Chapter 26 Yanghua Cloud Sea (Thirteen)
But it seems that Heaven has no intention of giving him a way out.
At the mountain gate, Ruan Keji was fiddling with the phonograph in his hand.
Wei Feng saw his figure from afar and thought to himself that something was wrong. He turned around and wanted to leave, but Mu Si blocked his way from behind.
"Vice Sect Master Xie is truly a prophet," Ruan Keji said with a smile to the talisman in front of him. "This kid really does want to go down the mountain."
A sigh came from the communication talisman: "Then I'll have to trouble Elder Ruan."
"There's no need for such formalities between us," Ruan Keji said with a forced smile. "I only hope that the Vice Sect Master will put in a good word for me with the Sect Master in the future."
“Of course.” Jie Fuxue’s voice was somewhat indifferent.
The comma went out, and Ruan Keji smiled as he looked at Wei Feng.
"Junior Brother Wei, where are you planning to go so early in the morning?" Mu Si was tall and imposing, standing there like a mountain, his eyes filled with undisguised malice.
"Is it any of your business?" Wei Feng said with a sour face.
"I really can't control that." Mu Si looked at him with disdain. "Today, all new disciples and inner and outer disciples below the mid-Foundation Establishment stage must go to Touchun Peak for classes. The supervising elder for this period is my master. As the teaching assistant, I naturally have to ensure that all disciples are present. Even if you broke through yesterday, you are still just a minor Qi Refining cultivator. You will probably still have to go to Touchun Peak."
Wei Feng's face darkened further. Ruan Keji and Mu Si had clearly come prepared. Now that Jiang Gu had left, these people were afraid he would follow and never return. They had probably increased the number of guards at each mountain gate, making it unlikely that it would be as easy for him to leave the mountain as before.
“The world down the mountain is dangerous. Even someone like Qi Fengyuan, who is at the Nascent Soul stage, could not return if he was not careful.” Ruan Keji rolled up his sleeves and walked over, patting Mu Si’s shoulder to signal him to move aside. “Wei Feng, we have watched you grow up. Although we had disagreements in the past, you are still a member of the Yanghua Sect. No matter how good Jiang Gu is to you, he is still a member of the Jiang family.”
Wei Feng said, "Why don't you return those ten million mid-grade spirit stones first?"
Ruan Keji is here, he definitely can't leave, but he doesn't mind making things unpleasant for the other party.
"..." Ruan Keji was speechless for a moment, then changed the subject and said sharply, "It's getting late, why aren't you going to Touchun Peak?"
Mu Si understood and went up to grab Wei Feng's arm, but Wei Feng nimbly dodged it.
Mu Si was already at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, but he was quite shocked that Mu Si had been dodged by Mu Si's Qi Refining technique. He tried to grab Mu Si a second time, but he still missed.
"I can walk by myself." Wei Feng glared at him irritably, then jumped onto his flying sword and headed straight for Touchun Peak.
With classes about to begin, Touchun Peak is already packed with people.
The senior disciples, both inner and outer, were surrounded by many new disciples, who chattered and asked about their classes, addressing them respectfully as "senior brother" and "senior sister."
As a newly initiated disciple, Liu Xian was naturally full of curiosity about these things. Although he was fortunate enough to become Shen Yuxin's disciple due to his good aptitude, Shen Yuxin had too many disciples and could not pay attention to him. His only good senior brother, Xuan Zhiyan, was busy helping Shen Yuxin prepare lessons, so he followed several other new disciples to listen to the senior brother who had guided them answer their questions.
"...After all, only a few new disciples can become apprentices, and it's normal that many new disciples in the sect can't become apprentices. It all depends on your individual opportunities. Some elders look at spiritual roots when accepting disciples, some look at the dantian and sea of consciousness, and some mainly examine character. Moreover, although our sect has more than two hundred elders, they each have different strengths."
For example, Elder Jie Fuxue is a pill refiner, and her pills are extremely rare and hard to find. Elder Ruan Keji is a sword cultivator, and his swordsmanship is already superb. He is the one who teaches our sword control class. Elder Shen Yuxin is a talisman cultivator, specializing in talisman techniques. Because there are very few talisman cultivators in the sect, Elder Shen has been teaching us talisman classes all year.
Besides these, there are countless other cultivation paths such as body cultivation, sword cultivation, music cultivation, poison cultivation, and array cultivation. Most will be explored in the first year of classes to help you choose the weapon that suits you best later. Of course, our sect primarily focuses on sword cultivation, as the others are too difficult to begin with. While sword cultivation is easy to start, mastering it is not as simple as you might think.
