Stepping out from the Time-Space Crevice, Li Yunxian gazed at the ruined landscape in the night outside, feeling as if the very air around her had become much clearer.
She had just taken a breath when she sensed another person appear beside her.
She turned her head.
It was Su Wenjing.
“Are you alright?” Su Wenjing asked.
“If it’s something major, there’s no need to tear it down,” Li Yunxian replied succinctly, immediately outlining the situation and the appropriate response. “Just have them keep up the charade for now.”
After explaining the whole situation, Li Yunxian then told Su Wenjing what she needed him to do. “Get someone from Dengxiantai over here, there are some issues that need their attention.”
Li Yunxian’s current range of spiritual sense wasn’t very large, so she needed Su Wenjing to handle this.
“Alright,” Su Wenjing responded.
In no time, Bostar Fusion from Dengxiantai at the Spirit Fusion Stage appeared before them.
“Did you find something?” he asked Su Wenjing.
Since Su Wenjing had called for him, he naturally thought it was Su Wenjing who needed something.
But it was Li Yunxian who answered.
“The situation is complicated, it’s not something that can be explained quickly,” Li Yunxian said, then briefly and concisely relayed the events inside the Time-Space Crevice to the Spirit Fusion Stage cultivator through spiritual transmission.
This was entirely beyond the other party’s expectations.
The Spirit Fusion Stage cultivator was stunned for several seconds before confirming with Li Yunxian, “Are you talking about Duàn Huácǎi?”
Li Yunxian nodded, and produced the video record she had left behind.
Of course, she had kept evidence.
Looking at the people in the video, the Spirit Fusion Stage cultivator gasped in shock.
This was more than just Duàn Huácǎi.
With just a glance, he recognized several faces he’d seen hanging on the school walls back in his student days.
Ancestors old enough to be twice his age!
And they were all honored heroes of their star realm!
Thinking about what those people were suffering now, the Spirit Fusion Stage cultivator gnashed his teeth in fury, wishing he could tear to pieces whoever was responsible for these crimes.
But he knew this was not the time for rash actions fueled by emotion—what mattered now was solving the problem.
The Spirit Fusion Stage cultivator confirmed with Li Yunxian, “If you need to go in, you’ll have to dismantle another building connected to Zhencheng, right?”
Li Yunxian nodded.
The Spirit Fusion Stage cultivator quickly explained, “Currently, there are four buildings in Zhongxin Cheng still linked with Zhencheng.”
Since Zhencheng was under Dengxiantai, he was the one stationed there—he was well aware of which buildings were connected to it.
“Please wait a moment, I’ll prepare some things for you to take inside to them.”
Since they couldn’t rescue those people for now, the least they could do was ensure their material needs were met.
This was only natural.
Li Yunxian looked at this cultivator whose first reaction was to care for people, and smiled, agreeing without hesitation, “Alright.”
The official handled things swiftly; after all, they were familiar with the locations of all the supplies.
So it took less than ten minutes for the Spirit Fusion Stage cultivator to return to Li Yunxian’s side.
He raised his hand and handed Li Yunxian a bag of Storage Artifacts.
Li Yunxian scanned them with her spiritual sense—the number of artifacts exactly matched the number of people currently trapped in the crevice.
Sure enough, she heard him say to her, “Since they can now cultivate, please distribute these basic cultivation supplies to them. The contents are all the same.”
Then he gave Li Yunxian another Storage Ring, its quality clearly much higher than the other Storage Artifacts.
“The items in here are for communal use. They haven’t reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet, so please help take these out for them.”
Li Yunxian didn’t say much, accepting everything.
***
Not long after, another building in the distance collapsed. Sensing the fluctuation of the Spacetime Dao, Li Yunxian vanished from the two men’s sight.
From the time she left to when she returned, Li Yunxian had only been outside for about ten minutes, but by the time she re-entered, the entire Time-Space Crevice had completely changed.
Everything she had left for those people had been taken apart, cobbled together into several odd-looking objects with unclear functions.
No wonder—they were all researchers, after all, with impressive hands-on abilities.
Li Yunxian kept a straight face, confirming to herself that she truly was still a sword cultivator at heart.
Being a researcher was always just her side job.
“What are you all doing?” Li Yunxian couldn’t help but ask.
Only then did Duàn Huácǎi and the others notice Li Yunxian had returned. Each of them jumped as if caught skipping class by a teacher.
In some sense, that wasn’t wrong…
Duàn Huácǎi and the others gave awkward smiles, hiding their homemade tools behind their backs. “Cultivation is too slow, so we were thinking about making an Amplifier.”
Li Yunxian didn’t comment on their actions.
They were all ghosts now—letting them do what they wanted was much better than how bored they’d been when she first arrived, to the point where her appearance immediately drew everyone’s attention.
