Xiao He struggled to retrieve a healing pill from his storage pouch and swallowed it. Leaning against the cliff wall, he slowly sat down, eyes empty as he stared into the distance. Only after the pill began to take effect did he gather himself and flicker away from the hidden spot. He still had many things to do.
Xiao He had never regretted the choice he made back then. Yes, he had been in the wrong, but the only one he owed a debt to was Wei Lingkai. He was the one who struck first, and Wei Lingkai had every right to fight back.
But his father had been innocent. His father had done nothing to shame the Xiao family, nothing to harm Wei Lingkai. In the end, he had even taken his own life just to keep the Xiao family from being implicated. And yet, how did the Xiao family repay that? They had been eager to cut ties, as if wishing he and his sister bore no relation to the Xiao name at all. Why should he and his sister have to shoulder all the blame?
So when the evil cultivators reached out to him again, he had accepted in a moment of anger. This time, his target was the Xiao family itself.
It was the Xiao clan's cultivation resources that allowed him to heal his wounds and even rise to greater strength. When he took his revenge, he had thought it would fill him with satisfaction. Yet even now, he could still hear the dying screams of the Xiao family in his ears, the desperate cries for help that would never fade. Those voices could never be taken back.
He knew with clarity that his feet had sunk deep into the mire, but he was determined that his younger sister Xiao Qiang would not follow the same path. That was why he had sent her far away, forcing her to live as a loose cultivator, refusing to let her stay by his side. It was cruel, but it was the only way he could protect her. It was his last bottom line.
Afterward, he was placed under Li Chang, assisting him in carrying out missions for the evil cultivators.
The secret realm expedition should have been flawless. Even if the mission did not go smoothly, with Li Chang's cultivation, he should have been able to retreat safely. Xiao He believed that old fox would have left himself a way out.
But when the secret realm collapsed, Xiao He learned that Li Chang had been captured. Worse, he had already been gravely injured when the realm spirit cast him out. That revelation had shocked Xiao He deeply.
Afterward, every cultivator who managed to leave the secret realm was subjected to scrutiny by the Divine Transformation elders of each sect, their souls carefully examined for signs of possession. The moment Xiao He realized that, he knew the mission was a complete failure.
Although his duty had been to assist Li Chang, he was also aware that Li Chang had another purpose beyond subduing the realm spirit. That man had never told him the details, only ordered him to spread rumors inside the secret realm and secretly strike at cultivators from the Five Domains, sowing discord between the sects.
He had entered the realm under the guise of a disciple of the Western Domain's loose cultivator alliance. Yet he had neither spread rumors nor harmed anyone. Instead, he had kept his distance, focusing solely on gathering resources and training. He had avoided unnecessary contact. Ironically, that was what saved him. It kept suspicion off his back and allowed him to leave the Baohua Mountains without trouble.
He knew full well that after the incident, the Western Domain would investigate. The borrowed identity he used was a glaring weakness. So after returning to the loose cultivator alliance and turning in some of the resources he had gained, he slipped away along the channels of the evil cultivators, making his way into the Central Domain.
Not long after his arrival, someone contacted him, summoning him to that hidden cliffside. There, they had berated him for failure and used his sister as leverage against him. That was something he could not endure.
Now, Xiao He had already entered a city, one of the most remote border cities of the Central Domain, a place filled mostly with loose cultivators. He went straight to an inn, rented an upper room, and quietly continued his recovery.
Two years had passed since Yun Xi fell into her coma, and in that time the entire Weiyu Realm had been shaken by countless events. The major sects joined forces to hunt for traces of evil cultivators. Their search extended beyond their own sects, targeting loose cultivators across all domains.
It was already confirmed that evil cultivators had stolen the identities of loose cultivators, moving freely between regions to conduct their hidden affairs. They had even established bases of their own, luring cultivators with poor spirit roots or desperate ambition into practicing their sinister arts. What once had been hidden beneath calm waters now surged violently to the surface.
Because of this, the missions assigned by every great sect multiplied. Even Yuányīng Zhēnjūn were sent out often, while Golden Core disciples were tasked with dangerous assignments at an unprecedented rate.
Yet the rewards increased as well. Sect points, treasures, and cultivation resources were distributed more generously than ever. Disciples were willing to spend points on pills, talismans, and magical artifacts. The chances to exchange for new techniques or secret arts grew more frequent.
With this support, the success rate of missions rose, and cultivators who survived gained hard-earned experience, pushing them toward breakthroughs. It became a cycle: the more tasks they took, the stronger they became.
Of course, many disciples perished during their assignments. That was the way of cultivation. The path was filled with thorns and peril, never smooth.
The upheaval roused all the great powers of the realm. Ironically, the evil cultivators quieted down, hiding their traces and withdrawing into silence. With their movements concealed, Li Chang—who had been taken into custody by Mingjian Sect—became the only lead the sects could pursue.
Lingxue Peak, Haoran Sect
When Yunxi finally awoke and was able to circulate her cultivation to heal herself, Leng Ruohan immediately went to the Law Enforcement Hall. It was time to settle accounts with Zuo Qiu.
He had held back before, unwilling to spare the attention while Yun Xi was unconscious, and besides, the Law Enforcement Hall was already interrogating Zuo Qiu. As long as the man was in custody, the truth would eventually be dragged out.
But when Leng Ruohan met the Hall Master, he learned that Zuo Qiu had escaped. His anger flared, and the temperature in the room plummeted. His voice turned cold as ice.
"Do the Hao Hui Ancestors know of this? How did he escape? You mean to tell me the Law Enforcement Hall cannot even hold a single man?"
This was not a minor mistake. It was a grave breach of duty.
The Hall Master looked bitter as he bowed slightly.
"Zūnzhě, please come with me."
He gestured respectfully.
Leng Ruohan's face hardened even further, his aura chilling the air as he followed the Hall Master to the sect's most secure prison.
Had Yunxi been there, she would have recognized the place at once. It was exactly as described in the book she had seen, the same prison that had appeared over and over in her illusions.
Hall Master Geng led him deep underground, pointing to a figure slumped inside a formation.
"Zūnzhě, please look carefully."
Leng Ruohan's divine sense swept over the figure, confirming it at a glance. His voice was sharp.
"That is Zuo Qiu. Why are you claiming he escaped?"
"Zūnzhě, his soul has fled his body."
Leng Ruohan frowned.
"Even for a Divine Transformation cultivator, a disembodied soul cannot last more than three days before dissipating. Do you expect me to believe the Law Enforcement Hall was not guarding against this?"
The Hall Master sighed.
"Your reasoning is sound. We have considered the possibilities. There are two. Either Zuo Qiu seized the body of one of our disciples during interrogation and left openly under our noses, or someone from within helped him. They could have placed his soul into a vessel that could harbor it and carried it away."
Leng Ruohan's gaze grew darker.
"And what did you discover?"
"We have ruled out the first. None of the disciples involved in his interrogation or guarding this place showed signs of possession, nor have any left the sect grounds."
Leng Ruohan's voice was frigid.
"Then it is the second. Someone inside the Law Enforcement Hall smuggled Zuo Qiu's soul out. Too many disciples come and go. Slip a soul-harboring treasure into one of their hands, and you could never trace it. The Law Enforcement Hall has no right to search every disciple's storage pouch."