Min Juan looked at Li Yunxian, and Li Yunxian looked back at Min Juan.
The two shared a smile.
“Then I’ll leave it to you,” Min Juan said, before continuing to explain the situation.
“Based on the transformation of Senior Duan and the others, they should be able to hold on for another five to six years. You can take this time to raise your cultivation level.”
Five to six years was not long for a cultivator.
Theoretically, asking someone at the Integration Grand Completion stage to break through to the Great Accomplishment stage in such a short time was an impossible demand.
But the person standing before her was Li Yunxian.
Min Juan felt that her suggestion to merely ‘raise her cultivation’ was already quite conservative.
She even suspected that when they met again five or six years later, Li Yunxian might… perhaps… probably have already reached the Transcendence stage.
In any case, she certainly wouldn’t be surprised anymore. After all, the limit of this world was the Transcendence stage, so it was impossible for Li Yunxian’s cultivation to go any higher!
Li Yunxian did not respond to the suggestion. Instead, she frowned slightly and asked Min Juan in confusion, “Why do we have to wait five or six years? Is there something else that isn’t ready yet?”
Li Yunxian was mentally calculating what role she could play during those five to six years. She didn’t feel like she needed to cultivate.
However, after a long silence, she heard no answer from Min Juan. Li Yunxian looked over and saw Min Juan staring at her speechlessly.
Li Yunxian suddenly realized what that look meant. She froze and pointed at herself. “Is it just me?”
Min Juan hummed in affirmation.
“It would be more accurate to say we are lacking the person who can save Senior Duan and the others. We can prepare in other areas, but regarding Senior Duan’s Gap in Time, we truly have no way.” Min Juan sighed helplessly.
“So, aside from that, everything else is fine?” Li Yunxian asked.
Min Juan hesitated. “Hm?”
She felt as if she had detected a hidden meaning in Li Yunxian’s short sentence, but she also felt she might be overthinking it. As it turned out… she hadn’t been wrong.
Li Yunxian said directly, “Then… why don’t we just start now?”
Min Juan stood there in silence.
Li Yunxian seemed normal in every other aspect, so why did she have to be such a stereotypical sword cultivator when it came to rushing headlong into things!
“That other race can manipulate people,” Li Yunxian said, not seeing any problem with her idea.
“Who can be certain of how much information they have? In five or six years, not only will we be ready, but he will be ready as well.”
“The best time to act was when that member of the other race was first born. The second best time is now! We didn’t expect this, so he definitely won’t expect it either!”
Min Juan’s lips twitched.
She knew Li Yunxian’s words made sense. After all, the only reason Min Juan had suggested waiting five or six years was to ensure Li Yunxian’s safety. Since the person involved was making this suggestion…
“…Fine,” Min Juan finally said, her voice weak.
Watching the two of them settle such a monumental matter through casual conversation, Su Wenjing, who hadn’t had time to react, felt a cluster of question marks pop up over his head.
He remained silent for a moment. Seeing that the discussion was ending without his name even being mentioned, he spoke up in complete bewilderment, pointing at himself. “What about me?”
Hadn’t he come with Li Yunxian to retrieve the Heaven-grade Spirit Sword? He had also planned to announce his status as Li Yunxian’s partner to the people of the interstellar region.
Why had the situation changed so drastically? Everyone seemed to have an assignment except for him, who was about to be left behind.
This wasn’t right, was it?
Li Yunxian looked at him.
Min Juan also looked.
*Cough.*
They truly had forgotten.
In the end, Su Wenjing was assigned the task of guarding the entrance and exit passage for Li Yunxian.
***
Inside the Gap in Time, Duan Huacai and the others suddenly felt something was wrong. Their communication with the outside world fluctuated violently before cutting out.
They had a general idea of the plan involving the high-level Righteous Cultivators and the hidden Transcendence stage member of the other race.
In that moment, the hearts of Duan Huacai and the others skipped a beat. They thought the other race had discovered something and had acted first to sever their connection with the outside.
But in reality…
Duan Huacai and the others spun around, preparing to stabilize the connection urgently. Instead, Li Yunxian’s beautiful face appeared before them.
Duan Huacai and the others were stunned.
The good news was that their judgment had been wrong. The bad news was that the actual situation wasn’t much better than what they had feared.
“Yun Xian… long time no see…” Duan Huacai gave a dry cough and tried to hide behind the others, attempting to conceal the fact that she was still at Qi Refining Entry Level.
