Chapter 218: The Spirit Monkey Smiles at Me! The Overbearing Nature of the Chiyan Sect!

Jiang Ye and Liu Qingyu rode side by side at the front of the team, both of their eyes flashing with a shock that was hard to conceal.

Even though Jiang Ye had lived two lifetimes, he had to admit that the majesty of this great city far exceeded his imagination.

Liu Qingyu reined in her horse, looking far into the distance at the familiar outline of the city wall, and sighed softly: "After many years, seeing this great city again, it is still just as shocking."

"Oh?!"

A flash of surprise crossed Jiang Ye's eyes, and he turned his head to look at her: "Has Liu Fengzhu Liu been to the great city of Linzhou before?"

Liu Qingyu withdrew her gaze. A faint look of nostalgia appeared in her star-like eyes, and a very faint smile hung on the corners of her mouth, as if she were thinking of some long-buried old events:

"When I was young, I also traveled far and wide and stayed in the great city of Linzhou for a period of time. Revisiting this old place now, it has a unique flavor."

Jiang Ye nodded slightly.

He sized Liu Qingyu up.

A moon-white long dress, hair like a waterfall, skin as white as snow, and features as beautiful as a painting.

If not for the deep, abyss-like aura of a powerhouse around her and the sharp edge that occasionally flashed in her star-like eyes.

Just looking at her appearance, anyone would think she was just a stunning woman in her early twenties.

He withdrew his gaze and smiled faintly:

" 'When I was young'... these three words sound a bit incongruous coming from Liu Fengzhu Liu."

"After all, Liu Fengzhu Liu looks just like a young girl in her prime."

Liu Qingyu was slightly startled.

With her appearance, she had heard countless similar compliments over the years of her cultivation, and she had long been as calm as still water, never taking them to heart.

But hearing the same words from this usually taciturn Elder Jiang, the effect was completely different.

A barely perceptible arc lifted the corners of her mouth, and a rare, playful look flashed in her star-like eyes:

"I didn't expect that I would be fortunate enough to hear a compliment from Elder Jiang; it is quite rare."

Jiang Ye smiled faintly, said no more, lightly tapped his horse's belly, and continued to move forward.

Lu Guizhou took in the shock on everyone's faces, stroked his silver beard, and said with a smile:

"Once you pass through this gate, you are in the territory of the great city of Linzhou."

"The mountain gate of the Upper Sect is at Three Spirits Mountain in the north of the city, still half a day's journey away. Everyone, follow this old man."

After saying this, he tapped his horse's belly and was the first to walk slowly toward the city gate.

The team followed closely behind. Under the guidance of Lu Guizhou, this Primordial Realm elder of the Upper Sect, the group passed through the long, tunnel-like city gate and successfully entered the great city of Linzhou.

After entering the great city, everyone was stunned once again.

The prosperous scene before them was even more staggering than the majestic city walls seen outside the city.

The main street was wide to the point of extravagance, enough to accommodate eight carriages driving side by side.

The road surface was paved with uniform, blue-gray giant stones, each polished to be as smooth as a mirror, and the horse hooves made a crisp, pleasant clattering sound as they stepped on them.

The shops on both sides of the street were lined up one after another, none of them lower than three stories, with flying eaves, bucket arches, and carved beams and painted pillars. The vermilion gates with golden nails were open to welcome guests, and the plaques hanging on the lintels were all the work of famous masters.

The restaurants along the street were even more magnificent.

The carved windows on the second floor were half-open, and the sounds of silk and bamboo instruments drifted out along with the fragrance of wine and food, mixed with the hawking of street vendors, converging into a noisy and bustling wave of sound that rushed toward them.

About an hour later.

The noisy sound waves gradually faded from their ears, replaced by the cool mountain breeze and the sobbing of the pine waves.

The group passed through the bustling streets of the great city of Linzhou and finally arrived at the foot of Three Spirits Mountain in the north of the city under the guidance of Lu Guizhou.

"This is where the mountain gate of the Upper Sect is located."

When Jiang Ye looked up, his usually calm, aged eyes couldn't help but shrink slightly.

He saw three majestic mountain peaks rising from the ground amidst the misty clouds, piercing straight into the sky.

Everything above the mountainside was hidden in the vast sea of clouds, with only the peaks appearing and disappearing above the clouds. Viewed from afar, it actually gave one a sense of insignificance, as if facing the heavenly palace.

