The distress signal from Shen Yunqiu's cave quickly appeared before the eyes of all the Golden Core cultivators in Mirror Water Pavillion.
But unlike what Shen Yunqiu expected, not only did the pavilion's officials fail to respond immediately, even the nearby cultivators simply watched from a distance.
Her poor reputation was clear to see.
"Master, Shen Yunqiu is still one of our sect. She has the potential to reach Nascent Soul. If we do nothing now and the Patriarch finds out, I'm afraid…"
At Yuping Mountain, inside a certain cave residence, a young female cultivator flew over from the discussion hall at the mountain's peak. Holding a token in hand, she entered and bowed deeply to Ning Xuefeng, who was seated inside.
"Afraid?" Ning Xuefeng's eyes flashed with disdain. She sneered and said, "Just Shen Yunqiu? You think she's worthy of the Patriarch's support?"
"In the Patriarch's eyes, anyone who hasn't formed a Nascent Soul is just an ant. Shen Yunqiu means nothing until she succeeds. Normally, letting her have her way is fine, but now? Why help her?"
"But…" The young woman looked a bit uneasy. "She's still a member of our sect. Pretending nothing's happening now isn't right."
She feared that Ning Xuefeng's decision to stand by while Shen Yunqiu was ambushed would chill the hearts of their fellow disciples.
After all, if the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold.
Even if Shen Yunqiu had her faults, she was still one of them.
Others might have their reasons to stay out of it, but as a pavilion head, Ning Xuefeng not helping could bring unwanted scrutiny.
"Yuting, you treat her like a peer, but would she do the same for you?"
"She's too extreme."
Ning Xuefeng shook her head and sighed.
As a pavilion head, she could tolerate Shen Yunqiu resenting Qin Yuling's faction. After all, they had wronged her.
But she couldn't forgive Shen Yunqiu for rejecting Kou Hongying's proposal and then, in front of everyone, staging a fake breakthrough just to block Wei Yan's path.
After that incident, it was Mirror Water Pavillion that had to clean up the mess Shen Yunqiu made.
Ning Xuefeng wasn't some saint. She wouldn't tell Shen Yunqiu to be forgiving. But as someone in a leadership position, knowing when to act was crucial.
If Shen Yunqiu had already reached Nascent Soul, Ning Xuefeng would've kept quiet even if she did something outrageous. A Nascent Soul elder had that privilege—people would cheer even if she wiped out the entire Wei Clan.
But clearly, Shen Yunqiu hadn't reached that point.
Her recklessness just left the sect picking up the pieces afterward.
Of course, Ning Xuefeng had another reason she didn't share with her disciple Hu Yuting—she suspected that because of the fake breakthrough incident, Shen Yunqiu had already started holding a grudge against her as well.
From that angle, Shen Yunqiu dying from this attack or losing her chance at forming a Nascent Soul actually worked in her favor as pavilion head.
So long as her core interests weren't harmed, Ning Xuefeng was happy to see one less "Nascent Soul seed" if it meant avoiding future trouble.
"Master, what about explaining to the Patriarch?"
Hu Yuting quickly asked, not wanting her master to get punished for acting out of emotion.
"I was delayed in seclusion. What's there to explain?"
Ning Xuefeng smiled calmly, completely unbothered.
Besides being pavilion head, she was a powerful Golden Core cultivator. Shen Yunqiu could stage a fake breakthrough, so why couldn't she?
And as long as she was just a little late with her rescue, Shen Yunqiu's situation would become that much more dangerous.
Why not?
"Yes, Master."
Hearing that, Hu Yuting no longer questioned her. She bowed and left, ready to return to the discussion hall and cover for Ning Xuefeng by brushing off questions from any concerned sect elders.
…
Yuping Mountain, discussion hall.
After Shen Yunqiu's distress signal was sent, in no time at all, the Golden Core cultivators of Mirror Water Pavillion had gathered there.
"What does the pavilion head say?"
"Are we going to help Senior Sister Shen (or Aunt Shen)?"
As soon as Hu Yuting flew in, the others stood up and surrounded her, asking questions.
On the surface, they seemed concerned. But since Hu Yuting had just been to Ning Xuefeng's cave, she could easily tell these people were just going through the motions.
If they truly cared about Shen Yunqiu's safety, they'd have rushed to help her already. Why would they be sitting here waiting for instructions?
"The pavilion head is in deep seclusion. I couldn't wake her. I just left a message outside her chamber…"
"Hopefully, she'll see it soon."
Hu Yuting showed a guilty expression, as if blaming herself for being unable to act more decisively.
While speaking, she closely watched how the others reacted.
She quickly noticed that several cultivators let out a quiet sigh of relief. A few even showed a hint of glee on their faces.
Qin Yuling and Kou Hongying, who had long held grudges against Shen Yunqiu, were especially blatant—the delight on their faces was impossible to miss.
The rest didn't react as strongly, but the fact that no one spoke up said enough.
"Didn't expect Shen Yunqiu to be this unpopular…? Decades ago, when she refuted Kou Hongying's proposal, people were still supporting her," Hu Yuting thought to herself.
