"So that is how it is. No wonder, no wonder."
Yunxi strung all the clues together at once.
The evil cultivators must have long known where the Evil God's body was sealed, or at least, through repeated probing, confirmed that the Weiyu Realm held a portion of that body. That was why they infiltrated the Weiyu Realm, intending to seize it first, then search at leisure.
But the cultivators of the Weiyu Realm were not weak. The previous generation had real skill. With the addition of Tianyun Gate calculating the realm's calamity, and through the combined effort of all cultivators, the evil cultivators' first plan failed completely.
Although that plan failed, the evil cultivators did not give up. They took even longer to scheme, slowly dividing the cultivators of the Weiyu Realm, silently strangling elite disciples of every region while they were still growing.
They used every vicious method to drive Tianyun Gate to extermination. To better hide within the Weiyu Realm, they slaughtered the entire Yixian Gate for a single recipe that concealed aura, nearly cutting off Yixian Gate's inheritance.
Next, they exploited fallen cultivators like Li Chang, Zuo Qiu, and Xiao He, dangling what those people cared about most to turn them into pawns. They stoked conflicts within sects and between Dao and demon paths, hoping to throw every region into internal strife so none would have the bandwidth to deal with evil cultivators.
To expand their influence further, they used immortality as bait, luring mortals to cultivate evil arts, dragging the mortal world into misery.
Then came the Five Region Grand Tournament. They used the lives of participating Nascent Soul cultivators as chips to pry open the seal, letting the evil artifact Long Ya see the light of day again.
Long Ya had once been the Evil God's weapon. It would certainly be able to sense traces of its former master. That was why the evil cultivators went to such lengths, so they could use Long Ya to find the site of the Evil God's sealed body.
Unfortunately for them, all of this had been disrupted, whether by Yunxi's intent or by coincidence. Left with no other choice, the evil cultivators turned to the simplest, most direct method: make the Weiyu Realm their turf. Then they could turn over every inch of land. They would surely find the seal.
The Misty Snow Domain was particularly unlucky. It tried to avoid disaster, but ended up targeted. It avoided being refined last time, but this time the evil cultivators gambled everything, sending ten Divine Transformation evil cultivators down to force a contract with the secret realm. Pressured to the limit, the realm spirit had to compromise and took the initiative to seek out Yunxi.
After the green orb of light finished everything it knew, it noticed the woman before it wearing a look of sudden enlightenment. Since Yunxi did not speak, the orb grew anxious. It bobbed twice in front of her and finally said:
"Female cultivator, will you or will you not agree. Give me a definite answer."
Yunxi returned to herself and said coolly, "My Dao name is Ran Xi."
The realm spirit asked at once, "Ran Xi Daoyou, how have you decided?"
Yunxi did not answer that directly. She twirled the staff and asked, "Tell me about this avatar of yours."
"Bad luck, that is what it was. You know I crossed the realm wall last time and was spotted, so I had to let an avatar draw the evil cultivators away. The Wind Spirit Pearl split off as that avatar was trapped by them.
Luckily, I made it back to the Polar Extreme Wind Zone in the Weiyu Realm. Losing an avatar was the price paid. But the evil cultivators were despicable. Using an avatar that shared my source, they locked onto my exact position and used the Wind Spirit Pearl to transmit evil cultivators directly into the Misty Snow Domain to force a contract on me.
The secret realm happened to open then. Wanting more bodies to choose from, they used my avatar Wind Spirit Pearl to set traps, luring and hunting cultivators of this realm.
You know the rest best. You saw through their disguises. In the fight, you accidentally released the Wind Spirit Pearl, letting it slip into the gale and regain freedom.
When I judged the timing right, I drew the cultivators in the Polar Extreme Wind Zone and the small Wind Spirit Pearl into the secret realm.
That small Wind Spirit Pearl had been separated from me too long and already formed its own consciousness. It chose you and followed you all the way. I do not need to say the rest."
The realm spirit was speechless. It had planned to reintegrate the Wind Spirit Pearl to last a little longer. Instead, the pearl attached itself to the woman before it, which felt rather embarrassing.
Yunxi failed to hold back a laugh. "Seems your avatar thinks highly of me. Not so many crooked schemes either."
The realm spirit decided there was no point pretending. "I have told you everything I know. Give me an answer now."
Yunxi smiled slightly. "Lift the sealing of spiritual power, and I will contract with you."
The green orb pulsed twice. The white mist around Yunxi began to withdraw. As it receded, Yunxi felt the spiritual power in her body circulate again.
She drew a deep breath and sketched a contract sigil in the air with ice spiritual power. To ensure foolproof control, Yunxi used a contract script from archaic inscriptions. She did not fully trust the realm spirit, so she had to keep the initiative in her hands.
When the final stroke fell, the sigil was complete. Ancient and sacred Dao resonance spread out, stunning the realm spirit.
"Y, you, you."
It could not form a full sentence for a long beat. Yunxi ignored it. She flicked a drop of heart's blood into the sigil and waved her sleeve, sending the contract seal flying toward the green orb. In the next instant, the green orb merged into the sigil. The entire secret realm began to tremble.
Han Lian, Yun Chen, Xun Kun, and the other cultivators exploring the realm all jolted in shock. In the next instant, aside from those who had entered the central zone, all cultivators were ejected from the space, evil cultivators included.
The Divine Transformation evil cultivators in the center sensed something was wrong and tried to investigate, but their opponents kept them pinned, leaving them no chance to break away.
After Yunxi sent the other cultivators out, she fixed her gaze on the Divine Transformation evil cultivators in the center and ordered the realm spirit:
"Throw them out."
"They deserve death, but our position will be exposed again."
"Do not worry. Once you eject them, you will begin fusing with my portable space. They will not be able to lock onto you in a short time."
Yunxi was certain her space could mask the aura of the Misty Snow Domain.
"Very well. I will listen to you."
With those words, the opponents entangled with Han Lian, Yun Chen, and Xun Kun, along with two Divine Transformation evil cultivators who had just spotted Yunxi, were expelled from the secret realm.
This time, the realm spirit tossed all five directly into the spatial gale. In a single breath, the gale tore them to pieces.
Yunxi felt the tremor in her portable space and knew the Misty Snow Domain had begun to fuse with it. She was about to lead her companions away when a spatial black hole suddenly opened at her side. A powerful suction drew her in.
Yunxi turned her wrist on instinct. The red cord connecting her to Xun Kun tightened, and Xun Kun flew along the pull toward Yunxi and was swallowed by the black hole.
Yun Chen and Han Lian sensed the danger as well. Seeing Yunxi and Xun Kun vanish, they struck out at the same time to pull their companions back, only to be dragged in themselves.
After devouring the four of them, the black hole closed with satisfaction. The area was swiftly blanketed by the Polar Extreme Wind Zone's gales, erasing all traces.