Chapter 211 – Sky Cloud Sect
Suzaku calendar, year 134,500. In the cultivation nation of Chu, a ray of light appeared in its territory. After three days, all the sects had sent disciples to investigate, but they ultimately found nothing but an abandoned cave.
There are rumors that a treasure appeared here, but it has already been taken by someone.
Regarding this rumor, some cultivators refused to believe it, while others believed it to be true. Because the light beam appeared near the Sky Cloud Sect, rumors spread that the treasure had been obtained by the Sky Cloud Sect.
That same year, the Heavenly Cloud Sect successfully refined the Tian Sun Pill. The quality of this pill had reached the early stages of rank 5. Its effect was to allow a Nascent Soul cultivator who had lost their body to instantly regenerate a new one without needing to steal a body to achieve rebirth.
When this pill appeared, the already renowned Sky Cloud Sect became even more famous. All the surrounding rank 4 regions wanted to obtain the pill, but in the end, the Ju Mo Sect of a rank 4 nation obtained the pill through a secret agreement. Before they left, they placed a formation on the Sky Cloud Sect. The formation was extremely powerful. Even a normal rank 4 nation would have difficulty breaking it.
At the end of that month, the Sky Cloud Sect opened its doors for recruitment, something that happened once every 30 years.
The various cultivation families in the Chu state would send their descendants to the Heavenly Cloud Sect, in the hope that they would be able to join the sect and achieve greatness with the sect’s support.
However, the requirements for joining the Sky Cloud Sect are quite peculiar. Unlike other sects that look at talent, the Sky Cloud Sect’s recruitment is based on special techniques.
As a result, the recruitment drive, which only occurs every 30 years, will only yield about 10 people. This number is minuscule compared to the thousands who will gather for this event.
With the fame of the Sky Cloud Sect and the small number of followers they received, almost all cultivators without any sect or background dreamed that they could become a disciple of the Sky Cloud Sect.
At the peak of the Sky Cloud Sect’s mountain, there was a row of puzzles carved from jade in the immortal palace. This was only a portion of the Sky Cloud Sect. All the other jade carvings were hidden by various techniques. From a distance, one could only see the lush green forest, nothing else.
Three large green words were being held in the air by a spell like a giant lantern hanging over the entrance.
Those three words are “Sky Cloud Sect”.
When the recruitment event, which occurs every 30 years and lasts for 10 days, begins, the three words will appear in the sky and, after the ten-day period is over, the three words will disappear.
As a result, all the scattered cultivators and cultivator families in the Chu State knew that the moment those three words appeared in the sky, the Heavenly Cloud Sect had begun recruiting disciples in the Chu State. The moment those three words disappeared, the recruitment event ended.
This morning, there was not a cloud in the sky. Beams of sword light flew from all directions toward the Sky Cloud Sect. When they were about 1,000 kilometers away from the Sky Cloud Sect’s mountain, they all dismounted from their flying swords, revealing many young men. They were all quite young. Some came alone, while others came with their parents.
In order to show their respect to the Sky Cloud Sect, basically everyone who wanted to join the sect got off their flying swords 1000 kilometers away and walked towards the sect.
If one looked down from the sky right now, they could see that, within 1000 kilometers of the Sky Cloud Sect, there were countless people walking towards the sect.
Outside the gates of the Heavenly Cloud Sect stood three cultivators who were in charge of arranging lodging and necessities for those who came to try to join the sect.
About 500 kilometers from the entrance of the Heavenly Cloud Sect, a man and a woman walked. The man was around 27 or 28 years old. He walked very leisurely and calmly towards the Heavenly Cloud Sect. His clothes were embroidered with a purple flying sword, indicating that he was already a core disciple of the Sword Sect.
Beside him walked a 20-year-old woman. She wore a purple dress with a matching sash around her waist. She had incredibly curvy curves, yet also had a hint of sweetness.
Upon closer inspection, the girl was incredibly attractive, and it would be fair to describe her as a beautiful flower. She pursed her red lips and rubbed her feet. “Big Brother, what’s so great about this Heavenly Cloud Sect that I had to come all the way here? I don’t like alchemy. I like the sword sect,” she complained.
The man’s expression remained normal. He looked at the girl, then poked her forehead and smiled. “There’s too much killing in the Sword Sect. That sect isn’t suitable for you. I know for a fact that the Heavenly Cloud Sect is an extremely important sect in the Chu State. Even if the Chu State suffers a major disaster, it won’t affect the Heavenly Cloud Sect. If you can enter the Heavenly Cloud Sect, your brother will be relieved. If mother and father are still alive, they will also be relieved.”
When the girl heard her brother talk about their parents, her expression darkened slightly. After a moment of contemplation, she nodded her head obediently. She then pointed to the forest and said to her brother, “Brother, if I enter the Heavenly Cloud Sect, I’ll refine a special pill for you. Then, once your cultivation has reached a high level, we can go home and teach those old fellows a lesson.”
When the man heard this, he turned around, a cold light flashing in his eyes. For fear of frightening his sister, he never told her the truth about what happened that year.
The girl’s eyes widened as she saw a young man in front of her and laughed, “Brother, look. That man is wearing some strange-looking clothes.”
