Chapter 150

Cloud Upper Realm, Horn Flood Dragon Island.

Wood Flood Dragon City.

Located at the edge of Horn Flood Dragon Island, beside it is a huge city of the Cloud Sea Waterfall, whose scale is actually not inferior to Qingshan City at all.

As Yunhe approached in his flying boat, he saw that on the vast Cloud Sea Waterfall there were many giant lobsters the size of small boats, continually climbing up the waterfall.

On these giant lobsters, more or less, sat some cultivators transporting a considerable amount of goods.

'Interesting.'

These are probably the caravans of the Cloud Upper Realm.

I didn't expect that besides ships that can sail on the Cloud Sea, there are also such cloud beasts whose function is similar to the pack animals and mule beasts of the Eastern Realm.

As Yunhe piloted his flying boat to the outskirts of Wood Flood Dragon City, he felt a heavy gravity coming from below.

It must be the prohibition of Wood Flood Dragon City.

Although this gravity had little effect on Yunhe, who was at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he still lowered his flying boat and flew into this vast and ancient city with the crowd.

The gate-guarding cultivators did not stop him, indicating that the city does not restrict low-altitude flight for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

'Immortal Master, do you need Hyacinth? Only five Spirit Crystals are needed.'

Upon entering Wood Flood Dragon City, a mortal in brown hemp clothing guarding the city gate immediately came forward.

Yunhe glanced at him, thought briefly, then tossed out a whole Low-grade Ling Stone, saying lightly:

'If you satisfy me, I'll give you another one at the end.'

Where does he still have Spirit Crystals on him?

The young man holding the Spirit Stone was stunned, showed great joy, then became nervous and startled, only then realizing he didn't know when he had already landed on the flying boat.

He immediately realized that the Immortal Master he was serving this time was more formidable than any Immortal Master he had served before.

'Immortal Master, rest assured, I, Lu Hou, dare not say anything else, but having grown up in Wood Flood Dragon City since childhood, I know this place like the back of my hand.'

Before he could finish speaking, Yunhe reached out and stopped him, directly stating his purpose.

'I want to buy information, buy a Cloud Map.'

Upon hearing this, Lu Hou's eyes shifted, and he hurriedly said:

If Immortal Master has abundant Spirit Stones, you should go to the Black Cloud Pavilion, which is the largest and strongest information dealer on the entire Horn Flood Dragon Island.

'Then let's go to the Black Cloud Pavilion.'

Yunhe gave him a sideways glance, too lazy to bother with his petty thoughts.

Lu Hou felt a chill down his spine upon being glanced at by Yunhe, and instantly dismissed all his thoughts.

'Senior, please go this way.'

In his conversation with Lu Hou, sentence by sentence, he gained a rough understanding of Wood Flood Dragon City.

Black Cloud Pavilion.

'I am Pan Qing; I have greeted you, fellow Daoist. I don't know what I can help you with.'

A shopkeeper wearing black fish-scale robes, at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, saw Yunhe, smiled, performed a salute, and said.

Yunhe likewise revealed only his middle-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation and returned the salute.

'I heard that this place is the most well-informed spot for news on Horn Flood Dragon Island?'

Upon hearing this, Pan Qing humbly said: 'It's all thanks to fellow Daoists' favor, but our shop indeed has much of the latest information; I just don't know whether fellow Daoist needs information about Horn Flood Dragon Island or about the entire Cloud Upper Palace.'

Yunhe narrowed his eyes imperceptibly.

The entire Cloud Upper Palace?

'All the information about Horn Flood Dragon Island will do. Hmm, I'll also casually pick some from the Cloud Upper Palace.'

After a brief pause, he added:

'Give me another Cloud Map as well.'

'A Cloud Map?' Pan Qing was somewhat surprised.

'I have been in seclusion for thirty years, so I suppose the Cloud Map is somewhat outdated.' Yunhe said offhandedly without blinking.

