Chapter 190

Chapter 190: All Smiles

As soon as Yun Xi heard that, she knew the bad blood between Wei Nan Feng and Wei Chen Yin ran deep – so deep that Wei Chen Yin could not even be bothered to keep up the bare minimum of surface peace. She was openly taking jabs at the Wei Family’s current Ancestor right in front of a junior like Yun Xi.

Yun Xi was more than happy to see it happen. After all, Wei Nan Feng stood on Yun Qing’s side, so she went along with it. “Senior Sister Chen Yin is right. When I formed my Golden Core, I didn’t see Ancestor Nan Feng being all that happy. But when Wei Yun Qing framed me for stealing her things, Ancestor Nan Feng even came out of seclusion to stop me from settling accounts with Yun Qing. I felt awful about it for quite a while.”

Wei Chen Yin snorted. “In his mind, aptitude is everything. He forgets that on the cultivation path, it’s not only about aptitude. Look at him and me – he looks glorious, but if his cultivation doesn’t advance, in the end he only has one road left: dying in meditation.”

She lifted her chin slightly. “I’m different. I’m only an inner sect elder, but I found my own Dao. I will surpass him sooner or later.”

Yun Xi knew Wei Chen Yin wasn’t lying. She was already on the edge of a breakthrough, and only needed one chance to step into late Golden Core.

“Senior Sister Chen Yin is right,” Yun Xi said. “That’s why Second Uncle has already hinted to me. He hopes I can help the Ancestor refine a Longevity Pill.”

Wei Chen Yin said with clear contempt, “Hmph. He really knows how to dream. Longevity Fruit is so hard to find, and he’ll use the clan’s resources again to benefit himself.”

“Probably,” Yun Xi said with a smile. “Anyway, I only agreed on the surface. I told them that as long as they can find Longevity Fruit, I’ll refine it for him. As for whether it succeeds… I didn’t promise anything.”

Yun Xi said it with a bright, innocent grin, like she was sharing some shameless little trick.

Wei Chen Yin laughed softly. She found this junior quite interesting.

After they finished gossiping about Wei Nan Feng and grew closer, they changed topics. This time, Wei Chen Yin started. “Yun Xi, Wei Nan Feng’s character is bad, but he’s still a veteran Golden Core True Master. He has connections. Now that he favors Wei Yun Qing, he’ll probably pour those resources into Yun Qing. You can’t let your guard down.”

“Thank you for the warning, Senior Sister,” Yun Xi said. “Do you have a specific direction? That way I can prepare.”

Wei Chen Yin thought for a moment. “There should be a Nascent Soul True Lord in Hao Ran Sect backing him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have escaped back then. He would have been crippled and expelled.”

A flash of gossip lit up in Yun Xi’s eyes. She had known Second Uncle’s version of the story didn’t match reality, but now wasn’t the time to be curious. She kept asking, “As for the person behind the Clan Head, do you have any guesses?”

“I suspect it’s True Lord Zuo Qiu of Spirit Beast Peak,” Wei Chen Yin said. “But I have no proof.”

“I’ve never heard that name before,” Yun Xi admitted.

“He’s a Nascent Soul cultivator whose lifespan is nearly exhausted,” Wei Chen Yin explained. “He hasn’t shown himself in a long time. Some say he’s in life-and-death seclusion. Some say he left the sect to search for a chance to break through. I haven’t seen him in the sect in almost a hundred years.”

“I understand,” Yun Xi said.

“Just because I haven’t seen him doesn’t mean he hasn’t returned,” Wei Chen Yin warned. “Stay vigilant.”

“Alright. Yun Xi will remember.”

Seeing that Yun Xi had taken it seriously, Wei Chen Yin continued, “After the sect tournament, the new secret realm in the Bao Hua Mountain Range should open. The minimum cultivation to enter is Golden Core Stage. What are you planning to do?”

Hearing the secret realm was about to open, Yun Xi felt lucky she had formed her Golden Core. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even get a sip of soup. She said at once, “I want to go take a look. What if there’s a chance meant for me?”

Wei Chen Yin frowned. “This time, it won’t be only cultivators from the western region entering. There will also be disciples selected from the other Four Domains. The competition will be fierce, and your cultivation might not be enough.”