However, there was no need to hide such a thing.
Li Yunxian’s divine sense swept over them. All she perceived was Qi Refining Entry Level. There was no difference among any of them.
She didn’t know if she should praise them for their coordination. However, thinking back to what Min Juan had told her—that Duan Huacai and the others still considered themselves human…
Li Yunxian quietly deferred to their feelings and didn’t mention their cultivation levels again. She watched their previous frantic movements and asked, “Did something happen?”
Seeing that Li Yunxian wasn’t mentioning the terrifying topic of cultivation, Duan Huacai and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
They refocused their attention on the communication fluctuation from moments ago. At this point, the device they used to communicate with the outside world showed that everything had returned to normal.
“It’s fine. Your entry caused a ripple in time, which had a small impact,” Duan Huacai judged. Once finished, she looked at Li Yunxian curiously. “Why did you come so suddenly?”
Li Yunxian informed them of the situation. Duan Huacai and the others hadn’t been aware of it; although they had contact with the outside, it was strictly for research purposes. No one had told them about these plans.
Hearing that Min Juan and the others had been ready long ago but were willing to wait until Li Yunxian—the only one who could protect them—returned for the sake of their safety, they were speechless. But…
Li Yunxian felt the creepy aura that had already begun to settle around these people fade even more.
Raising her head, Li Yunxian looked at the “brains” floating in the Void that these people were connected to. These “brains” had become extremely faint now.
In contrast, the figures of Duan Huacai and the others had become much more solid.
They were already breaking away from their abnormal state and transforming into a state that more closely resembled normal humans. This was the difference between a creepy entity and a Guixiu.
Feeling somewhat unaccustomed to such kindness, Duan Huacai said awkwardly, “…It’s very safe here. There was no need for you to come specifically.”
Li Yunxian’s gaze was deep. “No, I think it was very necessary.”
Upon hearing Li Yunxian’s words, the “brains” of Duan Huacai and her companions became even fainter.
These honest researchers had always been direct and spoke only of their work. How could they withstand “sweet words” like these from Li Yunxian?
They were currently undergoing a bit of self-repentance. The culprit who had imprisoned them here was the member of the other race who had been hiding in the shadows.
Just because they had suffered such a painful experience while the people outside lived well, they had been unable to suppress their negative emotions after connecting their time synchronizer to reality…
They were truly terrible! Everyone was clearly thinking of ways to save them. No one had given up on them.
While Duan Huacai and the others were moved to reflection, Li Yunxian was thinking something else…
Given her luck, Min Juan and the others had insisted on waiting for her to get involved and enter the Gap in Time before starting.
Therefore, Li Yunxian was very confident that something would definitely go wrong here. So… this was clearly very necessary!
Although there was a slight misunderstanding in how both sides interpreted the words, the final result was positive.
Inside the Gap in Time, Li Yunxian watched the status of the Town-Sealing Artifacts of various cities appear on the communicator. She waited quietly for the personnel outside to implement the plan.
Due to the difference in the flow of time, Li Yunxian’s wait was somewhat long.
It was long enough that, under her guidance and enlightenment, Duan Huacai and the others—who were already on the verge of returning to the path of righteousness—officially became Guixiu one by one.
When the last one transformed from the Demonic Path back to the righteous path, the Town-Sealing Artifacts of every city hummed in unison.
An air current erupted from the artifacts, sweeping across the planets at an incredible speed. This change seemed to be a signal. The cultivators who had been waiting beside the artifacts, ready to replace them, acted immediately.
In the blink of an eye, one Town-Sealing Artifact after another was destroyed, and a new, modified town-guarding version was quickly installed in its place.
The new modified artifacts operated silently. Outside the various cities, many members of the other race raised their heads in silence, the original light in their eyes fading away bit by bit.
A disaster tide.
A disaster tide similar to the terrifying large-scale Beast Tide that had occurred on Qingxing was now playing out at the cities of various planets. However, this time was different from what had happened on Qingxing.
Countless Righteous Cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and above stepped forward.
At the gates of the newly modified cities, high-level cultivators who had not appeared in public for a long time stood before the masses, watching the approach of the other race disasters.
As for the side of the other race… there was only silence.
Min Juan and the other Transcendence stage cultivators looked at the information they received.
Watching the surveillance screens, they saw the waves of the disaster tide being wiped out into large patches of emptiness by the high-level cultivators.
