Ji Changqing and He Yi were ecstatic!

And how could they not be? Their ultimate goal was finally within reach!

If spiritual energy could slowly recover, what was there to fear from depletion, a Dharma-ending Age, a collapsing world, and everyone dying together?

Good news, of course, was meant to be shared with good friends.

They told Luo Mingsheng, Luo Gengjiu, Gu Jiawen, and Shen Guiqing—who had come to celebrate their Core Formation and hadn’t yet left—about this breakthrough. The next step was to experiment with cultivating the plants, figuring out intercropping methods and genetic improvements to make them as resilient as weeds while retaining their spiritual energy-boosting properties.

The four of them were thrilled for their friends. Over a hundred years of research had finally borne fruit. Who wouldn’t be happy? This would also shut up all those people with their ugly sneers!

But in the next moment, Luo Mingsheng’s expression changed. Yes, this was a good thing—a monumental one for the entire cultivation world. But she knew all too well how those people operated. They lacked such magnanimity; they would only want to seize this achievement for themselves, preferably keeping it exclusive to ensure their own eternal supremacy.

Or they would use it to extort even greater benefits.

A bunch of people who felt they were losing out if they weren’t gaining an advantage—what wouldn’t they stoop to?

Realizing this, she made a swift decision. “Send a message to Big Sister immediately!”

Even with four Nascent Soul cultivators among them—a lineup that could normally dominate the cultivation world—the implications of what Ji Changqing and He Yi had accomplished were so immense that it instantly made them feel that the Nascent Soul stage was completely inadequate.

Especially since they were all in the early Nascent Soul stage. Even if Luo Gengjiu was a formidable fighter who could punch above her weight and hold off a peak Nascent Soul cultivator, this wasn’t a friendly spar. Those who had been at the Nascent Soul stage for centuries had endless tricks up their sleeves. They feared being ambushed without even knowing what hit them.

In a matter like this, one could never be too careful. The only person they could fully trust and rely on now was Big Sister.

In private, they still preferred to call Chu Ci “Big Sister.” Calling her “Elder” felt too distant and made her sound old. After all, Big Sister was the youngest Spirit Transformation cultivator, and her combat prowess was second to none.

Luo Mingsheng had another hidden worry. Although Spirit Transformation cultivators rarely ventured out, greed was a powerful motivator. What if someone came, convinced they could succeed without any risk? It was best if Big Sister came in person.

Their reaction was swift. They immediately made arrangements.

They specially inscribed several jade slips, mixing true and false information, while hiding the crucial details with extreme care. He Yi personally set up a grand array, enveloping the entire area around the cave residence where they had lived for nearly twenty years. Unless a Spirit Transformation cultivator came in person, even a peak Nascent Soul cultivator would need a significant amount of time to break through it.

At the same time, they divided the personnel Chu Ci had assigned to them into two teams. Each team was given a jade slip containing some new research ideas and told to rush back to the sect overnight. The information in the slips was genuine; He Yi and Ji Changqing always recorded their research concepts, they just never had the time to delve deeply into all of them.

They trusted Chu Ci, and by extension, the people she sent should have been trustworthy. But human hearts were unpredictable, and they dared not take the gamble. Taking a step back, if four Nascent Soul cultivators couldn’t protect the secret here, having these people stay would only mean more lives lost for nothing.

It was better to split up and let fate decide.

Chu Ci set off immediately upon receiving the message. To be cautious, she also laid a false trail, taking a deliberately roundabout route.

Unfortunately, despite the many precautions both sides took, the speed at which the news leaked and their enemies acted was still unexpectedly fast.

For the entire cultivation world, this event was nothing short of an unprecedented earthquake. Countless fanatical gazes turned in their direction.

Chu Ci was intercepted halfway. When she saw three Spirit Transformation cultivators appear together, her eyes turned cold, her heart filled with utter disappointment for certain people within the sect. After carefully assessing the strength on both sides, Chu Ci was confident in her ability to escape. She only hoped that her juniors would be clever enough to make it back to the sect safely.

