Chapter 148

Suddenly.

After adjusting his breath for a while, Yunhe suddenly opened his eyes.

He turned his head and looked in a certain direction.

It was almost instinctual; he sensed something was off.

A vigilance arising from his spiritual sense.

Yunhe quickly and carefully recalled the events involving Xiao Shanhe.

He believed he had left no trace; he carefully scanned Xiao Shanhe's storage bag with his divine sense and found no remnants, and for safety he didn't even take Xiao Shanhe's spirit beast bag, but destroyed it directly.

But for some unknown reason, this instinctive spiritual sense of danger made him feel it growing stronger.

'Don't underestimate the abilities of a Golden Core cultivator; perhaps it's a tracking ability I don't know about?'

As a cultivator, one must never underestimate one's spiritual sense; the stronger the cultivation base, the sharper the spiritual sense.

Moreover, his divine sense is comparable to that of an early Golden Core cultivator, so his spiritual sense is undoubtedly even more accurate.

With that thought, Yunhe gazed heavily at the ultra-long-distance teleportation array.

A brief hesitation.

He quickly approached the teleportation array, took out a few Spirit Stones from his storage bracelet, then thought better of it, put those Low-grade Ling Stones away, and took out Medium-grade Ling Stones.

After his previous exchange with Shen Xingrui, he estimated that reactivating this ultra-long-distance teleportation array would be impossible relying solely on Low-grade Ling Stones.

He carefully placed the Medium-grade Ling Stones one by one into the array's grooves, twelve in total, worth twelve hundred Low-grade Ling Stones.

Then came a 'humm'; the entire teleportation array emitted a dull sound, followed immediately by a huge surge of Spiritual Power.

'It's usable!'

Seeing this, Yunhe felt a sudden joy.

Such teleportation arrays are bidirectional; if either side is destroyed, the array becomes ineffective.

Judging from the current situation, both sides of this array are clearly intact.

Under his gaze, the center of the array burst forth with a transparent beam of light, squeezing the pool water to both sides.

In the reflection of the light‑blue pool water, ripples of a strange pattern spread.

'Is this the rhythm of the void?'

Watching the beam grow larger, Yunhe muttered softly.

If it weren't for the pool water here masking it, the Spiritual Power fluctuation from activating this ultra-long-distance teleportation array alone would cause quite a commotion on the Gobi desert.

Yunhe took out the 'Cloud Feather'.

Under the faint translucent glow emanating from the ultra-long-distance teleportation array, the originally pure‑white Cloud Feather emitted a seven‑colored radiance; Yunhe then channeled his mana into it, and the feathers on it puffed out like cotton candy.

More and more white down appeared, gradually enveloping his entire body.

'Indeed it is the Cloud Upper Realm's "Great Translocation Token."'

Originally it was merely a guess; relying on the Dragon Scale Pattern he had barely confirmed it, but only now did he finally become certain that this Cloud Feather, though odd in appearance, indeed functions exactly like the Great Translocation Token.

As the white down wrapped him more tightly, Yunhe standing in place hesitated.

He could not be sure what the Cloud Upper Realm on the other side of the ultra-long-distance teleportation array was like; facing the unknown always makes one hesitate.

But after only a brief hesitation, his spiritual sense sensed danger drawing nearer.

Furthermore, that heart‑pounding sense of danger, given his current condition, would likely be extremely dangerous if he encountered it.

'At worst, I'll go take a look; if there really is danger or it's unsuitable, I can just come back—nothing more than wasting a few Spirit Stones, just to avoid this trouble.'

He guessed that this sense of danger most likely came from the remaining Golden Core cultivators of the Spirit Beast Sect, since their target was clear and their killing intent strong, which made his spiritual sense so acute.

With that thought, Yunhe hesitated no longer.

He leapt into the halo of light of the teleportation array.

'Cloud Upper Realm.'

Yunhe's lips moved, and he softly uttered three words.

The next second.

Light on the teleportation array surged; Yunhe's figure, wrapped in the Cloud Feather, vanished in an instant as the array emitted a low hum.

At the same time.

On the Gobi desert, a streak of swift light came to an abrupt halt.

It was indeed the Golden Core cultivator surnamed Jin from the Spirit Beast Sect.

He held a compass in his hand.

But what made his expression grim was that the compass, which had previously pointed a clear direction, now showed no movement at all.

Such a situation could only mean that either the other party had erased their traces, or they had gone beyond the compass's sensing range.

The Jin‑surnamed Golden Core cultivator's expression flickered, yet he did not give up, flying a distance in the direction the compass had earlier indicated while sweeping with his full divine sense; finding nothing, he inevitably sighed and abandoned the pursuit.