"Of course, these choices of swords, talismans, pills, medicines, music, magic bodies, poisons, puppets, and souls are just tools for you. The most important thing is to establish your own Dao heart after you reach the mid-Foundation Establishment stage." The senior brother explained in great detail, and his expression became serious. "There are three thousand paths to cultivation and ninety thousand ways to ascend to immortality. Only by establishing your own heart and knowing what path you should take and what kind of Dao you should cultivate can you be considered to have truly embarked on the path of cultivation."
The disciples around him immediately looked at him with admiration.
"Senior brother, how do we determine which path we should follow?" a disciple asked.
"All things, all minds, and all methods are the Dao. Respond to Heaven and Earth, and follow the laws of Heaven. Then you will naturally understand." He said earnestly, "Some people save all living beings and bring peace to the world, some people sever their seven emotions and leave the mortal world, some people live in a daze for half their lives and then suddenly realize the Dao and ascend to heaven, some people cultivate for tens of thousands of years before they can ascend to the Great Dao, some people save people from suffering and finally attain the Dao, some people become immortals through killing, and some people even study books for thousands of years and suddenly ascend to heaven. Whatever you think the Dao should be, that is what it is."
The group of new disciples listened with great excitement and began to discuss it animatedly.
"Then wouldn't that mean one could enter the path through any means?"
"Stop dreaming. How many of those who succeed by taking unconventional paths have actually perished? In my opinion, we still need to learn to make choices."
"The path you choose almost determines how you will ascend in the future. For example, if you choose a quiet path and cultivate for tens of thousands of years without being able to ascend, who can bear it?"
"If it weren't for so many people cultivating the Path of Ruthlessness... severing the seven emotions and six desires is the fastest way to cultivate..."
"Fast as it may be, cultivators are still human after all. How can they possibly sever all desires? Haven't you seen that the Path of Ruthlessness has the most and fastest deaths?"
"But the terrifying cultivation speed is unbearable. Who wouldn't want to take a gamble? If you choose the wrong path and your lifespan runs out, what good will it do if it's the most suitable for you?"
"Sigh, that's true..."
"The Way of the Common People..."
"You think you're living too comfortably, huh? You must be out of your mind to choose the path of the common people!"
"For the sake of all living beings, look at the vile faces of those mortals! I would rather slaughter them than save them..."
"The common people have the right timing, location, and people. There's no trouble in the cultivation world right now, so stop dreaming."
"Ugh, so annoying. I still prefer the path of the villain, but unfortunately, the sect doesn't allow it..."
"...Ha, I'll break your spine, you believe me or not?"
Wei Feng had just jumped off his flying sword when he saw Mo Daojin surrounded by a group of disciples, and rolled his eyes in annoyance.
Mo Daojin glanced at him, probably feeling the same way, and continued to answer the questions of the group of junior disciples.
"Hey, Senior Brother Wei!" Liu Xian saw him get off his flying sword and ran over enthusiastically. "Why didn't you use your flying boat today?"
"I'm in a good mood." Wei Feng stared at him for a while before remembering who this person was. He should be one of Xuan Zhiyan's junior brothers, but he was plain-looking, at most handsome and cute. He didn't have any impression of him.
Liu Xian didn't mind his cold attitude and laughed, "I heard from Senior Brother Mo that every three levels of Qi Refining cultivation are placed in the same courtyard. I'm currently at the sixth level of Qi Refining. What level are you at, Senior Brother? If your cultivation is too high, we won't be able to be in the same courtyard."
An older disciple passing by scoffed, "How come you're so good at humiliating people, newcomer? Our Senior Brother Wei is only at the first level of Qi Refining, and you're so far ahead of him."
Liu Xian looked at Wei Feng in surprise and said awkwardly, "Senior Brother Wei, I'm sorry, I didn't know—"
Another disciple who disliked Wei Feng said disdainfully, "The entire Yanghua Sect knows our Senior Brother Wei. He cultivated to the first level of Qi Refining in sixteen years. In another sense, he is truly a genius!"
The disciples who knew the situation chuckled quietly.
Wei Feng was used to this kind of situation. Normally, he would have retorted and gotten his revenge, but now he was in a hurry to leave, so he ignored their provocation and grabbed the communication talisman, preparing to find Xuan Zhiyan first.
"Don't go too far!" A little girl with her hair in double buns couldn't help but speak up, "You're all just at the Qi Refining stage, at most you're at the Foundation Establishment stage, how much better are you than Wei Feng!"
