Before leaving Haoran Sect, Yunxi informed Yu Ling that Xiao He would soon arrive in the Western Region to "verify" that his sister had been unjustly slain by Dao cultivators.
Yu Ling instructed evenly, "Yunxi, be careful when you arrange the siblings' meeting. Do not let the evil cultivators notice. It was hard enough to plant him inside. We cannot afford any mishap. We traded a secret realm for this opening."
Yunxi grinned foolishly. "Yes, Master. This disciple will remember."
Since Ancestor Hao Yi knew about the secret realm, it naturally meant her Master knew as well. Yunxi had no intention of making excuses and agreed readily.
This time she hurried at full speed. Seven days later, she returned to Kunyu City. She did not alarm the Feng clan. Instead, she brought Dian Dian to see Ancestor Feng Feng first.
Feng Feng was not in seclusion. Ever since Feng Jiaqing led a group away from Kunyu City, he had been guarding the clan to prevent outsiders from taking advantage. The moment Yunxi appeared in his courtyard, he sensed it.
"Ancestor, Yunxi has come to see you."
Yunxi stepped out of the shadows with a blossom-bright smile.
When Feng Feng felt the powerful aura, his heart tightened. Then the familiar voice let him relax, and a smile rose to his face. Seeing the confident, formidable Yunxi before him, he felt only comfort and pride.
Yunxi supported the slightly agitated Ancestor Feng Feng to the jade table in the courtyard. With a wave of her sleeve, brewed spirit tea appeared. Only then did she ask about the Feng clan's development since she had last left Kunyu City.
Ancestor Feng Feng gave a general account of recent years, then sighed. "After the Wei clan moved to Haoran City, they transferred some assets they could not take along to us and, for your sake, accepted fewer spirit stones. We truly profited from it. On top of that, the alchemy jade slips you entrusted the Wei clan to return have given our alchemy a great leap forward. The clan's growth is promising."
"That is good."
The Feng clan was her mother's clan after all. Of course she would support them.
After those matters, Feng Feng asked, "Yunxi, what brings you back this time? Did Jiaqing and the others run into trouble?"
Feng Feng was not foolish. If Yunxi chose to come to the Feng clan in the middle of the night, it had to be something important that was inconvenient to handle openly.
"Ancestor, there is indeed a thorny issue. When my uncle arrived in Haoran City, he contacted me, and I happened to be heading out on a mission."
Yunxi then concisely recounted what had happened. Feng Feng's face darkened. They had been a hair's breadth away from bringing a body-snatched evil cultivator straight into the Wei clan. If sabotage had occurred there, the Feng clan would have had to shoulder the blame.
Feng Feng drew a deep breath. "Yunxi, you rushed back like this. Does that mean there are still evil cultivators infiltrated within the Kunyu City branch of the Feng clan?"
Yunxi nodded. "Yes. My uncle intended to send someone back with a warning, but I feared an accident on the way. I also have a favor to ask of Ancestor, so I decided to come in person and, while I am here, screen the disciples of both Wei and Feng who remained in Kunyu City so that no fish slip through the net."
Feng Feng nodded. "Good. There is no time to lose. We move now."
Ancestor Feng Feng was a man of action.
Yunxi turned her wrist and handed him a jade slip. "These are the Feng clan disciples who had contact with the infiltrator earlier. To be safe, bind them all and check one by one. I will take Dian Dian for a circuit around the clan and see if anything new turns up."
"Very well, Yunxi. Then I will trouble you. We act together."
The two disappeared from Feng Feng's courtyard.
Dian Dian had already been brought out of the space. Knowing they were hunting evil cultivators, he rubbed his paws in excitement, his little nose twitching nonstop, then began pointing the way for Yunxi.
Without slowing her steps, Yunxi followed Dian Dian's directions and sent a voice transmission."Are the beasts from the secret realms all settled?"
"Master, rest assured. They are reasonably well-behaved and remain on the peaks you assigned them. They do not dare wander.
Only the fourth-rank little red panda named Lili took a stroll around the space, but Dian Dian did not let him approach the plantation or the herb cottage where the descendants of the Wu tribe are."
"Good. Maintain rapport with them. We will need them someday. I never make losing trades."
"Yes, Master, do not worry. Dian Dian will keep watch. If Fei Xia could hurry and break out of the cocoon, we could monitor them even better."
He even appended a note about the Flying Mist Butterfly.
"Do not worry. Being struck by lightning this time was Fei Xia's opportunity. If it refines the power of the tribulation, its cultivation will surely break through."
Dian Dian flicked his black ears. "Master, Dian Dian feels close to a breakthrough too."
"Oh? So soon?"
"Hehe. Dian Dian is basking in Master's glow. Master advances quickly, and I benefit in turn."
"Can you hold off until after the Five Regions Grand Tournament?"
"I can, Master. As long as I do not cultivate with Beast Spirit Pills, my speed will slow. I can hold back until the Tournament ends."
Dian Dian answered at once. Helping Master mattered most.
"Good."
Even as the word fell, she appeared in a courtyard, interrupting a pair in dual cultivation. She bound them both in one move and left. The two had not even seen who struck them.
Guided by Dian Dian, Yunxi changed direction and headed for the Feng clan's library pavilion.
By the time the sun rose in the east, the entire Feng clan was eerily quiet, lacking its usual bustle. Everyone had received Ancestor Feng Feng's order to remain in their own courtyards and not to go out.
In the Feng clan's council hall, Yunxi looked at a Feng clan woman who was still defending her Dao companion. Her expression was hard to describe. It was the first time she had seen a love-addled cultivator of the cultivation world.
"Ancestor, that is impossible. Qinan cannot be a pawn of evil cultivators. He cultivates a proper orthodox art."
The woman's voice was sharp, her face stubborn.
Feng Feng felt his temper about to explode. How had the Feng clan produced such a disgrace? He barked low, "Feng Jiarong, do you think Yunxi would wrong a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator?"
Even when called by name, Feng Jiarong refused to relent. "She is not of the Feng clan. Why should she meddle in—"
The rest never left her mouth. Feng Feng slapped her from across the air, knocking her to the ground.
Feng Jiarong bled at the lip. Clutching her cheek, she stared at her Ancestor in disbelief.
Yunxi's face remained calm as she addressed Feng Feng, "Ancestor, do not be angry. Since she refuses to believe, I will let her see for herself."
With that, a thread of Mystic Thunder Violet Flame flicked from her fingers and entered the body of the silent male cultivator.
He jerked his head up, a vicious light in his eyes as he glared at Yunxi. Eyes alone could not kill, however. Yunxi's Mystic Thunder Violet Flame could. The instant the different flame entered, he gave a scream and rolled on the floor howling in agony.
Feng Jiarong pounced on him at once.
"Qinan. Qinan."
Seeing his face twist with pain, she turned toward Feng Feng to plead. "Ancestor, please save Qinan."