Chapter 400: Fairy Yuan Farewell

The carriage interior was dim, plunged into silence.

Li Weiyi raised his eyes and looked at Yao Qingxuan.

Yao Qingxuan shook her head, signaling him not to speak lightly, not even using spiritual transmission.

The next day was New Year's Day.

Dawn was breaking.

Lingxiao City's defensive array still shrouded it like mist, but the city gates had opened, allowing entry and exit after strict inspection.

Caravans from all over the world, transporting goods such as ores, medicinal herbs, grain, oil, cloth, fruits, and fresh produce, queued to enter the city.

Li Weiyi and Yao Qingxuan performed a disguise spell and left the city with a team transporting supplies to the western front. The team leader was a mid-level member of the Dao Cult.

Not long after leaving the city, Li Weiyi and Yao Qingxuan quietly departed from the team.

The Cloud Heaven Immortal Plains were vast and filled with abundant spiritual energy.

Li Weiyi stood atop a spiritual hill several hundred meters high. Under the morning sun, swathes of emerald sedge, over a foot tall, surrounded him, undulating like a carpet in the wind, making a rustling sound.

A hundred yards away was the edge of the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plains.

There, the land transformed into a cliff, and below it, a white sea of clouds stretched to the horizon.

It seemed as if the sky was high and the clouds vast, but at the cliff edge, a nearly transparent barrier extended from sky to ground. To enter or exit the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plains, one had to pass through the four major passes and four celestial gates.

This sight added another layer of oppression to Li Weiyi's already heavy heart. He felt that while the world was vast, it was filled with cages and shackles everywhere, with no true freedom to soar.

He looked at Yao Qingxuan, who was seated on a large rock at the cliff edge. "Can we speak now?" he asked.

Yao Qingxuan's long dress spread out around her feet, her waterfall-like dark hair tied behind her back, as she gazed at the sunlit sea of clouds. "Within the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plains, the Dao Patriarch cannot sense us," she said. "Now that we've left the city, Hall Master An can rest assured; she won't follow us."

"Was Hall Master An really nearby before we left the city?" Li Weiyi asked.

"I don't know," she replied, "but it's a possibility."

After a moment of thought, Yao Qingxuan added, "She deliberately let us go, giving us a way to live. If we leave, we can live. If we didn't leave, even if she wanted to spare us, we would surely die."

Li Weiyi was greatly shaken. "Did I make a mistake somewhere?" he asked.

Yao Qingxuan raised her head and looked at him. "You've done very well!" she said. "I was certainly going to die, but because of you, I was able to leave the main altar alive."

"Why was that?" Li Weiyi asked.

"It concerns the success or failure of a major undertaking and the lives of billions of Dao people," Yao Qingxuan said. "Do you think they need proof to kill humans like us? With strong suspicion, they can directly eliminate the hidden danger!"

"The reason we are still alive is because Hall Master An has been protecting us. Hall Master An needed a reason to protect us, and you provided that reason. That's everything that happened over the past month."

"Whether a person lives or not depends not only on loyalty but also on value."

"Given our value, without Hall Master An, certain powerful figures in the Dao Cult could decide our lives or deaths with just a word. However, the sheer influence of Yang Shenjing and the Sui Sect forces even the transcendent beings of the Dao Cult to act cautiously."

Li Weiyi gave a self-deprecating bitter smile. He now understood that all his schemes relied on Hall Master An's power. "Do the high-ranking members of the Dao Cult truly suspect the Sui Sect?" he asked.

"For the Dao Cult," Yao Qingxuan said, "we two are potentially problematic hidden dangers, while the Sui Sect is certainly a problematic hidden danger."

"The Sui Sect itself is problematic?" Li Weiyi asked.

"It's not just problematic!" Yao Qingxuan said. "More importantly, the Sui Sect's stance could genuinely change in an instant."

"The Dao Patriarch didn't plant a Death Spirit Fire in Yang Shenjing?" Li Weiyi asked.

