Chapter 149

Exploring in the vast cloud sea is obviously not an easy task.

So Yunhe took the island with the teleportation array as his center, first flying a hundred li in one direction; if he encountered nothing, he returned and flew in another direction.

After flying around, he saw no islands, not even a person.

But he discovered something unusual in the cloud sea.

Hovering above the clouds, Yunhe watched the fish, trapped by his spiritual power and constantly struggling—let's just call it a fish.

Because this fish actually grew a pair of wings densely covered with fish scales!

In fact, it wasn't just this winged fish; Yunhe also discovered shrimp and crab that could move freely in the cloud sea.

If that were all, treating the cloud sea as a sea would be plausible, but in the cloud sea Yunhe also saw birds without legs yet covered in fish scales.

These are not demonic beasts, with no spiritual power fluctuations at all; they are merely the most ordinary creatures in the cloud sea.

For a moment, the creatures of the cloud sea made him keenly feel the wonder of the cultivation world.

With a bit of curiosity, Yunhe finally dove into the layered, undulating cloud sea during one of his returns to the island with the teleportation array.

The hazy cloud layer resembled white mist, like water vapor; after descending a certain distance, he touched the soil layer that had spread down from that island.

Avoiding the soil layer, as he continued downward he felt the air grow thinner with depth, while the clouds became denser; Yunhe seemed to feel a strange force hindering his descent.

Moreover, Yunhe could faintly sense that if he kept going deeper, he would very likely encounter a danger he could not resist.

He even sensed a trace of thunderous power.

After careful consideration, he ended this exploration.

But the great differences between the Upper Cloud Realm and the Eastern Realm aroused in him a strong curiosity about this place.

After several fruitless searches outward, Yunhe had no choice but to expand the scope of his exploration.

Finally.

After three days of continuous searching, at a distance over a thousand li southeast of the teleportation array island, he encountered the first landmass besides the teleportation array island.

Or it should perhaps be called an island.

However, its area is hundreds of times larger than that of the teleportation array island; a rough estimate puts it at no less than several thousand qing of land.

At first sight stood a high mountain wreathed in clouds and mist, and at the island's edge there was also a port where many mortals were active.

Docked at the port were wooden ships.

But unlike the ships in Yunhe's memory, these vessels at the port, besides sails, also had brackets extending from the hull that vaguely formed wing-like structures.

Moreover, some of the wooden ships appeared damaged in various sizes, and several bare-chested mortals were lying on them, making repairs.

As he approached, some sharp-eyed mortals also saw Yunhe.

Each immediately set aside their tasks, respectfully making a bow to Yunhe, and some exaggerated individuals even dropped to their knees, continuously muttering something.

Most of the mortals here have dark skin, obviously due to the intense sunlight.

On the shore beside the island, many wooden racks were displayed, on which were dried the winged fish Yunhe had seen before, though the varieties were somewhat different.

Yunhe spread out his divine sense.

He detected no cultivators, but felt a decent spiritual energy fluctuation on the island.

He slowly lowered the Flowing Cloud Falcon Boat, and finally made out what these mortals were murmuring.

It was not the language of the Eastern Realm, but it bore a strong resemblance to an ancient tongue he had just seen in the Qingzong Sect's scriptures.

For a Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivator like him, once he found a linguistic entry point, learning a language was still quite simple.

"Where is this?" Yunhe asked after landing the flying boat.

In the crowd, an old man leaning on a cane, supported by a young person, stepped out trembling.

The old man's beard and hair were all white, but he seemed to have some prestige among them; he first gave a shaky bow, then spoke:

"Replying to Immortal Master, this place is Yutian Village of Jiao Island, subordinate to Jiao Island."

Subordinate?

Yunhe asked again: "Does this place have any other Immortal Masters?"

The Immortal Master they spoke of should be someone like him, a cultivator.

After all, to mortals, whether a Qi Refining cultivator or a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they are basically the same.

