Chapter 413

After the Formless Sword Lord left, Yunhe immediately announced his seclusion.

Although he and Lord Wuxiang Sword never explicitly said it, in fact, whether in their view or in outsiders' view, Yunhe and the forces he represents—Baihao Tower, Snow Sword Sect, Listening Fragrance Tower, Ice Snow Pavilion, Baihua Valley, Wood Spirit Sect, and various other big and small powers—have all chosen to align with the Weapon Alliance of the Wuxiang Sword Sect.

Still, quite a few people expressed surprise at this.

Although picking sides is perfectly normal in this great integration of human cultivators, even the supposedly neutral Baihao Tower could not avoid it.

However.

To be frank, the Weapon Alliance is currently the weakest side among the human cultivator alliance.

The Dao Alliance is led by the head of the orthodox path, Tai Xu Zhengyi Gate, which has integrated most orthodox sects, and its strength should not be underestimated.

As for the Demonic Alliance, it goes without saying that Hei River Valley now basically represents all demonic sects, and its influence may even slightly exceed that of the Dao Alliance.

If it weren't for the massive impact of the Abyss race's assault on the Demon Realm, the Demonic Alliance would absolutely be the side with the greatest say in the current human cultivator alliance.

Such strength, if the Five Capitals were not closely cooperating, would likely leave the other three factions weaker by a head.

Even the Five Capitals possess more influence than the Weapon Alliance.

Moreover, the lineage of the demonic path's Moluo Sect originates from the alien Asura clan.

As for the Xu Xu Daoist Yunhe of Tai Xu Zhengyi Gate, he cannot fathom this person, only feeling that the other is extremely skilled at disguise; what exactly lies beneath that carefree Daoist appearance, no one can say.

Because the lineage of the Immortal Heaven Palace, if traced back, originates from the ancient immortal descendants, which is also one of the alien races.

Although the Wuxiang Sword Sect takes the lead and has the title of the Eastern Border's top sword cultivator, Lord Wuxiang Sword, the sect forces under its alliance are still considerably weaker than those of the other several factions.

One reason for choosing to align with the Wuxiang Sword Sect is that Lord Wuxiang Sword gave him a feeling that, among the several late-stage Yuan Ying great cultivators he had seen at the time, he was relatively the best.

Needless to say, the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor; moreover, Yunhe recently killed his son, and the evidence is held in the hands of the Heavenly Corpse Gu.

Among them, Fengdu City has the late-stage Yuan Ying cultivator Yellow Spring Old Ancestor seated in command; the capital of the Qing Kingdom also has a late-stage Yuan Ying great cultivator; the remaining few immortal cities, such as Sijun City, also have the two lay practitioners Qingmei and Shanju, who together can barely resist a late-stage Yuan Ying cultivator.

On the contrary, Lord Wuxiang Sword, after fighting him and experiencing his sword intent and sword qi, Yunhe still prefers to interact with those he knows better.

Such as the Moluo Sect and the Immortal Heaven Palace, which are also two of the five major sects of the Eastern Border cultivation world, they did not participate.

The Rakshasa Old Devil gave Yunhe an extremely overbearing feeling; if he were to lean toward the Demonic Alliance, he would definitely suffer severe restraint from that side.

However, Yunhe's and the forces he represents' alignment has, to a certain extent, greatly increased the prestige of the Weapon Alliance.

Although the Five Capitals represent only five immortal cities, the strength possessed by these five cities should not be underestimated.

Of course, these actually have little impact on Yunhe.

To be frank.

In such a big environment, the Weapon Alliance appears relatively much weaker.

The big and small forces now integrated are merely a part of the human cultivator side.

The Immortal Heaven Palace directly announced its closure, and the Moluo Sect clearly stated it would not interfere.

Even if the Immortal Heaven Palace and the Moluo Sect wanted to intervene, they might not be trusted or accepted by other sects; it would be better to simply close their mountain gates, which would also save a lot of trouble.

Among those that count, aside from the Wuxiang Sword Sect, only the Drunken Immortal Sect and the Hidden Sword Mountain possess mid-stage Yuan Ying cultivators seated in command.

After all, a sword cultivator's sword intent is basically impossible to disguise.

On the other hand, it is also because the Weapon Alliance is inherently weak; joining it results in the least restraint, and one might even obtain considerable benefits thereby.

But that is a story for later.

Nowadays, Yunhe, after briefly explaining some matters, entered the secluded cultivation chamber.

"The 'assimilation' process of the second Yuan Ying has sped up considerably."

In the cultivation chamber.

Yunhe, seated cross-legged upon the congealed fat ice-pure lotus, felt his own changes and murmured aloud.

"It seems that fighting, frequently consuming mana, is beneficial to the 'assimilation' of the second Yuan Ying with one's own Yuan Ying."

"Although the second Yuan Ying is good, once it condenses, it will be equivalent to having to bear the cultivation needs of two Yuan Ying cultivators simultaneously, which is a major problem."

After all, the second Yuan Ying possesses completely independent thought and ability, can cultivate entirely different techniques, and possess different magical treasures, even a natal magical treasure.

"Forget it, there's no need to rush; anyway, the greatest role of the second Yuan Ying's condensation for me is still to assist cultivation."

With that thought, Yunhe gathered his scattered thoughts, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state.

It took three days.

After thoroughly calming his mind.

Yunhe took out the fire-attribute Li Fire Peacock essence blood he had obtained from Lord Wuxiang Sword.

A whole bottle.

Enough for him to condense a phantom of the fire-element spiritual body.

