Stealing Luck from the Heavenly Dao's Favorite

[Ethereal Grace]: This one is likely a descendant of Witch Tribe Maiden.

The conversation abruptly paused there. Clearly, the others in the chat group were suspicious of Wei Yunxi's identity. After thinking it over, she decided to just tell the truth. If these people were close to the original "Witch Tribe Maiden," any lie would be pointless and only cause her to be rejected.

Once she made up her mind, Wei Yunxi stepped forward, touched the transparent screen, and used her consciousness to input her reply.

"Hello, everyone! I am a junior of the 'Witch Tribe Maiden'. I accidentally activated this chat group and, due to a desperate situation, shamelessly accepted the items you all sent. I apologize for the rudeness."

A prompt immediately popped up on the interface:

[User identity has changed. Would you like to set a new username?]

Wei Yunxi thought for a moment. To make it easier to distinguish herself from Witch Tribe Maiden and avoid stirring resentment, she decided to change it.

"Yes."

[Please enter a new username.]

She paused, recalling her past experience in online chat groups. Instead of using her real name, she chose "Fleeting Cloud", symbolizing that all this might just be a passing illusion.

[Username successfully changed. Welcome 'Fleeting Cloud' to the cross-server chat group! 🎉]

Wei Yunxi twitched at the ridiculous message on the screen. Since no one else had responded yet, she continued typing.

"My family told me my mother went far away. No one has been able to contact her, but we do know she's still alive. Does anyone here know where she might be?"

This time, the others didn't remain silent. The first to respond was Ethereal Grace:

"The previous user of this chat group was your ancestor, but definitely not your mother. Based on the time flow on your side, the 'Witch Tribe Maiden' hasn't logged in for over ten thousand years."

Wei Yunxi froze at that. Over ten thousand years? She frowned and quickly typed again:

"Seniors, the token carrying this chat group was left to me by my mother. It bears my maternal family's surname. I didn't steal it."

She couldn't afford to let them misunderstand that part.

[Star Trek]: "We're not accusing you. This chat group can only be opened by direct bloodline descendants. I inherited mine from my grandfather."

[Ox-Head Horse-Face]: "Same here."

[Survival is the Ultimate Truth]: "For me, it activated when the environment mutated. I awakened powers and accidentally triggered the heirloom jade. That's how I joined. No one's doubting you."

Wei Yunxi finally let out a breath of relief. Then, she sent a private message to Ethereal Grace and Ox-Head Horse-Face:

"Seniors, do you know my ancestor personally? Could you tell me more? And what did you mean earlier about a calamity that destroyed my clan?"

Ethereal Grace seemed quite eager to talk and sent a long reply not long after. Only then did Wei Yunxi realize just how significant her lineage was.

Her ancestor had once been the High Priestess of the Witch Tribe, dating back to the early formation of the Weiyu Realm, when the Heavenly Dao had only just taken shape. At the time, the Witch Tribe served as the bridge between mortals and the heavens, aiding all beings in their growth and reproduction.

The Witch Tribe was immensely powerful, their abilities bordering on the divine. But their lineage was sparse—each generation would typically produce only one High Priestess.

Before a High Priestess's lifespan ran out, she would pray to the heavens and receive guidance on the location of her successor, who would then be brought back and raised to take on the mantle.

But in the generation of the Witch Tribe Maiden, everything changed. She was unable to determine the successor's location. At first, she believed it was due to her own inadequacy, but after joining the chat group and receiving hints from Ethereal Grace and certain deities, she came to understand the real problem.

The Heavenly Dao no longer required the Witch Tribe's aid.

It intended to reclaim the power it had bestowed upon them. The tribe was fated to wither.

At first, the Witch Tribe Maiden refused to believe it. She didn't want her people to die out under her leadership. So she tried every means to communicate with the heavens, but things unfolded exactly as Ethereal Grace and the others had warned.

After that, the Witch Tribe Maiden vanished from the chat group for a long time. The last time she logged in, she had asked everyone for help—resources to help her people survive.

Moved by past friendship, many users sent her supplies, hoping to support her. But she never accepted them. Nor did she log in again. Until now.