Upon hearing that, Pan Qing suddenly understood and immediately nodded, saying:

'Please wait a moment, fellow Daoist.'

Pan Qing went into the back room, and not long after came out holding a tray with two white Jade Slips, saying, 'Fellow Daoist, these should meet your request, totaling two hundred Spirit Stones.'

'So expensive.'

But Yunhe didn't say anything more.

With a flick of his sleeve, the two Jade Slips on the tray turned into a pile of Low-grade Ling Stones.

Grasping the Jade Slip and infusing it with spiritual sense, a quick scan confirmed the information was very detailed and covered a wide range.

'May I ask, Fellow Daoist Pan, has there recently been a large-scale exchange event on Horn Flood Dragon Island? How many Spirit Stones are needed?'

Pan Qing waved his hand, saying, 'This information is not a secret, so no Spirit Stones are needed; consider it a gift from our shop to you, fellow Daoist. The most recent large-scale exchange event was two years ago, and in three years' time, there will be a large-scale auction at the Silver Flood Dragon Market within Horn Flood Dragon Island.'

'In that case, thank you.'

'Fellow Daoist, you're too kind.'

Watching Yunhe leave, Pan Qing raised his hand to summon a nearby attendant.

'Go investigate this person.'

Returning to the Flowing Cloud Falcon Boat, Yunhe said to Lu Hou, the Hyacinth:

'Go to a place where large quantities of spiritual materials can be bought.'

After giving the instructions, he sat cross-legged at the bow of the boat and began to browse the two Jade Slips he had purchased.

First is the Cloud Map.

Things are expensive for a reason; this Cloud Map not only thoroughly records the situation of Horn Flood Dragon Island, this large cloud island, but also includes all the large and small cloud islands under its jurisdiction nearby, such as Jiao Tian Island being one of them.

Moreover, it's not only Horned Flood Island; the cloud map also includes the Cloud Islands beyond Horned Flood Island, though they are not as detailed.

"Just a single Horned Flood Island, yet it governs as many as 108 subordinate islands. Even more astonishing, there are actually twenty‑eight large Cloud Islands like Horned Flood Island."

Above Horned Flood Island, there are even larger Cloud Islands.

They are the Four Directions Host Islands and the Seven Great Star Islands.

Horned Flood Island belongs to the East Host Island among the Four Directions Host Islands.

Above the Four Directions Host Islands and the Seven Great Star Islands, everything is governed by the "Cloud Ascendant Hall" mentioned earlier by Pan Qing.

After studying the cloud map, Yunhe gained a general understanding of the Cloud Ascendant Realm.

He then examined the intelligence Jade Slip.

"Today the Cloud Ascendant Hall is jointly ruled by three hall masters named 'Sun Moon Star'. It is said that all three are Yuan Ying Cultivators, which is the chief reason the Cloud Ascendant Hall holds the top position in the Cloud Ascendant Realm."

Three Yuan Ying Cultivators?

Yunhe clicked his tongue in surprise.

The crucial point is that few have seen these three hall masters lately; some even speculate they are no longer Yuan Ying Cultivators but the legendary Transcendent Realm celestial beings.

After all, seven or eight hundred years ago, the three "Sun Moon Star" hall masters were already Yuan Ying Cultivators.

The Cloud Ascendant Hall's power is massive; aside from its main hall, the island lords of the Four Directions Host Islands and the Seven Great Star Islands are at least at the Late Jie Dan Stage.

Even the island lords of the twenty‑eight islands like Horned Flood Island are at least at the Early Jie Dan Stage.

Undoubtedly the top power of the Cloud Ascendant Realm!

Of course, besides the Cloud Ascendant Hall, there are many other forces in the Cloud Ascendant Realm, but they are all somewhat inferior to the Cloud Ascendant Hall.

For example, the Five Elements Sect and the Six Paths Palace are the most prominent righteous and demonic sects in the Cloud Ascendant Realm, and the Cloud Commerce Alliance, Cloud Net Nation, Azure Emperor Sect, and others are also formidable forces.

