A chill quickly spread through the entire protective barrier, startling the cultivators who had been meditating. They instinctively opened their eyes and turned toward the area where the cultivators of the Northern Region were gathered, discovering that this was caused by Han Lian Zhēnjūn's breakthrough into the Divine Transformation stage.
Yunxi, with her ice spiritual root, sensed it immediately. To her, this was also good news, so she calmly closed her eyes again to continue recovering.
Han Lian gathered the final wisp of icy spiritual power into her dantian before slowly opening her eyes. With a wave of her sleeve, she lifted the restrictions, and the cultivators of the Northern Region gathered around her, cupping their hands in congratulations.
Han Lian's breakthrough eased the oppressive atmosphere under the Hong energy barrier. Now that they had three Divine Transformation cultivators, they could at least hold on a little longer.
Once Yunxi's dantian brimmed with energy again, she didn't lift the barrier immediately. Instead, her consciousness entered the Space.
Dian Dian was crouched beside the Spirit Spring pool where the Seven-Colored Lotus had been planted, its eyelids drooping heavily, yet it stubbornly resisted sleep. Sensing Yunxi's arrival, it immediately piped up:
"Master, Master, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. You don't need to worry."
Relieved, Dian Dian rubbed its eyes and asked, "Did you catch that bad thing?"
"No, it's hiding."
"Then what do we do?"
Dian Dian spun in anxious circles.
"There's no need to panic. It'll show itself sooner or later, as long as it wants to leave this place."
Yunxi's voice was firm.
That fight earlier hadn't been for nothing. She was certain the Dragon-Patterned Saber had a spirit, and it could control sealed evil souls. Even if an evil soul was destroyed, the saber would remain unscathed and simply find a new temporary master, ensuring its invincibility.
What truly worried her was if the Dragon-Patterned Saber fell into the hands of an Out-of-Body-level evil soul. Then, all they could do was hide behind the Hong energy barrier, because they would stand no chance.
She entered the Space to access the chat group for help. After soothing Dian Dian and urging it to focus on its advancement, Yunxi hurried to the main hall of the Yixian Gate and connected her consciousness to the group.
A glowing screen lit up with the notification: "Fleeting Cloud has logged in." Almost immediately, a message popped up: "Star Trek is online and wants to send you items. Please accept."
Yunxi clicked "Accept" without hesitation. In the next moment, four metal crates materialized in the hall. She opened them with a thought: one was filled with Hong energy blocks, and the other three contained an assortment of potions, not only for energy recovery but also for healing and gene enhancement to stimulate potential.
Silently, Yunxi gave Star Trek a mental thumbs-up. She guessed this person must be a soldier in the interstellar world or someone involved in military operations, judging by how thorough and well-prepared the supplies were. This truly resolved her immediate crisis.
She immediately sent thanks to Star Trek, though he was no longer online.
Next, she sent a private message to Ethereal Grace: "Senior, are you free now? I need guidance."
Ethereal Grace replied: "Speak."
As concise as ever.
[Fleeting Cloud]: "Senior, I encountered an accident and was sent to a place where evil souls are sealed. There's an evil artifact here that can control all the evil souls in this place. How can I escape without releasing it?"
[Ethereal Grace]: "Describe this artifact."
Yunxi immediately sketched the Dragon-Patterned Saber with her divine sense and sent the image.
This time, it took a long while before Ethereal Grace replied: "That is Longya, one of the Three Ancient Evil Artifacts. Your luck is truly terrible this time."
Yunxi's heart sank at the response. She knew that as a pseudo-Divine Transformation cultivator, she couldn't destroy Longya. She asked, "Senior, what should I do? To tell you the truth, I'm not alone here. Over a hundred Nascent Soul cultivators are trapped with me. If we don't fight back, we'll become vessels for the evil souls. Their numbers far exceed ours, and more of them awaken stronger every moment. Once our resources run dry, the only choice I see is mutual destruction."
This was the worst outcome she could imagine.
[Ethereal Grace]: "You can leave."
Yunxi's eyes brightened. "Senior, what should I do?"
[Ethereal Grace]: "Have you forgotten the defensive immortal artifact I gave you? If you detonate it, the explosion will be strong enough to free you from that sealed domain."
Yunxi instinctively asked, "Would detonating it destroy Longya?"
[Ethereal Grace]: "No, but it will heavily wound its spirit."
"And my companions… and the evil souls?"
[Ethereal Grace]: "They'll be reduced to dust. Never underestimate the blast of an immortal artifact."
"That won't work. I want to survive, but not at the cost of my companions' lives."
This was her bottom line.
[Ethereal Grace]:"Then the decision is yours. If you wish to prevent the release of the sealed evil souls and stop that artifact from escaping, this is the most effective way.
Longya is indestructible, and its spirit is highly persuasive. It was once wielded by an evil god. Why it has fallen into your cultivation realm, I don't know. But if you wound its spirit, its power will be greatly diminished."
"I understand, Senior. Thank you for enlightening me."
With that, Yunxi logged out of the chat group and withdrew her consciousness from the Space.
Opening her eyes, Yunxi subconsciously touched the Huadian Immortal Artifact at her brow. She hadn't expected the defensive treasure Ethereal Grace had casually given her would one day become her lifeline. But the price was too high. She couldn't bring herself to be as indifferent to life as Ethereal Grace.
She sighed softly and waved away her barrier, only to see Lin Keyang standing guard by her side.
"Ran Xi Zūnzhě, have you finished meditating?"
"Yes. Were there any attacks from evil souls during that time?"
"Rest assured, none so far."
Yunxi finally relaxed. They still had far too few Divine Transformation cultivators.
After a moment's thought, she rose and headed toward Han Lian.
Han Lian raised an eyebrow when she saw Yunxi, gesturing for her to sit beside her. She asked bluntly, "Ran Xi, what is it?"
"I'm worried the next wave will all be evil souls at the Divine Transformation stage. The three of us won't last long," Yunxi replied candidly.
Han Lian knew Ran Xi's concern wasn't baseless. Her brows furrowed. "Then what do you propose? Forcing breakthroughs has risks. With no abundant resources, it's hard even to attempt. There's no trace of spiritual or demonic qi here, only foul energy."
What she didn't say aloud was that she had only broken through to Divine Transformation because she refined ten-thousand-year ice marrow left by her master. Not every Nascent Soul cultivator had such resources. Since being sent here, they had already burned through half their supplies. Breaking through with the rest was unrealistic.
Yunxi carefully chose her words: "Han Lian Daoyou, you know I'm Yixian Gate's sole heir. I have a potion formula that can stimulate a cultivator's potential and aid in breakthroughs. However, this potion has never been tested."