"Oh my, Junior Sister Qian Ning, are you really that serious?" The old disciple who had led the mockery of Wei Feng earlier sneered. He had slanted eyes and an unusually large mouth, and his smile had a lewd quality. "Could it be that you really plan to find a good-for-nothing like Wei Feng as your Daoist partner? All he has is a little bit of money."
"Exactly, exactly. He didn't just take you to see the sea of clouds. Which of the pretty senior and junior sisters in the sect hasn't been seduced by him? Only you are so stupid as to chase after him." Another tall, thin man looked her up and down with ill intent. "If you ask me, you might as well be with me. At least I've reached the Foundation Establishment stage."
Yu Qianning's eyes reddened with anger, "You—"
Before she could finish speaking, Wei Feng, who had been standing to the side, suddenly sprang up, grabbed the tall, thin man by the collar, and punched him.
Wei Feng was too fast. Before the tall, thin man could react, his jaw was smashed by a punch. Wei Feng didn't give him a chance to catch his breath. He clenched his fist and bent his elbow, slamming it hard into the man's shoulder. The sound of bones breaking could be clearly heard in the silence.
The new disciples who were watching were stunned, but the older disciples who were familiar with Wei Feng were even more shocked than they were.
Everyone knows that Wei Feng of Lianyun Peak is a useless good-for-nothing who can't lift a finger or carry a heavy load. His Qi Refining Level 6 cultivation is all fake, built up with pills. He's incredibly lazy; he can't even berate someone, let alone fight. He can even hire someone to do it for him with spirit stones...
But now he's actually beating a Foundation Establishment stage disciple so badly that he can't fight back at all!?
He wasn't even given time to use any magic!
Could this be Wei Feng?!
Wei Feng grabbed the tall, thin man, almost losing control and causing the merman's fingernails to grow wildly. He didn't even need to think to know how to crush the man's throat. In the illusion, that old pervert never showed him any mercy, and many times his neck had been crushed to pieces.
The tall, thin man trembled at the intense killing intent in his eyes, stammering, "You...you..."
His voice seemed to jolt everyone awake. Mo Daojin pushed through the crowd, grabbed Wei Feng's arm, and shouted, "Fighting is forbidden within the sect! Wei Feng, you—"
Wei Feng shook off his hand impatiently, "I will go to the Hall of Punishments to hand over the spirit stones."
The Criminal Law Hall stipulates that those who engage in fights but do not result in death can pay spirit stones to avoid punishment. However, the amount of spirit stones paid is usually enormous, and the vast majority of disciples cannot afford it.
However, this does not include Wei Feng.
Mo Daojin frowned, but didn't say anything more.
The communication talisman carried Xuan Zhiyan's voice. Wei Feng didn't delay any longer and quickly walked towards him.
"Senior brother!" Yu Qianning quickly caught up, looking at him with a worried expression. "I'm so sorry, senior brother, it's all because of me that you—"
"I've disliked him for a long time." Wei Feng smiled at her. "Don't take it to heart."
“Senior brother…” Yu Qianning was a little dazed by his laughter, but she quickly came to her senses and bit her lip, saying, “My mother’s illness has improved a lot. If it weren’t for you lending me so many spirit stones, I really wouldn’t know what to do. I will pay you back as soon as possible.”
"No need, you've already paid me back," Wei Feng said. "You accompanied me to see the sea of clouds ten times, that's enough."
Yu Qianning was stunned for a moment, then said with a complicated expression, "How can this possibly withstand..."
"I'm so bored without anyone to keep me company," Wei Feng said with a grin. "Happiness is priceless. I have to go now."
Yu Qianning looked at his blood-stained fist, clenched the handkerchief in her hand, but waited until Wei Feng's figure disappeared without calling him to hand it over.
When she was desperate, Wei Feng lent her 10,000 high-grade spirit stones, saving her mother's life.
However, Wei Feng is mediocre, lazy, and a womanizer. He is a complete wastrel and has millions in wealth that everyone covets, so he is not a reliable person to entrust with anything.
Recalling Wei Feng's expression when they looked at the sea of clouds, Yu Qianning smiled self-deprecatingly. It turned out that he really just wanted someone to be with him, but it made her worry and struggle with herself for a long time.
It turned out to be wishful thinking on my part.
Thinking of this, Yu Qianning stuffed the handkerchief back into her sleeve, turned around and resolutely left in the opposite direction.
The path to immortality is long and arduous, but matters of love and affection are ultimately fleeting.
——
"You fought for Yu Qianning!?" Xuan Zhiyan had an "I knew it" look on his face. "Tell me the truth, do you like her?"
