Shi Yunxuan advanced to the Golden Core stage, and walking with Xu Zifan, who was at the Nascent Soul stage, she didn't stand out as much as before, because everyone was looking for a Foundation Establishment and Nascent Soul combination, and they were somewhat overlooked. The two traveled quickly and finally arrived at the Joyful Union Sect.
"Junior Sister Yunxuan, are you alright?" Everyone who saw Shi Yunxuan asked in surprise. They all thought something terrible had happened to her. Although her soul lamp hadn't gone out, according to the previous report from her disciples, she had been trapped by an eighth-order demonic beast. How come she's not only back but has also improved her cultivation?
Shi Yunxuan said calmly, "Of course I'm fine. I've already dealt with the two people who framed me. It's just a pity about my martial aunt and two junior sisters... Xiang Yushuang killed them." Her eyes darkened, and she felt a little frustrated.
The two elders of the Hehuan Sect exchanged a glance. One of them stepped forward to examine Shi Yunxuan's injuries and sighed, "The Xuantian Sect denies that Xiang Yushuang committed murder. I'm afraid this matter will have to wait for the sect leader to come out of seclusion and resolve it personally. Yunxuan, you've finally returned, so don't worry about these things. You should focus on consolidating your cultivation."
Another person looked at Xu Zifan and asked, "Yunxuan, who is this?"
Shi Yunxuan concealed Xu Zifan's identity, saying, "This is my friend. He brought me back. He will stay at the Hehuan Sect temporarily. I will go and talk to him in person after my master comes out of seclusion."
This means they don't plan to introduce her for the time being. The people of the Hehuan Sect don't care much. They practice dual cultivation, and they don't introduce every dual cultivator to everyone. Although Xu Zifan's cultivation is relatively high, in their eyes, Shi Yunxuan is also outstanding. High standards naturally lead to good men, so it's nothing special. After asking Shi Yunxuan about her situation during this period, they told her to go and rest.
Shi Yunxuan brought Xu Zifan back to her courtyard. Since everyone would definitely assume he was the one she was going to cultivate with, it would be safest for him to stay in her courtyard. Besides, the other members of the Hehuan Sect would be more discreet and wouldn't easily discover Xu Zifan's true identity.
Once in a safe place, Xu Zifan began to focus on alchemy, refining pills in his room every day. Chu Duan's storage ring contained countless medicinal herbs, and he himself had also stored quite a few. Alchemy required no contact with the outside world; it was practically like seclusion. He planned to learn how to refine pills that would enhance his cultivation, although these pills were not very reliable and essentially had no chance of ascending to immortality. But that didn't matter to Xu Zifan; the faster he improved his cultivation, the better, so he could defeat Huo Chongjun.
Furthermore, he had an idea: since the pills he gave Shi Yunxuan could suppress demonic energy, he should figure out the formula for those pills, which would be the biggest blow to the demon race.
Shi Yunxuan spent her days searching the library for ways to draw out demonic energy, which posed a significant threat to her body and she could not tolerate its existence. She also kept a low profile, instructing them to conceal her return to the sect from the outside world. Therefore, for the time being, Huo Chongjun and the others still did not know where Xu Zifan was.
A month passed like this. One day, when Shi Yunxuan's demonic energy flared up again, the sect leader of the Hehuan Sect emerged from seclusion!
Two elders of the Hehuan Sect and several disciples of the sect leader went to welcome Sect Leader Shi out of seclusion and reported several important events within the sect to her, including the near-fatal incident involving Shi Yunxuan and the killing of sect disciples by Xiang Yushuang. Upon hearing that her daughter had returned but not yet appearing, Sect Leader Shi had a bad feeling. When she arrived at Shi Yunxuan's residence and saw her suffering from demonic energy, her face immediately darkened.
Sect Leader Shi hurriedly tried to take over from Shi Yunxuan to guide her spiritual energy, but Xu Zifan said, "Sect Leader Shi, I have already given Yunxuan the pill and am helping her balance the demonic energy and spiritual energy in her body. It cannot be interrupted, please forgive me."
Sect Leader Shi frowned, watching his actions with suspicion. Seeing that he was indeed helping, he stepped aside. Once Shi Yunxuan's pain subsided and she opened her eyes, he suppressed his anger and asked, "What happened? Who hurt you?!"
Shi Yunxuan glanced at the others. Sect Leader Shi waved his hand, and all the Hehuan Sect disciples withdrew. Xu Zifan also left, giving the mother and daughter some private space. Shi Yunxuan stood up and hugged Sect Leader Shi, saying, "Mother, I missed you so much!"
Sect Leader Shi glanced at Xu Zifan, patted Shi Yunxuan on the back reassuringly, and softened his voice, "Yunxuan, tell your mother what happened."
Shi Yunxuan, unusually vulnerable in front of her mother, revealed her helplessness, telling Sect Leader Shi everything that had happened since she left to train. Sect Leader Shi's expression grew increasingly cold, and she even smashed a fine jade table. However, seeing that her daughter had matured considerably and taken a more serious approach to cultivation, she didn't know whether to be angry or pleased. Without these experiences, there would be no growth from training, and to become the future sect leader, these experiences were only a matter of time.
Sect Leader Shi stroked Shi Yunxuan's hair and sighed, "You, your mother doesn't care how many bottom lines you have to uphold, but you must remember that we, the people of the Hehuan Sect, are meant to enjoy life to the fullest, not to bind ourselves with rules and regulations. How many kinds of dual cultivation methods does the Hehuan Sect have? There's more than one method of absorbing yang to replenish yin alone. Even if we encounter that wicked person, so what? If we can't beat them, we'll absorb their yang to replenish yin and still kill them. As long as you don't care about this matter, then no one else has the right to interfere."
