In the blink of an eye, autumn had passed, and winter had arrived.

In the early morning, fine white snow slowly fell from the sky, spreading a thin layer of new clothes on the white jade palace on the top of the mountain.

A yin-yang fish that stretched across a radius of hundreds of miles covered the mountaintop palace of the ***Bright Star*** Sect. Thousands of disciples dressed in black and white robes stood on both sides of the mountain gate.

The lavender sedan chair with a crescent moon hanging on it slowly flew past the mountain gate, led by more than ten high-level disciples of the ***Black Star*** Sect.

The ***Bright Star*** Sect disciples on both sides immediately bowed and cupped their hands. "Welcome, Red Moon Immortal Matriarch to the **White Jade Capital**!!"

Inside the sedan, Si Xuanji, who was wearing a star-patterned robe, opened the curtains a little and glanced at the main peak of the ***Bright Star*** Sect, which was known as "**White Jade Capital**", smiling. "This main palace hall of the ***Bright Star*** Sect, made of black jade and white bricks, is really beautiful. Every time I come here and see it, I want to take it back home."

Sitting in front of her, Mr. Qi, who was wearing a purple robe, stroked his beard and jokingly replied, "Hehe... Then, you should discuss it with the Patriarch later and ask him to give it to you?"

Si Xuanji pouted and waved her hands in annoyance. "If I say this, that old man, Zu Yuan, will surely be sarcastic again, saying that I am disrespectful to my elders and don't do my job well. Mr. Qi, please judge for yourself. I look like a little girl in her teens, how can I be considered old?"

Mr. Qi was embarrassed when he heard this. Topics about Si Xuanji's appearance and age were basically like handling a bomb.

To treat her as young and inexperienced was disrespectful to her as an elder.

Saying that she was old would be rude to her.

Either way, it would make her unhappy, and then he would be sent to the frontier to breed Water Dragons.

After pondering for a while, Mr. Qi suddenly remembered a matter that might be of interest to Si Xuanji and changed the subject. "By the way, Matriarch, I heard from Wang Shouren that Young Master Ye of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect seems to have reached the *Incipient Core Formation* stage and has begun to prepare for completing the *Core Formation*."

If she started to talk about Ye Anping, then she wouldn't be bored.

Si Xuanji raised an eyebrow, pretending to be surprised. "Oh? Four years ago, when you, Mr. Qi, recommended him to me as Yunluo's companion, he had just completed his *Qi Refining* training. How come he is about to form his core now? So fast?"

"Hehe..." Mr. Qi smiled and stroked his beard with a look of satisfaction. "Back then, I saw that he had trained as an ascetic cultivator, and at such a young age, he even taught Pei Lianxue. I was sure he would have great achievements in the future, but he continues to impress me. With his double-spiritual roots qualification, he has passed the *Foundation Building* stage in just four years..."

Si Xuanji was in a good mood after hearing Mr. Qi praise Ye Anping. She nodded deeply and said, "To be praised so much by Mr. Qi, I think that the Young Master would be overwhelmed."

"He really is good. At least in my impression, few double spiritual root cultivators can cultivate as fast as a heavenly spiritual root."

Mr. Qi stroked his beard and continued, "And Pei Lianxue, who grew up with him, was already able to enter the *Core Formation* stage so soon after she joined the ***Black Star*** Sect. Our sect has gained two outstanding members."

Si Xuanji was inwardly delighted, but she showed an annoyed expression as she replied, "...Unfortunately, Yunluo and Master Taixu's disciple are not as good as these two in terms of skills. Looks like their natural spiritual roots are no match for cultivators with double and triple spiritual roots."

Mr. Qi hurried to smooth things over for Feng Yu Die and Xiao Yunluo. "Young Miss Xiao and Feng Yu Die are both peerless talents in the four regions. Although they were no match for Young Master Ye and Miss Pei during the *Foundation Building* stage, it is hard to say what will be the situation after the *Core Formation* stage..."

"..."

These words made Si Xuanji a bit unhappy. She couldn't stand to hear someone say that her "*Reverse Star Baby*" was inferior.

However, she had to admit that Mr. Qi's words were not wrong.

The so-called *Core Formation* meant bombarding one's own meridians with thunder tribulation, gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and condensing it into a golden core inside the body.

