Inside the screening room, the others reacted to these words with either looks of confusion or bursts of laughter.
“It’s normal—every planet’s environment is different, after all.” The one who spoke had a hint of envy in his eyes.
He envied that in Li Yunxian’s home, there was no need to face those Yizuzaihuo.
If someone from another planet had said what Li Yunxian just said, the survivors of Qingxing would definitely have been displeased.
But Li Yunxian was different to them.
They could also tell that Li Yunxian’s intentions were good.
Of course, the main reason was still…
“And now that the new city is built, we’re not afraid of any beast tides or Guiyi Zai.”
In , the abilities Silver Sea City demonstrated in the face of disaster gave everyone a sense of confidence.
They believed that, even if calamities appeared on Qingxing again in the future, it would be nothing more than a feast for rare treasures of heaven and earth.
As for the true source of the disasters, it no longer mattered to them.
Someone in the screening room simply handed the control device to Li Yunxian.
“Boss, you take charge. Even if you don’t find anything, just think of it as a bit of nostalgia.” Everyone laughed and joked.
But those who had come with Li Yunxian, like Duan Qiu, were watching with utmost seriousness.
They’d never experienced these interstellar disasters and were the ones who needed to learn the most.
In Duan Qiu’s view, Li Yunxian’s suggestion to watch the beast tide recordings was actually for their benefit.
They were the ones who truly needed this information.
In the screening room, only Li Yunxian knew that she was telling the truth.
Because she had seen the Heavenly Dao.
After reaching the Divided Spirit stage, all Xiudao cultivators began to deeply comprehend the path they pursued.
For someone like Li Yunxian, who had not only reached the late stage but even tore open the Heavenly Dao to rebuild the heavenly ladder, she could clearly see the situation of the Heavenly Dao.
The cultivation world she’d once belonged to was undeniably separate—other than sharing the same kind of power, everything else was completely different.
They were two Heavenly Daos.
The most obvious difference was that in the cultivation world, the entire world was flat, while Shenzhou was round.
It was a planet.
was an interstellar world, and their lives also unfolded on various planets. Li Yunxian simply hadn’t connected the dots before.
She’d lived in Shenzhou, and now she was on Qingxing.
She knew with absolute clarity: these two planets had the same Heavenly Dao.
It was one world.
One world, naturally, means one Heavenly Dao.
So, in a place where cultivation was the foundation and ascension the ultimate goal, the cultivation world had no beast tides or Guiyi Zai.
People searching for beasts even invented things like Beast-Luring Powder.
Over in Shenzhou, there were always exotic beasts and anomalies, but never such things as beast tides or Guiyi Zai.
There was no reason for these disasters to appear on other planets.
Those who only lived in this world, when unable to find an answer, might eventually reach the same conclusion Chu Qianqian did, but not Li Yunxian.
She was certain—these interstellar calamities that had plagued the world for countless years were man-made.
But how had it been accomplished?
Li Yunxian watched the footage intently, pondering how the other party had managed it.
And why.
Even evil cultivators always had their reasons for what they did.
Even if it was just for their own amusement, that was still a reason.
To balance the powers of evil and righteous paths?
From what Li Yunxian knew of those on the evil path, they weren’t so united.
Only the righteous built things.
Because building made life better for all, it required giving.
But evil cultivators took; when you’d built something good, they’d seize it for themselves—that was their way.
If someone tried to balance good and evil, to the evil ones, that meant just helping their rivals.
Not selfish enough—what kind of evil cultivator is that?
So, in the two worlds Li Yunxian had experienced, the righteous were always a little stronger.
And since they could make every interstellar city suffer in the same way, there had to be something these cities had in common.
Li Yunxian stared at the images, constantly comparing the beast tide situations in this city to those she’d seen in others.
In the end…she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
Li Yunxian wasn’t particularly surprised.
According to Chu Qianqian, even several Tribulation Crossing experts in the interstellar world had investigated.
Her own soul strength was only at that level—if generations of Tribulation Crossing experts couldn’t find it, Li Yunxian didn’t expect to see a clue just from watching the footage.
***
Team competition.
Having grasped the basics, Li Yunxian felt her purpose for coming out had been fulfilled.
After spending several hours, she finished watching all the footage.
The people around her—Duan Qiu and the others—began chattering away about Qingxing’s team tactics in dealing with beast tides.
Shenzhou also emphasized teamwork, but it was mostly when cultivators were low-level and grouped together for defense.
A few hunts would involve ganging up—a handful or even a dozen people attacking one.
Like that time Ji Fa led the full circle students on an outing.
But overall, everyone still focused more on individual strength. The arenas at the academies were all one-on-one; there were almost no group competitions.
But here in the interstellar world, multi-versus-multi battles were the norm, and their tactics were entirely different.
Duan Qiu and the others really learned a lot from the videos.
“If we’re going to connect with the interstellar world in the future, will we be affected by them?”
“Shouldn’t we send a report, so all the cities can prepare just in case?”
“Did the previous visitors report this to the higher-ups?”
“Hard to say. I think they all went to Kuixing. I asked, and Kuixing hasn’t had these disasters.”
“Hm? Why didn’t Kuixing have disasters?”
“Because there are two Tribulation Crossing experts guarding it. As soon as trouble reared its head, it got smacked down.”
“…But isn’t there a rule in the interstellar world that Nascent Soul-level and above can’t interfere so easily?”
“Rules like that are just for those below. If you’re at Tribulation Crossing and the whole planet is your turf, anyone who pops up gets killed—what Yizuzaihuo would dare make a peep?”
