The resemblance was faint, but they were definitely relatives. The exact nature of their relationship was a question, but now it was confirmed: Ye Qingxuan was her older sister.

It seemed Ye Qingxuan had returned and stabilized the Spirit Race, preventing them from surrendering. However, the situation was still dire. Things had only settled down for the moment; a great war could break out at any time. The Jade Spirit Stones were the best proof of this—they were constantly being purchased to activate the grand formation and protect the Spirit Race.

But if this kept up, it would be a bottomless pit. Eventually, they would run out of Jade Spirit Stones, the grand formation’s power would plummet, and that would be the moment their enemies overran them.

For now, they were just trying to survive and maintain a temporary stability. If they wanted permanent security, there was only one solution: eradicate the Netherworld Empire! As long as the Netherworld Empire existed, the Spirit Race would always be in peril, unless they chose to surrender.

Yi Tianyun nodded. ’It seems there are no immediate problems, but who knows what will happen later.’

"Ding! The Merak Sect has successfully wiped out a bandit lair. Reward: 5,000,000 Experience Points, 100,000 Madness Value, 1,000 Sin Value, 100 Virtue Points, and one spin of the Enhanced Lottery Wheel!"

The system notification rang out, stunning him for a moment. He hadn’t expected to receive news like this. Clearly, either an elder or Shi Xueyun herself had led the Merak Sect’s disciples to deliver justice, wiping out a bandit lair.

’The best part is, I got a ton of experience out of it! I might not have gotten any items, but at least I didn’t have to lift a finger!’

’No wonder my Snow Wolf King kept sending me experience notifications. So it was out clearing bandit lairs...’ Yi Tianyun shook his head. He had been getting a steady stream of experience notifications for a while now, which was clearly from the Snow Wolf King hunting bandits, but he hadn’t paid it much mind.

Only now did he realize they were wiping out entire lairs. Still, he was very satisfied with the experience he gained, not to mention the Virtue Points. Since the Merak Sect was his Sect, its members’ actions could evidently earn him corresponding experience.

’If everyone in the Merak Sect earned me experience every time they acted, I’d be set!’

"Yi, is something wrong?" Ye Wan’Er asked, seeing Yi Tianyun grinning to himself, and wondered what he was thinking about.

"Oh, it’s nothing, nothing..." Yi Tianyun cleared his throat and looked at her. "So, where are you taking me next?"

"You saved me, Yi, so I have to repay you properly," Ye Wan’Er said with a smile. "Some places are off-limits, but there’s one place I can take you that will definitely be a great help to you!"

"What place?" Yi Tianyun’s interest was piqued. He knew Ye Wan’Er wouldn’t have invited him here just for a cup of tea.

"Our Spirit Race has several famous locations. One of them is the Jade Water Pool. If you cultivate there, your training speed will be twenty percent faster than normal! It’s even effective for cultivators at the Spirit Pill Stage!" Ye Wan’Er said with a smile.

"It’s that amazing?" Yi Tianyun was rather surprised. ’In the outside world, people would fight to the death over something that could increase cultivation speed by twenty or thirty percent, and here it’s just a pool?’

"That’s right. All of us from the Spirit Race can cultivate there. It was originally meant to host our friends," Ye Wan’Er said with a smile. "Come on, Yi, I’ll take you there!"

"Alright."

Yi Tianyun wasn’t particularly interested, but since she had invited him so earnestly, he figured he might as well go have a look.

Under Ye Wan’Er’s guidance, they re-entered the forest. This time, he wasn’t blindfolded and could move about freely. After passing through the woods, a pool of water came into view. It wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either, perhaps seventy or eighty feet across. Many members of the Spirit Race were seated around it, meditating and cultivating.

Other than Yi Tianyun, there were no outsiders present. As soon as he entered, all eyes immediately fell upon him.

"How did an outsider get in?" they muttered, looking over with undisguised aversion in their eyes.

"I brought him. He saved me and killed the great traitor, Li Hao. If it weren’t for him, I would have been captured," Ye Wan’Er explained yet again, as they otherwise wouldn’t have known.

"He killed the great traitor, Li Hao?" They exchanged shocked glances, but many still regarded him with disdain, even disgust.

This wasn’t the first time Yi Tianyun had received such looks. It was the same in the outside world. Even after hearing he had killed Li Hao or was an enemy of the Netherworld Empire, it made no difference to most. They remained wary, even repulsed. Only a rare few chose to accept him.

"So what if he killed him? Does that mean you can just bring him in here?" a young Spirit Race man demanded as he stood up, glaring coldly at Yi Tianyun. "Wan’Er, you know the state our race is in. We used to be kind to many factions, even teaching them our Divine Runes. And what happened? The moment they heard the Netherworld Empire was coming, every last one of them fled. They’re all a bunch of ungrateful cowards! Some even turned against us. I doubt he’s any different!"

"That’s right, get out of our Jade Water Pool! This is our Holy Land! Wan’Er, if you want to entertain him, do it in the houses outside. Don’t bring him here!"

"I get sick just looking at these members of the Alien Race. Every last one of them is an ungrateful traitor!"

They were all thoroughly disgusted, speaking their minds and making no effort to hide their contempt.

"Yi is not like them! He wouldn’t be ungrateful! Besides, I’m the one who needs to repay a debt of gratitude. If I were to drive him away, then *I* would be the ungrateful one!" Ye Wan’Er didn’t back down or show any fear, retorting with righteous conviction.

At this, they all fell silent. After exchanging glances, they said no more, clearly acquiescing.

Regardless of anything else, he had saved Ye Wan’Er, and that was enough. If they really drove Yi Tianyun away, then just as Ye Wan’Er had said, she would become the ungrateful one.

"Yi, let’s pick a spot to cultivate. The effects should be quite good for you, too."

With that, Ye Wan’Er led him to a spot where they sat down cross-legged. The best places were near the edge of the Jade Water Pool, allowing one to absorb the steady flow of Spiritual Power welling up from within.

Yi Tianyun sat down in meditation and looked at the Jade Water Pool. A detailed description immediately appeared before his eyes.

Jade Water Pool: A pool containing dense Spiritual Power. At the bottom lie rare Soul-Nourishing Grasses. When their essence is absorbed along with the Spiritual Power, they produce a tranquilizing effect, increasing cultivation speed by twenty to thirty percent compared to normal.

’So that’s it. There’s Soul-Nourishing Grass down there. No wonder... ’

Soul-Nourishing Grass was extremely rare. It was a peak Fifth-Grade Spirit Grass, on the verge of becoming Sixth-Grade. There weren’t many stalks of Soul-Nourishing Grass in the Jade Water Pool, only a handful, yet their effects were potent enough for dozens, even a hundred, people to benefit from at once. The potency was astonishing.

Of course, for a cultivator at the Spirit Pill Stage, the effect would be ten percent at most, maybe even as low as five. ’Ye Wan’Er doesn’t know the specifics, so she naturally assumes it’s still a twenty to thirty percent boost.’

However, anyone who got any ideas about the Soul-Nourishing Grass would be signing their own death warrant. Yi Tianyun could sense a gaze fixed on this area, emanating from a cultivator at the Spirit Pill Stage at the very least. They were clearly here to guard the Jade Water Pool.