Chapter 85

Chapter 85: Heavenly Signs Descend

The moment an unusual phenomenon appeared over the Bao Hua Mountain Range, countless streaks of light shot toward the depths of the range. It was likely that every cultivator in the entire western region had seen that pillar of light.

Sheng Yu Hong’s group, who had been resting inside an array, also turned to look in that direction. Each of them wore a different expression.

Du Yu Ling was the first to speak. “Senior Brother Sheng, did some rare treasure come into the world?”

Yun Xi also shifted her gaze toward Sheng Yu Hong. This was the first time she had seen something like this in person. She had read similar records in travel notes kept in the Treasure Pavilion before. In her view, if heavenly signs had descended, something major had to be happening.

Sheng Yu Hong frowned tightly. “I’m not sure either, but the True Lords in Bao Hua City have definitely gone to check. We’ll report to the sect first, then wait for the sect’s decision.”

He felt that the Divine Transformation Ancestor of the sect was surely already on the way.

Yun Xi silently raised both hands in agreement. Just one look told her this was not normal, and even Nascent Soul True Lords were moving. Little shrimps like them at Foundation Establishment had no business getting involved, or they would die without even knowing how.

After all, those who had made their homes in the inner region of the Bao Hua Mountain Range were Fifth Rank demon cultivators, equivalent to human Divine Transformation cultivators. In the Vast Cosmos Realm, they were among the very top.

Mu Ning Zhu then spoke. “Senior Brother Sheng, now that the Bao Hua Mountain Range has shown signs, I’m sure a large number of cultivators will rush here soon. We should gather all the Hao Ran Sect disciples together, so we don’t get used as stepping stones.”

Mu Ning Zhu said this because she was worried about Qin Tong Shuang and Zhang Yan and the others. Those few were only at the Qi Refining stage. If anything happened, it would be a disaster. She had brought them out, and she did not want her teammates to get hurt.

Sheng Yu Hong had already sent a flying sword message. He then waved a hand and put away the array disk, saying to everyone, “Leave the Bao Hua Mountain Range first. We’ll regroup with our fellow disciples and talk after that.”

“Yes, Senior Brother Sheng.”

The six answered in unison and sped up their retreat. Their group ran straight into the wave of cultivators pouring in after seeing the signs.

Before nightfall, under Sheng Yu Hong’s protection, the eight of them finally reached the exit of the Bao Hua Mountain Range.

With her sharp eyes, Yun Xi spotted Qin Tong Shuang and Long Dao Yu. The two were leaning close, speaking in low voices, likely discussing the strange phenomenon deep within the range as well.

“Eh, it’s Senior Uncle Sheng, and Junior Sister Wei!”

The instant Long Dao Yu lifted his eyes, he saw Yun Xi’s group. The first person he looked at, though, was still his idol, Sheng Yu Hong.

Qin Tong Shuang also saw Mu Ning Zhu and Wei Yun Xi and immediately waved at them. “Senior Uncle Mu, Yun Xi, over here!”

The two teams joined smoothly. This time, all the Hao Ran Sect’s Qi Refining disciples were gathered at the entrance. When they saw Sheng Yu Hong’s group, they crowded over.

Sheng Yu Hong raised a hand, signaling everyone to quiet down, and only then spoke. “Fellow disciples, the situation deep in the Bao Hua Mountain Range is unclear right now. Your cultivation is low, so do not rush in. Return first to the sect’s outpost in Bao Hua City.”

“Yes, Senior Uncle Sheng.”

“Everyone, confirm with each other whether all fellow disciples who entered Bao Hua Mountain have come out. If anyone hasn’t, send them a message talisman so they won’t be used by others out of ignorance. The Bao Hua Mountain Range will definitely be chaotic for a while. At a time like this, someone is bound to cause trouble in the shadows.”

Everyone nodded and agreed. After they checked with each other, some people sent message talismans to those who had not returned. Once they received replies, the disciples present followed behind Sheng Yu Hong back to Bao Hua City.