"The five elements generate each other; wood aids fire!"

Using the secret method from the "Great Longevity Five Elements True Scripture," he refined this bottle of essence blood, ultimately transforming it into a flapping-winged firebird that drilled into his qi sea dantian.

Yao Shou Shijie

Huanhu Dao, Baibao Tower

"Brother Yun, the matter you asked me to inquire about finally has some clues."

Baring his arms, revealing knotted, bulging muscles, the burly man could not wait any longer; he picked up the wine bowl on the table and gulped it down in one go.

"Hmph, I also contributed quite a bit this time."

Wearing a set of scarlet tight leather armor that outlined a bewitching figure, Zhuan Chou Jun let out a light hum and spoke as if seeking credit.

"Oh? Finally there are some clues?"

Seated at the main seat, Yunhe, clothed in a black formal robe, his eyes lit up instantly: "Where is Yun Chou Mountain?"

Yun Chou Mountain

It is the place where, last time he went deep into the Abyss Gully, he saw the Spirit Turtle Old Ancestor's return to origin, suppressed at the bottom of the gully; it told Yunhe that if he wanted to know the secrets of this realm, or that Luo Tian Xuanse gourd, he should go to a certain place.

And that place is called "Yun Chou Mountain."

Just that.

All Yunhe knew from Guiyuan was just that name; in such a vast world of yao beasts, how was he to seek this so-called Sorrowcloud Mountain?

Thus.

He had no choice but to mobilize the forces under his Huanhu Dao and his network of connections to try to find Sorrowcloud Mountain.

After searching for so many years, he finally learned from Xiong Wuji that there were some leads; to say he wasn't delighted would be false.

"It is said that in a place roughly a million li away from here, there stands a towering mountain that pierces the clouds and reaches a height of ten thousand zhang, with nearly half of its body lying within the cloud layer; I do not know if this is the Sorrowcloud Mountain you are seeking, Brother Yun."

Since Xiong Wuji came here to Yunhe's place and purchased a large batch of alcohol, he has become completely addicted to it; after arriving at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, he has already drunk more than two jars.

It is only here at Yunhe's place that he can drink so freely.

Hearing this, Yunhe pursed his lips.

"Is this 'Sorrowcloud'?"

But he also had to admit that, no matter how vast the yao beast world's territory, a mountain reaching ten thousand zhang in height is absolutely extremely rare.

"Furthermore, it is said that on that mountain there is a heavenly pool, and within that heavenly pool dwell many turtle-type yao beasts."

Lord Zhuanchou added.

Hearing this, Yunhe's eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light.

"If merely saying that a single mountain reaching ten thousand zhang in height is not enough to prove that this mountain is the Sorrowcloud Mountain, then combining it with the turtle-type yao beasts inhabiting that heavenly pool makes it highly likely that this is indeed the Sorrowcloud Mountain spoken of by the Old Spirit Turtle Guiyuan."

"Brother Yun, how about it?" Xiong Wuji, seeing Yunhe's expression, asked with a hint of satisfaction.

Yunhe picked up his wine cup and said with a smile:

"This matter, many thanks to the two fellow Daoists. Regardless of whether that mountain is the Sorrowcloud Mountain I am seeking, I will certainly repay you handsomely!"

Having said that, he drained the wine in the cup, let out a loud laugh, flicked his sleeve, and two bottles of elixir fell respectively before Xiong Wuji and Lord Zhuanchou.

Seeing the small jade bottles, both yao's eyes lit up; they hurriedly put them away, looking as if they feared Yunhe might regret it.

Their interactions with Yunhe were not just a day or two; they had conducted many trades, and their demand for various things had gradually diminished, but whenever Yunhe produced something, they would certainly strive to obtain it in exchange.

That is elixir.

They knew without looking that the elixir in these two jade bottles was Feeding Elixir.

Although it is a third-level late-stage elixir, because its potency is strong, combined with Yunhe's highly refined refinement technique, and because they consume little, it still has a great effect for them.

If the two yao knew that these two bottles of elixir were actually refined from a single third-level late-stage yao beast's inner core, they would not know what to think.

After all, Yunhe had obtained dozens of third-level late-stage yao beast inner cores from them, and had already thoroughly stripped them clean.

"Brother Yun is just straightforward."

"Many thanks, Daoist Yun."

After putting away the elixir, Xiong Wuji and Lord Zhuanchou both said happily:

"Two fellow Daoists, this map." Yunhe said with deep meaning.

"Oh oh!"

Xiong Wuji immediately reacted, hurriedly taking out a piece of hide on which a map was drawn—let's call it a map, albeit a very rough one.

Seeing Yunhe's strange expression, Xiong Wuji explained: "Brother Yun, the place is roughly a million li away; we have never been there ourselves, only having a general direction, so Brother Yun, please make do with looking at it."

Yunhe's mouth corner twitched.

But there was nothing else to be done.

A million li.

Not to mention Xiong Wuji and them; even he, without a teleportation array, has never crossed such a distant distance.

It is only now that his cultivation base has reached the fourth level; otherwise, he might not even dare to venture out for such a distance.

Moreover.

Although the Lu Shan turtle has died, that does not mean this place is completely peaceful; if he wishes to go far afield, the safety of Huanhu Dao must be properly arranged first.

Otherwise, he might go out and return to find his home robbed, which would be amusing.

"No problem." Yunhe could only say this: "I suppose if we encounter some other fellow Daoists on the road, we should be able to ask for directions."

(End of chapter)