The highest cultivation level among the other race in this disaster tide was still only at the golden core level.
This was not good news.
Min Juan and the other Transcendence stage experts pursed their lips tightly, focusing all their attention on searching the planets in the star systems they managed.
Sensing the grand and unmasked actions of Min Juan and her group, several demonic Transcendence stage cultivators who had already sensed a crisis decided they couldn’t endure it anymore.
The more they thought about it, the angrier they became, and they finally flipped the table in rage.
“Do you righteous cultivators intend to officially start a great war of righteousness and demons?” a demonic Transcendence stage cultivator who had jumped out shouted angrily.
The Demonic Path cultivated the self. They had always acted willfully and recklessly. Under the blatant provocation of Min Juan and the righteous side, few would choose to endure.
Looking at the demonic Transcendence stage cultivators who finally appeared, Min Juan and the others quickly exchanged information.
“The one who appeared here is the Hellfire Demon Lord.”
“I encountered the Bloody Butcher on my side…”
One, two, three… the names of all the demonic Transcendence stage cultivators who appeared echoed in everyone’s ears. The final count was… seven.
Once they confirmed that no more demonic Transcendence stage cultivators were appearing, the hearts of Min Juan and the others sank.
These demonic experts were all individuals they had known about long ago. There were no exceptions. And that wasn’t all…
“Two demonic Transcendence stage cultivators are missing…” a companion’s dry voice reached Min Juan’s ears.
“There are also fourteen demonic Great Accomplishment stage cultivators missing. The number of Integration stage cultivators is theoretically short by over 100, and the number of Nascent Soul and clone stage cultivators is too high to count…”
The number of top-level experts in the Demonic Path was lower than in the righteous path. The righteous path had over ten Transcendence stage cultivators, while the Demonic Path had only nine.
However, the threshold for mid-level demonic cultivation was lower than that of the righteous path, so in Min Juan’s understanding, the balance between righteousness and demons had always been relatively stable.
They never expected that the other race’s side would lose so many people over the years. This did not mean the other race had become weaker.
Because the one who had silently caused such massive casualties among the other race was not the righteous path.
It was the other race themselves.
Where had all that missing power gone?
The moment Min Juan and the others thought about it, their hearts sank uncontrollably.
Especially since… despite such a large commotion and forcing out so many high-level members of the other race, they still had not seen the one who had theoretically been plotting across the entire interstellar region for nearly 10,000 years.
A member of the other race who had devoured so much power was not what was truly terrifying. The Righteous Cultivators were brave enough to fight, trade blows, and sacrifice themselves.
If one couldn’t defeat him, then two could, or three could, or they could all perish together with the enemy.
The morality of the other race was for the self. This was their strength as well as their weakness.
These demonic Transcendence stage cultivators would never make the choice to sacrifice themselves like the righteous path did.
However, if there was a powerful demonic cultivator who had devoured so much power that they were absolutely stronger than all other Transcendence stage cultivators—yet remained calmly hidden, giving the righteous path no chance to act, and choosing to continue silently and slowly devouring everything other than themselves… that was what was most terrifying.
Min Juan and the others gritted their teeth. Their minds raced to a decision. Without saying a single word to the opponents, they lunged forward with ferocious expressions, fighting to the death against the high-level members of the other race who had jumped out.
The high-level demonic cultivators who had appeared with hearts full of rage: “…?”
They were clearly the ones who had been offended. They were the ones who should be seeking revenge with hearts full of anger.
So why were these righteous cultivators acting more desperate than them, fighting as if they were determined to take their enemies to the grave?
These righteous path people were lunatics!
The high-level demonic cultivators were utterly bewildered and could only fight back against Min Juan and the others with equal fury.
Heavily injured, Min Juan finally dealt with the enemy before her. Her figure swayed, but she remained fully alert, watching her surroundings. She was at her weakest right now.
This was the best time for an enemy to strike. She was the best bait to lure out that member of the other race who had remained silent from start to finish.
Min Juan wasn’t the only one doing this. Other righteous path members who had encountered demonic Transcendence stage cultivators had made the same choice.
As long as that unknown member of the other race appeared… As long as he appeared…
Everyone’s nerves were pulled tight. They held teleportation artifacts in their hands, ready to use them at any moment, as they waited for him to appear.
However… the entire interstellar region remained silent.
