Chapter 187

Chapter 187: Finally Leaving the Space

Wei Yun Qing replied with a bright smile, “Senior Brother Ye, leave it to me. I won’t let your good fortune go to waste.”

Seeing his junior sister agree so readily, Ye Shao Tian also smiled. Then he said solemnly, “Junior Sister Yun Qing, even though we’re senior and junior siblings, opportunity is not something you can force. For this seed, I put in a lot of effort and spent a huge amount of spirit stones. Now we still need spirit stones to force the Dao-Enlightenment Fruit to ripen, and you’ll need to shoulder more of that part.”

He continued, “Also, for the sake of the two of us, you and I should swear a Heavenly Dao Oath. This cannot be known by a third person. Otherwise, whether the fruit will even end up in our hands will be hard to say.”

Wei Yun Qing lowered her eyes and thought. She felt Senior Brother Ye’s conditions were reasonable, even though it hurt to think of her storage pouch that had finally started to fill. But she had to seize this chance, so she nodded. “Fine. I trust Senior Brother Ye. You and I supported each other from Outer Sect all the way to Inner Sect. Our bond as fellow disciples isn’t fake. We seized the last opportunity, and we’ll seize this one too.”

With that, she swore the Heavenly Dao Oath without hesitation.

Ye Shao Tian admired Wei Yun Qing’s decisiveness, and he also swore a Heavenly Dao Oath. Afterward, the two of them rented a patch of medicine fields, spent spirit stones to set up a high-grade Spirit-Gathering Formation, and began their days of cultivating the Dao-Enlightenment Fruit.

If Yun Xi found out about Yun Qing’s new opportunity, she would probably be so annoyed she’d throw her middle finger at the sky. But right now, she was still trapped in the space refining the Purple-Gold Meteorite Iron Stone.

As Yun Xi controlled Zi Yan to refine the Purple-Gold Meteorite Iron Stone’s outer coating, she did not gain nothing. At the very least, her coordination with Zi Yan grew smoother and smoother. Through this period of cooperation, Yun Xi also gained a deeper understanding of the strange flame Zi Yan.

First, Zi Yan had been born from Nine Heavens Profound Thunder, so it was fierce and violent, the type of strange flame meant for attacking. In a fight, it would be a powerful helper. But if Yun Xi used Zi Yan for alchemy, it would greatly test her ability to control it with fine precision.

Second, Zi Yan’s strength was currently damaged. Although it kept its awakened consciousness, if it wanted to use a big move, it still needed spiritual energy from Yun Xi, its master.

Zi Yan told Yun Xi that before, it had been able to split its body smoothly because, while serving as the formation’s core, it had intercepted part of the spiritual qi. Once it found an opening, it decisively split away from its former master.

Third, as a strange flame with awakened consciousness, it had a certain level of independence. When its master fell into danger, or when it temporarily lost contact with her, it would save itself or lie low. It would not be caught so easily.

After learning all this, Yun Xi could only marvel again at how wondrous the Cultivation World was. It really fit the saying, “All things have spirit.”

Twenty days later, Yun Xi obtained the complete Purple-Gold Meteorite Iron Stone. Looking at the deep purple crystal, only about the size of an egg, she felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

Zi Yan said, “Now we need to keep refining this meteorite iron stone. Once it liquefies and we remove the impurities, we can split it into ten portions. To upgrade your pill cauldron, you only need a piece the size of a fingernail.”

“Alright. Let me meditate to recover my spiritual energy, and then we’ll continue.”

Since she had already started, Yun Xi planned to push through and finish all the early preparation at once.

After resting for a day, Yun Xi continued wrestling with the Purple-Gold Meteorite Iron Stone. Removing impurities was delicate work. It affected the material’s purity, and it tested patience and divine sense. Yun Xi focused on two tasks at once, refining the meteorite iron stone in her palm.