In other words, the core could not be formed by magic tools or external forces, but could only rely on the physical abilities and spiritual energy that were forged during the *Qi Refining* and *Foundation Building* stages to resist the thunder tribulation.

The spiritual root aptitude determined Ye Anping's upper limit.

Even though he underwent the ascetic training, he would still be in danger of death if he had to withstand the seventy-two *Heavenly Dao* thunder tribulations of the *Core Formation*.

What Si Xuanji valued was Ye Anping's sharp mind and the destiny of that *Reverse Star*, not his cultivation and qualifications. Therefore, she didn't mind if Ye An Ping formed a second or third-grade golden core.

Surviving the thunder tribulation of the *Core Formation* stage, this was what Ye Anping had to do.

Based on her understanding of Ye Anping, he would certainly choose to play it safe and face the weaker second or third-grade golden core thunder tribulation.

Mr. Qi saw that Si Xuanji was silent for a long time, and said, "By the way, you haven't met the Young Master of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect, right? How about I bring him here to meet you after he completes the *Core Formation*? You should like him."

"Huh?" Si Xuanji came back to her senses and smiled, waving her hand. "Don't bother, I'm not interested in chatting with a child. When he reaches the *Nascent Soul* stage, you can bring him over."

"Matriarch, Master Ye may not be very old, but he is mature, and I heard that he is also very good at chess. Don't you like playing chess?"

"I like to play, but it's boring."

Si Xuanji shrugged, and a trace of loneliness flashed in her yin-yang eyes as she turned to look out the window. "Who in these four regions can beat me? And who would dare to? Mr. Qi, haven't you played chess with me for decades?"

Mr. Qi smiled. "Matriarch, I have always wanted to win over you, but unfortunately I am always just one step short."

Si Xuanji sneered and grumbled. "Mr. Qi, it's so boring to chat with you. By the way, you haven't told me yet. The old man of the ***Bright Star*** Sect keeps saying that I'm old. Do you think I look old?"

"..."

*Damn it, I was so careful but still stepped on the landmine...*

Mr. Qi looked embarrassed with a sheen of cold sweat on his forehead as if he saw Lei Wanjun waving at him at the border of the **Western Region**, *'Eh? How did Mr. Qi get kicked here by the Matriarch?'*

Seeing his embarrassed expression, Si Xuanji narrowed her eyes, smiling. "Mr. Qi, you look more interesting like this, hehe---"

"...Matriarch, you're making fun of me."

Mr. Qi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

As they chatted, the sedan chair they were riding in arrived in front of the *Yin-Yang Palace Hall* at the top of the mountain. The disciples of the ***Black Star*** Sect who were carrying the sedan chair slowly placed it on the ground.

Si Xuanji put her veil on her face, poked her bare little feet out of the sedan chair, and stepped on the stone bricks of the main hall.

Several great Elders of the ***Bright Star*** Sect in the *Deification* stage greeted her with a bow, and after exchanging pleasantries, they led her and Mr. Qi into the hall above.

The main hall had a jade door with a black carpet on the left and a white carpet on the right, symbolizing yin and yang. In the center was a huge carved pentagonal table.

In front of each of the five table sides, a jade chair was placed.

Three *Void Returning* cultivators wearing different clothes sat in front of three of the chairs.

Si Xuanji took Mr. Qi to the table, glanced at the three people with her yin-yang eyes, and then bounced to the jade chair that belonged to her on the west side and sat down cross-legged.

The old man sitting on the jade chair to the left, with white eyebrows covering his eyes, glanced toward her.

---This man was the leader of the ***Bright Star*** Sect, Zu Yuan, going by the cultivator name of "*Heavenly Immortal Sound*", and the cultivation level of the *Void Returning* stage.

"Immortal Red Moon, we have been waiting for you for two months."

Si Xuanji cupped her hands and narrowed her eyes by half, smiling. "Sorry, sorry. The orchids in the **Western Region** are blooming. I stopped on the way to admire the flowers for a while. It is not a big deal, is it?"

"With such a big thing happening in the four regions, you still have the leisure to appreciate the flowers?"

"The flowers are very beautiful."

There seemed to be a spark of lightning between the two people's gazes, making the other two shake their heads helplessly.

The female cultivator sitting in the back, dressed in a silver robe, smiled and tried to smooth things over. "Sister Red Moon is still the same as before. I envy you. After living for so many years, you still take your time to enjoy the flowers and the moon, hehe..."

