"This is the good daughter you raised? You even hinted the clan should send her offerings. On what grounds? Because she took a Divine Transformation master, or because she ignores the clan while suppressing and excluding her fellow clansmen?
Yunxi is also my daughter. I have never seen her flaunt her status after taking a Divine Transformation master. She moved the Wei family from the remote Kunyu City to Haoran City to develop, provided cultivation resources, and treated her kin with goodwill.
The most profitable formula the clan has now was contributed by Yunxi. I barely managed her at all, yet she has become the backbone of the Wei family.
You held Yunqing in your palm, and now we cannot even reach her. When the clan faced danger she never showed up, but when things went smoothly she appeared to demand resources. You have failed to teach your daughter. You are far inferior to Feng Jiayun. I truly regret it now."
He flicked his sleeve and returned to his closed-door chamber, lowering the protective formation.
Flung aside, Du Ruolan went pale as paper. Emotions chased across her face in turn, anger, unwillingness, disappointment, desolation, then silent tears. She understood full well what Wei Lingyue's "regret" meant.
Yunxi had been watching the farce in Wei Lingyue's courtyard with her divine sense, an amused smile on her lips. Wei Lingyue was clearly performing for her, trying to keep her from blaming him alone, pushing Du Ruolan and Wei Yunqing to share the fire. Du Ruolan's expression, on the other hand, was genuine, the classic hatred born from love.
Knowing her enemies were not doing well put her in a fine mood. She took the memory jade at her waist and carved into it the segment where Wei Lingyue admitted to harming Feng Jiayun. When Wei Lingtao returned with Dian Dian, she handed the jade slip to the Patriarch.
At first, Wei Lingtao didn't understand. When he finished the recording, his face darkened. How was he supposed to face the Feng clan after this?
"Patriarch, it is enough that you know. Do not spread it. From now on, how I treat Wei Lingyue is not the Wei family's concern."
What could Wei Lingtao say? Even if she asked him to intervene, he had no face to do it. Wei Lingyue was courting death. He had a powerful wife's clan and a talented daughter, yet he cherished neither, picking up sesame seeds and dropping a watermelon. There was no polite way to judge him.
Wei Lingtao rubbed his temples. "The Wei family will not intervene."
He then returned Dian Dian to Yunxi.
Yunxi pinched Dian Dian's cheeks and asked, "Did you find any evil cultivators mixed into the clan?"
At the mention of serious business, Wei Lingtao straightened. "Perhaps because our move to Haoran City is recent, and with the sect's protection and everyone still well acquainted, it has been hard for evil cultivators to blend in. For the moment, we found no direct infiltrators.
However, Dian Dian scented a dozen-plus clansmen who were in recent, close contact with evil cultivators. They have been secretly imprisoned in the dungeon. We will interrogate them and follow the trail upward."
Yunxi nodded. "Good. Cut the mess with a quick blade. Do not give the other side time to react. If you uncover anything substantial, send me a message. Matters the clan cannot handle openly, the sect can handle."
"Understood."
As sunset neared, the Patriarch arranged for Yunxi to stay in the courtyard beside Ancestor Chen Yin's, hoping she would remain a few more days.
Yunxi did not refuse. She planned to stay three days and return to the sect once the Wei family finished its arrangements.
Three days passed in a blink. The Wei family completed its deployments and established contact with the Feng clan in Kunyu City. Feng Jiayun readily agreed to bring part of the clan to develop in Haoran City. Learning that Yunxi had formed a Yuányīng filled him with confidence. By the time Yunxi returned to Haoran Sect, he had already set out from Kunyu City with selected clansmen.
Back at Haoran Sect, Yunxi did not idle. She first went to Dan Peak to pay respects to Yu Huo Zhēnjūn. When she had been grievously injured and unconscious, it had certainly been Yu Huo who proposed an agreement with the Wei family, indirectly sheltering them. This favor she absolutely had to repay.
Seeing Yunxi, Yu Huo Zhēnjūn flashed a bright, white-toothed smile. "Yunxi, you finally came out. Have your injuries fully healed?"
Yunxi cupped her hands. "Many thanks for Peak Lord's concern. With the sect's blessing, this junior has fully recovered. I also returned to the Wei family and came specifically to thank Peak Lord for protecting them."
Yu Huo waved casually. "No need to be so polite. It was mutual benefit. The sect lost nothing and even received a 'Hui Chun Liquid' formula for free. Strictly speaking, Dan Peak came out ahead."
Yunxi's tone remained earnest. "Peak Lord Yu Huo, it is easy to add flowers to a brocade, hard to send charcoal in the snow. Yunxi will remember this favor."
Yu Huo nodded with a smile. That acknowledgment was enough. He took out a jade slip from his storage ring. "These are potion formulas workable at the Nascent Soul stage, the ones I asked the Sect Master to pass along to you. Some spirit plants listed have gone extinct in Weiyu Realm. I found several substitutes with similar effects, but the resulting potions were poor. I was hoping to study them with you."
For the next month or more, Yunxi practically lived on Dan Peak. Side by side with Yu Huo Zhēnjūn, she dove into formulas and tested furnace after furnace. Yu Huo had rich experience, Yunxi had powerful divine sense and the courage to experiment. They complemented each other well, and they truly developed a dozen-plus viable replacements for extinct spirit plants.
This day, Yunxi and Yu Huo finally took a break. They sipped tea atop the Cloud Terrace of Dan Peak. Yu Huo Zhēnjūn mentioned offhand, "Yesterday I received a message talisman from the Sect Master, asking me to assign two alchemy disciples to sort the low-grade pills in the storeroom. He is worried someone might have tampered with them."
Yunxi raised an eyebrow. "Did the Sect Master discover something?"
From what she knew, the sect storeroom was a critical location, with two late-stage Nascent Soul Zhēnjūn guarding it in secret. Unless the intruder was at Divine Transformation, it would be impossible to tamper with the stock unnoticed. If a Divine Transformation cultivator had infiltrated, Hao Hui Zūnzhě and Hao Qing Zūnzhě would hardly sit idle.
So if there was a problem, it could only be in two stages, the refining itself, or the transport into storage.
Sure enough, Yu Huo's next words confirmed her guess. "Law Enforcement Hall found issues with the two disciples who were transporting the pills, so we will re-examine those batches."
"As we should. Better to be cautious. Low-grade pills are for our Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment disciples. They are the sect's future, and we cannot neglect them."
"Indeed. It is just that Sheng Yuhong is in seclusion, so the Sect Master is short-handed and borrowed some people from me."
"Oh? Nephew Sheng is in seclusion. Is he trying to form a Yuányīng?"
Yunxi smiled as she asked, her tone that of an elder, at odds with her youthful face.
"No. Not everyone has your fortune and fearless drive. Sheng Yuhong is still at mid Golden Core. I hear his sword intent remains unformed, so forming a Nascent Soul will not happen any time soon."
Yunxi felt quite pleased, though she said aloud, "Sheng Yuhong is the Sect Master's proud disciple. Forming a Nascent Soul is only a matter of time. He is still accumulating. He will be fine."
"Heh, you do know how to speak."
Yunxi smiled faintly. At that moment, two message talismans fluttered down in front of her.
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