And if there were a cultivator, one could surely learn more information from them.

Hearing this, the old man dared not withhold anything and hastily said:

"Replying to Immortal Master, Jiao Island originally had an Immortal Master He, but after he left the island five years ago, he never returned."

Upon hearing this, Yunhe faintly furrowed his brow.

But before he could speak again, the old man "plopped" down onto his knees.

Seeing this, the others hurriedly followed suit, each kneeling down.

"What do you mean by this?"

"Please, Immortal Master, save our Yutian Village, save our Jiao Island! Our Yutian Village is willing to offer everything we can as tribute to the Immortal Master; we hope the compassionate Immortal Master will extend a helping hand." The old man wept tears and snot, pleading bitterly.

"Please, Immortal Master, save Yutian Village, save us!"

The other mortals also followed suit, each kneeling on the ground and kowtowing with "thud-thud" sounds.

This sudden scene left Yunhe bewildered; he furrowed his brow, raised a hand, and turned his spiritual power into a silk-like ribbon that stopped the old man from incessantly kowtowing.

Seeing he could no longer kowtow, the old man was startled yet overjoyed, his pleading intensifying; trembling, he produced several low-grade Spirit Stones from his inner pocket.

"Please, Immortal Master, save us."

Yunhe let out a soft sigh and stepped down from the Flowing Cloud Falcon Boat.

It wasn't that he was overly sympathetic; after so many years in the Qingzong Sect, he had long understood that once one set foot on the path of cultivation, mortals had little to do with him.

But he indeed needed this person before him to better understand this place and the Upper Cloud Realm.

At the very least, he needed a rough understanding, not to remain completely in the dark.

【71】

Interpretation: "Of course, whether to help or not depends on whether he has this ability; if it's too troublesome or dangerous, after understanding what he wants, leaving some Spirit Stones as payment will do."

We need to keep meaning. Use "Spirit Stone" per glossary.

Translate: "Of course, whether to help or not depends on whether he has this ability; if it's too troublesome or dangerous, after understanding what he wants, leaving some Spirit Stones as payment will do."

Make sure it's one line.

We can't possibly talk here, can we?

【75】

We need Yunhe per glossary. So: "The old man immediately realized and hurriedly invited Yunhe to go to a wooden house inside the island."

Several hours later.

【78】

eight-immortal table

【80】

This place is called Corner Field Island, a very inconspicuous small island on the vast cloud sea.

【95】

Actually there is no line 【84】 in the list; we skipped. The user had a comment after 【82】 but not a numbered line. So we ignore.

Corner Field Island, Horn Flood Island

Horn Flood Island

Alternatively we could translate as "Jiao Jiao Island" (pinyin) but that's not translating meaning. I'll go with meaning.

Proceed.

【67】 translation: "This place is called Corner Field Island, a very inconspicuous small island on the vast cloud sea."

However, the affiliated Horn Flood Island is different; it is a huge cloud island, hosting a large number of cultivators and even several cities.

cultivator

【100】

Rain Field Village

【106】

Immortal Master He

spirit veins

However, Immortal Master He has not returned since leaving the island five years ago, and Horn Flood Island seems to have no intention of sending another cultivator to garrison it.

【110】

cloud beast

Even recently, that cloud beast seems to have realized there are no cultivators garrisoning Corner Field Island, and it frequently attacks the island, causing many residents to perish in its jaws.

【114】

demonic beast

But he estimates they are probably not strong.

【116】

Above is the information obtained from the old man's account, combined with Yunhe's own speculation and judgment.

【120】

cloud map

It is said to have been passed down from the village's ancestors.

【122】

That is enough.