Ox-Head Horse-Face cut straight to the point: "The Witch Tribe has already entered reincarnation."

Wei Yunxi didn't know what expression to make after hearing all this. It seemed she was the second person to use this chat group, and she likely carried Witch Tribe blood. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to log in.

But then another question came to mind. "If the chat group token was with my mother, why didn't she activate it?"

[Star Trek]: "Activating the chat group requires both bloodline and spiritual power."

[Ox-Head Horse-Face]: "Exactly. Bloodline and soul force. You must have inherited a purer strain of the Witch Tribe's blood, and now that you've developed divine sense through cultivation, you met both conditions."

Wei Yunxi translated that internally: she was just lucky. Her bloodline was purer than her mother's, and thanks to recent cultivation, her soul power had grown enough to meet the activation requirements.

But then another question surfaced: How did Wei Yunqing activate the chat group?

She typed her question into the chat: "If an outsider obtains the token, is it possible for them to activate the chat group?"

[Ox-Head Horse-Face]: "No. To anyone else, it's just a decorative item. If they're lucky, they might be able to activate the spatial storage function."

[Survival is the Ultimate Truth]: "Even if it's just the spatial function, that's still a personal space. If your true body can enter it, it's a life-saving trump card."

Wei Yunxi instantly understood. Wei Yunqing, as the destined heroine, likely activated the space function. Having a personal storage realm that could be used to escape or protect herself—of course that would be her hidden ace.

[Ethereal Grace]: "Friendly reminder: if your soul isn't strong enough, don't linger too long in the chat group. All features here consume soul power."

The moment Wei Yunxi read that, her heart skipped a beat. She looked down at her consciousness projection—it really had faded a little. She quickly typed:

"Seniors, I've just begun cultivating, and my soul is still weak. I can't stay long. Do any of you have techniques to hide my cultivation? If anyone is willing to gift me such a method, I'll be deeply grateful. In return, if you ever need anything from the cultivation world, please let me know."

She'd kept it vague, but she trusted her instincts. There had to be valuable things in her realm that these users would want.

Sure enough, a moment later, Ox-Head Horse-Face and Ethereal Grace sent her items directly.

[Ox-Head Horse-Face]: "You're too weak right now. Start by strengthening your soul. Here's a basic technique—"Soul Refining Art"—as your foundation."

[Ethereal Grace]: "You're in luck. I happen to have a low-grade immortal artifact gathering dust. Use it to conceal your cultivation and aura. Think of it as a welcome gift. No need to send anything back."

Definitely a big spender. Just giving away an immortal artifact? Wei Yunxi could hardly believe it. Even if the other party said no gift was needed, she wasn't taking that at face value.

With her workplace instincts kicking in, she immediately expressed her thanks and promised to prepare a proper return gift once her cultivation improved. Then, without delay, she pulled her consciousness out of the redwood token's space.

As her awareness returned to her body, a wave of dizziness hit. Her soul was clearly overdrawn. After all, she was still only five years old.

Just then, the isolation array outside was triggered.

===

仙气飘飘 (Xiānqì Piāopiāo) – "Ethereal Grace"

Literal Translation: "Immortal Aura Fluttering."

The ID Wei Yunxi chooses for her new username is from idiom "过眼云烟" (guò yǎn yún yān), which translates literally to "passing before the eyes like clouds and smoke."

This idiom conveys the idea that certain experiences, material possessions, or emotions are as fleeting and insubstantial as clouds drifting by or smoke dissipating—ultimately transient and unimportant in the grand scheme. It carries a philosophical, often slightly melancholic tone, emphasizing:

Impermanence: Nothing lasts forever; everything fades with time.

Detachment: Encourages not clinging to worldly matters.

Perspective: What seems significant now may later feel trivial.

The phrase echoes Daoist and Buddhist philosophies about the illusory nature of worldly attachments. Similar sentiments appear in texts like "庄子" (Zhuangzi), where life is compared to "a white colt flashing past a crevice" (白驹过隙, bái jū guò xì).

The imagery of clouds (云) and smoke (烟) as metaphors for evanescence is common in Chinese poetry