Wei Yunqing, worn and haggard, arrived at Yunmen Temple seeking help. At a glance she recognized Yun Chen Fózǐ, who was sweeping fallen leaves in the courtyard. She remembered seeing this handsome Buddhist cultivator outside the Baohua Mountain secret realm, the impression lingering vividly in her mind. Without hesitation, she stepped forward, cupped her hands, and greeted him.
"Yun Chen Fózǐ, it is an honor. I am Wei Yunqing, direct disciple of Zuo Qiu Zūnzhě of the Haoran Sect in the Western Domain. Because of an evil soul troubling me, I have journeyed thousands of miles to seek your aid."
Yun Chen Fózǐ pressed his palms together in return. "Amitabha. Wei Daoyou, there is no need for such courtesy."
With gentle composure, he invited Wei Yunqing into the guest quarters of Yunmen Temple.
Although Yun Chen did not know Wei Yunqing personally, he was familiar with Wei Yunxi. From the names, it was clear they were of the same clan. Yun Chen had once explored a secret realm alongside Wei Yunxi, even fighting shoulder to shoulder, and so regarded her as a friend.
After returning to Yunmen Temple, he had even looked into news about Wei Yunxi. He learned that she had entered the tutelage of Yu Ling Zhēnjūn with only a three-spirit-root aptitude, yet within the past twenty years, nearly every major event in the cultivation world had traces of her presence.
Yun Chen also realized that Wei Yunxi seemed fated to clash with evil cultivators. Wherever evil cultivators appeared, she was there. She had even exposed more than one of their schemes, and the inheritance of Yixian Gate alone had painted a target on her back. It was no wonder she had once gone into a secret realm under disguise.
He also knew her ties to her clan were poor, and her relationship with her half-sister Wei Yunqing was worse still. Yun Qing was competitive, constantly trying to outshine her sister, yet always fell short. With this in mind, Yun Chen harbored no particular feelings toward Wei Yunqing, treating her with calm neutrality.
Wei Yunqing, of course, dared not reveal the true origin of the evil soul within her. She only claimed she had encountered possession while exploring a fixed secret realm in the Western Domain. Only because her master had gifted her a protective artifact had she temporarily sealed the evil soul in her sea of consciousness. But she had no way to expel it, thus she had come, weary and desperate, to Yunmen Temple for help.
Hearing this, Yun Chen Fózǐ frowned. The sea of consciousness was both the weakest and most vital place in a cultivator. Any problem there could cripple one's cultivation. Something within him urged caution, and he decided not to act rashly. Instead, he brought her before his senior brother, Yun Ze.
Yun Ze was even more cautious. After chanting a Buddhist verse, he said, "Wei Daoyou, to expel the evil soul requires you to open your sea of consciousness to us. This is dangerous. The evil soul may seize the chance to use your sea of consciousness as a battlefield. We cannot guarantee success."
Wei Yunqing knew it was death whether she waited or acted. She understood her own sea of consciousness best. The fact that the evil soul spoke more and more frequently meant the sealing power of her crimson bracelet was weakening. If she delayed until the evil soul broke free, it would be too late.
Gritting her teeth, she declared, "Yun Chen Fózǐ, I am fully aware of the risks. But if I do not expel it, the evil soul may seize me when I am wounded or my spirit falters. My master's artifact has already been consumed. There will not be a second chance to resist. I am willing to open my sea of consciousness. Please, the two of you, help me annihilate this evil soul."
"Amitabha. Since Wei Daoyou has such resolve, then we will do our utmost."
News of this soon traveled back to the Haoran Sect. Yun Xi immediately picked out the jade slip carrying this report. After reading it, she chuckled to herself with a wry smile. "Tsk, tsk. Even now they refuse to abandon their 'favored daughter of destiny'. Sending her to Yunmen Temple solves her crisis with perfect timing, every step so well arranged."
She did not believe Wei Yunqing's tale for a second. To her, it seemed far more likely that Yun Qing had fallen victim inside the Baohua Mountain secret realm. What baffled her was how the woman had slipped past the detection of two Divine Transformation Zūnzhě and survived.
And from the latest news, Yun Xi learned that under the guidance of Yun Ze Zhēnjūn, Wei Yunqing had already expelled the evil soul and was now attempting seclusion to condense her Yuányīng. Yun Xi was not optimistic.
From her countless encounters with evil cultivators and fallen demonic cultivators, she knew evil souls were rarely so easy to cleanse. It was not that she doubted the Buddhist cultivators of Yunmen Temple, but rather that evil cultivators were notoriously persistent. Besides, knowing Wei Yunqing's nature—her unstable Dao heart, her jealousy—she was all the more vulnerable to heart demons, which gave evil souls room to linger.
Even Yun Xi herself did not expect that her suspicions would one day prove true.
But for now, with Wei Yunqing far away in the Eastern Domain, beyond her reach, Yun Xi simply ordered her spies stationed there to keep a close watch.
The next day, Yun Xi was summoned by Ancestor Hao Yi.
She hastily finished sorting through the jade slips in her care, then, wearing the guise of Yu Ling, went to the sect's rear mountain.
Ancestor Hao Yi greeted her with a smile, but Yun Xi could detect the heaviness beneath it. Alarmed, she immediately cupped her hands and asked, "Ancestor, have you made a new discovery, or found something that confirms my suspicions?"
Hao Yi sighed. "I used a Realm-Passing Incense to send a message to my senior brother in the Spirit Realm, asking him to investigate the situation of cultivators from the Wei Yu world who ascended there, especially those who ascended within the past five hundred years. The result is grim."
Yun Xi frowned. "How grim?"
"Unless these cultivators joined major sects in the Spirit Realm or attached themselves to powerful clans, most met disaster. Some were targeted, some slandered and hunted, others outright slaughtered by evil cultivators. In the past five hundred years, among those who ascended, scarcely one in ten survived."
"Hiss..." Yun Xi drew a sharp breath.
That was appalling. Those who broke through Divine Transformation and ascended to the Spirit Realm already had Out-of-Body cultivation. If even such cultivators could not survive, it meant the Spirit Realm was unimaginably perilous.
Yun Xi clenched and unclenched her fists twice before she could suppress the storm of anger in her chest. With difficulty, she asked, "Ancestor, has the Spirit Realm not noticed such an anomaly?"
Hao Yi sneered. "The Wei Ling Realm is not limited to our Wei Yu world alone. Many lower realms feed into it. The fall of cultivators from one realm makes little difference to them. All they care about is securing resources, advancing their cultivation, and ascending to the Immortal Realm."
The more Yun Xi listened, the deeper her frown grew. "Ancestor, may I ask, how many lower realms correspond to Wei Ling Realm?"
"At least nine. We are only one among them, and not the most prolific in producing ascendants. Nor do we have dazzling geniuses to lead. So, gradually, we have fallen to the bottom."
"Ancestor, it is not that Wei Yu world lacks extraordinary talents. It is that they are crushed before they can rise. The few who break through and ascend are struck down without warning in the Spirit Realm. That is why we are in this plight.
This bodes ill for us. By name alone, Wei Yu and Wei Ling should stand foremost among realms. Why then are we being suppressed so heavily?"
What Yun Xi did not voice was her suspicion: cultivators in the Spirit Realm deliberately suppress their cultivation, descend to Wei Yu world, and seize new secret realms. Every action pointed to systematic suppression, from inside to out, stifling the growth of Wei Yu's future.