Shi Yunxuan wore an expression that was hard to describe, and hurriedly shook her head, "I don't want to! It's too disgusting!"
Master Shi smiled and said, "Alright, if you don't like it, then don't do it. But if you ever find yourself on the verge of death, remember that survival is the most important thing. Don't let your loved ones suffer and your enemies rejoice."
"Mother, I understand." Shi Yunxuan held Shi Zhangmen's hand and asked expectantly, "Mother, you are already at the Nascent Soul stage, do you have a way to draw out the demonic energy in my body?"
Sect Leader Shi carefully examined her body, initially not taking it seriously, but gradually, her expression grew increasingly grim. "You said it was Huo Chongjun of the Xuantian Sect who injected demonic energy into your body..."
"Guilty? "
Shi Yunxuan nodded. "It's him. What's wrong, Mother? Is something wrong?"
"If it were ordinary demonic energy, Mother could draw it out and destroy it, but this demonic energy is very special, and even Mother cannot do anything about it."
"Does that mean I have to suffer from demonic energy forever? Mother, there must be a way."
Sect Leader Shi patted Shi Yunxuan's hand and comforted her, "Don't worry, I'll figure out what's going on and find a solution. Even if I can't draw out the demonic energy, I can suppress it when it flares up, sparing you from pain. Don't worry."
Shi Yunxuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help cursing Huo Chongjun a few times. Sect Leader Shi became serious, "The next sect leader of the number one sect is actually a demonic cultivator. This is a major event in the cultivation world, and we can't ignore it. Don't mention your return yet. Let me find out the situation and test the waters. I hope Sect Leader Xiang hasn't done anything behind the scenes."
After the mother and daughter finished talking about Shi Yunxuan, Sect Leader Shi asked about Xu Zifan. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, she naturally saw through Xu Zifan's disguise and knew that he was the former top disciple of the Xuantian Sect, True Man Zhengyang. She didn't expect him to be at the mid-Nascent Soul stage now. It was a pity that the Xuantian Sect mistook a fish eye for a pearl and missed out on a good disciple.
Shi Yunxuan spoke animatedly about her experience with Xu Zifan, her eyes sparkling. She herself didn't realize it, but Sect Leader Shi saw it clearly and knew her daughter was smitten. Remembering the rumor her disciple had told her about Xu Zifan possessing a pure Yang physique, she asked Shi Yunxuan, "Is the matter of a pure Yang physique true?"
Shi Yunxuan smiled naturally and said, "How could that be? If that were true, why would Sect Leader Xiang allow Xiang Yushuang to break off the engagement?"
Sect Leader Shi nodded, saying nothing more. After learning about his daughter's recent ordeal, he told her to rest well and immediately began searching through his accumulated cultivation techniques and healing methods to find a way to draw out the demonic energy. Three days later, Sect Leader Shi summoned Shi Yunxuan and said with a smile, "There is a dual cultivation technique specifically created for detoxification, which is very suitable for your situation. As long as both of you learn this technique, you can draw out the demonic energy by circulating your energy simultaneously during dual cultivation. Yunxuan, you should choose someone to cultivate with. If you prefer Zheng Yang, you can go and ask him what he thinks."
Shi Yunxuan paused, then frowned. "Let's talk about it later."
Sect Leader Shi didn't understand what his daughter was being so stubborn about. "You cultivate the techniques of the Joyful Union Sect, so you can't keep rejecting dual cultivation. Yunxuan, don't joke around with your body. What if your demonic energy flares up and no one is there to help you? How much torment will you suffer? Why are you so stubborn?"
Shi Yunxuan shook her head, remained silent for a long while, and then asked, "Mother, do you know who my father is?"
Sect Leader Shi was taken aback and couldn't help but get a little angry. "Of course I know what you mean by that?"
Shi Yunxuan pursed her lips and looked at her. "But I don't know. You told me that it means nothing to me. You wanted an heir and chose to have me with my father, but my father didn't care and never thought of acknowledging me after he left. Maybe it's nothing in the Hehuan Sect, but you are my parents. It's one thing if you don't want to stay together forever, but why won't you even tell me who he is? I know it's because you're afraid of causing unnecessary trouble. I understand. So, Mother, I don't want my children to be like this. I just want an ordinary family, with a father and a mother, that's all."
When Sect Leader Shi first heard her reasons for rejecting dual cultivation, he felt somewhat confused. He recalled how Shi Yunxuan had never cared about cultivation before, using resources freely yet only reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. Perhaps it was because Shi Yunxuan always longed for an ordinary life?
Shi Yunxuan composed herself and smiled at her, "Mother, it's nothing. I've grown up now, and I don't blame you. I just want to choose my own life, to have a Daoist partner and a family in the future, instead of just cultivating with anyone. Mother, don't worry, I won't run away. I'll be by your side when the demonic energy flares up. I'll be fine. Once I fall in love with someone, the demonic energy issue will naturally resolve itself. It's nothing."
Sect Leader Shi smiled bitterly to herself. What kind of image did the people of the Joyful Union Sect have in the eyes of the world? Wouldn't falling in love with someone inevitably lead to heartbreak? But she couldn't refute her daughter's words. In the end, it was because she owed her daughter that her daughter had such thoughts. She pondered for a moment and nodded, "As you wish. Just remember, never go out casually."
"I understand, Mother. Don't worry, I'll go see Brother Xu." Shi Yunxuan smiled and left, returning to her courtyard. She stood at Xu Zifan's door for a moment but didn't go to see him. She didn't need to tell Xu Zifan about the dual cultivation technique, and she didn't want anything else to get involved between them. Let nature take its course.