Now that the Spirit Beast Sect lies in ruins, even if a Golden Core cultivator within the sect were slain, he could not afford to waste more time here.

To rebuild the Spirit Beast Sect, the pressure and responsibility he must bear are undoubtedly the greatest.

'Waa—'

Having just stepped out of the teleportation array, Yunhe felt his legs go weak, followed immediately by a bout of vertigo; unable to think of anything else, he collapsed onto the ground and began to vomit.

This is the aftereffect of traversing an ultra‑long‑distance spatial transfer; although Yunhe was protected by the Cloud Feather, preventing him from being crushed by violent spatial pressure during the transfer, he still inevitably experienced severe discomfort.

After vomiting, Yunhe sitting on the ground felt his head extremely dazed.

Fortunately, having anticipated the side effects of using the ultra‑long‑distance teleportation array, he endured the discomfort, crawled to the still‑glowing array, took out a jade slip, made an imprint of the entire array, and without hesitation drew a long sword.

A flash of silver light.

On the teleportation array appeared an extremely smooth, flat cut, and a corner of the array broke off as well.

The light that had originally been blazing forth also came to an abrupt halt.

Just by cutting off such a corner and adding the rubbing of the teleportation array pattern, Yunhe is confident he can repair it.

Doing this is also to prevent pursuers on the other side of the teleportation array; even if they likewise possess a Great Shift Order, they cannot chase over.

After putting away that corner of the teleportation array, Yunhe finally sat down firmly on the ground, meanwhile easing the dizziness and vertigo brought by the teleportation array, while observing the surroundings.

This seems to be a cave; the light inside is very dim.

However, on the rock wall not far away, a fissure lets in a few weak beams of light, indicating that this cave is not as deeply buried underground as the other end.

Moreover, the ground here is covered with thick dust, with no sign of any biological activity, obviously there is no danger.

After resting a while longer, the drowsiness in his head finally faded away gradually.

Although his wounds had not fully healed, he still prepared to get up first to assess the situation here.

Only by ensuring he is completely in a safe environment can he truly put his mind at ease.

He cautiously approached the rock wall and used the Earth Escape Technique to walk out smoothly.

Just as he left the cave.

A biting breeze blew toward him, carrying a slight piercing chill that refreshed his spirit.

His half‑squinting eyes slowly opened; a round scorching sun hung high in the azure vault, continuously emitting refreshing light and heat.

He looked around.

When all the scenery entered his view, Yunhe was completely stunned.

As far as he could see, it was a vast expanse of white.

It was not a snowy icy land, but a sea of clouds!

Everywhere were vast, surging seas of clouds, a white expanse that seemed endless.

And the place he was at then was merely an inconspicuous island in the vast cloud sea, like a tiny insignificant island in a boundless ocean.

Yunhe stared blankly for a long while before slowly coming to his senses.

"Is this the Cloud‑Above Realm?"

He finally understood what the so‑called Cloud‑Above Realm was.

It truly lived up to its name in brief— a land situated above the cloud sea.

"Could it be that beneath the cloud sea lies the eastern border of the cultivation world?"

Yunhe couldn't help but think that.

But upon second thought, he felt it was unlikely.

If that were the case, how could the eastern border have never shown even a hint of information about the Cloud‑Above Realm?

There will always be some who cannot resist curiosity and venture down into the cloud sea.

Yet in the Qingzong Sect annals he had browsed, there was no information at all concerning the Cloud‑Above Realm.

Afterward he thought of another question.

How to leave this place?

Gazing in all directions, there was nothing but endless cloud sea.

"From some of the words spoken by Elder Yunmeng, it is not hard to deduce that the Cloud‑Above Realm should also be a vast territory, with not few cultivators."

Actually, to him, whether it is the Cloud‑Above Realm or the eastern border makes no difference, because even if he were in the eastern border, having left the Ten Domains territory, he would be completely clueless about everywhere.

He pondered for a long while.

Yunhe returned to the cave once again.

Although the spiritual qi here is extremely thin, for him who still has wounds, restoring his own condition is still the top priority; after recovery he can slowly explore the surroundings.

He first confirmed that the link between his Cultivator Body and Demon Beast Body remained normal as usual, then he set up a few simple formations and released the remaining some Red‑Ring Gold‑Spotted Wasps as sentries.

After doing that, he then took out an elixir, swallowed it, and entered a meditative state.

Half a month later.

Yunhe, who had finally fully recovered from his injuries, awoke from meditation.

His recovery, given his current late Foundation Establishment cultivation base, plus a Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse comparable to a Golden Core cultivator, gave him considerable confidence.

But before that, he first took out Xiao Shanhe's storage bag.

