The Divine Transformation seniors present were not ornamental. They all struck out at once to pull people free. Even so, they were still a step slower than the Shanhe Scroll. Before their spells could reach the participating Nascent Soul cultivators, those cultivators vanished where they stood.
Yunxi felt a tugging force seize her as well. She tried to summon the Seven Stars Soul-Shattering Staff, but a powerful shove from behind sent her straight toward the Shanhe Scroll hanging in the air. She did not need to look back to know that despicable Wei Yunqing had done it. Her response was just as smooth. She flicked out her red cord, looped it around Wei Yunqing's wrist, and flung him into the vortex a heartbeat ahead of her.
"Wei Yunxi!"
Wei Yunqing only had time to spit out those three words before he was swallowed by the vortex's heart.
Yunxi saw that Hua Yu Zūnzhě of Huaxian Gate could not halt the Shanhe Scroll at all. This was a plan the evil cultivators had laid in advance and it would not be broken easily.
Her spiritual sense swept broadly. Not a single Divine Transformation cultivator was able to keep their own sect's disciples back. There was no getting free. Yunxi simply stopped resisting and rode the suction into the vortex.
Only after every Nascent Soul cultivator had been pulled inside did the Shanhe Scroll slowly close. It continued to hover in midair, steeped in a dense bloody aura that made the assembled Divine Transformation seniors frown.
The spectators were shaken. The Divine Transformation seniors on site traded a look, swept their sleeves to send their respective disciples away from the arena, then turned their eyes to Hua Yu.
"Hua Yu Daoyou, what is going on here? Why is your sect's treasure out of control?"
Hua Yu's face was full of question marks. He frowned. "This Zūnzhě does not know. It was functioning properly before."
Someone scowled. "If even you do not know, how are we supposed to rescue our disciples?"
"Exactly. The Shanhe Scroll is Huaxian Gate's and you are the one controlling it. Saying 'I do not know' does not solve anything."
One person had only one concern, to get their juniors out. "Can we destroy the Shanhe Scroll?"
Hua Yu drew a long breath to explain. "Destroying the Shanhe Scroll would shatter the space inside. The Nascent Soul cultivators within would die without question. Moreover, when the scroll is attacked it will passively defend, and everything inside it will be converted into energy to maintain its operation."
Wu Tong Zūnzhě's voice was cold enough to cut. "So we cannot destroy it, and you cannot control it. What then? Do we watch these outstanding juniors die trapped inside?"
Xun Kun and Sun Yan had both been sucked in. How was he supposed to face Lin Lang later and say he had watched with his own eyes as they were dragged into the scroll?
At that moment several streaks of light descended at the arena. Nearly every Divine Transformation Zūnzhě traveling with the five regions had arrived.
Hao Yan already knew what had happened. She asked with a frown, "Hua Yu Daoyou, the Shanhe Scroll is Huaxian Gate's mystic treasure. Since it is a mystic treasure, it should have birthed an artifact spirit. Can you communicate with it?"
Hua Yu shook his head. "That is exactly the problem. This Zūnzhě cannot communicate with the scroll's spirit. The Shanhe Scroll belongs to the sect, contracted to no person. It is only brought out during the tournament to display names and advancement."
"Then contract with the Shanhe Scroll now and control it to release the people. Will that work?"
Ming Hong Zūnzhě offered the idea.
"It may be worth a try."
Before Hua Yu finished speaking, Hua Tang Zūnzhě appeared before them.
"Hua Tang Daoyou is here."
All eyes turned to him.
Hua Tang looked at the Shanhe Scroll, suspended and still bleeding crimson aura, then shifted his gaze to Master Yun Yi of Yunmen Monastery in the Eastern Region. "To make a mystic treasure recognize a master, we must first purge the evil qi upon it. Otherwise, even if we force recognition, the backlash will be severe."
Master Yun Yi pressed his palms together. "Amitabha. This old monk will try his best, but I will need assistance. The evil qi upon the Shanhe Scroll is not the same as ordinary taint."
He had already observed the scroll for a while. He was certain the evil cultivator controlling it was above Divine Transformation. He clutched worry for the cultivators dragged inside. This would be a fight to the death.
Hua Bai arrived later, and when he saw the bloody aura coiling on the scroll, his pupils shrank and his fist tightened within his sleeve. He seemed to realize he had done something foolish.
After a brief discussion, the Divine Transformation seniors began supporting Master Yun Yi in purifying the Shanhe Scroll's evil qi. The progress was painfully slow. The taint was stronger than expected, and any carelessness risked the purifiers themselves being invaded. Everyone's hearts sank a little further.
Meanwhile, within the scroll, Yunxi had bound Wei Yunqing to her with the red cord at her wrist. This time she channeled thunder spiritual power into her fists and hammered him relentlessly, every blow pure flesh and bone.
"Wei Yunxi, are you insane? Stop!"
Wei Yunqing shouted as he tried to block, not for lack of desire to strike back, but because the gap in strength was too great. He simply could not.
Yunxi had no interest in trading words with a fool. She just kept punching, running through every form of the mid-tier body refinement art on Wei Yunqing's body.
This was no scratch-and-warn bout. Yunxi truly broke Wei Yunqing's bones. By the end he did not even have the strength to curse.
Her eyes cold, Yunxi took a vial from her storage ring, pried his mouth open, and poured it down. When his shattered bones had knit once more, she flexed her fingers and began a fresh round of demonstration.
Wei Yunqing hurt so much his spirit nearly popped out of his body. He regretted provoking this lunatic just because his temper had flared. He tried to slip into the bracelet space, but after being reforged the crimson bracelet could no longer accept his physical body, only restore its former size.
He tried to fight back, but he was no match for Wei Yunxi. In the end he could only beg, "Wei Yunxi, please stop. I am your elder sister. You cannot do this to me."
Yunxi's smile held only contempt. "Only now do you remember I am your younger sister. You did not hesitate a moment ago when you shoved me. Did you think I would not kill you?
Outside I might have to hold back. But we are inside the Shanhe Scroll now, a separate space, and it is under the evil cultivators' control. Who do you think is coming to help you?"
No matter how Wei Yunqing pleaded, Yunxi did not stop. She shattered every bone, poured in another restorative draught, waited for the bones to mend, then raised her fists again.
Wei Yunqing's voice broke. He gathered his spiritual sense to draw a blast talisman from the crimson bracelet, but in the next breath his sea of consciousness was stabbed by Yunxi's spiritual sense.
"Ah!"
At that scream, the Shadowscale Serpent woke from its slumber. It found its master being battered senseless, already skirting the edge of death.
"Fool."