Although she was thoroughly disappointed with some in the sect, she had made arrangements before leaving. If they made it back, there were still a few people who might be willing to protect them.

Battles between high-level cultivators, especially life-or-death struggles, could last for months on end. While Chu Ci was entangled with the three Spirit Transformation cultivators, Ji Changqing’s group of six was also beset by crisis.

Various powers were determined to seize this secret at any cost. Along the way, the pursuit, assassinations, bribery, frame-ups, and poisonings targeting Ji Changqing and He Yi never ceased, growing more and more intense. The closer they got to the sect, the more ferocious the endless ambushes became.

Though Ji Changqing’s cultivation level wasn’t high, her physique training was well-developed, making her combat strength far superior to He Yi’s. She was even a cut above Shen Guiqing, who specialized in culinary arts and secondarily in medicine, especially in life-or-death battles. Operating under the assumption that dying wasn’t really dying for her, she had Shen Guiqing stick close to He Yi to protect the squishy core researcher, while she herself threw herself into the fight.

The exhausted team eventually fell into a trap and was poisoned. The poison was brilliantly concocted; it had little effect on Nascent Soul cultivators but was almost fatal to those at the Core Formation stage, especially with Ji Changqing already covered in wounds.

Gu Jiawen, who was already considered a top-tier alchemist, managed to temporarily save their lives. Luo Gengjiu and Luo Mingsheng nearly sacrificed themselves to bring the two back to the sect.

Not long after they returned, a heavily injured Chu Ci also made it back.

The various powers, once frenzied, were chilled to the bone by Chu Ci’s glorious battle record—fighting one against three, she had killed two and severely wounded one. They finally calmed down.

They had no choice but to calm down. Chu Ci was a true god of slaughter!

Before this, who could have imagined that the youngest and least experienced Spirit Transformation cultivator could be so fearsome? The three had teamed up just to be safe; they didn’t want to risk their lives and were slightly wary of her being a sword cultivator capable of fighting above her level. So, they figured three of them should be a sure thing, right?

The result was that they had surely sent themselves to their deaths.

Yes, they had surely sent themselves to their deaths. The one who escaped with grave injuries was also on the verge of dying.

But while Chu Ci looked badly hurt, her life was not in danger. While everyone was secretly speculating whether her foundation had been damaged, Chu Ci, who had been recuperating with Ji Changqing and He Yi after returning to the sect, had a minor breakthrough fifteen years later, advancing to the late stage of Spirit Transformation.

The brief peace in the cultivation world was shattered by the news of her breakthrough, and dark undercurrents began to surge.

After Chu Ci’s breakthrough, Ji Changqing and the others saw her much less frequently.

They could only vaguely guess that Big Sister was probably up to something big. During their days of recuperation, whenever they chatted and mentioned certain names, they could see the undisguised killing intent in Big Sister’s eyes.

Despite the best efforts of Gu Jiawen and Shen Guiqing, Ji Changqing and He Yi grew weaker by the day.

As if sensing their time was near, the two of them accelerated their work on cultivating and grafting the related plants. After nearly thirty years of painstaking effort, the instrument measuring spiritual energy content in their latest experimental plot, which had been running for almost two decades, slowly ticked up by one small notch. Ji Changqing and He Yi finally let out the breath they had been holding.

Chu Ci, who had been away investigating the people involved in their assassination, finally returned to the sect upon receiving the news.

She had promised to see them off on their final journey.

The powers of the entire cultivation world, both openly and secretly, were watching Lingyun Peak. Everyone knew that the two were likely at the end of their lives and couldn’t hold on any longer.

But had the research to increase spiritual energy succeeded? And how could they get their hands on it?

Ever since the assassination attempt thirty years ago, Lingyun Peak had been protected by layers of security, a level of protection not even afforded to the sect master of the Tianyi Sect.

The outer perimeter was heavily guarded, of course, but the innermost sanctum was protected by layers of killing arrays capable of annihilating Spirit Transformation cultivators, incredibly powerful talisman arrays, and a dense spread of poisonous plants. Guarding it all was Luo Gengjiu, who could slay Spirit Transformation cultivators despite being at a lower stage.