---The woman was the Empress of the **Cold Country**, Sun Juehu, who had also reached the *Void Returning* stage.

Si Xuanji narrowed her eyes and smiled.

"Hehe, Sister Sun, how about we go to the **Western Region** to enjoy the flowers together after we finish the discussions here?"

"Thank you for the invitation, Sister Red Moon, but there are too many things to do in the **Cold Country**. Let's talk about it when I am free. I also want to invite you to my **Cold Country** to enjoy the ice."

While the two chatted, Patriarch Zu Yuan's eyebrows trembled, and then he exhaled a long breath. "Let's get down to business. The **Central Region** originally connected the three regions, and now that Nangong is dead, the Demon King remained there unperturbed. We must be on guard."

When he finished speaking, the bald monk sitting on his right, wearing a red cassock and a Buddhist rosary on his chest, cupped his hands and bowed his head. "I think Nangong Cheng's death is a good thing for the four regions."

---This was the leader of the ***Awareness*** Sect, Grandmaster Zhiming, at the *Void Returning* stage cultivation level.

"Why do you think so?"

"After Nangong Cheng's death, his cultivation will return to dust and enter the earth, allowing the barren soil of the **Central Region** to produce an additional spiritual vein for the benefit of thousands of living beings. Isn't this a good deed? I think it's very good!"

The Empress of the **Cold Country**, who was sitting opposite, sneered, her face showing some annoyance. "Heh, Grandmaster Baldy, why don't you use your cultivation for all living things to benefit? With your cultivation in the *Void Returning* stage, the spiritual veins condensed after your death will be enough to support tens of millions of cultivators, right?"

"It is not my fate yet. If it is, I will end it myself, don't worry about it, Mrs. Sun."

Zu Yuan was silent, and after a while, he said, "Master Zhiming is right. Spiritual energy is not inexhaustible. It has not increased since the end of the spiritual energy revival in ancient times. The cultivators in the world today are just plundering the remaining spiritual energy in the mountains and the soil in the four regions.

-Now that Nangong Cheng is dead, his spiritual energy in the *Void Returning* middle stage will naturally return to the land and be divided by the cultivators in the **Central Region**. Since the **Central Region** has become the territory of the ***Demon Clan***, his spiritual energy will naturally become their spiritual nourishment. Perhaps in another hundred years, another *Void Returning* cultivator will emerge among the demons. At that time, how will we, the immortal cultivators, fight against them?"

Si Xuanji glanced over with her yin-yang eyes. "And what do you propose?"

"The four of us should immediately gather the disciples and force the demons back to their territory. We must not give that fox time to breathe. The demons tore up the agreement first, so we..."

"Then, you can take your ***Bright Star*** Sect with you." Si Xuanji waved her hand as if it was none of her business. "I only eat melon seeds, I don't fight."

"..."

The leader of the ***Awareness*** Sect put his hands together, his eyes full of sorrow. "I also don't agree with this. Since the Demon King was able to kill Nangong Cheng by himself, it means that he has been recognized by the Yellow Dragon and obtained the *Nine Dragons Heavenly Seal*. The Yellow Dragon is a creature of the *Heavenly Dao*, and since it recognized him, it means that the *Heavenly Dao* supported the Demon King to rule the **Central Region**. I follow the *Way of Heaven* and will not go against it. Before coming here, I had asked the disciples of the ***Awareness*** Sect to fast for two months for Nangong Cheng."

Si Xuanji smiled slightly after hearing this, then said, "Yes, the *Nine Dragons Heavenly Seal* is the *Heavenly Dao* of the **Central Region**. Old Zu, you want to go against Heaven? I don't have the ability to go against *Heavenly Dao* Yellow Dragon. You go against it on your own."

Sun Juehu nodded slightly upon hearing this and squinted her eyes, smiling at Si Xuanji. "I'm with Sister Red Moon. I will do whatever she does."

Si Xuanji turned to look at Sun Juehu's ostentatious smile, narrowed her eyes slightly, and forced a smile. "Sister Sun, you trust me so much. I am a little flattered."

"Sister Red Moon, you are joking. I grew up listening to stories of you. You swallowed the moon and destroyed my **Cold Country**. I have never forgotten this feat."

Si Xuanji smiled. "Sister Sun, no need to thank me. Didn't the spiritual moon I spat out help you break through and enter the *Void Returning* stage?"