"No." Wei Feng wiped the blood off his hands haphazardly.
“I don’t believe it. You’ve been to see the sea of clouds with her the most, and now you even beat up that bastard Xing Zhu for her. What else could this be but liking her?” Xuan Zhiyan winked and said, “Why don’t you break up with all those other senior and junior sisters and settle down?”
"Ugh, I really have nothing to do with her, and with them too—" Wei Feng scratched his head in frustration, "I can't explain it to you in a short time. That's not the point. I have to go down the mountain to find my master now."
"Ruan Keji caught you?" Xuan Zhiyan asked knowingly.
"We've used all the magic weapons we could find, and we've changed the magic arrays several times." Wei Feng frowned and said, "That old scoundrel Ruan Keji and Xie Fuxue are determined not to let me leave."
"No, why do you have to leave? It's not like your master isn't coming back." Xuan Zhiyan asked, puzzled. "I asked my master for you, Elder Jiang will be back in ten days."
Wei Feng put his arm around his neck and said with a serious expression, "That's the problem. Even if he's only gone for six days, I won't rush to leave. If I stay in the sect after seven days, I'll definitely be doomed. If I go out to find my master, there might still be a glimmer of hope."
"What exactly happened? Tell me and I'll help you." Xuan Zhiyan grabbed his arm. "If all else fails, I'll ask my master for help."
“Don’t be silly, you can’t help me.” Wei Feng said, “Shen Yuxin has so many disciples, he’s not Qi Fengyuan.”
Xuan Zhiyan's expression instantly turned somber. "That's true."
“…That’s not what I meant.” Wei Feng belatedly realized he had said the wrong thing and nudged his shoulder with his elbow.
Xuan Zhiyan smiled and said, "It's alright, I know."
Wei Feng said, "I still need to go to the treasure pavilion to get some things. You come with me, and I'll show you how to get in—"
“Wei Feng.” A dignified voice rang out from behind them.
Wei Feng turned around and saw the law enforcement elder of the Criminal Law Hall. He said impatiently, "Isn't it just that I beat up Xing Zhu? I'll pay whatever spirit stones you ask for."
The elder in charge of law enforcement looked at him sharply. "This is not a matter of private combat. The sect's treasure pavilion was robbed last night, and hundreds of Heaven-rank magic treasures have disappeared. Where were you between 3 AM and 5 AM last night? Can anyone testify to this?"
Wei Feng was stunned.
He was in heat and seeking a mate because of his kite bloodline, and he was with that old pervert at the time.
Whether it's his kite bloodline or that unknown pervert, it's all something that can't be told to outsiders.
"Then come with us."
——
The teleportation arrays in the void stretched out and connected into countless points of light, like the Milky Way in the night sky.
The flying boat, fueled by high-grade spirit stones, leaped and teleported between the magic arrays. Its hull swayed slightly, and the Vermilion Bird God Mark engraved on it emitted a faint red light, causing other flying boats to hesitate and give way to it.
"You already have hundreds of spirit pets in your garden, isn't that enough? What abilities does this long-haired bird have that have allowed you to tolerate it until now?" Jiang Lin held a fan to his mouth and nose. "Why is the smell even stronger after I went there?"
“It’s still useful.” Jiang Gu opened the name catalog in his hand. It was filled with the names of Jiang family members, but each name was different in color, size and depth. The catalog had a total of 1,682 pages, with 30 names on each page. Jiang Gu’s own name was engraved on the second to last page of the thirteenth page. It was very shallow and not very big on that page, with a faint golden hue.
"Tsk, your ranking has moved up three pages again. You really broke through." Jiang Lin took it and flipped through more than twenty pages before finding his name. His name was several sizes smaller than Jiang Gu's, and next to it was a nine-tailed fox mark, which was a murky bluish-white color.
The depth of a name represents aptitude, color is the mark of each branch of the clan, and size is the assessment of cultivation level.
The Jiang family's cultivation assessment is not just about the current level of cultivation. The clan has a special organization and personnel to comprehensively determine the current cultivation aptitude and future development of its members, and then to allocate and allocate resources accordingly to ensure that the strength of the entire clan is maximized.
The first name on the thirteenth page where Jiang Gu is located is Jiang Xiangyun, whose golden color, size, and depth far surpass everyone else on this page.
"He truly deserves to be called the pride of our generation. It only took him five years to go from page 300 to page 13," Jiang Lin said with envy. "After a life of wandering, he is still the clan's precious darling. I estimate that he will be able to enter the top ten pages in a few months. Heh, Young Master Jiang."
