The three Divine Transformation cultivators who had watched the whole thing now had a solid sense of Yunxi's strength.
Only then did Hao Yan cup her hands to the white-robed, white-bearded cultivator at her side."Hua Bai Daoyou, my apologies. A small quarrel between our sect's disciples disturbed you. I will apologize on their behalf."
Hua Bai glanced at Hao Yan and the nearby onlooker Xiang Sizi before speaking: "Fortunately it did not become a larger incident. With the Five Region Grand Tournament upon us, you had best keep your disciples in check. It would be troublesome if evil cultivators took the chance to stir up chaos."
"What Hua Bai Daoyou says is true."
Hao Yan agreed at once. He was not wrong, and advice worth hearing should be heard.
Seeing Hao Yan so reasonable, Hua Bai did not press the matter. It was an internal issue of Haoran Sect, and since nothing truly serious had happened, he left it at that.
When Hua Bai's figure faded, Hao Yan turned and cupped her hands to Xiang Sizi. "Many thanks for your aid, Xiang Sizi Daoyou. Otherwise it would have been difficult to placate Hua Bai Daoyou."
Xiang Sizi waved a hand. "This Zūnzhě did not lift a finger. I only came to watch the fun."
Hao Yan's phoenix eyes lifted slightly. "Xiang Sizi standing beside me is the Western Region's confidence."
This was no exaggeration. Poison cultivators like Xiang Sizi were rare in Weiyu Realm.
Once, a third-rate sect master in the Central Region set his sights on Xiang Sizi, who had only recently formed her Nascent Soul. He tried to recruit her as a guest elder, which was essentially a way to control her and make her handle the sect's dirty business. He did not take Xiang Sizi the loose cultivator seriously at all.
Confident in his status as a Central Region sect master, he assumed Xiang Sizi would not refuse. She refused decisively. She loathed the look on his face when he regarded her.
On the surface, the sect master expressed regret and sent her off politely. In secret, he dispatched Yuányīng Zhēnjūn to assassinate her.
But Xiang Sizi was no easy prey. She poisoned two of their Nascent Soul cultivators in succession, then threw their severed heads at that third-rate sect's mountain gate. She exposed what the sect had done, turning them into a laughingstock across the Central Region and shaming them thoroughly.
Feeling his dignity trampled, the sect master recklessly ordered his disciples to besiege Xiang Sizi, vowing to kill her to avenge the fallen.
Many cultivators watched and worried for her. Even a third-rate sect was still a Central Region sect. Most believed Xiang Sizi would not return.
Xiang Sizi, pushed to the brink, unleashed everything she had learned. She dragged the entire third-rate sect into a poison miasma she had refined and faced the Nascent Soul sect master alone. They battled for three days and nights. In the end, his flesh rotted from his bones while he still lived, and even at death his soul was trapped in his body, unable to leave.
As for that sect's Divine Transformation cultivator, he died without a sound. No one knew when he died or who killed him.
Xiang Sizi was gravely wounded, yet the sect was annihilated. Some Central Region bigwigs thought her methods too ruthless and wanted to keep her there for good, but with Ancestor Hao Yi's help she slipped away and continued cultivating in the Western Region.
From that battle on, Xiang Sizi's name spread far and wide. After she reached Divine Transformation and became the master of the Western Region's Loose Cultivator Alliance, no one dared come provoke her again.
Because of all this, Central Region cultivators kept a healthy fear of Xiang Sizi. Unless they could combine forces to destroy her in one strike, none wished to face a poison cultivator head-on.
So Xiang Sizi standing at Hao Yan's side was support in another form.
Hao Yan smiled. "Come, let us go back and continue drinking."
Xiang Sizi did not refuse. The two figures vanished into the air.
Only after they left did Yunxi raise her head to the sky. When she opened the Wind and Snow Domain, she had felt three Divine Transformation auras lock onto her. Two were familiar, one was not. She could guess why, which was why she finished quickly and did not alarm the surrounding crowd.
The falling snow had been nothing more than a distraction. The true big shots still knew exactly what had happened.
Wei Yunqing had returned to Huaxian Gate, so Yunxi set aside her scruples. Following Dian Dian's prompts, she picked up several items that looked ordinary but had impressive origins. After a string of lucky finds, she strolled off that street at an easy pace.
Just as she was about to head back to Huaxian Gate, a very scruffy old man blocked her path.
"I see ominous shadows over the fairy's face, dark clouds gathering above your crown. This is a dire sign. If not resolved, it may cost you your life."
He stroked the few sparse hairs of his mottled beard as he spoke, adopting a look of fathomless wisdom.
Four big characters flashed through Yunxi's mind: a street charlatan. He had clearly taken her for a fat sheep.
But a sweep of divine sense showed a black compass-shaped jade pendant at the old man's waist. She had seen the very same thing on the young master of the Su clan in Qianling City, Su Qingzhao.
Her guess about the old man's identity clicked into place. She frowned. "Old man, how rude. Why open your mouth with talk of calamity for this Zhēnjūn?"
The scruffy elder shook his head and wagged his beard. "This old man is the heir of Tianyun Gate. I cast only one hexagram a day, and today's falls upon you, Daoyou. I spoke out of goodwill. Believe it or not is up to you."
Yunxi looked him over from head to toe and said, "In that case, please cast a hexagram for this Zhēnjūn, Feng Fen Daoyou."
Being called out did not faze him. He gestured invitingly, and the two of them entered a restaurant.
Given their cultivation, they were ushered to a private room on the third floor. Rubbing his hands, Feng Fen began reciting a list of dishes to the Foundation Establishment waiter as if determined to eat Yunxi into poverty.
Yunxi did not mind. She could afford a spirit feast for one old man.
Once the dishes arrived, Feng Fen alternated bites and sips of wine, eating with blissful abandon. Yunxi had little appetite. She tasted the house specialty spirit wine and occasionally glanced at messages arriving on her transmission jade.
The jade hummed nonstop. Several friends of comparable strength had reached Huaxian Gate one after another and wanted to meet before the tournament began. Yunxi replied to each in turn.
When Feng Fen was full and content, he picked his teeth and said, "Ran Xi Zhēnjūn has a generous heart. No wonder they call you 'Heaven's Chosen Girl.'"
At that, Yunxi finally looked up at the scruffy elder, a faint smile on her lips. "This Zhēnjūn dislikes the title 'Heaven's Chosen Girl.' I prefer 'the Variable.'"
Feng Fen could no longer fake profundity. He set down his divination sticks, his clouded eyes widening. "You, you know your fate?"
Yunxi shook her head. "I do not. But I know how to stay alive."
Feng Fen's lazy air vanished. He sat up straight. "At last, the Ancestor's hexagram is fulfilled. This old man has waited too long and nearly thought I would never find you. That is why I took a disciple."
Yunxi arched a brow. "I knew you were flattering Su Qingzhao's talent to coax him."