At the same time, Yunhe learned from some intelligence that

the so‑called Cloud Ascendant Realm can actually be divided into three regions: Cloud Middle Realm, Cloud Outer Realm, and Heavenly Outer Realm.

The territory of the Cloud Ascendant Hall where he currently stands belongs to the Cloud Middle Realm.

"Why does the Cloud Ascendant Realm feel much larger than the Eastern Realm?"

"No, actually in the Eastern Realm I've only explored the Ten Domains and a surrounding portion; I know little about what lies beyond the Ten Domains."

Only now did Yunhe realize how biased his earlier view had been.

He folded the Jade Slip and smiled, shaking his head.

"In the end, my cultivation is still too low; I'm like a frog at the bottom of a well."

According to the cloud map, with his current cultivation, merely flying from Horned Flood Island to the Heavenly Cloud City where the Cloud Ascendant Hall resides would take several years.

"Immortal Master, the Flying Cloud Pavilion has arrived; it is the largest spirit‑material tower in the entire Wood Flood City."

Yunhe looked up.

The more than twenty‑story Flying Cloud Pavilion is indeed among the top three tallest buildings in Wood Flood City.

"Very good."

Yunhe nodded, followed the cultivators coming and going at the entrance, and entered.

Three hours later.

Yunhe emerged from the Flying Cloud Pavilion with a complicated expression.

On one hand his flesh ached; he had spent a great many Spirit Stones on materials needed for cultivation, especially those for refining Elixir.

On the other hand he was satisfied; the Flying Cloud Pavilion truly lives up to being the largest spirit‑material market in Wood Flood City—while not everything is present, it certainly meets the vast majority of a Foundation Establishment cultivator's needs.

In fact, Yunhe also saw many good items.

But being new, he had already shown off a lot of wealth today, so after much deliberation he chose to give up.

His primary goal now remains to advance his cultivation to a complete Foundation Establishment.

This is a matter of steady grinding, with no bottleneck, so he should not undertake any extraordinary actions now.

It is best to find a quiet place and close‑seclude for twenty to thirty years of cultivation.

After reaching a complete Foundation Establishment, he will consider the Jie Dan matters.

"Go to the Cloud Hero Hall, and your task will be complete," Yunhe said after tossing out a Low‑grade Ling Stone.

He obtained another Low‑grade Ling Stone, and Lu Hou's smile could not be restrained.

"Alright."

The Spirit Stones he earned today are enough to equal his annual income.

Cloud Hero Hall

It is a modest yet lavishly decorated small pavilion within Wood Flood City.

"Fellow cultivator, would you like to lease a place for cultivation?"

Only one person guards the Cloud Hero Hall: an elder with an ethereal bearing, white hair draped over his shoulders, white beard to his belly, possessing a Foundation Establishment later stage cultivation; when he saw Yunhe, who displayed a mid‑stage Foundation Establishment, he was fairly courteous.

"May I ask your name, fellow cultivator?" the elder asked with a smile, handing over a cup of spirit tea.

Yunhe bowed, "I am Feng Daoist. Lately I feel my cultivation is constrained, so I seek a secluded place to refine my cultivation further."

Hearing this, the elder raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised, and said, "Then I must congratulate you in advance on advancing to the later stage of Foundation Establishment."

"You're too kind, fellow cultivator; I truly have no other way, so I reluctantly chose a closed‑seclusion."

The elder was not surprised; after all, he has seen dozens, if not a hundred, cultivators stuck at a bottleneck who opt for closed‑seclusion.

He only showed a regretful expression and said, "It's just that all the peaks on Horned Flood Island that can satisfy our Foundation Establishment needs already have owners, and those smaller peaks—"

"Oh?"

Yunhe was a little surprised.

His original goal was simply to find an island rich in spiritual energy.

He didn't expect that cultivation sites on Horned Flood Island could also be rented?

