Yun Xi could only feel a black line fall over her face at those words. If she could really find the Genesis Azure Lotus, why would she even need to ask about a second method for repairing her dantian? Forcing herself to be polite, she replied to Ethereal Grace:
"Senior, this Genesis Azure Lotus you speak of, I have only ever seen recorded in my sect's ancient texts. I don't even know if it truly exists in our world, let alone where to search for such a primordial treasure."
Ethereal Grace replied, "The true Genesis Azure Lotus was gradually destroyed not long after the creation of heaven and earth, unable to withstand the force of creation it carried. However, its residual essence scattered and transformed into countless treasures, drifting across the mortal realm. What you need to search for are those remnants."
Even hearing that, Yun Xi still felt the task impossibly difficult. Even fragments of such a thing might never appear in Wei Yu Realm. She sighed softly and answered, "Many thanks for your guidance, Senior. I will first focus on healing my other injuries before searching for a way to repair my dantian."
Now she could finally understand the desperation of Ye Yirui. She and Ye Yuchen were indeed alike in their plight. Ye Yirui had even come to her once for the sake of her younger brother. Yet at this moment, Yun Xi herself could barely protect her own life. Fortunately, she at least had someone she could turn to for advice.
Ethereal Grace continued, "Good. The remnants of the Genesis Azure Lotus are indeed hard to find, but I will keep an eye out for you. If I hear any news, I'll let you know."
"Thank you, Senior!" Yun Xi quickly sent back before logging out. Matters like this could not be rushed, and she had already prepared herself mentally for that truth.
Her divine sense drifted through her inner space, sweeping over the entire Yixian Gate, then checking on Fei Xia and Dian Dian. Finally, her divine sense circled the seven-colored lotus growing in the plantation's center. Confirming all was safe, she withdrew.
Touching her chin in thought, Yun Xi decided she would wait until the seven-colored lotus matured before consulting Ethereal Grace again. After all, every lotus-type spiritual plant bore traces of the Genesis Azure Lotus. Perhaps it could aid in repairing her dantian.
Having made up her mind, she set the matter aside, cleared her heart of distractions, and sank into focused meditation to begin repairing her own injuries.
Leng Ruohan had not announced Yun Xi's awakening to the outside world. She only sent a transmission talisman to Sect Master Yu Geng.
Yu Geng was in the middle of reviewing the sect's self-inspection reports from the past year. The moment he received the talisman from Yu Ling, his expression brightened noticeably. Standing beside him, Sheng Yuhong, who was assisting with sect affairs, immediately noticed the change.
When Yu Geng finally paused to rest, Sheng Yuhong asked, "Master, did some good news arrive?"
Taking a sip of spirit tea, Yu Geng glanced at his disciple and smiled. "Yun Xi has awakened."
Sheng Yuhong's eyes lit up at once. "Truly? How is her condition?"
That was what concerned him most.
After being expelled from the secret realm that day, Sheng Yuhong learned that evil cultivators had infiltrated, stirring up chaos, ambushing cultivators from the Five Domains, and trying to frame others to incite conflict between the regions. Fortunately, cultivators in each domain noticed the anomalies. Several traitors who had betrayed Wei Yu Realm were captured, and from their mouths the truth of the evil cultivators' scheme was pieced together. Among them, the one who had gravely wounded the fallen evil cultivator Li Chang was revealed to be someone from their own Haoran Sect.
Yet none of the domain leaders spoke aloud who that person was, clearly unwilling to let the lurking evil cultivators learn too much.
Moreover, the evil cultivators had smuggled not only evil souls into the secret realm, but also evil flowers, corrupting the spirit beasts inside. Nascent Soul cultivators from the Five Domains were forced to halt their exploration and were teleported by the secret realm's spirit to battle and eliminate the corrupted giant beasts. In this way, Golden Core cultivators like him were granted more time to explore.