After the assassination, the only people Chu Ci dared to trust and place near Ji Changqing and He Yi were the other four members of their original small team. Everyone else was kept far on the periphery.

The six of them had fortified their location like a turtle shell, rendering any schemes or plots from the outside world useless.

When Chu Ci rushed back, she saw Ji Changqing and He Yi, their spirits still intact. Their hair was silver, their faces still youthful, but their lives had reached their end.

Ji Changqing smiled at them, her voice growing faint. “We have seen too much of the strong preying on the weak, where the desperate struggles of the powerless are insignificant in the eyes of the powerful. But this world can become beautiful, a place people cherish, because there are strong people like you, Big Sister, who are willing to build order and protect the dignity of the weak.”

Thank you, Big Sister. Because of you, the original Lingyun Peak existed, and because of you, the Lingyun Peak of today was forged.

Chu Ci’s eyes flickered, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

The hand she was holding gradually lost its strength and slipped away, a blow so heavy it made it almost impossible to breathe.

Tears fell from Chu Ci’s eyes as a vicious aura began to form in their depths. Her warm tears, however, could no longer warm those who had grown cold.

In the next instant, boundless sword qi shot into the sky, cleaving through the yin energy that had suddenly risen over Lingyun Peak. Overwhelmed by grief, her sword intent raged. The few powerful experts watching from afar were terrified. The unstoppable sword qi annihilated everything within its range. Amid the flashing sword light, faint, mournful screams could be heard.

“Snatching souls?” Chu Ci snorted. She flicked out a stream of spiritual energy to protect the souls of Ji Changqing and He Yi, while simultaneously conjuring a wisp of true fire that instantly incinerated their remains.

Did these people not understand? Why had Ji Changqing and He Yi held on to their last breath, waiting for her to return?

She was here to see them off, and also to send their souls back to their homeland.

In the blink of an eye, all traces of their existence vanished completely. After doing this, Chu Ci tossed two jade slips to Luo Mingsheng and the other three. “You four, split into two teams. Take some people with you and bring these individuals back. No, don’t bring them back. Kill them all.”

Then, her voice, saturated with killing intent, echoed throughout the entire sect via spiritual transmission: “As fellow disciples, you enjoyed the benefits they brought, yet you sold them out to gain even more! You stood by coldly while your own were hunted, heartless and ungrateful, repaying kindness with malice. The entire sect is to listen to my command: seal the gates! Kill any who dare to trespass! We will cleanse our ranks! Kill any who dare to obstruct!”

All the Spirit Transformation cultivators of the Tianyi Sect remained silent, just as they had before.

The entire cultivation world was about to face the terrifying, color-draining Seven Days of Blood.

Starting from the moment Ji Changqing and He Yi fell, the four Nascent Soul cultivators of Lingyun Peak led a purge within the Tianyi Sect. On the sect master’s main peak, the entire lineage of the senior brother from Chu Ci’s generation, once her equal in fame, was executed.

Power drives people mad; jealousy makes them twisted.

Although many people within the Tianyi Sect were involved, their numbers were not even a tenth of those outside the sect. Yet, the Tianyi Sect suffered the most deaths, several times more than those outside. Anyone even remotely involved was killed.

“Betraying the sect and selling out your own is a crime worthy of death!”

Chu Ci, then at the late stage of Spirit Transformation, killed four other Spirit Transformation cultivators, seventeen Nascent Soul cultivators, and hundreds at the Core Formation stage from other powers within seven days. Surprisingly, the majority of them were from the Daoist sects.

On the seventh day, after she had killed everyone connected to the assassination, the heavens and earth suddenly changed. A lightning tribulation descended upon her. After it passed, Chu Ci broke through the Spirit Transformation stage and entered the Void Refinement stage.

The demonic cultivators, who had been enjoying the misfortune of the Daoist sects, were instantly silenced with fear.

She was the only person in nearly ten thousand years to successfully break through Spirit Transformation and enter Void Refinement.

It was as if the Heavenly Dao itself was rewarding the one who had purged its world of tumors and cleansed the universe.