Chapter 431: Steampunk

After a few more people chatted for a while, Wei Yuning finally understood that it was Qiu Hu's idea behind this, and he felt more at ease.

Returning to his room, after thinking he found it inconvenient, so he went straight to the roof and grew a one‑meter‑square small room from flexible bamboo.

Entering the interior of the life space, Wei Yuning first communicated with the Divine Turtle Elder for a while, and soon Mei Xuan reappeared.

The reason Mei Xuan was brought out is that her cultivation level is higher, allowing the Divine Turtle Elder to complete the transfer with almost no energy expenditure.

Seeing Mei Xuan again, Wei Yuning immediately sensed a difference. The Daoic resonance flowing through her never ceased, and the multicolored sunrise light within her seemed ready to burst forth.

"What's going on?" Wei Yuning exclaimed in shock. Mei Xuan's great cultivation breakthrough naturally pleased him, but a too‑rapid rise is not a good thing.

Mei Xuan smiled, "Senior brother, don't worry. My foundation is solid; the main reason for this advancement is that my bloodline has upgraded. The time was too short, so I can't yet contain the leaking spiritual energy, but it will be fine in a few days!"

Wei Yuning finally relaxed.

"I happen to have a few little things for you!" Mei Xuan lifted several translucent spheres in her hand, within which faint snowflakes fluttered.

"What are they? They look just like your Plum Blossom Divination Spheres," Wei Yuning said, picking up a sphere; as he brought it close, he saw a plum blossom inside.

"No, this is a simplified version of the Plum Snow Paradise, a Plum Snowball, a bit like your Little Thick Earth Realm. After my bloodline upgraded, I kept recalling the scene of us eating hot pot together in the snow with you, senior brother, and I could effortlessly produce many of these. I heard you say it's scorching outside, so this is the most suitable gift for you," Mei Xuan said.

"Alright, I'll put them away for now, but hot pot isn't urgent; we can eat it after you come out later!" Wei Yuning stored the snowball, "By the way, how are things inside?"

"Most of the inner‑gate disciples left behind want to leave; even Senior Uncle Qing Wu's urging of Qing Ling didn't work. Among them, the Overlord Blade Hall caused the most trouble; if my cultivation hadn't surged, almost no one would have stopped them." Seeing Wei Yuning frown, Mei Xuan continued, "Actually it's not their fault. Although Bi Yi Island now has the Divine Turtle's core space radiance, there's no real sunlight. After the Overlord Blade Hall disciples enter the Enlightenment Period, they need sunlight to practice a Dao technique, the Heavenly Overlord Blade. So far, more than three hundred Enlightenment Period disciples cannot cultivate normally."

"So that's it!" Wei Yuning realized; for cultivators, heaven and earth are nothing compared to cultivation. "I'll resolve this as soon as possible and have them wait patiently, no more than ten days at most!"

"That's good!" Mei Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you want to go out and take a look? The scenery of Green Forest Guard City is quite beautiful!" Wei Yuning, seeing Mei Xuan's weary expression, felt a pang of concern. He understood how hard it is to manage a sect with over a hundred thousand members, and moreover, Mei Xuan never considered herself a true disciple of the Cloud Hidden Sect, which is precisely why she must not be taken lightly.

"Forget it, I don't want to go out now! Senior brother, there's another matter I need to tell you!" Mei Xuan said gravely.

"Hm? What is it?"

"On Bi Yi Island, many descendants of the White Shadow Clan and the human race have recently appeared, and their cultivation aptitude is exceptionally high! If I hadn't united the major sects to suppress them, someone might already be teaching them Dao techniques! Unfortunately, we can restrain the major sects but not those rogue cultivators. A few days ago, an elder of the Beast‑cultivation Wind Wolf Tribe was killed by a six‑year‑old White Shadow cultivator in the Qi Refinement Stage!" Mei Xuan said.

"How could this happen? Senior Brother Qing He didn't intervene?" Wei Yuning asked in surprise.

"Senior Uncle Qing He certainly dealt with it; he killed that little culprit afterward. Because of that, the major sects didn't decide to seal off the Land of Deathly Silence!" Mei Xuan frowned, "But it's not his fault. Bi Yi Island is vast and still hides some White Shadow clans, and those White Shadow descendants mixed with humans are varied, possessing many strange innate abilities. If Senior Uncle Qing He hadn't suppressed them and gathered the new White Shadows in the Land of Deathly Silence, more conflicts would likely have erupted!"

Wei Yuning sighed, "I'll think of another solution! By the way, does the White Fur Clan still exist in Qing Shi City?"

"Probably not; it's become a forbidden zone now. Moreover, in recent years, Daoists from the Extreme Fire Sect have completely burned it down several times!" Mei Xuan said.

"I had no idea such a thing existed!" Wei Yuning exclaimed.

"Of course. Although Bi Yi Island lies within your territory, everyone only acknowledges the Divine Turtle Elder, who has long ceased to intervene, so the major sects naturally manage affairs here. Moreover, this place has become everyone's sole residence, so each sect now pays more attention to local conditions than before; any hidden danger is proactively dealt with by sending out sect masters." Mei Xuan smiled.

Wei Yuning couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, I'll quickly contact the liaison staying here and sort out the sect matters first!"

After parting with Mei Xuan, Wei Yuning went to the bamboo tower of Xian Shu, the sect leader.

A few puppets lined up obediently on the second floor of the bamboo tower, only a zhang away from Xian Shu's bed. When Wei Yuning arrived, the puppets gave no response; only Xiao Jiu, perched atop Huang Qi Ye's head, spoke up: "Lord Wei, I can actually eat meat. Could you get me some? Xian Shu is stingy and only gives me vegetables!"

Wei Yuning ignored Xiao Jiu, turned to the radiant Xian Shu and asked, "Do you want to go out and take a look? We've already established a foothold in Fairy City for now."

Xian Shu shook his head, "No, no. I used to be a bit bored, but after hearing about the outside, I actually think this place is a paradise—there's food and drink," he gestured toward the expansive vegetable plot by the pond, "and I can cultivate undisturbed. Now I've attained the Nascent Soul, and such a fine place is rare! Moreover, the puppets you brought are interesting; they know many things and can keep me company, so why would I want to go out?"

"Exactly, keeping you company—you're the one being bored. Several elders have been annoyed enough to shut down their energy sources, leaving only me, the poor one, to face you daily, eating so poorly. At least give me an immortal stone!" Xiao Jiu complained.

"Alright, alright, stop pestering. I still have one immortal stone left, and I'll give it to you!" Wei Yuning painfully took out the last immortal stone he possessed.

Xiao Jiu shouted "Great!", fluttered his wings and swooped over, his mouth gaping wide; half of his body turned into a mouth and he swallowed the immortal stone.

In a glance, Wei Yuning saw that Xiao Jiu's interior actually contained flesh and blood, but between the flesh were countless interlocking gears of various sizes, and besides the gears, there were many dense circular nodes of unknown function, giving the whole a distinctly steampunk vibe.