Outside the space, Li Chang had waited until he lost patience. He released his divine sense again and searched Yan Dang Mountain once more. Still nothing. He frowned and muttered, “Did the person already run away? Or did that Hao Ran Sect disciple take the strange flame, and the story about someone else taking it was just a smokescreen?”

Li Chang thought for a moment and flashed away from his previous spot. He wanted to see whether, once he left, someone would show themselves.

A day later, someone really did appear where Li Chang had been staying. It was a Golden Core cultivator. He looked around, but found nothing.

Unwilling to give up, the male cultivator formed hand seals and activated a tracking formation, but he still found nothing. In the end, he could only leave in frustration.

Li Chang saw it all clearly, but he did not reveal himself. He simply stayed hidden and continued waiting.

Meanwhile, Yun Xi inside the space was busy refining the Purple-Gold Meteorite Iron Stone. She had no idea about the “mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole behind” game playing out outside, so she perfectly avoided Li Chang’s probing.

Another twenty days passed. Li Chang decided there would be no results and prepared to leave. But before he left Yan Dang Mountain, he received a sword-message. After reading it, Li Chang’s eyes lit up. He flashed away from the spot, and this time, he truly left for good.

Five more days passed. Yun Xi finally removed every last bit of impurity from the Purple-Gold Meteorite Iron Stone and split it into ten portions. Only then did she put away the strange flame. She found a box and packed the small, clear purple stones inside.

After finishing, Yun Xi lay down and fell asleep. In no time, only her soft snoring filled the space. Dian Dian beside her also grew sleepy. In the end, it yawned and burrowed into Yun Xi’s arms to sleep as well.

After a full day and night, Yun Xi finally opened her eyes again. She stretched and felt fully refreshed. After counting the days, she realized she had stayed hidden in the space for almost two months. She had no idea whether Li Chang had left, so she reached out and contacted Fei Xia.

These days, Fei Xia had lived very comfortably at Yan Dang Mountain. It had sampled every kind of flower in the mountains, stuffing itself full. It had been preparing to find a little companion and raise offspring when its master summoned it.

“Fei Xia, did Li Chang leave?”

“I think he did.”

“What do you mean, ‘I think’?”

“I don’t dare get close to where he was hiding. I only vaguely feel that his aura seems to have disappeared.”

“Tsk tsk. Looks like you’ve been having a great time out there.”

“Master, wait a moment. I’ll fly over and take a look.”

The Fei Xia butterfly could only say goodbye to its new little companion, then hurried back.

Two quarters of an hour later, Fei Xia sent a voice transmission to Yun Xi. “Master, Li Chang has already left.”

After hearing that, Yun Xi carefully stretched her divine sense out of the space like a thread. Once she confirmed Li Chang was truly gone, her figure flashed. She appeared at the spot where the fighting had happened earlier, quickly threw out the Yun Xia Flying Boat, leaped onto it, and left Yan Dang Mountain at top speed.

The Fei Xia butterfly obediently returned to Yun Xi’s hair bun and told her about everything it had experienced at Yan Dang Mountain.

“It seems the ones who won’t give up aren’t only the demonic cultivators. There are other cultivators too.” Yun Xi rubbed her chin.

“Yes. Luckily you had the space, Master, or you wouldn’t have gotten away smoothly,” the Fei Xia butterfly replied at once.

“What about Wei Yun Qing?”

“She should have already returned to the sect.”

After learning that Yun Qing had been taken away by a Nascent Soul True Lord, Yun Xi felt disgusted. With how things were at the time, Yun Qing, as the cultivator closest to the strange flame, would definitely have been pressured. A fight would have been hard to avoid, and she might not have even escaped.

That True Lord barged in and interfered, which actually helped Wei Yun Qing. Whatever the man’s goal was, Wei Yun Qing ended up benefiting.

“It doesn’t matter. If I didn’t trap her this time, there’s always next time. I refuse to believe someone will show up to save her every single time.”