Chapter 31: Chapter Thirty‑One: Unforgivable

The flying spirit vessel is divided into two decks and three sections. The forward section is the pilot cabin, which contains two disciples from the Spirit Beast Chamber; they are beast masters, responsible for controlling the two azure birds that power the vessel.

Although called azure birds, they are not all blue; most are multicolored and brightly hued. It is said they are descendants of an immortal‑realm azure‑bird subspecies brought from the Eternal Immortal City by the founding patriarch of the Hidden Cloud Sect; after thousands of years of breeding they have become one of the sect's important spirit beasts. The giant birds Wei Yuning first encountered at the Hidden Cloud Sect are these azure birds.

Azure birds are huge, with wingspans mostly over five or six zhang, the smallest around three zhang; they occasionally serve as mounts for high‑level cultivators of the sect. Azure birds are intelligent beings, their intellect comparable to humans, so the Hidden Cloud Sect does not treat spirit beasts as lowly livestock like cattle, horses, sheep, or pigs; instead, the relationship is one of near‑equal cooperation.

Apart from the forward cabin, the passenger quarters aft consist of two decks; the upper deck is purely passenger cabins, while the lower deck is half passenger cabins and half flat cargo hold.

The spirit vessel is about twenty‑five zhang long and ten zhang wide; on the outer hull of both port and starboard sides are carved the two large characters "Flowing Cloud", together with a pattern of a spirit butterfly.

After the Foundation Establishment disciples had taken their seats, the attendants began moving everyday supplies into the cabin. These are consumables—food, drink, and even toilet necessities—so this hunting trip is essentially a collective courtship journey.

After the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, the attendants finished moving the supplies and also took their seats inside the cabin.

The two beast masters activated the levitation array; the spirit vessel rose slowly, then a clear birdcall rang out and the vessel began moving forward.

As one of the top ten finishers in the competition, Qiu Hu female cultivator had a good seat—upper deck, by the window. Although Wei Yuning's arts were uncanny, he had no ranking, so by the rules he should not have been allowed upstairs; however, as Qiu Hu's dao companion he managed to snag a good spot, the third seat from the window. By rights he ought to sit beside Qiu Hu, but at that moment a giant lightbulb stood between them—Qiu Hu's close friend, the female cultivator named Thus line: Ye Ying.

After a female cultivator of the Azure Phoenix Sect successfully reaches Foundation Establishment and becomes an official cultivator, the sect's elders bestow a name that basically always includes a type of bird; of course, even among birds there are ranks. The highest rank includes phoenix, vermilion phoenix, mandarin duck, azure phoenix, and swan, etc.; the next rank comprises crane, goose, eagle, etc.; the third rank consists of swallow, sparrow, oriole, and similar birds.

Of course this cannot be generalized, because the name is given according to spiritual‑root aptitude, but the ultimate level of cultivation still depends on personal talent; moreover, some cultivators simply favor a certain bird and ask their elders to change their name. Within the Azure Phoenix Sect, a name does not indicate one's cultivation level, but it can roughly reveal the quality of one's spiritual roots.

From this perspective, Thus line: Ye Ying's spiritual‑root aptitude must be far inferior to Qiu Hu's.

Wei Yuning and Qiu Hu female cultivator chatted all the way about amusing anecdotes from their respective sects, getting along swimmingly. Thus line: Ye Ying initially put on airs and ignored Wei Yuning, but soon his oddball stories tickled her curiosity, and she joined the conversation.

Such scenes could be seen throughout the cabin; after a day of getting acquainted, at least thirty pairs of disciples had preliminarily agreed to become dao partners.

Thus line: Ye Ying entered the sect later than Qiu Hu; she possesses a fire‑type spiritual root. When she first joined, she was bullied by her fellow disciples, but Qiu Hu helped her out of the predicament, so she became Qiu Hu's number‑one fan and personal little follower. Under Qiu Hu's influence she also did not cultivate the art of enchantment, and both of them are considered rather unconventional within the Azure Phoenix Sect.