All twelve main peaks of Horned Dragon Island already have owners; the highest, Wood Horned Peak, is even the cultivation ground of the island master, Green Horned Daoist. The remaining 168 smaller peaks are also mostly owned, leaving only some more marginal areas where spiritual energy is not so abundant. Fellow Daoist, take a look.

Speaking, he took out a jade-colored book.

It marked the conditions of various mountains and islands: owned ones flashed red light, unowned ones flashed white light, but another part flashed yellow light.

After asking Yunhe, he learned that these places flashing yellow light indicate that cultivators have been away for many years, but their life or death is uncertain.

At the same time, Yunhe discovered that the display on Horn Field Island showed white light, indicating that the cultivator originally stationed there had left or died.

May I choose a Cloud Island?

You want to choose a Cloud Island? the old man said, quite surprised.

How come?

Hehe, fellow Daoist may not know, if you choose a Cloud Island, the price will naturally be much cheaper, but the cultivator stationed there must bear responsibility for the island's safety and deal with disturbances from cloud beasts. With your cultivation base it would not be difficult, though it would be somewhat troublesome, which might conflict with your idea of secluded closed-door cultivation. The old man laughed as he explained.

Moreover, the spiritual energy on Cloud Islands is generally ordinary, with few cultivators willing to go there, so most are directly assigned by Green Horned Daoist; of course, renting is also possible.

Yunhe showed a look of sudden realization.

He had confirmed the spiritual energy on Horn Field Island; it barely reached the level of a first-stage upper-grade spirit vein, which is naturally insufficient for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

But he has a Gathering Spirit Array plus a Gathering Spirit Pearl, which should be able to raise the spiritual energy of his cave dwelling and surroundings to the level of a second-stage lower-grade or even middle-grade spirit vein.

Although not as good as in the Qingzong Sect, it is sufficient.

The place he intends to cultivate is not just for cultivation; he also needs to raise spirit bees, set up corpse-refining, and even breed poison insects.

These demonic arts, of course, are better known by as few people as possible.

While in the Qingzong Sect he already felt severely constrained; now he naturally wants to choose a spacious place so he can act without worry.

His idea of separately cultivating the spirit bees into a combat swarm and a honey-gathering swarm would also be easier to operate.

"No problem, I have ways to handle these issues," Yunhe said after pursing his lips and pondering for a moment.

Then fellow Daoist may choose freely among the Cloud Islands flashing white light.

The old man glanced at Yunhe, guessing that Yunhe was among the few who dislike socializing, a diligent recluse.

After all, if one were on Horned Dragon Island, cultivation is one aspect, but one could also come into contact with more peers and even higher-stage cultivators, increasing social interaction and building connections.

Connections are also an important asset for cultivators.

"Then Horn Field Island it is," Yunhe said without much hesitation.

Two hundred Spirit Stones, twenty years.

That's not expensive.

He decisively paid four hundred Low-grade Ling Stones and rented it for forty years.

He received a token from the old man's hand; this token can control some simple arrays set up on the island.

If he feels the arrays are insufficient, Yunhe can add and arrange them himself.

At the same time, Yunhe must submit a strand of his mana into the old man's book; it serves no other purpose, only to monitor life or death.

Thus.

Yunhe thus became the master of Horn Field Island.

This was much simpler than he had imagined.

If one wanted to obtain such a spirit vein location in the Ten Domains region, it surely wouldn't be achievable with just these Spirit Stones.

Even if one had to bear the security issues of a Cloud Island, if it were in the Ten Domains, there would likely be countless families flocking over.

From this one can see that the overall resources of the Cloud Upper Realm should be far richer than the Eastern Realm, at least much more abundant than the Ten Domains region.

No wonder there are so many powerful cultivators.

After satisfactorily completing this planning, Yunhe did not linger long on Horned Dragon Island; he piloted his boat straight back to Horn Field Island.

(End of Chapter)