Chapter 189

Chapter 189: Before Competing

After passing through the formation at Soaring Snow Peak, a long-missed cold wind rushed toward Yun Xi. She could not help taking a deep breath. Looking at the mountain covered in ice and snow, that familiar feeling returned.

Yun Xi walked back to her little courtyard. She told Dian Dian and Fei Xia to go do as they pleased. She changed her robe into the white one with teal patterns, then took out her message jade slip and sent word to her older siblings in the clan, saying she had already registered for the tournament.

The first to reply was Wei Zong Hao. “Yun Xi, you were gone a long time this trip. Did something happen? Is everything at home alright?”

Yun Xi replied, “Something minor did happen, but it’s all resolved now. After I went back to the clan, I ran into Wei Yun Qing. She was just as annoying as ever.”

Wei Zong Hao replied, “When she returned to the clan, she wanted me to go with her, but I refused. I don’t want to be her lackey. I’m planning to go back to the clan after the tournament ends.”

He continued, “She’s always looked down on our brothers and sisters in the clan, but I heard she gained a blessing in disguise this time. Her cultivation has already advanced to mid Foundation Establishment. How is your cultivation?”

“I’m at the peak of early Foundation Establishment right now. Breaking through also needs the right chance. I’ve put some energy into alchemy. After the tournament, I should break through naturally. I’m not in a hurry.”

Wei Zong Hao’s mindset was very steady. He insisted on improving step by step.

“It’s good that you think that way. This time, I also learned some secret history about the clan, involving the current Ancestor and the Golden Core elder from Law Peak. I’m planning to visit Ancestor Chen Yin tomorrow.”

Wei Zong Hao hesitated before replying, “Is… that appropriate? This Ancestor isn’t very supportive of Wei Family disciples.”

“It’s fine. Even if she won’t do it for the monk’s sake, she’ll do it for the Buddha’s. I’m a direct disciple of True Lord Yu Ling. My status is enough for me to visit her.”

Yun Xi did not mention that she had already formed a Golden Core. In terms of cultivation, she also had the right to speak with Wei Chen Yin as an equal.

Wei Zong Hao replied, “I understand. Just watch your boundaries. After tomorrow’s preliminary round ends, I’ll come see you.”

“Alright. You prepare first.”

They had just cut off contact when messages from Wei Yun Ting and Wei Zong Han came through as well. They were mostly asking about the clan’s situation. After learning the clan was safe, they turned their attention back to the sect tournament starting the next day.

Half an hour later, Yun Xi walked to the summit of Soaring Snow Peak. The formation around the summit hall was still active, showing that True Lord Yu Ling was still breaking through. From the fluctuations of ice spiritual energy around it, reaching the Divine Transformation Stage was only a matter of time.

Yun Xi first gave a proper salute toward her master’s hall. Then she took out a meditation cushion, straightened her robe, sat cross-legged, and began reporting what had happened during her trip.

“Master, your disciple really did well. In less than half a year, I already broke through to the Golden Core Stage. Sure, the process was a tiny bit dangerous, but your good disciple made it through.”

She continued, “It all started when I went to Xia Fei Valley. I left the sect mainly to go back to the clan and handle some personal matters, so I also picked up a few sect tasks along the way. Then in Xia Fei Valley, I ran into demonic cultivators setting traps to catch cultivators…”

Yun Xi rambled on for almost an hour and a half. In the middle, she even ate two ice ling fruits to keep her throat from drying out. Only then did she finish the general story of everything she ran into. At last, she sighed. “Master, you really need to reach the Divine Transformation Stage as soon as possible. Otherwise, your disciple doesn’t even dare use a strange flame.”

She went on, “And also, you should learn from True Lord Qing Zhu. At least give your disciple some protective divine sense or something, so I don’t have to run every time I run into Li Chang. It’s only because you’re in seclusion right now that I don’t feel confident. Otherwise, I would’ve already found a way to kill that old man. You can tell he’s gone crazy trying to reach the Divine Transformation Stage. That’s why he teamed up with demonic cultivators. He even threw away his own son and still won’t repent. Truly tragic…”

Yun Xi muttered a bit more and shared her opinions. Feeling she had said everything she should say, and that she had not leaked anything she should not, she stood up, patted herself off, put away the cushion, and strolled down the mountain.

Inside the hall, True Lord Yu Ling, who sat cross-legged, raised the corners of his lips in a faint smile. This was the first time he had discovered that his little disciple could be such a chatterbox.

But after hearing the details of her training experience, he also understood something. Yun Xi had her own path to walk. There was not much he could do to help her, but before she grew into a towering tree, he would protect her well.

After Yun Xi left, Leng Ruo Han cast aside all distracting thoughts and sped up his cultivation technique. The ice spiritual qi in the Spirit-Gathering Formation nearly liquefied and wrapped around him in thick layers.

Nothing else happened through the night. Early the next morning, Yun Xi left Soaring Snow Peak and went to Hao Ran Peak to watch the opening ceremony of the sect tournament.

Sect Master Yu Geng was as spirited as ever. Beside him stood his eldest disciple, Sheng Yu Hong. After giving a few words of encouragement, he announced the tournament’s start. It was the shortest opening speech Yun Xi had ever seen.

Yun Xi was only there to watch the excitement, but the opening ceremony ended in a quarter of an hour, leaving her unsatisfied. After the competing disciples all headed to Dueling Peak, she instead went to Law Peak to visit Wei Chen Yin.

Wei Chen Yin was an elder of Law Peak and lived alone on a small side peak at some distance from the main peak. She usually kept a low profile. So when a disciple reported that someone had come to visit, she was a little surprised. But once she heard it was Wei Yun Xi, she smiled and told the disciple to invite her in.

After Yun Xi met Wei Chen Yin, she first gave a junior’s salute. “Yun Xi greets Elder Wei.”

Wei Chen Yin sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations around Yun Xi and a flash of surprise passed through her eyes. Then she smiled and lifted her hand. “No need to be so polite. You and I are family.”

She continued, “Besides, you’re already a Golden Core Master now, and you’ve taken True Lord Yu Ling as your master. Technically speaking, I should be calling you little Martial Uncle.”

Yun Xi chuckled and sat down before speaking. “Ancestor Chen Yin is still my elder. I wouldn’t dare accept that kind of address. Just call me Yun Xi. In the sect, I’ll call you Senior Sister Chen Yin. How about that?”

Wei Chen Yin smiled and agreed, then said, “Yun Xi, you’re the first Wei Family disciple of this batch to form a Golden Core, and you’re also the youngest. In cultivation, you have your master’s guidance, so I’m not qualified to meddle. I only want to remind you not to chase cultivation alone. You must also strengthen your foundation, train more, and accumulate battle experience.”

Yun Xi agreed with those words. What she lacked most was experience, so she nodded obediently. “Yun Xi will remember. This trip back to the clan was training for me, and I even met Ancestor Nan Feng.”

She added, “But he was pretty average. Even though he’s at mid Golden Core, his face looked extremely old, not even half as good as yours.”

When Wei Chen Yin heard the title Ancestor Nan Feng, her expression darkened almost imperceptibly. But when she heard Yun Xi belittle him, the corners of her lips lifted again. She spoke casually. “Someone like him, who’s obsessed with schemes, spends his mind on other people. Naturally, he slacks off in cultivation. He’s the same as Wei Yun Qing. She has the best talent in the clan, yet she still falls behind us at every turn.”