In the end, only half of those who entered left the secret realm alive. Some perished during tempering trials, some fell to evil cultivators, others in conflicts among fellow cultivators. The exploration ended under a heavy, unsettling atmosphere.
Sheng Yuhong considered himself lucky. Though he had encountered companions he disliked and gained little in terms of treasure, he managed to advance solidly into mid-Golden Core. With this progress, he finally had confidence that he could one day catch up to Wei Yunxi.
But upon returning to the sect, he learned the truth: Yun Xi, in order to aid her master Yu Ling Zhēnjūn during her Divine Transformation tribulation, had withstood the tribulation lightning herself. She nearly perished, her soul almost scattered. Though her life was preserved, she had fallen into a coma and had been lying in the Qingye Pool ever since.
Worried beyond measure, Sheng Yuhong once attempted to visit her at the pool, but even after entering he could not see Wei Yunxi. He had no choice but to give up, keeping silent watch over Lingxue Peak instead.
Now, seeing his master in such good spirits, he had asked casually. He had not expected to hear that Yun Xi had already awakened.
Sect Master Yu Geng gave his eldest disciple a meaningful look. "Yun Xi may be awake, but her injuries are grave. To fully recover may take ten or even twenty years. Keep this matter to yourself. Do not spread it. At present, you must be cautious in both word and action. Some things are not meant to become common talk."
"Yes, Master. Your disciple understands." Sheng Yuhong's expression grew solemn.
The events at Baohua Mountain's new secret realm had stirred up evil cultivators once more in Wei Yu Realm. Their infiltration into the sects of the Five Domains was no longer a secret. Clearly, each sect had traitorous spies, or else how could the soul-nurturing stones harboring evil cultivators have been brought into the secret realm?
Thus, after the secret realm closed, every domain threw itself into rooting out traitors hidden in their sects. Several black sheep were indeed caught.
Even Haoran Sect was not spared. The foremost example was Yu Su Zhēnjūn. After returning safely from the secret realm, he was quietly identified by Hao Hui and Hao Qing Zūnzhě as having been possessed by an evil soul. They did not reveal it immediately but first made sure to escort the surviving cultivators home. Then, striking swiftly, they subdued Yu Su Zhēnjūn and delivered both him and the soul-nurturing stone containing his true soul to the secluded Divine Transformation Ancestor of the sect.
What became of Yu Su Zhēnjūn afterward was unknown, but outwardly, the sect announced that she had been gravely injured while fighting corrupted spirit beasts in the secret realm and had been forced into seclusion to heal.
These details Sheng Yuhong only learned by glancing at jade slips while assisting his master with sect affairs. The deeper truth was beyond his authority to know.
Now that Yun Xi had awakened, the stone pressing on his heart finally eased. As long as she was conscious, she could circulate her cultivation method to heal herself. That was far better than lying in a senseless slumber.
Meanwhile, over the two years Yun Xi had slept, the happiest person in the sect was Wei Yunqing.
Dragged by sand scorpions into the depths of the desert, she had been treated as feed for their young. Forced to rely on her crimson bracelet, she fought tooth and nail against the scorpions. By chance, she stumbled upon a hidden cavern dug by them, where she found several storage bags, sand-gold stones, and even scorpion eggs.
Wei Yunqing accepted them all without hesitation, then gleefully swung her miner's pick to dig out the sand-gold. She was still in the middle of her excavations when the secret realm forcefully expelled her.
Upon leaving, she heard the news of evil cultivators infiltrating the realm and slaughtering many elite disciples. Secretly, she rejoiced that after parting from Wei Yunxi, her luck had turned for the better. She had not encountered a single evil cultivator. And seeing that Sheng Yuhong, whom she longed for, had returned safe and sound aboard Haoran Sect's flying ship only made her happier.
When she returned to the sect and learned that Yu Ling Zhēnjūn had nearly perished during her Divine Transformation tribulation, the smile in her eyes nearly slipped out of control.