Yun Chen Fózǐ's warning was taken to heart by everyone in the grand hall. All present were Yuányīng Zhēnjūn, seasoned cultivators accustomed to danger. Without needing instruction, they instinctively divided into groups by region, each team defending against the waves of evil spirits surging from all directions.
Huan Die Zhēnjūn flicked the round fan in her hand, and countless violet butterflies flew out, dyeing the gray spirits purple. Within three breaths, the spirits exploded like brilliant fireworks, leaving no trace behind.
Xun Kun controlled his twin swords with his divine sense, wrapping them in heavy demonic qi as he cleaved through the evil spirits, crushing them to dust in an instant.
Shi Jun's aura shifted the moment his long sword was unsheathed. He became like a drawn blade himself. He swung lightly, yet with overwhelming force, his red, fire-infused sword intent clearing the area in front of him in one strike.
Qing Zhu Zhēnjūn played her jade flute, and the moment the first note rang out, the spirits rushing forward paused for half a breath before surging toward her like moths to a flame. Yet not a single spirit could touch her. The rippling sound waves shredded them to pieces.
Han Lian waved her sleeve gently, instantly freezing spirits solid. She followed with a light palm strike, shattering them into fragments.
Other Yuányīng Zhēnjūn also unleashed their own techniques, killing the spirits with brutal efficiency to clear the hall as quickly as possible.
After an hour, no more spirits appeared. Everyone finally let out a breath of relief, summoned meditation cushions, and sat cross-legged, clutching spirit stones to restore their depleted energy.
Yunxi scanned the room. Zhang Lingrui and Lin Keyang were nowhere to be seen, and the number of cultivators here didn't match the total who had been pulled into the Scroll of Mountains and Rivers.
She frowned slightly and turned to Yun Chen Fózǐ, who had already recovered. "Yun Chen Fózǐ, how were you transported here?"
Yun Chen Fózǐ pressed his palms together. "Amitabha. After I was drawn into the scroll, I found myself in a sealed space. No matter where I walked, I could not leave. Not knowing what was happening, I sat down to meditate. Then I was transferred here."
Yunxi nodded. His experience mirrored hers, though she and Wei Yunqing had entered the same space because of the red cord binding them. She hadn't even tried to escape, too busy venting her frustration by pummeling Wei Yunqing.
It was Wei Yunqing who finally took the first step forward, triggering the teleportation. Yunxi had simply followed and thus became one of the first two cultivators to step into this sealed domain filled with evil spirits.
Han Lian opened her eyes and shared her story. "After I was sucked inside, I too was trapped in a separate space. I used an Ice-Breaking Technique to shatter it and arrived here."
Other Yuányīng Zhēnjūn recounted similar experiences, each one suddenly appearing here after being trapped elsewhere.
Once the brief exchange ended, everyone's eyes turned toward Yunxi and Wei Yunqing. As the first to arrive, they clearly held the most information about this place.
Yunxi gave Wei Yunqing a look, silently telling her to speak.
Wei Yunqing cleared her throat. "I triggered a teleportation array, and it brought both me and my sister here. As soon as we arrived, gray evil energy appeared. Yunxi said this place is a sealed ground.
Before you came, a Bi Fang bird appeared and burned all the spirits to ash. We sat to recover our strength, and then you were all transported here. Your arrival stirred the spirits into action again."
Wei Yunqing spoke clearly, hoping to stand out, then threw the problem back to the other Yuányīng Zhēnjūn.
"Amitabha. The evil cultivators planned this well. This is a death trap. If we wish to escape alive, we must break the seal, which would release the sealed spirits and aid our enemies.
If we refuse, we'll eventually fall here, becoming spirits ourselves. And when that happens, the Weiyu Realm will lose over a hundred cultivators with the potential to reach Divine Transformation. That would create a devastating gap in the ranks of higher-level cultivators."
Faces darkened all around as the weight of the situation sank in.
Some cultivators had already begun studying the seal's runes, desperately searching for a way out.
Wei Yunqing felt a surge of satisfaction watching the grim expressions of the Yuányīng Zhēnjūn. Misery loved company.
Until now, she and Yunxi had been alone, walking a single path toward certain death. Now that so many others had joined them, she was confident that someone would attempt to break the seal and flee.
Her eyes flickered as she scanned the cultivators studying the runes, calculating how to rally allies to her plan.
But Yunxi, her divine sense spread wide, caught every glimmer of scheming in her sister's gaze. Without hesitation, she flicked a Mystic Frost Needle into Wei Yunqing's dantian. The icy needle hovered above her Yuányīng, ready to pierce it at a single thought.
Wei Yunqing leapt to her feet with a furious roar. "Yunxi, what are you doing? We're in the same boat!"
The hall went silent. All eyes turned to the sisters.
Yunxi's movements had been swift, but those nearby—Yun Chen, Xun Kun, Han Lian, Huan Die, and Shi Jun—had seen everything. They stayed quiet, waiting for Yunxi's explanation.
Calmly smoothing her sleeve, Yunxi spoke. "Don't think I don't know what you're plotting, Wei Yunqing. You see so many Nascent Soul cultivators trapped here, and you're counting on some coward to share your desire to break the seal and escape.
You want me to clean up after you just because we share blood? You're ugly and shameless if you think that way. You really believe breaking the seal means escaping?
The Shanhe Srolls is already under the control of an evil cultivator. Whether you can even walk out of it isn't yours to decide.
Use your brain. Whoever seized control of this artifact under the very noses of Huaxian Gate's Divine Transformation Zūnzhě is at least at the Out-of-Body stage, capable of pseudo-ascension. To them, you're nothing but an ant.
Even if you succeed in breaking the seal, have you thought about what will happen when these spirits flood the Weiyu Realm? How many cultivators across the cultivation world will die?
You, a Yuányīng Zhēnjūn, already succumbed to their influence and birthed inner demons. How will lower-level cultivators survive?
The more deaths there are, the heavier your karmic debt as the one who unleashed them. Do you think you'll ever ascend? Even if you somehow pile up enough cultivation to reach Divine Transformation, can you withstand the Out-of-Body tribulation lightning fueled by the wrath of an entire world? You'll be annihilated, your soul scattered, with no grave to mark your end!"
With every word Yunxi spoke, Wei Yunqing paled further until she clutched her head and covered her ears.
But Yunxi wasn't done. She sent her voice straight into Wei Yunqing's mind. "Better I kill you now than let you bring disaster to me, Haoran Sect, the Wei Clan, or the entire Weiyu Realm!"