It was the truth, but Yun Xi still felt it hit her right in the heart. She rubbed her cheek. “Then I’ll try to break through again.”

Wei Chen Yin’s face went dark. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about. Don’t rush and only think about raising your cultivation.”

“Alright, I’ll listen to you, Senior Sister.”

After that, they mostly talked about cultivation. An hour later, Yun Xi finally left Law Peak.

When Yun Xi returned to Soaring Snow Peak, good news arrived one after another. The Wei Family disciples had basically all passed the preliminaries and entered the second round. Wei Yun Qing also passed the first-round melee without trouble.

The next day was the second-round elimination matches. Yun Xi brought Dian Dian and Fei Xia to specifically watch Wei Zong Hao and the others compete.

In the second round, only Wei Yun Ying was eliminated. Everyone else smoothly advanced to the third round, and the gap between the Wei Family siblings slowly widened.

When the Wei Family disciples who advanced gathered together, they finally learned that Yun Xi had formed her Golden Core. Aside from Wei Zong Hao, who stayed calm, everyone else stared with their mouths open, like it didn’t feel real.

Wei Yun Ying flashed to Yun Xi at the fastest speed of her life. She grabbed Yun Xi’s hand, smiling so sweetly it was almost fake. “True Master Wei, please let your cousin share a bit of your luck. Bless me to break through smoothly this time.”

It made everyone laugh helplessly. But after they heard how Yun Xi had formed her Golden Core, they completely gave up on trying to imitate her.

Wei Yun Ting praised her, “Yun Xi, you’re amazing. You actually endured nine extra tribulation lightning bolts. You know, if you made it through, you could directly condense a Nascent Soul!”

Yun Xi spread her hands, helpless. “Sister Yun Ting, you’re giving me too much credit. That was the mortal world – the spiritual energy was so thin it was basically nothing. I could form my Golden Core smoothly because Master prepared enough spirit stones for me.”

She sighed. “You have no idea how many I burned through. My storage pouch was empty. On the way back, I even mooched spirit stones from those Hundred Flowers Pavilion disciples.”

Yun Xi’s words were half true and half false. As long as she didn’t draw hatred, it was fine.

“We can only say you’re lucky,” Wei Zong Hao said with feeling.

“Tell me about it,” Yun Xi agreed. Then she took out several storage pouches from her sleeve pocket and handed one to each person. “These are the cultivation resources the clan asked me to bring you. There are also things your families prepared for you in private.”

She added, “I also put in a few small trinkets I bought along the way. I hope you like them. Remember to send word home that you received everything. Then my job as a messenger is done.”

After getting the storage pouches, everyone’s mood visibly improved. They all thanked Yun Xi and promised they would come watch her first-round match the next day.

Yun Xi’s side was full of warmth and laughter. From far away, Wei Yun Qing saw it and nearly ground her teeth to powder. “Hmph! A bunch of bootlickers. So what if she formed her Golden Core? What’s so great about that? I’m about to form mine too.”

After saying that, she turned and went back to Alchemy Peak to tend the Dao-Enlightenment Fruit.

When Yun Xi got back to Soaring Snow Peak, Dian Dian popped out again, looking sneaky. “Master, Dian Dian found something good.”

“What good thing is worth you sneaking around to tell me?” Yun Xi asked.

“I found it on Wei Yun Qing,” Dian Dian said.

Yun Xi raised her hand and set up a formation. Then she pinched Dian Dian in her hand and asked, “Besides the space, what else did you sense?”

Dian Dian wriggled. “I smelled fruit fragrance. It’s way too tempting for a mouse.”

“Fruit fragrance?” Yun Xi rubbed her chin and thought for a while. “Wei Yun Qing is good at planting, so that’s why she got into the inner sect’s Alchemy Peak. Did she cultivate some new high-grade spirit plant?”

Wei Zong Hao had told Yun Xi about this before. True Master Dan Yang had even bought a successfully cultivated third-rank spirit plant from Wei Yun Qing.

Dian Dian sniffed again. “Probably. If only we could see that spirit plant.”