“Juan, does that guy who plotted against everyone really exist?” Min Juan heard someone ask softly and bewilderedly in her ear.
Min Juan recalled the scene when Li Yunxian had invited the various factions to talk. She remembered the representative who had been possessed.
“He exists,” Min Juan answered with certainty.
Where on earth was that guy?
Li Yunxian could answer that question.
No surprises, no accidents. He was right here with her.
After Duan Huacai and the others completed their transformation, the entire Gap in Time began to vibrate. Li Yunxian’s Spacetime Dao had gradually matured.
She looked at the communicator studied by Duan Huacai and the others, which showed the successful replacement of the Town-Sealing Artifacts in every city.
She felt the vibrations of the entire Gap in Time. This was the vibration caused by the destruction of the original artifacts and the disconnection from the Gap in Time.
At first, Li Yunxian’s perception of the vibrations wasn’t clear, but as more and more cities disconnected, the vibrations allowed her to clearly sense the location of the passage linking the Gap in Time to the Town-Sealing Artifacts.
Li Yunxian sensed the remaining passage links while looking at the cities on the communicator that were slightly slower to act.
She realized something was wrong. The numbers didn’t match. The number of passages linked to this Gap in Time did not match the number of remaining cities.
Li Yunxian fell silent. She didn’t know if she should say this situation was expected or unexpected.
Li Yunxian gave a helpless laugh and made one last effort, asking Duan Huacai and the others, “…The Town-Sealing Artifacts aren’t just limited to the ones installed in the cities, right?”
Duan Huacai vaguely sensed that the tone of Li Yunxian’s question was off. She answered cautiously and nervously, “Yes, there are backups.”
When Li Yunxian entered this time, she had used the passage of a backup Town-Sealing Artifact.
After all, the cities were newly built; suddenly tearing one down to let Li Yunxian enter the Gap in Time would have caused too much of a commotion. Li Yunxian had used a connection passage installed on a backup artifact.
“How many backups are there?” Li Yunxian asked.
This wasn’t a difficult question. Duan Huacai and the others answered clearly, “Five.”
As veteran researchers of the artifacts, they had contributed a lot to the modified versions. They naturally knew this basic information.
Hearing their answer, Li Yunxian’s lips twitched.
The number of passages she sensed linked to the Gap in Time… was twenty-six.
Li Yunxian had thought the other race had only created one or two extra passages.
Even being generous, three or four would have been plenty for backups. As it turned out… the other guy had prepared twenty-one backups.
The number was so high that Li Yunxian didn’t even know what to say.
Taking a deep breath, Li Yunxian turned to look at Duan Huacai and the others. She suddenly grabbed all of them.
Duan Huacai and the others: “?”
Before they could react, their vision spun. The next moment, they appeared in a completely strange place.
However, this place had a familiar magic tool: a Town-Sealing Artifact. There was also a member of the Yao Race whom they had seen once but never spoken to.
Su Wenjing.
Duan Huacai and the others looked at everything in front of them in shock. Su Wenjing frowned at them and asked coldly, “Why are you the only ones coming out? Where is Li Yunxian?”
Duan Huacai and the others were completely bewildered. “We don’t know.”
They knew nothing. They only knew that after Li Yunxian inexplicably asked about the number of backup artifacts, she threw them out as soon as they answered.
Su Wenjing, remembering Li Yunxian’s luck problem, realized what was happening. He closed his eyes tightly. It was happening again. He had been left behind again.
Su Wenjing gritted his teeth. “Find people to keep an eye on all the backup Town-Sealing Artifacts.”
Meanwhile, oblivious to the fact that she had angered Su Wenjing, Li Yunxian quietly took her Heaven-grade Spirit Sword in hand.
She slowly closed her eyes, focusing on the state of the remaining passages. Sword Intent slowly gathered on the spirit sword.
At this moment, the difference in the flow of time between the Gap in Time and reality condensed into a faint, surrounding sharpness on the blade of the spirit sword.
Finally, all the passages associated with the cities shattered. Li Yunxian felt the Spacetime Dao of a certain remaining passage vibrate faintly.
That was a vibration completely unrelated to the shattering of the passages.
It was here.
Opening her eyes, Li Yunxian saw a massive figure emerge before her. Li Yunxian’s gaze was calm.
Corresponding to her gaze was the surging Sword Intent on the Heaven-grade Spirit Sword, a force so powerful it felt as if it could tear the world asunder.