"Firstly," Yao Qingxuan said, "if Yang Shenjing had a Death Spirit Fire planted in him, could the Second Palace Master trust him to this extent? Secondly, even if a Death Spirit Fire were planted in Yang Shenjing, he could break free from it after transcending his current realm. He is very close to transcendence!"

"It seems then that Yang Shenjing and the Sui Sect are indeed difficult to control," Li Weiyi said.

"Therefore," Yao Qingxuan said, "the secret of the Demon Race and the Dao Cult attacking Lingxiao City has not yet been revealed to Yang Shenjing and the powerful figures of the Sui Sect faction."

Li Weiyi asked, "Do you know why, despite countless pieces of evidence pointing to the Sui Sect's betrayal, and the Dao Cult's long-standing distrust of them, they still haven't been immediately eliminated? Instead, we two are still under suspicion? This is precisely what I cannot understand!"

"Because Yang Shenjing and the Sui Sect, even if they were to betray, would only do so when the outcome is clear, when the Dao Cult might be on the verge of defeat," Yao Qingxuan said. "Right now, anyone can see that the imperial court is surrounded by wolves and in a precarious position. It would not be wise for him to unequivocally switch sides at this moment."

Li Weiyi suddenly understood. Closing his eyes, he said, "I understand! For someone who can stand on both sides, they wouldn't choose a side prematurely and completely cut off their other retreat. This is indeed the most illogical point!"

After a moment of silence, Yao Qingxuan asked, "What's going on with Sikong Jingyuan?"

Li Weiyi replied, "Yin Yi is the head of the Yang family's armored forces; it's his tactic."

"That's a good move," Yao Qingxuan said. "If you continue, perhaps Yang Shenjing and the Sui Sect could be forced to side with the imperial court sooner. You've already played half your game, why abandon it midway?"

Li Weiyi felt a strong sense of powerlessness. "I summoned all the Hidden Cultivators and Hidden Elder Cultivators of the Dao Seed Realm to Lingxiao City," he said. "I had resolved to incite internal conflict within the Dao Cult, and simultaneously eliminate the hidden forces of the Demon Race and the Dao Cult within the city, turning the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plains into their meat grinder to secure a chance of victory for humanity."

"But I was too naive!"

"The imperial court is riddled with holes," he continued. "This is no impregnable fortress at all, but a dilapidated hall leaking everywhere."

"Lingxiao Palace is so weak that it doesn't even have absolute control over Lingxiao City, unable to suppress the enemies within the city. What's worse, many high-ranking officials of the imperial court have already defected to the Demon Kingdom."

"The ones we need to deal with are not just the infiltrators from the Demon Race and the Dao Cult," he said. "Even if we purged the entire imperial court, from top to bottom, we wouldn't be able to finish them all."

"Is there any point in staying here? All efforts would be in vain. I don't want to sacrifice all the Hidden Cultivators in this land, which is destined to become a burial ground."

The wind grew fiercer!

On the hill behind them, the rustling of grass leaves grew louder.

"Once everyone has left the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plains," Li Weiyi said, "I will send people to inform the imperial court of all the Dao Cult's strongholds discovered by the Hidden Gate, the Sui Sect's issues, and the secret of attacking Lingxiao City. This will be my last effort."

"So you've done all this!"

Yao Qingxuan looked thoughtful. "Hand over all the pieces you control to me," she said. "I will finish this game in Lingxiao City for you. We'll do our best and leave the rest to fate."

An incomprehensible look appeared in Li Weiyi's eyes. "You're going back?" he asked.

"I didn't intend to go back," she said, "but you've already done so well, and I have some trump cards of my own. At the very least, we must use this battle to eliminate the Sui Sect first. If they profit and grow stronger again in the Battle of Lingxiao City, the Jiuli tribe will face great danger in the future. As for the outcome of the racial war, that's beyond our control!"

Yao Qingxuan stood up from the large rock at the cliff edge and met Li Weiyi's gaze, who was two steps away.

"Didn't you say that if you didn't leave Lingxiao City, Hall Master An couldn't protect you?" Li Weiyi asked.

