Since disguising herself as the gravely injured Yu Ling Zūnzhě, Yun Xi felt an overwhelming sense of safety. Still, she knew this was only Ancestor Hao Yi's temporary arrangement. Haoran Sect was vast, and there might still be traitors lurking in the shadows. Her safety came before anything else.
She also proved her value by copying half of the jade slips and books from the Yixian Gate's Scripture Pavilion, handing them over to the Sect Master. That made Sect Master Yu Geng smile until his eyes nearly disappeared.
But when Yun Xi handed over those items, she deliberately explained: "Sect Master, these formulas and methods of refining medicines were unlocked in my sea of consciousness after I advanced to the Nascent Soul stage. The rest will only become available when my cultivation improves further. Only then can I transcribe and deliver them to the sect."
Yu Geng accepted the storage pouch with a smile, comforting her: "I understand. This much is already enough to keep Yu Huo busy with research for quite some time. You don't need to feel pressured. Wait until your injuries have fully healed before worrying about the rest."
"Yes, Sect Master!"
With that, Yu Geng left the Hive in high spirits.
Yun Xi then settled into a busy but fulfilling routine. By day she combed through messages that had once been filtered out. By night she cultivated the Mingyue Frost Condensation Art under the moonlight, slowly repairing the fine cracks in her meridians. She sought not speed, but stability. On alternating nights she practiced the Intermediate Star Body Refining Technique, strengthening her meridians and bones to withstand heavier blows.
She could only cultivate these two arts for now, since she was disguised as Yu Ling Zūnzhě, who had a single ice spiritual root. She could not risk exposing her true nature. Even Dian Dian had been tucked back into her space.
But Dian Dian wasn't idle inside. Besides checking on Fei Xia's injuries, it also kept an eye on the descendants of the Wu Tribe, who still lay in a deathlike slumber within the grass huts once used by Yixian Gate's outer disciples. From time to time, Dian Dian stuffed a Fasting Pill into their mouths, enough to keep them from starving.
Yun Xi frequently extended her divine sense into the space to monitor the situation, though she truly had no energy to spare for these Wu Tribe descendants. With Ancestor Hao Yi watching over the sect, and with hostile cultivators from Huaxian Gate eyeing her outside, she dared not act recklessly. Until the secret realm of Baohua Mountain reopened, she would remain under scrutiny.
Now that her injuries were severe and self-preservation alone was difficult, she had no way to arrange a proper solution for the Wu Tribe descendants. For now, she could only leave them there. Fortunately, the space was safe, and those people were sturdy, watched over by Dian Dian. At least in the short term, no problems would arise.
As Yun Xi sifted through the discarded messages, she began to notice patterns. Though the clues were thin, she wasn't confident enough in her deductions. So she went back even further, combing older records. The deeper she dug, the more her brows furrowed.
Meanwhile, Wei Yunqing had already left Haoran Sect and set out on her sect missions. After dealing with them perfunctorily, she deliberately changed direction, embarking on her own solitary journey of tempering.
The cultivators shadowing her recorded her every move each day: where she went, who she spoke with, what she did, even the items she bought.
Wei Yunqing constantly felt as if invisible eyes were on her, watching from the shadows. That sense of surveillance made her increasingly cautious, but as long as the evil soul in her sea of consciousness remained, she could not feel truly safe.
Eventually, she joined a few newly befriended loose cultivators to explore a fixed secret realm. These realms opened on a schedule and never vanished without warning. They usually belonged to major sects or great cultivation clans. Outsiders could enter only if they paid spirit stones.
Such realms had often been explored many times, their greatest treasures already stripped away. Only the leftover scraps remained, which was why they were opened to the public to wring out their last bit of value. Still, chance encounters and unexpected rewards occasionally drew loose cultivators inside.
The secret realm Wei Yunqing entered was suited for Golden Core cultivators. She reasoned that within its boundaries, she could finally shake off those hidden eyes. So after paying her spirit stones, she stepped inside.
The cultivators following her entered as well, but the realm used random transmission. Within moments, Wei Yunqing's pursuers had lost her trail.
She was teleported onto the lip of a volcano. Were it not for her water spiritual root, she would have been burned alive at once. Then she spotted a wisp of newly formed strange fire. Her eyes lit up, and she cautiously began trying to subdue it.
———
Ever since learning that Yun Xi had been gravely injured and sent to the back mountain, Sheng Yuhong had been distracted. Several times he wanted to ask his master about her condition, but each time the words died on his lips.
Yu Geng finally noticed his disciple's unease. Setting aside his jade slip, he asked: "Yu Hong, what is it you want to ask?"
"Master, Yun Xi's injuries—"
"She has already been sent to the back mountain. The Ancestors will find a way to help her recover. You need not worry."
Sheng Yuhong knew well the capabilities of the Ancestors. Still, he wished to see Yun Xi with his own eyes. But he had no grounds to make such a request, and so he swallowed the words.
Seeing his disciple's indecision, Yu Geng assigned him heavier tasks, keeping him too busy to dwell on personal concerns.
Back in the Hive, Yun Xi spent five full years poring over a mountain of messages. At last, she discerned certain patterns. After recording her findings onto a jade slip, she left the Hive alone, heading to the sect's back mountain to meet Ancestor Hao Yi.
Those five years had not only yielded threads of truth from the discarded reports, they had also given her a new understanding of Ancestor Hao Yi. Truly, she was the living fossil of Haoran Sect.
She discovered that whenever Haoran Sect faced a great upheaval, Ancestor Hao Yi was always there. Ever since the founding ancestor ascended, Hao Yi had reappeared at intervals. And this time was no different.
When Yun Xi secretly counted on her fingers, she realized Ancestor Hao Yi had lived for over ten thousand years. That far exceeded the lifespan of a Divine Transformation cultivator.
Cultivators who began channeling spiritual energy into their bodies lived slightly longer than mortals. Ninety to a hundred years was not unusual. After Foundation Establishment, one could reach two hundred. After Golden Core, eight hundred. After Nascent Soul, fifteen hundred. Divine Transformation cultivators could reach three thousand.
But Ancestor Hao Yi had far surpassed three millennia. Even consuming a thousand-year Shouyuan Fruit could not explain it. The mystery gnawed at Yun Xi's heart like a cat's claws.
Driven by curiosity, she searched the Hive for answers. To her shock, she found a clue: the secret lay in the cultivation technique Ancestor Hao Yi practiced. But which technique it was, she could not uncover.
She sighed at the half-solved puzzle. It felt like staring at a riddle with only half the pieces, the rest hidden away. The mystery dangled just out of reach, tormenting her thoughts.
Still, she kept this inquiry to herself. It was only to satisfy her curiosity, never at the cost of delaying her true duties.
When Yun Xi, still disguised as Yu Ling Zūnzhě, finally stood before Ancestor Hao Yi, she bowed respectfully. Yet she couldn't help stealing an extra glance. No matter how she looked, Hao Yi seemed far too youthful. Aside from the wisdom in her eyes, nothing about her suggested a person who had lived over ten thousand years.
Ancestor Hao Yi chuckled warmly: "What is it? Curious about the technique this old one cultivates?"