Chapter 321: Floating Cloud Ascendant

I didn't expect Pangzi to have such painting skill.

Looking at the simple, ordinary scroll hanging on the wall, Yunhe couldn't help but speak.

The old friend is gone.

This poop is something every cultivator has to face, right?

Through Qian Minqing's account, Yunhe finally learned.

When the demonic sect invaded years ago, Pangzi fled together with the Qingzong Sect; although they later got separated, he still seized the chance to begin Foundation Establishment.

But after successfully establishing the foundation, he was injured in a mission, and his cultivation remained at the early Foundation Establishment stage, never advancing further.

Yunhe tucked away his inner sigh.

Since you called me 'uncle', I, for my part, won't refuse to show some regard.

He paused briefly, then took out several spirit talismans and a talisman treasure.

It's not that he doesn't want to give a treasure.

It's just that an ordinary man bearing a precious gem is still at fault; if he gave Qian Minqing a treasure she couldn't handle, it would not only be of no benefit but might harm her.

Moreover, with his Foundation Establishment cultivation he cannot wield a treasure freely, so it's better to give her some third‑grade spirit talismans and a talisman treasure confiscated from some Jie Dan cultivator.

For Qian Minqing, who is only at early Foundation Establishment, these items can greatly boost her survivability.

Besides that,

Yunhe also produced a second‑generation Cloud‑Dodge Talisman, one he had drawn earlier but not yet used.

"In a critical moment, this talisman can save your life."

"Thank you, uncle!"

Qian Minqing could not contain her joy, knelt on the ground and performed a grand salute to Yunhe.

After doing that, Yunhe finally looked back at Li Yunhua and the other two, and said, "Let's go."

Later, upon arriving at Qingzong Hall, after Li Yunhua and the other two gave an explanation, he understood the reason behind Huaxin's "visit".

It turned out that Huaxin was exceptionally talented, having already cultivated to the Late Jie Dan Stage, making her the highest‑level cultivator in the Qingzong Sect.

However.

Given the Qingzong Sect's foundation, it was clearly insufficient to support Huaxin's potential to break through to the Nascent Soul, especially after the sect had relocated its mountain gate once.

Therefore, to seek a Nascent Soul opportunity, Huaxin left the Qingzong Sect to venture into secret realms and dangerous places, hoping to gain celestial fate and accelerate her cultivation to the Jie Dan Perfection.

During one secret realm expedition, Huaxin met Sun Qing, the junior valley master of Baihua Valley, and the two addressed each other as sisters.

During that period, Huaxin, at Sun Qing's invitation, went to Baihua Valley as a guest, supposedly to see a rare precious flower bloom and watch the valley's blossoms.

After hearing that, Yunhe's expression did not change; he simply asked lightly:

"Is that all?"

"Yes, senior."

Li Yunhua respectfully bowed once, not minding that he was actually younger, having once been a disciple of the Qingzong Sect.

In the cultivation world, strength is paramount.

Upon hearing that, Yunhe slowly squinted.

If that's all, why did Li Yunhua and the other two wear those expressions earlier?

He sat in the chief seat, one hand supporting his head, the other lightly tapping the table.

Thump, thump.

Those sounds seemed to reverberate in the three's hearts.

After a moment, Yunhe spoke again.

"Since you know I once came from the Qingzong Sect, out of past ties I will give you another chance. Otherwise, I will come and see myself."

His words were already devoid of feeling, even somewhat cold.

Facing the aura he exuded, sweat beaded on the three; even Liu Hong, the sect leader in late Foundation Establishment, felt his legs tremble uncontrollably.

Finally, Li Yunhua cautiously revealed what Yunhe truly wanted to know.

It turned out that Baihua Valley in Wood Country was indeed entangled with the demonic sect.

He feared that Yunhe, having once been hunted by demonic cultivators and forced to flee, would harbor strong hostility toward the demonic sect, and that the valley's ties would redirect anger toward the Qingzong Sect.

Moreover, the rumors of Baihua Valley's link to demonic cultivators lacked concrete evidence, so he kept silent.

After hearing that, Yunhe was at a loss for words.

But on second thought,

This place is not Wu Country, nor the Cloud‑Above Realm; although the great war between righteous and demonic sects is calming and their main conflict has temporarily eased, it does not mean righteous and demonic cultivators here can coexist peacefully.

Thus Li Yunhua's worry is understandable.

In fact, Yunhe holds no strong prejudice against demonic cultivators beyond needing caution against their strange secret techniques.

After all, he has mastered quite a few demonic arts.

And he fully understands Baihua Valley's entanglement with the demonic sect.

Nowadays Wood Country is practically adjacent to demonic sects; if one wishes to avoid direct conflict, some contact is inevitable.

Nevertheless, his earlier worry turned out to be unnecessary.

"Looks like I need to make a trip to Baihua Valley?"

Yunhe rubbed his chin, thinking to himself.

Seeing he no longer raged, the three breathed a sigh of relief; after a brief pause, Li Yunhua asked, "Senior Yun, are you here about a cultivation technique?"

"Hm?"

Hearing that, Yunhe glanced at him, a bit surprised.

Li Yunhua hurriedly added, "About a hundred years ago, Junior Sister Hua mentioned you to the old Daoist; she said if you were still alive and your cultivation smooth, you might… If she were not in the sect then, she would ask the old Daoist to tell you four words—'Floating Cloud Ascendant'."

Floating Cloud Shangren?