At that moment, Long Dao Yu stared at Yun Xi in shock. “Wei Sis… Senior Uncle, we’ve only been apart seven days, and you already broke through to Foundation Establishment?”

Beside him, Qin Tong Shuang also looked at Lian Yi with shining eyes, clearly very curious about what had happened after they separated.

Yun Xi smiled. “Just call me Yun Xi. I don’t dare accept ‘Senior Uncle.’ I was just a little luckier than usual.”

As she spoke, she even pinched her pinky to show “just a little.”

Long Dao Yu immediately said, all familiarity, “Yun Xi, can you tell us in detail?”

The Qi Refining disciples nearby also perked up their ears to listen. Traveling didn’t stop them from enjoying the gossip.

After letting out a sigh, Yun Xi said, “That day when the underground cave collapsed, I panicked a bit. When I escaped, the talisman I crushed was a Random Teleport Talisman, and it sent me straight into a Red-Beaked Falcon’s nest…”

Yun Xi had a talent for storytelling. She described the process with ups and downs. She had escaped by the skin of her teeth, and in the end, she had only been able to leave the Bao Hua Mountain Range safely because she met Senior Brother Sheng Yu Hong.

Of course, she did not mention a single word about helping the Foundation Establishment fellow disciples fight. She understood that kind of social sense well enough. The group walking at the very front, Sheng Yu Hong’s party, was also quite satisfied with Yun Xi’s explanation.

After hearing it, Long Dao Yu said, “See? That’s luck. Your decision to enter Bao Hua Mountain with me in the first place was so right. We weren’t even apart that long and you already established your foundation. Misfortune turned into blessing.”

Yun Xi immediately nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Looks like I really should go out of the sect to train more often.”

Qin Tong Shuang also smiled. “That’s a good thing. When I establish my foundation, we can form a team and take missions together.”

She had not established her foundation yet, so she was reserving a spot in the team early. Long Dao Yu also spoke up. “And me! And me!”

After that, their topic shifted to the strange heavenly phenomenon in the Bao Hua Mountain Range.

By the time the group returned to the Hao Ran Sect outpost, it was already pitch-black. Yet Bao Hua City was brightly lit. In the night sky, that pillar of light seemed even more obvious, and from time to time, high-level cultivators turned into streaks of light and headed toward the depths of the mountains.

After the excitement passed, everyone returned to their rooms to rest. Too much had happened in a single day. No one’s mind was calm, but they all consciously set up isolation arrays and processed things on their own.

Besides activating the room’s isolation array, Yun Xi also took out her Third Rank array disk and turned it to the highest defense. Only then did she lay out everything she had gained in the Bao Hua Mountain Range and start counting. She couldn’t calm down to cultivate anyway.

There were three storage pouches – from the two rogue cultivators who had chased her, plus the Foundation Establishment cultivator she had killed while helping her fellow disciples. And on top of that, there was the storage ring she had gotten in the three-headed snake’s underground cave. The harvest was quite rich.

Yun Xi giggled foolishly for a moment before she began sorting everything one by one.

Just those three storage pouches had given her nearly ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones. That was far beyond what she had expected. Mainly, those two rogue cultivators had been preparing to establish their foundations, so they had stuffed away all the spirit stones they had saved for a Foundation Establishment Pill inside their pouches. As for that Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had been saving spirit stones for a Golden Core Condensation Pill and kept his entire fortune on him. In the end, it all came cheap to Yun Xi.

“Tsk tsk. No wonder they say a horse doesn’t get fat without night grass, and a man doesn’t get rich without windfall money! Now I understand why there’s so much killing and treasure-snatching in the cultivation world.”

After her sigh, she dumped all the spirit stones into her own storage pouch, then continued sorting the other items. Magic tools in one pile, talismans in another, pills in another, and anything she didn’t recognize went in a separate place.

Once she finished organizing, she decided to sell everything except the spirit stones. Most of those items had been stolen by rogue cultivators in the first place. If she used them and someone recognized them, she would only be inviting trouble.