Yunxi sat cross-legged in the main hall, cheek propped in one hand as her divine sense swept over all of Lingxue Peak. Only then did she realize Xiao Lei was no longer there. She must have reunited with her brother. Yunxi drew her sense back and stared blankly at the xueling flowers beyond the threshold.
She kept feeling she had slept far too long, and that the dream had given her something vital, but now she could not recall it no matter how she tried.
The first day passed with Yunxi lost in thought. She rifled through her memories again and again, recalling only scattered fragments, just like when she underwent her Divine Transformation tribulation.
In the end she stopped forcing it. Perhaps, as before, once she touched a specific trigger, those scenes would flare to life and return to her mind. There was no need to make it harder on herself.
After a night of meditation, she sent her divine sense into her space and yanked Dian Dian, Li Li, and the fully healed Cong Shan out of it.
"Master, you finally woke up!"
Dian Dian jumped highest, sprang onto Yunxi's shoulder, hooked his two forepaws around her neck, and teared up. "Master, you nearly scared Dian Dian to death. For a while our contract seal even weakened."
Li Li swished her thick long tail, squatted on Yunxi's knee, and added, "Zūnzhě, there was a period when your aura was very faint. To help you, the space drew on its source power to make up your losses. The realm spirit fell asleep again because of this. It asked me to tell you to go easier on draining the space."
Yunxi's mouth twitched. She could feel the realm spirit's faint resentment.
Cong Shan hopped onto her other knee, sniffed with his sharp nose, and said, "Master, your aura is steady now. You should be past the danger."
Yunxi smiled, pried Dian Dian off her neck, and kneaded him in her hands. He still felt delightfully soft. "Sorry to worry you. To activate the demon-slaying array I burned cultivation and divine sense, so this Lord slept a long time. Now that I am awake, there is no problem."
Cong Shan sniffed again and continued, "Master, Fei Xia is about to advance to fourth rank. You fell into slumber before, so it was affected and went dormant too. Now that you are awake, it will likely wake soon as well. You should prepare in advance."
Yunxi remembered. Before all this, Fei Xia had already shown signs of breaking through, only to be delayed by her condition. She nodded. "I remember. Stay on Lingxue Peak these few days. I will go see Hao Yi Ancestor tomorrow. Once I finish some sect affairs, I will release Fei Xia from the space to undergo tribulation."
"Yes, Master," "Yes, Zūnzhě," the three answered happily.
Yunxi then sent her divine sense into the space and spoke with the Xianling Grass for a bit. Confirming it did not wish to come out, she let the matter drop and logged into the space chat group.
The light screen showed Fleeting Cloud online. Before she could send a message, Ethereal Grace pinged her in a private chat.
"Little Cloud, how are things on your side? You have not logged in for a long time."
[Fleeting Cloud]: "Many thanks for your concern, Senior. The matter here is resolved, but the losses were heavy, so I slept for ten years. I feel stiff as a board."
[Ethereal Grace]: "You can still joke. Then it should not be serious."
Yunxi smiled and told her about the dream. Ethereal Grace replied, "Cultivators' dreams usually carry special meaning. Perhaps your cultivation is still limited, so it cannot be shown to you completely. You are given only scattered hints so that, at a crucial moment, you make the right choice. Do not overthink it. You are not facing it yet anyway."
That fit Yunxi's own guess, so she moved on and spoke about the realm-wide ascension plan.
[Ethereal Grace]: "That touches on the laws of time and space. You had best restore your cultivation to its peak. You might be able to lend the Weiyu Realm a hand when the time comes."
Yunxi replied, "This junior will do her best."
They exchanged insights on time-space for a while.
Moments later, Star Trek contacted Yunxi, asking why she had not traded for gene enhancement agents recently. He had made breakthroughs on the new formula and was eager to share.
Yunxi praised Star Trek sincerely, then bartered for a batch of gene enhancers and Hong energy blocks.
After that, Yunxi reached out to Ox-Head Horse-Face to ask how to return the Soul-Confining Mirror to the underworld.
[Ox-Head Horse-Face]: "Keep the mirror for now. Later, contact Black and White Impermanence and send the reclaimed malicious spirits and evil ghosts into the underworld."
At a glance Yunxi knew the senior was in no hurry to recall the loaned treasure. There had to be another reason. She did not refuse. A soul artifact was useful to them as well.
That thought brought to mind the soul fragment Xun Kun had captured with his soul bell. Yunxi's eyes narrowed. She had not been joking when she said she would kill that one.
She took out her communication jade slip and messaged Xun Kun, Han Lian, and Yun Chen, telling them she was awake and would visit after she handled sect and clan affairs.
Replies came quickly. All three were in seclusion at their sects, recovering cultivation. Their losses had been too great, and none had yet returned to the Out-of-Body stage.
Yunxi contacted Xun Kun separately about Wei Yunqing's soul.
Xun Kun replied at once: "Ran Xi, rest easy. While you were unconscious, how could I have let that soul fragment go? Besides, it is not Wei Yunqing at all.
I erased its last hundred years of memories, then put it into the Soul-Confining Mirror to keep company with the evil ghosts. We will handle it after you wake."
Yunxi nodded, satisfied. That was Xun Kun's style. She replied, "Sorry to make you shoulder the risk. I doubt the matter is as simple as we guessed. That soul fragment cannot be sent into the underworld so cleanly. I will break it myself, and no one will know."
Cold light flashed in Xun Kun's dark eyes as he answered, "Good. We will speak in detail when we meet."
Yunxi drifted about Lingxue Peak for half a day and reorganized her space. The next morning, after changing into a fresh robe, she went to the back mountain forbidden grounds to meet Hao Yi Ancestor.
Hao Yi and Hao Yan had heard of her awakening and were waiting in their cave residence. After greetings, Yunxi sat in the lower seat and smiled, "This time I woke this quickly thanks to the sect's shelter. Master said I drained half the Qingye Pool."
"You deserve it," Hao Yi Ancestor said. "Other sects also sent heavenly treasures to aid recovery. I accepted some as appropriate. I will have them delivered to you later. Do not refuse. Take them and restore your cultivation as soon as possible. The realm-wide ascension plan you proposed is ready."