She wasn’t strict enough to force them to do nothing but cultivate and forbid any other activities.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have left them so many living supplies.
However…
Li Yunxian narrowed her eyes at them. “I’ve been coming and going for a year or two now, you all should be able to channel spiritual energy by now, right?”
The whole place went silent for several seconds, then everyone started nodding furiously: “Yes, yes, yes, we all can.”
Seeing their expressions, Li Yunxian was speechless.
Did they have to look so guilty?
And all of them progressing at exactly the same rate—how was that possible?
If they could all channel spiritual energy, surely a few with better talent would have already managed to draw qi into their bodies and reach Foundation Establishment entry level!
Duàn Huácǎi and the rest knew they weren’t very convincing.
But life goes on; you learn to turn a blind eye to some things—no need to be so particular.
Especially with them.
Of course, they didn’t dare say that to Li Yunxian.
Instead, they smoothly changed the subject.
They turned to Li Yunxian and asked, “Teacher Li, why did you come back so quickly?”
Li Yunxian could see through their little tricks, but didn’t bother to call them out.
She took out the items she had been entrusted to bring. “Nothing much, just that your juniors asked me to deliver some things.”
Li Yunxian distributed the Storage Artifacts, then took out the communal supplies.
Soon, half the crevice space was occupied.
“These are building materials, these are robots, and over here is the Energy Reserve,” Li Yunxian introduced them one by one.
Naturally, things had changed outside since these people were alive, but with their intelligence, a brief explanation from Li Yunxian was enough for them to understand.
“Let’s not worry about your Amplifier projects for now. Come and build houses.”
“Everyone gets a room, so you can have some basic personal space.”
“As for activity areas and recreation, how do you want to set them up?”
“Should we add an office space? I see a few bags of soil here, with some matching seeds. Looks like you can plant them, but since there’s no sunlight here, how will you manage?”
Li Yunxian rambled on, then suddenly thought of something, turning to Duàn Huácǎi and the others with a warning, “Just don’t dismantle all of this again—at least remember to leave yourselves a bed.”
The last time she’d left them supplies, not even a single intact fragment was left.
Duàn Huácǎi’s group chuckled dryly, not answering.
Only someone in the distance muttered, “We’re already dead, we don’t need to sleep, so why keep a bed?”
Perfect—a group that just won’t change.
Li Yunxian twitched at the corners of her mouth. Faced with this, what else was there to say?
No need to bother with lines like ‘good advice can’t save the doomed.’ After all, these people in front of her really were all ghosts.
She had said everything she needed to. What happened next was up to them.
Li Yunxian didn’t force her ideas onto anyone or demand agreement.
She got straight to work.
She had a brief discussion with the group about what to do first and which tasks required her, as the only one with cultivation, to handle.
That way, before she left, she could help out a bit more.
However, this time, her departure came several days sooner than she’d expected.
Probably because those outside knew about the time flow differences and were worried she’d stay inside too long, so they hurried things along.
“From now on, you’re on your own,” Li Yunxian put down what she was holding, then looked at everyone and assigned them homework, “Next time I come in, I want to see you all at Foundation Establishment entry.”
Duàn Huácǎi and the others:
They’d never thought that homework could be this painful.
Suddenly, the simple, honest work of construction didn’t seem so appealing anymore.
How sad.
Li Yunxian reappeared in Zhongxin Cheng.
Su Wenjing and Bostar Fusion were both there.
“All done, time to wrap up,” Li Yunxian said.
Bostar Fusion nodded, and before long, he appeared elsewhere, bellowing, “Don’t even think about running!”
A cloud of dust rose.
Everyone could see the Spirit Fusion Stage cultivator’s dark face.
His expression made it clear he hadn’t caught anyone.
“Seal off Zhongxin Cheng! Close the teleportation arrays—no one leaves!” the Spirit Fusion Stage cultivator shouted furiously. “Lock up all the accomplices you catch and interrogate them properly!”
Accomplices?
Those who heard the furious shout stopped whispering.
Looked like a good show was coming.
Especially the foreign races hidden in Zhongxin Cheng, who couldn’t help showing schadenfreude on their faces.
Each and every one of them was happy to see chaos erupt within the righteous path’s ranks.
But…
The smiles had barely bloomed on their faces when they felt someone suddenly appear beside them.
They turned their heads and fell silent.
The new arrivals were all wearing Dengxiantai’s standard uniforms.
The hidden foreign races:
Damn!
How did they not realize they’d become accomplices to the big uproar in Bostar’s Zhongxin Cheng!
If anything went wrong, they’d be blamed—must be the work of the foreign races, right?
Was this something the righteous path would do, slandering people like this?
Where’s their sense of morality?
Where’s their conscience!!