【124】

Moreover, seeing the numerous black dots of various sizes on the cloud map indicates that Horn Flood Island is surrounded by many cloud islands; combined with the posture of dispatching cultivators to garrison places, he might even have a chance to find an island with decent spiritual energy to cultivate in seclusion.

spiritual energy

【132】

We need to keep quotes? The line includes quotes. We'll translate content inside quotes, but we can keep quotes as part of translation? Probably we should keep the quotation marks as they are part of the line. The instruction: output translation of each line. So we should translate the spoken line, preserving quotes. We'll output: "\"Immortal Master, this is cloud fish; please, please try it. \"".

please, please

Just as Yunhe was pondering, a girl of about seventeen or eighteen, with healthy wheat-colored skin, carefully brought in a plate holding a grilled fish.

grilled fish

【138】

cloud-flow fish, immortal fare, disdain

Yunhe nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

【142】

Tonight,

The girl showed a shy expression, occasionally glancing furtively at Yunhe.

【144】

If the opportunity were a bit better, allowing them to gain even a little bit of cultivation, perhaps their descendants could someday break free from the mortal shackles.

gain even a little bit of cultivation

【148】

As for the old man's and the girl's thoughts, he of course understood them fully.

【150】

When food and clothing are sufficient, one knows honor and disgrace; when granaries are full, one knows propriety.

【154】

Cloud Upper Realm, Eastern Realm

He set down the cup, smiled under the old man's and girl's gazes, and said, "No need. I will take care of the cloud beast that is attacking you."

We need to keep quotes.

【158】

His figure suddenly blurred.

【160】

And as Yunhe left the wooden house, some mortals laboring at the island's harbor fled in panic, for behind them in the cloud sea a ferocious cloud beast was rampaging.

【162】

"Approximately First Stage Middle in strength, but lacking legs and seemingly unable to fly, it cannot reach the island."

"First Stage Middle"

【168】

divine sense

A First Stage Middle demonic beast couldn't even last a single breath before him.

demonic beast

【172】

"Immortal Master has come!"

Now we need to translate each.

That cloud beast also noticed the appearance of Yunhe; it was about to roar, but seemed to sense something, showing a panicked expression and wanting to flee.

But before it could even dive back into the cloud sea, a five-colored sword flashed at a speed it could not possibly react to, piercing its brain.

In an instant, the cloud beast lost all movement, stiffly sliding into the cloud sea.

Seeing this, the people below all knelt down again, many shedding hot tears of excitement.

And Yunhe, who had casually slain that cloud beast, showed little emotional fluctuation; he simply glanced around, confirmed his direction, then summoned the Flowing Cloud Falcon Boat and headed toward Horn Flood Dragon Island.

No matter what, first find the cultivators' gathering place, then consider what comes next.

Watching Yunhe swiftly recede into the distance, the village chief of Yutian Village and that girl both showed expressions of regret.

"This cloud sea is not flat?"

Yunhe, flying toward Horn Flood Dragon Island, felt the change in the cloud sea.

A short-distance flight was not enough to detect the anomaly in the cloud sea, but as Yunhe flew toward Horn Flood Dragon Island, he clearly sensed that the cloud sea was not an endless flat plain, but possessed a certain slope.

If one were to discuss terrain based on the cloud sea...

Horn Field Island is on the lower side, while Horn Flood Dragon Island's terrain is higher.

When Yunhe had flown for a while, after passing several islands of various sizes, he finally saw the so-called "Horn Flood Dragon Island".

This island is undoubtedly much larger than Horn Field Island.

More importantly, the plane on which this island and islands like Horn Field Island lie actually has a fault line spanning over a thousand meters.

A large amount of milky white vapor, like clouds and mist, flows down from the island, resembling a huge waterfall, quite spectacular.

And when Yunhe rose to the same height as Horn Flood Dragon Island, he discovered that the other end of the island was another boundless sea of clouds.

"In other words, is the entire realm above the clouds structured like a pyramid?"

"Put another way, could the realm above the clouds also be considered as the first heaven, second heaven, third heaven?"

Such a sight made Yunhe, this "outsider", feel quite novel, and also generated more speculation.

(End of chapter)