The Yuányīng was still dazed after being spat out. Realizing something was wrong, it tried to flee, but Han Lian drew it into her hand.
Han Lian would show no mercy to evil cultivators. She performed a soul search. Her bold brows knit of their own accord. She turned to Baifeng. "Spit out another."
She pushed the now-unconscious Yuányīng back toward the bear.
Baifeng opened his mouth and spat out a second Yuányīng. Han Lian looked to Ran Xi and Xun Kun. Xun Kun took the initiative, drawing it into his palm to soul search.
Without waiting for further orders, Baifeng spat out the last Yuányīng and, ingratiatingly, nudged it toward Yunxi.
Amused, Yunxi curved her lips and closed her hand over the final Yuányīng. Her spiritual sense sank in to begin the soul search.
An accident followed. Halfway through Xun Kun's soul search, the Yuányīng in his grip began to swell, primed to self-detonate.
Xun Kun snorted coldly and vanished from his chair with the Yuányīng in hand.
Yunxi halted her own search. Her spiritual sense had brushed a prohibition on the other soul's core. She sealed the Nascent Soul into a jade vial and tossed it to Han Lian. Evidence was evidence.
In the end, Baifeng's hard work netted him only two Yuányīng. He had already refined one, so, pleased with himself, he swallowed the remaining one and curled up at Han Lian's feet to refine it.
A moment later, a thunderous boom sounded from outside. In the next instant, Xun Kun reappeared on his chair, scowling.
"Unlucky. Their Yuányīng are rigged with evil prohibitions. They cannot be undone."
Yunxi nodded. "Same for this one. I hit the prohibition just as I reached the core memories. I sealed it as evidence. We cannot afford the charge of killing indiscriminately."
There were eleven Nascent Soul cultivators standing in the reception hall now: loose cultivators, Hanbing Sect disciples, and members of three smaller sects. What they truly thought, Yunxi could not know. She was simply cautious by habit and would not leave herself hidden dangers.
Guan Zhizhi stepped forward and bowed. "Honored Zūnzhě, are these people confirmed evil cultivators? How did they get in?"
Yunxi glanced at Han Lian. Han Lian answered, "They are not evil cultivators in the strict sense. They are righteous cultivators controlled and used by evil cultivators. Otherwise you could not have failed to notice anything."
A hiss of indrawn breaths filled the hall.
Yunxi frowned as well. The evil cultivators' methods had leveled up again. If these people did not act first, they could hide perfectly among those entering the secret realm.
Yun Chen Fózǐ spoke at the right time. "Amitabha. Evil cultivators are adept at concealment. When you explore the realm, move in groups. When you meet other cultivators, spread this news.
You are Nascent Soul experts. If you keep your guard up, you should not be so easily ambushed."
Li Jiu probed, "Could we travel with the four Zūnzhě?"
Following them would surely mean a safer exit.
Xun Kun smiled. "If you want to come with me, I will not stop you. But we are heading to the central forbidden ground of the secret realm. Divine Transformation evil cultivators are waiting for us there. Are you certain you want to follow?"
His words chilled the room. Why was the Misty Snow Domain so dangerous this time? How had Divine Transformation evil cultivators entered? Why go to the center? What was there? Questions swirled in every mind.
Han Lian did not hide the truth. She stated plainly that the evil cultivators intended to contract the Misty Snow Domain's realm spirit and turn the secret realm into a mobile lair.
"If they succeed, they will evade pursuit in the Weiyu Realm and keep expanding their ranks. The four of us are going to eradicate the Divine Transformation evil cultivators trying to contract the realm spirit.
You have all reached Nascent Soul and weathered many storms. There is no need to conceal this from you. What you do next is up to you. Even if you refuse to help, at least keep yourselves alive."
"Yes, Zūnzhě. We understand," the crowd replied, steadying themselves.
They had all cultivated for over a century. With the four Zūnzhě carrying the most dangerous front, the rest only needed to handle their own duties and not drag the others down. They were all part of the Weiyu Realm. If the realm fell, none of them would fare well.
Yunxi rose. "We have been waiting for you two. Now that you are here, let us depart."
"Agreed."
This time Han Lian and Yun Chen raised no objections.
Guan Zhizhi and the other Nascent Soul cultivators watched the four Zūnzhě vanish into the storm. After a brief discussion, they split into two groups, heading in opposite directions to explore while spreading word that evil cultivators had entered the secret realm.
Only after they plunged into the blizzard did Han Lian speak. "I could not say this with the others present. The cultivator I soul-searched was not from the Weiyu Realm. They are from the Weiling Realm."
"The upper realm?" Xun Kun was the one surprised this time.
Yunxi, however, was not. Once she learned that at least ten Divine Transformation evil cultivators had entered the Misty Snow Domain, she had suspected as much. If that many existed in their own realm, they would already be clashing openly with the Weiyu Realm's Divine Transformation experts, not slinking into a secret realm to hide.
Han Lian's face remained grave. "Yes. He is a small fry even in the upper realm, so I only gleaned fragmentary memories of the Spirit Realm. Their goal in entering the Misty Snow Domain is to contract the realm spirit and use the secret realm to build a passage, so that large numbers of evil cultivators can be transferred into the Weiyu Realm. There was nothing more in his memories."
Xun Kun drew a deep breath. "Then this secret realm is something they are determined to seize. We cannot let them succeed. If hordes of evil cultivators pour into the Weiling Realm, disaster will follow."
"Amitabha. The evil cultivators' desire to take the Weiyu Realm has never died. It was so five hundred years ago. It is so now," Yun Chen Fózǐ said.
Yunxi nodded. "Yun Chen is right. I am very curious why they are so fixated on the Weiyu Realm."
Han Lian shook her head. "I do not know. But since we are born opposed, we must not let their plot succeed."
"Han Lian is right. Since we have already crossed blades, it will not end short of death. We will hold the Weiyu Realm."
The four and one bear quickened their pace.
———
Qianling City
After receiving a voice transmission from Ming Jia Zūnzhě, Feng Fen knew the inevitable had come. He took Su Qingzhuo with him to an inconspicuous teahouse.
"Feng Fen greets Ming Jia Zūnzhě."
"Junior Su Qingzhuo greets Ming Jia Zūnzhě."
Su Qingzhuo had not expected that the person his master brought him to meet would be the Ancestor of Ming Jian Gate, so his manner was extremely respectful.
Ming Jia smiled gently. "Feng Fen, you have disciples now. Tianyun Gate at last has heirs to carry the flame."