Li Yunxian looked at the chat messages in the new communicator, her gaze landing on the topic of ‘Will Shenzhou be affected?’
Would the people behind this try to modify Shenzhou too?
No doubt, to maintain the current interstellar status quo, they definitely would.
It was just that…
Li Yunxian frowned slightly.
To her, Shenzhou was fundamentally different from anywhere else in the interstellar world.
This was her mother planet.
She was quite satisfied with Shenzhou’s present peace and tranquility.
If anything happened, it had to be resolved outside Shenzhou.
With this thought, Li Yunxian noticed Ying Wenhe squeezing up beside her again, his voice carrying a ghostly grievance.
“Boss, I guessed wrong and you didn’t even tell me! Were you laughing at me?” Ying Wenhe complained.
He’d spent those hours watching the videos thinking about nothing but this.
He couldn’t take it.
The idea that Li Yunxian had laughed at him made his heart ache.
He’d never felt this way even when Sheng Yu and those Changguang people mocked and scolded him.
Looking at Ying Wenhe, who truly seemed hurt, his gaze even seeming a bit moist as he looked at her.
He looked utterly pitiful.
Like a little puppy caught in the rain.
Li Yunxian couldn’t help but burst into laughter, her brows and eyes sparkling as if filled with starlight.
Ying Wenhe, who’d originally felt wronged and stifled, stared blankly at her, a thought popping into his mind.
—If teasing him made Li Yunxian this happy…maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.
—Teasing him meant Li Yunxian had him in her heart. Otherwise, why didn’t she tease anyone else?
As far as he knew, Li Yunxian never did this to others!
—He was special!
With these thoughts swirling in his dazed mind, Ying Wenhe suddenly heard Li Yunxian’s gentle explanation.
“You didn’t guess wrong. Normally, that is what I’d do.”
Revenge on the spot, that sort of thing.
“But it’s different now.”
Li Yunxian’s gaze softened. “Now, everyone is standing up for me.”
“At times like this, it’s not so bad to enjoy everyone’s protection.”
“I’m really happy they’re looking out for me.”
In Li Yunxian’s original plan, after that Tixiu made his move and Duan Qiu’s group blocked and counterattacked, she’d have rounded up the few people lurking on the commercial street, those watching the show from the shadows.
She’d have smashed their faces into the pavement, grinding them down hard.
A classic display—she herself had experienced it several times.
Though cliché, there’s a reason these classics are so often used.
Li Yunxian had locked onto several people with her divine sense.
She never expected that the actual outcome would be everyone on the commercial street rising up in outrage and tearing the culprits to bloody shreds.
In that atmosphere, not only did the schemers’ plans fall apart, but Li Yunxian’s own expectations were completely upended.
All of Qingxing was shaken, and the deterrent effect was far stronger than she had imagined.
It was now the fourth day since Li Yunxian had unexpectedly arrived on Qingxing.
The previously sealed teleportation points hadn’t increased in number; instead, they were gradually reopening.
This meant that, after watching for a while, those schemers either didn’t dare make enemies of all Qingxing, or they’d been dragged out and harshly punished in their own home planets by local cultivators.
They had no choice but to abandon their plans.
In the end, even though Shenzhou didn’t flex its muscles, Li Yunxian certainly had.
Not daring to mess with Li Yunxian had become a key point of recognition for many supposedly powerful interstellar factions.
—Unless they wanted trouble at home.
Li Yunxian could accept this outcome.
And as for Ying Wenhe, who heard Li Yunxian’s words:
She said…he hadn’t guessed wrong.
He understood her.
They were of one mind!
Ying Wenhe felt his heart float away.
And it wasn’t just Ying Wenhe who heard her—everyone here was a cultivator. Anyone nearby, if they wanted, could hear every word clearly.
They also caught what Ying Wenhe, in his daze, missed: Li Yunxian’s next sentence.
“So, I also want to see if I can give everyone a little gift in return.”
Li Yunxian said this openly.
Everyone knew she was referring to watching the disaster footage here, trying to find the root of the interstellar calamities.
Everyone could hear her meaning.
The locals of Qingxing were moved to the core.
—Our boss is amazing!
Duan Qiu and the others, watching the locals pile layers of filters onto Li Yunxian, felt that her every word could make them lose their sense of self-worth:
They were starting to feel that worrying about Li Yunxian and the locals running off together…was probably unnecessary.
Now, they wondered whether Li Yunxian might lure all these Qingxing people back to Shenzhou.
Could Shenzhou even hold them all?
A moment of reflection.
Duan Qiu tapped away in the group chat: “Are you sure you’re not misleading them, @Li Yunxian?”
She was genuinely worried it might backfire someday.
Li Yunxian, seeing the group message:
“…?”
“I’m telling the truth,” Li Yunxian replied.
Though it was only one of her goals.
“Besides, in matters like this, no one can stay uninvolved. Everyone has a duty to investigate.” She just happened to put it in sweeter words.
Li Yunxian’s words could infuriate, but she could just as easily charm people into a frenzy.
And she had always been sincere with others, never fearing any backlash.
Besides, this matter meant a lot to Li Yunxian herself.
If this calamity group, which plagued almost the entire interstellar world, could be resolved…
If the Divine Ruins weren’t where her karmic golden light resided, then perhaps her final karmic merit lay in this.
Seeing Li Yunxian’s reply, Duan Qiu and the others were stunned.
Wait…was she, a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, really planning to tackle something not even the Tribulation Crossing experts could handle??