The grandeur of these Three Spirits Mountains was somewhat similar to the Duanling Mountain Range, but it had a few more parts of solemnity and weight carved by human hands.

Lu Guizhou led the group onto the winding blue stone mountain path, introducing them as they walked with a smile:

"The layout of the Upper Sect is actually somewhat similar to your Profound Heaven Sect. The outer mountain gate is the barrier, which is the outer sect, and the nine peaks of the inner sect are the core."

"But having said that, your Profound Heaven Sect's mountain gate can be considered one of the best among the prefecture sects, and in time, it might also have this kind of atmosphere."

The crowd followed him up the steps, and the further they went, the more secretly shocked they became.

The disciples coming and going on the mountain path were all wearing plain white martial attire, each with a steady aura and light, healthy steps. The lowest strength was above the Transformation of Force Realm, and figures of Embracing the Pill Realm martial artists could be seen everywhere.

You must know that in Yunling Prefecture, an Embracing the Pill Realm martial artist was enough to serve as a sect elder.

But here, they were just ordinary disciples passing by.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the group finally arrived at the mountain gate.

A huge stone plaque spanned the two ends of the mountain path, with a few large characters carved in iron-drawing and silver-hook style—"Linzhou Upper Sect."

The handwriting was vigorous and powerful, each stroke like an axe or chisel, exuding an overbearing aura that looked down upon the world. Just one glance from afar was enough to inspire awe.

Lu Guizhou led the group through the plaque, and the scene before them suddenly opened up.

They saw nine majestic mountain peaks distributed in this world in a well-arranged manner, connected by iron chain bridges, with clouds and mist swirling between them. From time to time, a few white cranes flew past from the sea of clouds, emitting crisp and long cries.

However, everyone's gaze was firmly captured by the three central mountain peaks in the first instance.

On the peaks of those three mountain peaks stood a giant stone sculpture over a hundred meters high, having weathered countless years of wind and rain, yet still lifelike, exuding a suffocating, majestic momentum.

The stone sculpture on the left was a giant snake, cyan all over, its body stretching and coiling from the mountainside to the peak, every snake scale carved in vivid detail.

The snake's head was held high, its tongue flicking out, like a sharp sword about to be unsheathed.

Faintly, it exuded a sharp, piercing sense of wind spirit, as if it would break free from that stone body at any moment and turn into a cyan rainbow that tore the world apart.

The stone sculpture on the right was a giant ox, pitch black all over, with limbs like pillars and a spine like a mountain, every muscle on its body exuding an unrivaled sense of savage power.

Most striking were the pair of huge horns on its head, curved like blades, sharp as edges, pointing straight to the sky, as if they would split the entire mountain in two.

And the stone sculpture in the center was a spirit monkey.

Its body was neither as long as the cyan snake nor as majestic as the black ox; it just held a stone staff in its hand and looked up at the sky.

There was no sharpness of the cyan snake in that posture, nor the power of the black ox, but it faintly exuded an indescribable sense of aloofness.

Everyone's mind was completely attracted by these three stone sculptures, their eyes full of shocked trance.

Lu Guizhou stood aside with his hands behind his back, taking in everyone's reaction, not disturbing them, just stroking his silver beard and smiling faintly.

This was the foundation of the Upper Sect; it would be strange if they weren't shocked.

And among the crowd, Jiang Ye's gaze was the most focused.

His gaze slowly moved from the cyan snake stone sculpture to the black ox stone sculpture, and finally landed on the spirit monkey stone sculpture, his eyes narrowing slightly.

For some reason, this spirit monkey stone sculpture clearly looked less majestic than the other two, but it faintly exuded a sense of palpitation that he could not explain.

In the posture of the spirit monkey looking up at the sky, what was hidden was not looking up, but contempt.

That was the unyielding spirit that refused to be bound by this world and wanted to poke a hole in the firmament with the staff in its hand.

"Good spirit monkey..."

Jiang Ye couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.

The next instant.

The spirit monkey stone sculpture seemed to come alive.

Without any warning, the stone-carved monkey eyes turned slightly and grinned at him from across the air.

"Hmm?!"

Jiang Ye's heart shook violently, his pupils shrank, and he couldn't help but take a few steps back involuntarily.

Although his movement was not large, it was enough to wake everyone who was immersed in shock.

"What is wrong, Elder Jiang?"