The way these fellow disciples acted now brought one phrase to her mind—"kicking someone when they're down."
After all, aside from Qin Yuling and Kou Hongying who had open grudges with Shen Yunqiu, the rest had always behaved friendly toward her. There had never seemed to be any serious personal enmity.
What Hu Yuting didn't realize was that their stance largely depended on her master Ning Xuefeng's attitude.
If Ning Xuefeng favored Shen Yunqiu, they would support Shen Yunqiu. If Ning Xuefeng stayed neutral, they'd quickly shift to stand behind her.
Ning Xuefeng's influence had deeply shaped their behavior during these high-level meetings.
And this was the result of over 300 years of prestige since Ning Xuefeng became pavilion head of Mirror Water Pavillion.
Still, even with all that, a few cultivators were growing uneasy about the consequences of doing nothing now.
After all, Shen Yunqiu wasn't just some ordinary cultivator. She was a powerful Golden Core with hopes of forming a Nascent Soul.
"Shen Yunqiu holds grudges. She went after Wei Tu's entire family over a slight from 20 years ago. If she finds out what we're doing today… it might not end well."
"If you ask me, we should at least head over to her cave and observe. Once we see the situation, we can decide whether to help or not."
The crowd whispered among themselves.
Soon, some of the Golden Core elders in the hall made their decision—to take a middle path.
They cupped their hands to Hu Yuting and flew off toward Shen Yunqiu's cave, planning to assess things from nearby before deciding on rescue.
Unfortunately—
Because they'd spent too long talking in the hall, they missed the best window to save her.
To be fair, those "neutral Golden Cores" couldn't have known that Shen Yunqiu hadn't just encountered her enemy. By the time she sent the distress signal, the fight had already been going on for a while.
Their divine souls were already locked in a deadly struggle inside the sea of consciousness.
…
"Why…?"
"Why hasn't anyone come?"
Back inside Shen Yunqiu's cave, as the battle for possession raged on, she sensed the stillness outside. A flash of disbelief crossed her face.
A moment later, that disbelief twisted into deep hatred.
She wasn't stupid. She knew it wasn't some strange delay—it was her fellow disciples refusing to help.
But she never imagined that even in such a critical moment, they would still cling to past slights and ignore the greater good of the sect.
"It must be that wretched Ning Xuefeng!"
Shen Yunqiu gnashed her teeth.
Other than Ning Xuefeng, no one else had the authority to keep everyone from coming to her aid.
She didn't think she had done anything wrong.
To her, everything happening now was what Mirror Water Pavillion owed her.
If not for their interference, she wouldn't have ended up alone for hundreds of years.
All alone!
"Truly pitiful. Not even a single Mirror Water Pavillion cultivator has come to save you."
"Shen Yunqiu, if anyone could take the prize for being hated by all, it's definitely you."
Inside her sea of consciousness, several strands of thick black ghost aura surrounded a phoenix-like golden soul, biting and tearing away. One of the ghost auras suddenly transformed into Bai Zhi's head. Smirking coldly, she mocked her again and again.
"Shut up!" The phoenix soul—Shen Yunqiu's divine soul—shouted angrily. "You demonic creature, what would you know? If you were in my shoes, you wouldn't have held out half as long!"
"You think you understand what Mirror Water Pavillion did to me?"
"I was deeply in love with Yulang. Just because of the sect's selfish motives, they tore us apart. Later, they even reported to Tai Xuan Sect and barred him from seeing me for 100 years…"
"Am I wrong to resent the sect?"
She let out a bitter laugh, her body trembling with madness.
But she didn't notice—
By now, the blood light of the Body Reshaping Soul Return Array had completely taken over her physical body. Her beautiful, icy image had turned into a withered, old crone.
Or maybe it wasn't her losing grip on her Dao heart—but rather, her true soul and spirit were being stripped away piece by piece, driving her to the edge.
"No! I don't want to die!"
Half a cup of tea's time passed. As she watched her phoenix soul grow smaller and Bai Zhi's ghost aura swell larger, Shen Yunqiu's face showed panic and desperation.
"Spare me. Please, spare me."
Shen Yunqiu began begging.
Now, she truly understood what it meant to fall from heaven to hell in a single day.
Just half a day ago, she was a Golden Core cultivator of Mirror Water Pavillion on the verge of forming a Nascent Soul, admired by tens of thousands.
Even if she'd offended Wei Tu, a third-tier alchemist, he couldn't do anything to her. He could only suffer in silence.
But now…
She had not only lost her chance to reach Nascent Soul, her physical body was about to be stolen.
And the saddest part—none of her fellow disciples came to help her.
All that admiration from before now felt like a cruel joke.
"Disciples of Mirror Water Pavillion, I curse you! May you and your descendants never find transcendence! From this day on, may not a single one of you ever break through to Nascent Soul!"
Seeing that her pleas were useless, Shen Yunqiu's eyes burned with hatred. With her final breath, she used her last bit of magic power to scream that curse toward the cave entrance.