But these matters aren’t something that can be dealt with so quickly.
After all, so many years have passed already, what’s the rush now.
They still had two months left for the exchange with Shenzhou, so there was no need to hurry.
The group continued to chat about details regarding the cracks in time, as well as exchanging some information.
But as they talked, Min Juan suddenly received a message.
Back when they sealed Jifei, both Min Juan and Tang Shaoqi had brought out their respective systems, and never took them back.
A pop-up appeared on her screen, and Min Juan glanced at it casually—only for her gaze to freeze on the message.
Li Yunxian noticed the change in Min Juan’s expression. “What’s wrong?”
Min Juan almost wanted to clutch her head. “Bo Xing just sent a message.”
Min Juan looked at Li Yunxian. “They’ve interrogated the captured alien cultivators from this incident.”
This was a real interrogation, not just for show.
Because of the previous agreement with the aliens, the orthodox sects and the aliens hadn’t had any real clashes at high cultivation levels for a long time.
That meant there hadn’t been any captives or interrogations for ages.
So even if they discovered aliens appearing in the cities, as long as the other side didn’t act first, it was hard for them to justify taking action.
At most, they’d do some special monitoring or drive them out; things like capturing and interrogating weren’t done.
But this time, things were different.
Thanks to the information Li Yunxian provided earlier, both Bo Xing and Qingxing’s Ascension Platforms were suspicious about what the Nascent Soul-level aliens were up to.
Under such circumstances, of course, they’d ask more probing questions.
But in reality, the interrogation didn’t even need to go that deep this time.
Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing had only just arrived at Kuixing, so Bo Xing must have only just locked up the aliens and barely asked a few questions before something important came to light.
“When they interrogated the aliens, they asked why so many of them showed up in Zhongxin Cheng.”
“Did they have some scheme?”
Min Juan exhaled. “Those aliens replied that they had no scheme, weren’t plotting anything, and their collective appearance in Zhongxin Cheng was just a coincidence—they didn’t even know each other.”
“They chose to enter Zhongxin Cheng simply because, outside the orthodox circles, high-level cultivators like their own Golden Core and Nascent Soul ranks were dying inexplicably—no one knew when someone would just vanish.”
“They thought it was our orthodox sects secretly making a move.”
“So they decided to just enter our cities.”
“They figured we’d be reluctant to act inside the city, worried about harming ordinary people or exposing our betrayal of the agreement, so we wouldn’t dare target them.”
“And as it turned out, that’s exactly what happened from their perspective.”
“They said that ever since they mixed into the city, the problem of acquaintances suddenly disappearing never happened again.”
“The ones who were captured this time cursed loudly, saying the orthodox sects had been plotting to catch them for ages, and put on this shameless act just to arrest them.”
“They called the orthodox sects a bunch of hypocrites.”
But the four Tribulation Crossing cultivators present knew very well—
They truly hadn’t done anything.
As for who did it, there was no doubt.
***
The orthodox sects naturally saw each other as Daoist friends, helping one another to cultivate.
But the Demonic Path didn’t.
Self-centered, the Demonic Path looked at so-called peers as nothing but more resources.
That agreement about not attacking Nascent Soul-level and above—before, Li Yunxian and the others had thought it was the aliens plotting something big.
A group of high-level alien cultivators scheming together, planning something terrifying.
But it turned out, the other side set all this up simply to keep the orthodox sects from noticing that the number of high-level alien cultivators was dropping abnormally, so their real existence wouldn’t be discovered.
What could one say…
This really fit Li Yunxian’s stereotypes about Demonic Path cultivators to a tee.
“At least it’s good news,” Li Yunxian calmly offered some comfort to the two whose expressions were quite ugly. “The aliens haven’t joined forces, and that guy is still building up his strength.”
Min Juan and Tang Shaoqi:
They didn’t feel comforted.
They could already sense that soon, everyone from top to bottom would be busier than ever, with barely any time to rest.
But all this had nothing to do with Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing.
Shenzhou wasn’t part of the interstellar alliance yet.
And even if it was, given Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing’s current cultivation levels, it would hardly be appropriate to rope these two seriously wounded people in as laborers.
Min Juan and Tang Shaoqi looked bitter, but didn’t forget to thank Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing properly.
They gave Su Wenjing a timekeeper sealed with foxfire; as for Li Yunxian…
Min Juan and Tang Shaoqi actually hadn’t prepared anything.
They hadn’t expected Li Yunxian to be a former Tribulation Crossing cultivator—there was no way they could offer prizes meant for Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Having learned Li Yunxian’s straightforward manner, the two didn’t dwell on it and simply asked, “Is there anything you need?”
What Li Yunxian needed most was naturally Merit Golden Light, but that related to her current weakness—she couldn’t just say it outright.
So she asked for something less crucial.
“My spirit sword can’t keep up with me anymore, it’s broken. I need a Heaven-grade spirit sword.”
“Do you have one?” Li Yunxian asked.
Min Juan and Tang Shaoqi:
They knew a Tribulation Crossing cultivator’s needs would never be simple, but for Li Yunxian to open with a Heaven-grade artifact…
Heaven-grade artifacts aren’t that easy to come by!
Every single one has an owner already!
Let alone a Heaven-grade spirit sword!
There were so many sword cultivators in the world, and the few Heaven-grade swords had long since become their most precious treasures—almost like their partners.