Liu Qingyu turned her head to look, her star-like eyes full of surprise.

It was rare for her to see this usually calm Elder Jiang have such an uncomposed reaction.

Jiang Ye took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the surging waves in his heart, and returned to his calm appearance on the surface, shaking his head slightly:

"It is nothing; this stone sculpture is too majestic, which caused me a slight shock."

But the fingers he kept in his sleeves were still trembling slightly.

Was that an illusion just now...

The stone sculpture came alive?!

And it smiled at him?!

Lu Guizhou did not notice Jiang Ye's abnormality, assuming he was intimidated by the momentum of the stone sculpture, and pointed to the three mountain peaks with a smile to introduce them:

"Those three central peaks are the Spirit Snake Shanfeng, the Spirit Monkey Shanfeng, and the Spirit Ox Shanfeng, respectively."

"These three peaks are the core of the nine inner peaks and are also known as the 'Upper Three Peaks.' The disciples they recruit are all true elites within the sect."

He paused, glanced at the crowd casually, and added a sentence:

"If any of you can practice those three peerless martial arts that suppress the sect to a certain level, you might have a chance to join these Upper Three Peaks."

He was just mentioning it casually.

In his eyes, it was already extremely difficult for the Profound Heaven Sect group to stay in the Upper Sect, let alone join the top three peaks of the inner sect.

After saying this, he pointed far away to the mountain peak surrounded by clouds and mist on the far right of the nine peaks, his tone returning to his previous ease:

"That is Tianyun Shanfeng, which will be your place of cultivation for the next half-year."

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed. They saw that mountain peak appearing and disappearing in the clouds and mist, far less magnificent than the Upper Three Peaks, but it had its own unique, quiet atmosphere.

Tianyun Shanfeng, west side of the peak.

An old man wearing a red robe with a fierce face sat cross-legged on the dark red boulder that had been baked hot by his body temperature all year round.

His eyes were closed, and the heaven and earth spiritual energy around him was slowly rotating as if stirred by an invisible hand. Every breath he took carried a scorching aura, burning the surrounding air until it twisted slightly.

This Primordial Realm martial artist of the Chiyan Sect did not have a shred of the fierce aura between his brows restrained, even during his daily cultivation.

Suddenly, his eyelids moved, and he slowly opened his eyes.

A moment later, a middle-aged man wearing red martial attire hurried up to the cliff top, bowed his head before Cheng Yuan, his posture extremely respectful:

"Elder Cheng, our 'neighbors,' the Profound Heaven Sect, have already arrived..."

The old man frowned, his tone full of impatience: "Does such a trivial matter need to be reported to me specifically?"

The man wearing red martial attire hesitated for a moment and lowered his voice: "Elder Cheng, since the Profound Heaven Sect has arrived... how should we deal with those disciples and herbs of ours on the East Shanfeng..."

Ever since the Qingyun Sect failed the assessment and withdrew from the East Shanfeng, the herb fields on the East Shanfeng had been empty.

Their Chiyan Sect acted overbearingly, and they were particularly bold.

Over the years, they had long treated the East Shanfeng as their own backyard, not only planting fire-attribute medicinal herbs in those vacant herb fields.

There were also many disciples who found the West Shanfeng crowded and simply moved to the East Shanfeng to live, practicing and living there on weekdays, treating the East Shanfeng as their private property.

Now that the Profound Heaven Sect had moved into the East Shanfeng, their operation was a bit awkward.

It would be fine to withdraw those disciples practicing on the East Shanfeng.

But those medicinal herbs that were growing vigorously and were about to be harvested could not be uprooted...

Therefore, he had to come and ask Cheng Yuan, the current person in charge of the Chiyan Sect.

The old man snorted coldly, his eyes full of disdain:

"The Profound Heaven Sect only has fifty people in total; how much space can they occupy? Giving the East Shanfeng to them is simply a waste."

"We are planting some medicinal herbs there; this is called rational utilization of resources. They are just a small sect, newly arrived with an unstable foundation; do they dare to have any opinions?"

"Elder Cheng..." The man wearing red martial attire showed a hint of conflict: "In case they alert the Law Enforcement Hall..."

The disdain between the old man's brows grew even heavier, and he sneered:

"Do they have the guts!"

"If they are so 'unreasonable,' I will make it so they can't stay here for even half a year!" ===== CHAPTER 219 =====