Chapter 50

Leaving the library, Wei Yuning went straight to the courtyard office of Hong Zhi, the outer-disciple affairs manager of Come-to-Guest Peak. Besides his close friends inside the gate, Hong Zhi was one of the few members of the Cloud Hidden Sect's management who still treated him normally.

Qing Wu still wore that unapproachable poker face, sitting cross‑legged in a wide chair with eyes closed, cultivating—a normal state for cultivators, who whenever they have free time seize every moment to refine external spiritual energy or practice various arts.

Manager Hong Zhi was not present.

Hearing the movement, Qing Wu opened his eyes, saw that Wei Yuning had arrived, forced a smile, but then immediately returned to his usual expression. Cultivators respect strength; regardless of Wei Yuning's background or character, his cultivation had reached late Foundation Establishment, one minor realm above Qing Wu's mid‑Foundation Establishment, so Qing Wu certainly could not be negligent.

Moreover, during these days Wei Yuning had twice gone to Xuannü Peak to look for Qing Ling, each time bringing Qing Wu along—his character was impeccable, he was no petty man who goes back on his word for profit. However, Qing Wu harbored a secret crush on Qing Ling; just catching a glimpse of her satisfied him, and being able to exchange a few words would be even better. He had no plan to confess his feelings in the near future, intending to wait until he reached a higher realm before making any move.

"What brings you, Junior Brother Qing Wu? If you're looking for Master Hong Zhi, you'll likely be disappointed—he just went to Lotus Peak!"

"Oh, it's nothing major—I just happened to drop by. Since Uncle isn't here, senior brother, as an inner disciple you're well‑versed, I have a question I'd like to ask!" Wei Yuning and Qing Wu were acquaintances; Qing Wu's face was cold, but he was actually quite simple‑minded and not ill‑intentioned.

Qing Wu heard this, first sighed, then said: "Junior Brother, don't mention those words 'inner disciple' anymore—my cultivation speed in the outer sect isn't even considered fast. However, senior brother has been practicing a bit longer than you; if you truly have any questions, we can't exactly call it instruction, but we can discuss them!" Qing Wu's spiritual root is the rare qi‑type, because qi is formless yet invisible, making cultivation of a qi‑type root extremely difficult, especially during the foundation‑establishment stage when refining qi into liquid.

"It's not a cultivation problem. I saw in the Star Atlas that there's a place called the Eternal Immortal City, described as a gigantic city where immortals, mortals, demons, and monsters coexist, but the description isn't detailed enough—I want to learn more." Wei Yuning said. This was not the first time he'd heard the name Eternal Immortal City, but information about it was extremely scarce, mostly just a passing mention.

Hearing Wei Yuning's question, Qing Wu's poker face suddenly lit up a bit; he frowned, fell silent for several seconds, then said: "The Eternal Immortal City is just the Eternal Immortal City—a very wondrous place. I don't actually know much either; I only know it's huge, and its main powers are immortals, though these immortals are not the same faction as those of the immortal realm, and I'm not clear on the details. The Eternal Immortal City's might is immense; under certain special circumstances it often casts projections into all realms. It's said that for us cultivators, if we fail to become earth‑immortals and achieve longevity, we can still go and stay in the Eternal Immortal City—even as a mortal inside the city one can gain an extra five hundred years of lifespan, and for cultivators it's even more. Of course, I've only heard this; residing in the city isn't easy, and outsiders find it hard to become permanent residents. It's also said that wealthy tycoons from every realm, in order to prolong their lives, spend enormous sums just to stay as guests in the city's inns—this is the only way they can effectively reside long‑term in the Eternal Immortal City, but only a few across all worlds can afford it."

"There's actually such a wonderful place!" Wei Yuning exclaimed sincerely.

"Junior Brother, we'd better not think about it for now—with our current cultivation, even if we traveled all the way by teleportation arrays, we'd likely be dead and gone by the time we reached the Eternal Immortal City. Moreover, even if the city's inhabitants aren't immortals, they're probably comparable beings, so arriving there would only leave us sighing at the city gates. Besides, don't blame me for not warning you: it's best to mention the Eternal Immortal City as little as possible before the sect's elders; I once asked about it and was rebuked by an elder of the Hall of Transmission. In short, let's not talk about this place." Having said that, Qing Wu hesitated, as if he wanted to add something more, but ultimately remained silent.

Seeing that Qing Wu seemed to have something hard to say, Wei Yuning didn't press further, when suddenly he thought of something.

He took from his storage ring a round beast‑skin tube as tall as a person and half a foot in diameter, pulled out a huge sheet of bark paper, then unfolded it and showed Qing Wu his latest work.

"Is this a map of the Cloud Hidden Sect?" If not for the large characters stamped in the lower‑right corner, Qing Wu could never have guessed that the strange object covered in dense lines before him was actually a map. He then rubbed the rough‑feeling bark paper and continued curiously: "What is this made of?"

"Exactly, senior brother—this is indeed the Cloud Hidden Sect's map, covering the sect and the surrounding three hundred li. As for this item, I made it from bark, since a complete beast‑skin of this size is hard to come by!" Wei Yuning laughed.

"So it's made of bark—quite novel. I don't know why you're showing me this map, junior brother, and what those strange symbols are." Qing Wu wondered.

"Senior brother, here's the situation. I'm preparing to make a huge map of the world of spirit beasts. This Cloud Hidden Sect map is my practice piece. My map has a special name—'contour map'—where each enclosed line indicates roughly the same elevation, and the numbers on it are my estimated terrain heights. However, because the information I found in the library is too scarce, I need more detailed data. I heard that Manager Hong Zhi's uncle has a shadow‑stone taken by the mountain‑patrol team from an aerial shoot of Nine Cloud Peak, and I'd like to borrow a look at it!"

Qing Wu never expected Wei Yuning to have such a strange goal; he widened his eyes, stared at Wei Yuning for a full five or six seconds, then said: "Junior Brother, you know, seeing you reminds me of someone!"

"Who?"

"Our sect's Senior Xuanmiao Zi—he's just like you, also a bit… not serious, hahaha!" Qing Wu finally laughed awkwardly.

"Have you met Senior Xuanmiao Zi?" Wei Yuning asked; he was also very curious about that person, and he took Qing Wu's words as praise.

"Haha, of course not—Senior Xuanmiao Zi hasn't returned to the sect in at least fifty years, and I'm only thirty myself." Qing Wu laughed, "I know where the shadow‑stone is; I can lend it to you for viewing, but you can't take it away!"

After half an hour, Qing Wu, who had intended to continue meditating with eyes closed, could no longer stay seated.