To even ask for one was to make a mortal enemy.
But since she’d been invited to make a request, admitting they couldn’t do it would make them lose face as leaders of such a vast interstellar alliance.
“I’ll ask around for you.”
Min Juan said calmly, “If not, we’ll arrange for one to be custom made for you.”
Li Yunxian’s eyes immediately lit up.
Min Juan and Tang Shaoqi might care about saving face, but Li Yunxian didn’t.
Her negotiating tactic was simple: ask for something difficult to get, and after the other party refused, they’d feel guilty.
If she then asked for something else—maybe even more than what they’d initially expected—they’d probably agree.
Li Yunxian hadn’t expected them to agree so quickly.
The interstellar world was really rich!
Li Yunxian looked at the two in front of her with a noticeably brighter gaze.
A custom-made spirit sword—she loved it!
Li Yunxian felt no pressure at all and cheerfully accepted, even giving Min Juan and Tang Shaoqi a friendly suggestion.
“Since we’re coming from Shenzhou to visit you, you could come to Shenzhou and take a look too.”
“Shenzhou only just established contact with you, that alien hasn’t had time to interfere in Shenzhou yet.”
“If you go to Shenzhou, you’ll surely uncover more clues.”
Li Yunxian spoke with true sincerity, but her suggestion left Min Juan and Tang Shaoqi speechless again.
It was a good suggestion, sure.
Looking at Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing’s current cultivation, the two could only force a polite smile. “Of course, we’ll arrange it… Yes… definitely arrange it…”
Just… it wouldn’t be them personally.
Watching someone else’s house burn down really was much easier.
With all information exchanged, Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing—only needing to help as a favor—felt no burden at all as they said goodbye to Min Juan and Tang Shaoqi.
When she left, Li Yunxian even got a parting gift from Min Juan.
More accurately, it was compensation.
A storage artifact packed full of high-grade spirit stones.
The spirit sword was to thank Li Yunxian for her help in uncovering information that could threaten the entire orthodox sects.
As for the spirit stones, they were compensation for the supplies Li Yunxian left for Duan Huacai’s group inside the temporal rift.
After all, those were her own ancestors in there—having Li Yunxian, a Shenzhou native, foot the bill was inappropriate.
Li Yunxian checked her suddenly replenished supply of spirit stones and turned to ask Su Wenjing, “If I use these snacks when I get back, do you think I can buy another…?”
She was going to say the Wenwu Heavenly Ladder, but thought better of it.
The Wenwu place probably had ‘No Entry for Her and Dogs’ engraved on their hearts by now.
Same went for Pingnan; Zhangu was also guarding against her.
“Would it be possible to buy another Jifa Xianpu slot?” Li Yunxian asked.
Su Wenjing:
He looked at the delighted Li Yunxian and thought of how her exploits at Zhangu were now infamous at every academy.
“If you must cause trouble, go ruin the Blood Pool again,” Su Wenjing said.
That would only mean he’d have to cough up some ancient stock from long, long ago.
Li Yunxian looked a little disappointed.
She’d already soaked in the Blood Pool twice, and with her current level of body refinement, its intensity was no longer enough.
In fact, the Xianpu wasn’t much use to her now, either.
To further enhance her physique, she’d have to consider other options.
Su Wenjing noticed Li Yunxian’s seemingly good mood and asked, “Just these spirit stones make you this happy?”
Li Yunxian blinked. She hadn’t expected Su Wenjing to notice just how exceptionally cheerful she was.
That fox’s intuition was sharp.
She had nothing to hide.
“I realized something,” Li Yunxian transmitted to Su Wenjing. “Before, I thought I got the Merit Golden Light upon entering Qingxing because I provided all those Dan Pills and Talismans.”
“Those saved a lot of lives.”
“But thinking about it now, that’s probably not it.”
“The last time I got Merit Golden Light was when I rebuilt an entire world’s ascension channel.”
“That benefited the entire world, righteous and demonic alike—a great merit.”
“But the Dan Pills and Talismans, those only really helped orthodox cultivators, maybe even just the lower-level ones.”
“Tiandao—Heavenly Dao—views all things as mere straw dogs.”
“When it comes to calculating merit, it shouldn’t reward things that only benefit the orthodox sects.”
“After hearing what Min Juan and the others said, I realized…”
“That Merit Golden Light is probably for the reconstruction of every city in Qingxing.”
“From now on, Qingxing is no longer trapped in those schemes.”
“No matter if they’re from the orthodox or demonic side, they’re no longer influenced.”
“That’s probably the real reason for the Merit Golden Light.”
“You think… if all the cities on the other planets were reconstructed as well, and I went there, wouldn’t I get all the Merit Golden Light I need?”
Su Wenjing: “You’re basically hacking Tiandao,” Su Wenjing commented unceremoniously.
Li Yunxian snorted at his sarcasm.
“I think it’s very possible,” Li Yunxian said, dissatisfied.
After speaking, Li Yunxian noticed Su Wenjing had changed direction.
“Where are you going?” Li Yunxian asked, puzzled.
“You just said it, didn’t you?” Su Wenjing turned, equally confused. “Didn’t you want to go reconstruct the cities?”
Li Yunxian was stunned.
She’d only been speaking offhand, but Su Wenjing had taken her words and was ready to act on them immediately.
“Alright,” Li Yunxian said, smiling as she followed Su Wenjing.
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