"How can that be? I will definitely repay this great favor! I will pay you back in the future."

Seeing the two old ladies stab each other "enthusiastically", Zu Yuan's face turned pale. He was really worried that the two would fight right here, in his ***Bright Star*** Sect.

If these two old women were to fight here, he would probably have to redraw the map.

Today, he activated the ***Bright Star*** Sect *Great Formation*, mainly to prevent the two from escalating the situation.

"Ahem..." Zu Yuan coughed twice. "However, although the *Nine Dragon Heavenly Seal* is a sacred object, it is still unknown if it fell into the hands of the Demon King. I don't think that Demon Fox is qualified to be recognized by the Yellow Dragon. Maybe the *Heavenly Seal* is still buried somewhere in the **Central Region**..."

Si Xuanji turned around with a smile. "Old Zu, why don't you go to the **Central Region** to look for it yourself? Maybe the Yellow Dragon will give you the *Heavenly Seal*?"

"Why didn't you go find it yourself? If you get the *Heavenly Seal*, then the **Central Region** will be yours, right?!"

"I don't have such big ambitions. The beautiful scenery of the **Western Region** is good enough for me to eat melon seeds, appreciate flowers, and play chess."

Sun Juehu said, "Then, why did you swallow the moon back then? And then you spat out a new moon for yourself?"

Si Xuanji turned around and smiled. "The original moon was too ugly, full of potholes. Wouldn't it be nice if I made a nice new moon?"

Zu Yuan said, "Ahem!! The affairs of the **Central Region** still need to be discussed in the long run..."

Si Xuanji turned to look at him again. "Well, do you have any melon seeds? Ask your disciples to send some over. I'll listen to you while I'm eating."

...

The tense conversation lasted from early morning to nightfall.

The ***Bright Star ***Sect leader, Zu Yuan wanted to persuade the other three to gather their disciples to besiege the ***Demon Clan*** from three sides, but no one was willing.

The Empress of the **Cold Country**, Sun Juehu, was arguing with Si Xuanji the whole time, while the leader of the ***Awareness*** Sect said almost nothing, dozing with his hands folded and his eyes closed.

Mr. Qi, who came with Si Xuanji, seemed to have expected this to happen, so he brought some homework from the ***Black Star*** *Academy*'s disciples and started to correct it with pen and ink.

Si Xuanji was bored, eating melon seeds while listening to the people's conversations. She wondered what would have happened if she had brought Ye Anping here.

Would his *Reverse Star* propel the destinies of everyone present toward some strange places?

"Huh..."

With the background noise in her ears, Si Xuanji looked out the window on the ceiling of the main hall, searching for the star emitting black light in the night sky.

Unexpectedly, she saw a streak of light that struck Ye Anping's *Reverse Star*, and her eyes widened slightly.

---This was the sign of the *Reverse Star* meridians breaking, suggesting that Ye Anping had taken the initiative to step into a deadly tribulation.

"..."

Si Xuanji immediately understood that Ye Anping did not choose to go through the second-grade or third-grade *Core Formation* thunder tribulation as she had thought, but chose the Heavenly thunder tribulation.

"Idiot!!"

With a frown, she slapped the table hard and stood up from the chair.

Zu Yuan, who was in the middle of speaking, paused, turned to look at her, and asked, "Immortal Red Moon... what did you say?"

Si Xuanji glared at him before standing up and turning to look at Mr. Qi who was correcting homework. "Mr. Qi, sorry to trouble you."

?

Mr. Qi turned around with a confused look on his face when he heard this, only to see his sect leader's figure instantly transform into starlight and disperse, vanishing away.

"..."

With an embarrassed expression, he looked at the three remaining *Void Returning* cultivators, reluctantly put away the ink pen and homework in his hand, and sat down in Si Xuanji's seat, cupping his hands. "The three Immortals, I will continue to discuss the affairs of the **Central Region** on behalf of the Sect Matriarch. Do you have any objections?"

Sun Juehu smiled. "Mr. Qi, you don't have to be so polite. Sister Red Moon was here before, so I didn't have a chance to greet you. I wonder if you are doing well in the ***Black Star*** Sect these days?"

"Hehe... Thank you for your concern, Empress. The ***Black Star*** Sect has always been good, and is very convenient to me."