A Golden Core cultivator's storage bag would surely give him some good things, right?

Setting aside the Vermilion Bird Dharma Ring that left a deep impression on Yunhe, this magic treasure naturally is not low in value; it is probably also the most valuable thing on Xiao Shanhe's person.

After expending considerable effort to wipe the imprint from the storage bag and infusing it with his divine sense, the first thing he saw was a large pile of spirit stones.

Just the medium-grade spirit stones alone numbered one hundred fifty, equivalent to fifteen thousand low-grade spirit stones.

Adding some scattered low-grade spirit stones, the total spirit stone haul reached seventeen thousand three hundred.

Besides spirit stones, Yunhe also found three inner cores of second‑tier beasts in the storage bag.

Unfortunately they are not third‑tier, but they are still a good choice for refining Marrow Yuan Elixir.

Afterward Yunhe found many bottles and jars; a small portion were various elixirs, more were inscribed with the food of certain demon beasts or spirit insects, and finally a tiny portion contained many spirit insect eggs, for now it is uncertain what kind of spirit insect they are, nor whether they are viable.

It is obvious that Xiao Shanhe had also attempted to cultivate spirit insects, but due to limitations of his cultivation method he failed to raise a large‑scale swarm.

The remainder consisted mostly of various kinds of materials.

There were demon beast materials, various spirit plants, ores, etc., and even some third‑tier materials among them, clearly valuable.

These materials are undoubtedly rarer than spirit stones, and besides the Vermilion Bird Dharma Ring they are the most valuable things.

Finally there were many jade slips.

There were the Beast‑Taming Sect's inherited beast‑taming method, also Xiao Shanhe's own cultivation technique, plus jade slips recording the types, characteristics, and habits of demon beasts, even including Xiao Shanhe's insights on raising demon beasts, etc.

Among these jade slips, there was a method of refining artifacts that Yunhe found quite interesting.

That jade slip records a special magic treasure called the Beast‑Enslavement Ring.

According to the jade slip's description, this treasure can forcibly enslave and control demon beasts; it is indeed powerful and domineering.

Although refining is not easy, and its use also comes with many limitations, it is still an excellent treasure for facing demonic beasts.

However, what surprised Yunhe most was that among the many jade slips, he found one recording the "Thousand Insects Myriad Worms Art".

After browsing through it, he discovered that the "Thousand Insects Myriad Worms Art" in that jade slip was merely a simplified version of the true technique, and moreover only the first layer of that simplification, far removed from the genuine "Thousand Insects Myriad Worms Art".

But even so, one cannot deny that it is still a decent cultivation method.

No wonder Xiao Shanhe is so obsessed with the genuine "Thousand Insects Myriad Worms Art".

It must be the cultivation method that the Wei family, to which Wei Ming originally belonged, offered when they defected to the Spirit Beast Sect.

"It's a pity there is only one magic treasure."

After transferring the items from Xiao Shanhe's storage bag into his own storage ring, Yunhe sighed silently.

But he also understood that magic treasures differ from spiritual artifacts.

Magic treasures are not only far harder to refine than spiritual artifacts, but also demand much higher-quality materials.

A Jie Dan cultivator can refine a magic treasure into a natal magic treasure through a special method; not only can it be stored directly within the body, but one can also continually temper it with their true essence day and night to increase its power, and the longer the tempering, the greater the treasure's might.

At the same time, a natal magic treasure can exert its full power only in the hands of its owner; even if someone else obtains and refines it, at most they can draw out seventy percent of its original might.

This is also why the Black Wood Seal falls far short of the Vermilion Bird Ring.

Therefore, for a Jie Dan cultivator, it is not the quantity but the quality of magic treasures that matters; a natal magic treasure tempered day and night is undoubtedly the strongest in might.

This Vermilion Bird Ring is clearly Xiao Shanhe's natal magic treasure.

As for Yunhe, who has now reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he too must begin planning the refinement of his natal magic treasure.

Otherwise, even if he breaks through to Jie Dan, without a natal magic treasure he will surely be at a disadvantage when facing other Jie Dan cultivators.

After finishing inventory of Xiao Shanhe's storage bag,

Yunhe then simply inventoried Xu Liang's storage bag.

Compared to Xiao Shanhe's Jie Dan–stage storage bag, Xu Liang's naturally gave Yunhe little surprise.

An ordinary mid–Foundation Establishment cultivator's storage bag.

Having done these, he then prepared to formally leave the island.

According to his plan, he would first find a place with decent spiritual energy to settle in, then gradually learn about the situation in the Cloud Upper Realm.

If this place is indeed unsuitable for his cultivation, he would wait a while and then return to the Eastern Border.

(End of chapter)