Jiang Gu closed the mirror. "Instead of envying him, you should work harder yourself."
"I wish I could, but those old fogies never give me a chance." Jiang Lin frowned and said, "I recently seized a secret realm and finally managed to absorb the essence into my Purple Mansion, but someone else directly dissected and stole it. I still don't know which bastard did it."
“With your current cultivation level, you can’t protect an entire secret realm,” Jiang Gu said. “It would be best to just absorb a few segments of spiritual veins to conceal your aura.”
"I was just so greedy! That secret realm is full of treasures!" Jiang Lin rubbed his nose and sighed. "In the end, it was all for nothing. Oh, not really. I slaughtered a small sect. Their eldest disciple had excellent aptitude, and I turned him into a puppet. I'll show him to you when we get back."
Jiang Gu was not proficient in puppetry; otherwise, he wouldn't have been unable to refine Wei Feng into a puppet in the Chaolong Secret Realm for so long. He asked, "What is your cultivation level?"
"Early stage of Nascent Soul." Jiang Lin narrowed his fox-like eyes. "They can save your life in a critical moment. I plan to refine a few more."
"Don't be greedy," Jiang Gu said.
"Alright, I'll listen to you." Jiang Lin stroked his chin. "Speaking of which, I also refined all their treasures into sacrificial artifacts and obtained a Heaven-rank magic artifact that can search for all things in the world. Recently, the clan has been looking for the Divine Kite Shark, and I was forced to hand it over before I even had a chance to enjoy it."
Jiang Gu looked up at him.
Jiang Lin, who had been observing his expression, slowly curled the corners of his mouth, "So you really do know where the Divine Kite Shark is."
Jiang Gu's chilling aura forced him to the edge of the flying boat window. If he exerted even a little force, Jiang Lin's head would be chopped off by the distorted magic array outside.
However, Jiang Lin was not afraid. Instead, he found it amusing: "I felt something was wrong before. As long as you took on a task from the clan, you never failed to get it. But you abandoned the task for the first time in the Divine Kite Shark matter. In just half a year, your ranking moved up three pages. No wonder those old guys suspected you of embezzling the Divine Kite Shark scales. It's no wonder you were banished to Yanghua Sect."
"So what if I pocketed it? The Divine Kite Shark Scales are gone." Jiang Gu said coldly, "They have no choice but to admit it."
“But the Divine Iris is still alive, and Jiang Xiangyun is determined to get the Fire-Separating Pill.” Jiang Lin’s fox-like eyes narrowed slyly. “Smell carefully, the scent on you just now is quite similar to the scent of the Iris Clan when they are in heat. Jiang Qi, you’re not planning to get the Fire-Separating Pill too, are you?”
"Why not?" Jiang Gu's spiritual power gripped his neck, Jiang Lin's head was only half an inch away from the outer magic circle, and he said expressionlessly, "I refined him, does Jiang Xiangyun dare to refine me?"
"I didn't say that, you said it yourself!" Seeing that he was really about to have his head chopped off, Jiang Lin panicked and raised his hands to beg for mercy, "Look at you, why did you have to hit me when we were talking? I was just guessing, and I didn't tell anyone else."
"Where is that magical artifact?" Consultant Jiang asked.
"Hehe, you were really afraid that your hidden little divine kite would be found, weren't you? Jiang Qi, Jiang Qi, you're such a scoundrel! It's just a fledgling bird at most, and you still managed to bite its wing—ouch, ouch, ouch!" Jiang Lin looked at his severed hair in horror and shouted, "It's been sent to Muchi Mountain! If you're going to snatch it, you'd better hurry, Jiang Xiangyun set off the day before I came!"
Before he finished speaking, Jiang Gu stood up and strode away, throwing his sword and leaping into the twisted and sharp teleportation arrays.
"You're really going? Will the clan be able to make it back in time? That Divine Kite Shark isn't even a very good spirit pet, and you actually kept it?!" Jiang Lin shouted at him gloatingly from the window.
Bang!
Dozens of sharp blades formed from spiritual energy pierced his head and embedded themselves into the airship. Before Jiang Lin could even catch his breath, the entire airship instantly shattered into pieces.
"Jiang Qi, you petty bastard!" Jiang Lin frantically summoned his flying sword to condense a protective array, but he was still cut by those distorted teleportation arrays, leaving him covered in wounds.
By the time Jiang Lin managed to climb up using a piece of flying boat debris, Jiang Gu had already vanished.
He wrinkled his nose and waved away Jiang Gu's remaining spiritual power. "Ugh, this bird smell."
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