual power.
Meanwhile, the Xianling Grass hidden in Yun Xi's sleeve was continuously feeding strands of blue-green light into her body, doing its best to replenish her drained strength.
The red-clad woman, seeing the four of them battered and worn, smiled with alluring charm.
"You human cultivators are truly amusing. You enter secret realms only to plunder resources. Now that I've given you so many beasts to temper yourselves against, why are you suddenly so afraid?"
From her words, Yun Xi had no doubt—this was indeed the evil flower in disguise.
She didn't know what its exact aim was, but whatever it wanted, it wasn't anything good. Quietly, she let Zi Yan's violet flame spread over her body. There was no way this flower had revealed itself without ulterior motives.
But the others were still heavily exhausted. It wasn't the right time to strike. She needed to stall.
So she spoke slowly:
"It's true that we cultivators enter secret realms for resources, and also for tempering ourselves. The realm only stays open for a limited time. Its natural dangers block our paths. Powerful beasts attack us. We suffer wounds and sometimes fall. Struggles are mutual. Human cultivators are not invincible.
But you… you twist the beasts with evil qi, forcing them to attack us against their will. That is not their true intent. And as for us cultivators, we walk against the heavens every day. Do you think we would fear danger? It is nothing more than troublesome."
The evil flower laughed uproariously.
"That is why I said human cultivators are most skilled at talking circles. Since you're unafraid, and since fate has brought you before me, then stay here in the secret realm… and keep me company!"
The moment her voice fell, the violet flames cloaking Yun Xi suddenly roared to life, crackling like sparks on dry wood. Thin wisps of white smoke curled up from her body.
The woman's smile faltered. With a twist of her figure, she vanished from her spot and reappeared, darting straight toward Yun Chen Fózǐ, whose spiritual energy was weakest.
Her body turned into gray mist, swirling toward him. Yet before she could get close, the golden Buddhist radiance around Yun Chen surged and blasted her back.
The mist writhed, then shot toward Xun Kun Zhēnjūn.
"Hmph!" Xun Kun snorted coldly, summoning black demonic fire that ignited around him. It clashed with the gray mist, twining together in violent sparks.
Han Lian frowned. In a blur, she avoided the mist entirely, reappearing at Yun Chen's side.
Yun Xi, quick to react, sent a transmission to Xun Kun: "Xun Kun Zhēnjūn, hold that mist back. I'll take care of the flower itself."
She didn't wait for a reply. The moment her words left her, her body split with the Thousand Shadows Riding the Wind technique—leaving behind a phantom doppelgänger as she herself slipped away toward the flower's true form.
"Master, isn't that too risky?" Dian Dian asked nervously.
"That's exactly what I want. It left its true body close by, afraid we might heavily wound it. So it uses evil qi to distract us, just like it twisted those giant beasts. That makes this the perfect opening."
Her answer was calm. In the next instant, Yun Xi was standing before the flower's original form.
The scarlet flower wasn't undefended. A ring of hulking demonized beasts surrounded it, their eyes fully gray, twisted by corruption to the utmost.
Yun Xi's divine sense swept back, then she opened her palm. A violet flame flickered in her hand.
"Zi Yan, this time it's on you. Burn that evil flower to ash. Even if it survives, we cannot let it keep spreading corruption."
"As long as your spiritual energy is enough, Master, I will complete the task."
"Then go!"
Yun Xi flicked her hand, sending the violet flame flying.
It shot forth like a tiny spark, slipping through hide and sinew of the beasts. By the time a black bear among them sensed danger, Zi Yan was already blazing around the evil flower.
With a whoosh, purple fire erupted. The beasts roared in agitation as the flames licked at their master.
At that moment, Xun Kun's voice reached her: "Feng Daoyou, the gray mist abandoned us. It's heading your way."
Yun Xi immediately replied: "Xun Kun Daoyou, block it no matter what. Don't let it reunite with its body. I will hasten the destruction of the flower."
Then, to Zi Yan, she commanded: "Faster! Its consciousness is returning to its body!"
"Understood!"
Zi Yan's flames surged into a vast purple inferno, engulfing not only the red flower but the beasts as well. The blaze spun into a vortex, isolating the flower entirely from the outside world.
The display was dazzling, but the cost was devastating. Yun Xi's dantian and meridians were nearly drained dry. Even her small Yuányīng shriveled within, its light dimming.
Grinding her teeth, Yun Xi swallowed two supreme-grade spirit-replenishing pills and urged the Xianling Grass to send energy faster. Even so, she felt as if she was constantly walking the edge of depletion.
Her meridians screamed under the torrent, faint cracks appearing like dark veins. But she couldn't stop. If she faltered, the backlash would kill her.
Meanwhile, the others had joined forces, weaving a net of white, gold, and black energies. They trapped the mist, preventing it from reaching its body.
The gray haze solidified once more into the red-clad woman, but her face was now twisted in fury.
"Fools! Do you think destroying my body means you can leave alive? Dream on! You'll all die here!"
Yun Xi's shadow-clone stood beside Yun Chen Fózǐ. Her voice was cold.
"You didn't think the one who brought you into the secret realm would truly help you, did you? You're nothing but a tool to delay other cultivators. Do you really think he cares about your survival?
Did he promise you this? That if you seized control of the secret realm, you'd become half its master, protected from the lightning tribulation, free to ascend to the Immortal Realm once you grew stronger? Isn't that right?"
The clone wasn't strong enough to fight, so she wielded words instead, cutting at the flower's conviction.
And it worked. For a fleeting instant, the woman's gaze flickered. But then she sneered. "So what? As long as I reach my goal, nothing else matters!"
Yun Xi's clone smiled sweetly.
"Then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. The one who brought you here has already failed his mission. He's been expelled from the secret realm."