However, Thus line: Ye Ying's lolita appearance and devilish figure give her natural charm; even without practicing enchantment she still has many admirers. This time she signed up for the Hidden Cloud Sect's matrimonial convention, one of her goals being to avoid the pursuit of a powerful sect's cultivator.

That cultivator's sect is called the Divine Martial Gate, a school devoted to body refinement; it has few members—just over a hundred—but it is a renowned cultivation sect on Bixi Island, with masters as numerous as clouds and many vassal minor sects. Its members act rashly and domineeringly; they often come to blows over the slightest disagreement.

Cultivators generally seek the great path of longevity, so there is no reason not to cherish life; yet the Divine Martial Gate relies on the principle of "meet the strong and become stronger," regarding combat with others as a way to raise their cultivation. Over time, many minor sects that cannot afford to provoke them either keep away from the Divine Martial Gate or submit to it; even a sect like the Azure Phoenix Sect, capable of self‑defense, is unwilling to clash head‑on with these madmen and will avoid them if possible.

Given the circumstances, Thus line: Ye Ying had no choice but to follow Qiu Hu here to join the festivities. The Hidden Cloud Sect is a prominent major clan on Bixi Island; even if the Divine Martial Gate is crazy, it would hardly dare to act wildly atop the Hidden Cloud Sect's head.

Time passed slowly; the Flowing Cloud flew slowly out of the core area of Nine Cloud Peak, the mist began to thin, and the scenery below became visible.

The western part of Guest Arrival Peak is the Mist Forest, while the northern part is mainly grassland with small patches of dense woods. The influence of the Hidden Cloud Sect basically covers a thousand‑li radius around Nine Cloud Peak, but its actual control is not strong; even within a hundred‑li radius of Nine Cloud Peak proper there remain many forbidden zones.

Of course, the weakness of control mentioned here does not refer to any human force opposing the Hidden Cloud Sect, but rather to the sheer number of beasts; ordinary people within the sect's sphere cannot contend with the beasts and can only establish isolated strongholds and outposts.

"No wonder Senior Sister Qiu Hu likes you—you're quite fun, handsome, high‑cultivation, and knowledgeable to boot; you even know how the mist forms!" Thus line: Ye Ying exclaimed.

"Miss Qiu Hu likes me solely because of my looks; knowledge, cultivation, and the rest are just minor tricks—being handsome is the fundamental reason I've become a winner in life." Wei Yuning said shamelessly.

The three Phoenixes of the Azure Phoenix Sect seated in the front row burst into bell‑like laughter. They had never imagined that the cultivation world could contain such an interesting person.

Beside Miss Feng Wu sat a regular patron, the Hidden Cloud Sect's direct disciple Qing Cong. He was completely enamored of Feng Wu. Although Feng Wu had subtly told him that at this matrimonial convention she had not found her ideal partner, Qing Cong stubbornly clung to her.

Upon learning Feng Wu's feelings, the Cloud Goose Fairy Yunyan was also helpless; this Qing Cong is not someone one can easily offend, so she could not and would not drive him away directly.

Of course, cultivators have their own pride; if Feng Wu does not consent to this union, she could not possibly force Feng Wu to be given to Qing Cong. Since the path of cultivation is for freedom, one cannot sacrifice a kind of freedom for profit.

At this moment, Young Master Qing Cong truly hated this guy Wei Yuning to the point of an itchy teeth. When they first boarded the spirit vessel, Feng Wu was still chatting casually with him—from anecdotes of the cultivation world to various experiences—until they had even talked about Feng Wu's childhood life.

Unexpectedly, at that very moment Wei Yuning launched into a discourse on stellar charts—talking about fixed stars, planets, satellites, and their motions, etc. Before he could finish the stellar‑chart talk and before he could ask Feng Wu could ask Feng Wu about her childhood anecdotes, that rascal launched into meteorology, giving a thorough analysis of why Nine Cloud Peak is perpetually shrouded in mist; although I don't know whether what that guy said is right or wrong, he at least managed to sound plausible.

The three Phoenixes of the Azure Phoenix Sect listened intently, and the ensuing shameless remarks were excessive, actually eliciting a delighted giggle from Feng Wu—simply unforgivable.