"So what?" Yao Qingxuan replied.

"You have a Death Spirit Fire in your body; the Dao Patriarch can kill you with a single thought," Li Weiyi said.

"The Ghost Flag can temporarily sever the connection between the Death Spirit Fire and the Dao Patriarch," Yao Qingxuan said.

Li Weiyi gently shook his head, knowing well the dangers of returning to the city. "You taught me at the main altar that one should only undertake tasks commensurate with their cultivation level," he said. "This situation in Lingxiao City is beyond what our cultivation levels can contend with."

Yao Qingxuan clasped her hands behind her back. Her beautiful face, usually like a thousand-year-old iceberg, revealed a serene and soulful smile she had never shown before. "All the truths in this world are easy to speak and understood by everyone," she said. "But to put them into practice is too difficult... To be governed by logic allows one to live, even to live well. But only by being governed by one's own emotions and desires can one truly live as themselves."

"Give me the Divine Hidden Order," she continued. "I will send half of the Hidden Cultivators away, and I will use the other half. It's about time I had a taste of being a Divine Hidden Cultivator myself!"

Li Weiyi gazed at her, then took out the Divine Hidden Order. "I'll go back with you," he said.

Yao Qingxuan snatched the Divine Hidden Order from his hand, placed her fingers before his eyes, and gradually withdrew the Death Spirit Fire planted in his body.

Then, she walked past Li Weiyi and descended from the large rock. No longer in her tense state, she now carried the demeanor of the legendary woman people spoke of.

"I have a Death Spirit Fire planted in me; I'll die sooner or later, there's no escaping it," Yao Qingxuan said casually. "You're different; you've shown me countless variables and hope... Take good care of Yao Yin for me!"

Li Weiyi stared at her retreating back, knowing it was impossible to dissuade her. His eyes flickered. "Then give me back the Ghost Flag," he said.

"Are you really not going to leave me any way out?"

Yao Qingxuan stopped at the foot of the hill. Without turning around, she took off her spatial pouch and tossed it to him. "All the wealth and resources I've collected over the years are in there," she said. "The Ghost Flag, I've bought it!"

Like a walking corpse, Li Weiyi left the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plains alone, his mind filled with chaotic thoughts, an endless struggle within his heart, and a myriad of thoughts he couldn't shake off.

At times, he thought that Yao Qingxuan might expose herself and die at the hands of the Dao Cult's high-ranking members. At other times, he thought of Jiang Ning, Zhuang Yue, and Grandfather Zhuang, and how he hadn't fulfilled what he promised them.

In the situation last night, it was extremely dangerous, with their lives hanging in the balance; he simply had no way to take Zhuang Yue with him.

Soon after, he also thought of Zuoqiu Hongting, wondering if she had already left Lingxiao City.

He thought of his friends in the imperial court: Taishi Yu, Taishi Bai, Song Lin, Song Qingli, and others. He also thought of the dungeon in Taichang Temple and the several Ghost Mothers who were halfway through their treatment.

Tang Wanzhou's voice came from the Buddha's sarira, as if speaking something, but Li Weiyi couldn't hear it at all, unable to emerge from the struggle within his own thoughts.

Unconsciously, he had already left the South Heaven Gate and arrived at Nanyan Pass.

Walking down the sloping street, Li Weiyi smelled the aroma of dishes, his five senses gradually returning. He stopped and looked at a four-story tavern nearby. Though he usually had a strong appreciation for food, he had no appetite at all today.

"This is simply terrifying!" a voice exclaimed. "We must immediately send this news back to the Thundercloud Sect. For more than twenty years, many women in Leizhou have also consumed the Mother-Child Spring water."

A group of Thundercloud Sect disciples, riding strange beasts, passed by Li Weiyi.

Lu Cangsheng, Lu Wensheng, Qin Qian, and others were among them.

Last night, the horrifying news about the Mother-Child Spring spread throughout Lingxiao City.

After a night's development, all truths had come to light, causing widespread panic. After the city gates opened, the news, like snowflakes, flew to the twenty-eight prefectures of the world.