Huaxin could guess that Yunhe would still come back, which was somewhat beyond his expectation.

Moreover, from hearing her words, it seems one could obtain the continuation of his cultivation method from this 'Floating Cloud Shangren', or rather obtain a channel?

"Senior, you may not know, this 'Floating Cloud Shangren' has long passed away; he was a cultivator thousands of years ago who made both righteous and demonic cultivators temporarily avoid his sharpness." Li Yunhua saw Yunhe's doubtful expression and explained.

"What does that have to do with my cultivation method?"

"Floating Cloud Shangren devoted himself to the Dao, but his abode, the Floating Cloud Observatory, was merely a small Daoist temple with no profound inheritance; however, Floating Cloud Shangren possessed extraordinary talent, self-created a cultivation method, and cultivated to an extremely profound realm."

"So, were his cultivation methods seized from various sects?" Yunhe asked with a slightly strange expression.

But thinking about it, Huaxin's and Floating Cloud Shangren's practices are somewhat similar.

Both are devoted to various cultivation methods.

Is Huaxin also self-creating a cultivation method?

"Cough cough." Li Yunhua lightly coughed, hesitatingly said: "Not entirely seized; many were obtained by Floating Cloud Shangren from various secret realms, strange lands, and dangerous places."

Yunhe nodded, resting his chin, and fell into thought.

"In that case, Huaxin probably also doesn't know the exact location of the 'Great Longevity Five Elements True Scripture' or the 'Great Five Elements Sect'."

Not knowing is normal, after all Huaxin is merely a Golden Core cultivator.

"Floating Cloud Shangren. It seems if one wants to obtain the continuation of the 'Great Longevity Five Elements True Scripture', this Floating Cloud Shangren will be a breakthrough."

"Moreover, from his deeds, it's not impossible that this Floating Cloud Shangren actually entered the secret realm of the Great Five Elements Sect."

Regardless, at least we have obtained a direction.

Although, seeking the secret realm of the Great Five Elements Sect and seeking news of Floating Cloud Shangren are both searches.

But the Great Five Elements Sect is a powerful sect that perished tens of thousands of years ago, while Floating Cloud Shangren was a powerful cultivator thousands of years ago.

Purely in terms of temporal distance, the possibility of finding news of Floating Cloud Shangren is higher.

Actually, if one truly cannot find the continuation of the 'Great Longevity Five Elements True Scripture', Yunhe still has another path: to base his current cultivation method and self-create a continuation!

However, this matter consumes too much time.

After all, the formation of a top-tier cultivation method, aside from truly heaven-defying individuals, is mostly the result of several generations or even dozens of generations; although he has a long lifespan, if there is a smooth path, there's no need to deliberately take a rough road.

Self-creating a continuation is merely his last resort.

"In that case, I will no longer disturb."

Having obtained the information he wanted, Yunhe no longer lingered in the Qingzong Sect.

Although this is the sect he once stayed in, given his current age, within the Qingzong Sect it occupies only a small part of him, and will become even smaller in the future.

Watching Yunhe depart decisively, the three people in the hall looked at each other, and finally all let out a sigh.

Who could have imagined that a former Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Qingzong Sect could now reach such a level?

They actually wanted to keep Yunhe, but looking at his demeanor, he had no intention whatsoever of being called an ancestor within the Qingzong Sect.

If blame is to be assigned, it can only be blamed on the initial demonic invasion.

"From today onward, Junior Nephew Qian's resource allocation within the sect is second only to Junior Sister Hua." Li Yunhua said firmly.

Regarding this, no one raised objections.

Even Qin Yanhong, who in the sect held a status second only to Huaxin and Li Yunhua during the early Golden Core stage, felt nothing wrong.

Since Yunhe has no intention of returning to the sect, all they can do is try to maintain relations with this Elder Yun as much as possible.

Huaxin certainly does this; Qian Minqing's appearance is a pleasant surprise.

From Yunhe's treatment of Qian Minqing, in the eyes of Li Yunhua and the three, he is still relatively sentimental.

Some things, although Yunhe may not necessarily see them doing, they still cannot avoid doing.

This is an attitude.

"If Junior Nephew Qian is willing, she will be the next sect leader!"

"Floating Cloud Shangren."

Having left the Qingzong Sect, Yunhe temporarily ceased the thought of going to Baihua Valley to find Huaxin.

Even if he were to find Huaxin, the answer she could give would be the same.

As for the claim that Baihua Valley is involved with the demonic sect, even Li Yunhua knows this, so Huaxin naturally cannot be unaware.

Li Yunhua knows of Floating Cloud Shangren, but much of that is from hearsay; he doesn't know much of the specific content.

Then, to obtain more information about Floating Cloud Shangren, the largest intelligence organization in the Eastern Realm, Bai Xiaolou, is his first choice.

Therefore, after leaving the Qingzong Sect, Yunhe flew straight to a fairy city named 'Qiling City', which is also where he landed after using the teleportation array.

Like 'Baicheng', this city also does not belong to any country; its populace is mixed, and it is jointly managed by several surrounding Nascent Soul sects.

In Qiling City, there is a branch of Bai Xiaolou, and it is a rather important one.

Yunhe has not failed to try obtaining information about the Great Five Elements Sect via Bai Xiaolou, but the effect has been minimal.

However, Floating Cloud Shangren from thousands of years ago acted boldly and without scruples; Bai Xiaolou should know quite a bit about his information.

(End of chapter)