Wei Yunqing's words drew sharp breaths from the cultivators gathered around, waiting for news. Some who had lost close companions instantly had tears welling in their eyes.
Another cultivator from Huaxian Gate within the gathering formation slowly opened his eyes. Ming Hong Zūnzhě sent him out, and the man turned to Hua Ning Zūnzhě, who stood watch.
"Hua Ning Zūnzhě, the Shanhe Scroll was under the control of evil cultivators. We became pawns in their scheme to unseal the evil artifact and release the evil souls. This was their layered trap.
Whether it was us Nascent Soul cultivators drawn into the scroll or the Divine Transformation Zūnzhěs, in the end, we were all meant to be cornered. After discussions, the cultivators of all five regions chose to fight to the death, refusing to let their plan succeed.
Fortunately, Ran Xi Daoyou gave us a high-grade protective barrier. Without it, we wouldn't have lasted even a year in that place, let alone ten. That sealed ground was filled with nothing but evil souls, corrosive qi, and the unpredictable artifact Long Ya, one of the three greatest evil artifacts from ancient times. It once belonged to an evil god. Any cultivator injured by it would fall to corruption in no time.
At first, we fought Nascent Soul-level evil souls, but their strength kept growing, from Golden Core to Nascent Soul, then Divine Transformation, and eventually even Out-of-Body stage. We could only use up our resources, fighting battle after battle.
When companions were wounded by Long Ya, they tossed us their storage rings and self-detonated their Yuányīng to take the evil souls down with them, buying us precious time to recover.
As the enemy grew stronger, our strength was no longer enough. Ran Xi Daoyou refined potions to force breakthroughs to Divine Transformation, saving us from despair. Whenever our resources ran low, Xian Yao, Yun Chen, Xun Kun, Han Lian, and Ran Xi would share what they had to keep us going.
Even so, more cultivators fell over time. By the end, we faced almost entirely Out-of-Body evil souls. Nine of us would form a battle array to face one at a time. Those of us unable to advance to Divine Transformation were left behind at the end."
Wei Yunqing added quietly,
"Yunxi said if they all perished, we were to stay hidden under the barrier and wait for the Ancestors to rescue us. By then, most evil souls would be gone. Outside the Shanhe Scroll, Out-of-Body evil souls would be suppressed by the Heavenly Dao, giving the Ancestors a chance to finish them. Those of us left alive were to explain what had happened."
Hua Ning Zūnzhě nodded, hiding the pain in his eyes. This time, Huaxian Gate had only Xian Yao, Xian Feng, Xian Qi, and late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator Xian Xiang return alive. All the others had fallen. The loss to the sect was immense.
Hao Yan finally spoke.
"From the time you were drawn into the Shanhe Scroll to the moment you emerged, only fifteen days passed here. Yet all of your bone ages have increased by ten years. That place clearly had a time-acceleration array, meant to hasten the refinement of the evil souls.
Had you not chosen to fight them to the end, you would have perished from exhaustion and age inside that seal."
Wei Yunqing sucked in a breath. She couldn't shake the feeling Yunxi had known something all along. Otherwise, she wouldn't have held out so stubbornly. Now, she wondered if Yunxi could even survive the Divine Transformation Tribulation. If Yunxi died under tribulation lightning, the Mystic Frost Needle in her own dantian would become unclaimed, and her chances of survival would soar.
Just as this thought flickered through her mind, the Mystic Frost Needle trembled violently, as if sinking. Wei Yunqing's face paled in terror, and overhead, a peal of muffled thunder rolled.
All eyes turned to Tribulation Peak. Nearly half of Huaxian Gate was now blanketed by tribulation clouds. Bolts of lightning rained down on those facing tribulation, deafening explosions echoing through the mountains. Everyone switched to sound transmissions to speak.
Yu Ling stood just beyond the reach of Yunxi's thunder field. For once, the calm, detached man wore a trace of anxiety. He worried Yunxi wouldn't survive the Divine Transformation Tribulation.
She had just endured a brutal battle, her spiritual energy utterly depleted, her meridians cracked from overuse. The two crushing blows from that colossal hand had been aimed to kill her outright.
Although the strikes were blocked by the jade bracelet and the substitute doll, Yunxi's injuries were still grave. Her organs were likely displaced. Attempting tribulation in this state gave her, at best, a thirty percent chance of survival.
Thanks to the Life-Replenishing Pill, Yunxi regained some mobility. Her first act was to pull Xiao Xian from her spatial storage and press it against her chest.
"Xiao Xian, hurry, send me spiritual energy."
The spirit sensed the lock of tribulation thunder and complained,
"Master, what did you do? You're half-dead! This isn't even close to living."
Though Xiao Xian scolded her, its energy flow sped up dramatically, as if trying to cram an entire spiritual vein into her body.
Yunxi gave a weary sigh and gulped down a vial of high-grade restorative potion to heal her internal injuries, then popped a Divine Transformation Pill into her mouth as a precaution.
"I didn't want to be in this state," she said telepathically. "But the evil cultivators laid a trap to free Long Ya using me. As if! I blew up my own immortal artifact to severely injure Long Ya's spirit. That's why I'm like this. Luckily, my dantian and sea of consciousness are intact."
Xiao Xian trembled, its leaves quivering. Its master was ruthless, sacrificing herself to cripple the enemy.
"You should've released me back there. I bet the Shanhe Scroll was full of spiritual veins. We could've taken our cut first."
"You think I didn't want to? The evil cultivators didn't give me the chance. Even Wei Yunqing's luck turned sour. We'd barely entered before we were teleported straight into the sealed ground."
As the potion's effects spread, Yunxi's pain eased. She focused on absorbing Xiao Xian's spiritual energy, restoring her weary Nascent Soul to peak condition.
The first wave of nine thunder bolts crashed down. Yu Ling hesitated, debating whether to activate the formation, when the Seven Stars Soul-Shattering Staff shot into the air on its own, shielding Yunxi from the strike.
She didn't stop the weapon. Over ten years in the sealed ground had drained it as well; even its Yaoguang Star was dimmer than before. The staff needed to replenish its lightning power, so she allowed it.
It absorbed most of the thunder. The scattered arcs that struck Yunxi were swiftly refined.
The staff hovered, preparing to take the next wave, but Yunxi recalled it into her dantian and summoned the Nine Nether Dragon Umbrella.