The man looked up and saw that 200 feet ahead of them was a young man dressed in extremely crude clothing walking slowly towards the sect. It had to be said that all those who had come to try and join the Heavenly Cloud Sect were either independent cultivators or members of cultivation families. It was impossible for mortals to reach there.
Therefore, it is very rare to see people dressed like this. This is clearly the appearance of ordinary mountain villagers.
As if hearing the girl’s voice, the young man turned to look at them and, without a pause, he withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward.
A hint of surprise flashed across the man’s eyes. He knew that his sister was very attractive, and on the way here, most passersby would stare at her. Especially after entering the thousand-kilometer Heavenly Cloud Sect, everyone they met would pay more attention to his sister, but this young man’s eyes were as calm as still water, and when he looked at his sister, there was no fluctuation in them at all.
The man sent out his divine sense and discovered that the young man’s cultivation was only at the second or third layer of Qi Condensation. After a brief glance, he withdrew his gaze.
The girl looked at the young man with interest. She stepped forward quickly and shouted, “Hey, are you here to join the sect too?”
The young man frowned. He ignored her and continued walking forward.
The girl snorted. She gently jumped over the young man and landed in front of him. She said irritably, “Are you mute? I asked: are you here to join a cult?”
The young man looked at the girl and said in exasperation, “Isn’t that a pointless question?” After that, he walked around the girl while shaking his head.
The girl’s face flushed. She pondered for a moment and realized that what she had said earlier was completely pointless. Since the young man was already here, he still asked if she was on her way to join the sect.
The girl’s older brother pursed his lips and smiled faintly. He wasn’t at all angry with the young man’s answer. On the contrary, when his sister asked him that, he felt the same way.
The girl stomped her feet and caught up to the young man. She walked beside him and said irritably, “My request wasn’t in vain. With your clothes, no matter how you look, it doesn’t look like you’ll join this sect. Just look at everyone else. No one else dresses like you. You should know that when the Heavenly Cloud Sect accepts disciples…”
The young man frowned again and sighed softly. From his perspective, this girl was like a newborn chick, and extremely annoying.
If only his cultivation wasn’t so low right now, he would have waved his sleeves and left rather than endure this girl’s harassment.
Time passed quickly, and it was now afternoon. The sun shone brightly in the sky, and sweat poured from the young man’s forehead. He smiled bitterly inwardly. It had been a long time since he’d been out of breath like a normal human.
Just then, the girl next to him reached into her bag and pulled out some lychee nuts. After popping them into her mouth, she looked at the young man and raised her hand to him. She asked, “Do you want these?”
The young man didn’t even look at him. He shook his head and continued walking forward.
The girl snorted softly and ignored him. She returned to her sister’s side and placed all the lychee nuts in her sister’s hands.
Two hours later, the gates of the Heavenly Cloud Sect appeared in the distance. The young man sighed upon seeing the majestic gates. He couldn’t help but think of the Heng Yue Sect.
This young man is Wang Lin.
More precisely, this is an avatar of Wang Lin created using the avatar technique. This doppelganger was created using the avatar technique of his main body and has real flesh and blood.
But this body only has a life span of 30 years.
This was his only plan to break through to the Nascent Soul stage without losing his cultivation. As for his main body, it was hidden somewhere near the Cloud Sky Sect.
He had left the cave he had used earlier because, when the avatar appeared, a beam of light shot into the sky.
As a result, he had to immediately leave the cave and find another place to begin his closed-door cultivation.
His main body underwent closed-door training while his avatar lived in a village at the foot of the mountain for several months. Upon hearing that the Sky Cloud Sect was recruiting, he pondered for a moment and decided to try.
That was the cause of the current situation. In Wang Lin’s original plan, once he ran out of spiritual liquid, he would kidnap a Sky Cloud Sect disciple and blend in with the sect to steal pills.
However, it just so happened that the Sky Cloud Sect was recruiting people at the time, so Wang Lin decided to abandon his original plan. If he could join the sect, he wouldn’t have to go to the trouble of kidnapping Sky Cloud Sect disciples and infiltrating the sect to steal.
All those who come to join the Sky Cloud Sect will be taken to a side mountain to rest. After the 10-day period is over, everyone will be brought to the Sky Cloud Sect for the selection process.
When the girl walking with Wang Lin was led away by his followers at the gate of the Sky Cloud Sect, her brother turned to leave, but, before he left, he managed to glance at Wang Lin for a moment.
Wang Lin’s expression was calm. Although his cultivation had been lost, his experience remained. The man before him was clearly not yet at the Core Formation stage and was at most at the late Foundation Establishment stage. If Wang Lin used his main body, he could easily kill him.
After staying in the Sky Cloud Sect for several days, the three large words floating in the sky slowly faded away. Finally, they vanished without a trace, signaling the end of the Sky Cloud Sect’s recruitment period.
The next step is to select about ten people to join the Sky Cloud Sect as disciples. Everyone else will be expelled from the Sky Cloud Sect mountain.
On this day, thousands of people who wanted to join the Sky Cloud Sect sat cross-legged on a large platform at the foot of the mountain, awaiting the test. Among these people were men and women, young and old, and some had even reached Core Formation, while others, like Wang Lin, were only at the 2nd or 3rd layer of Qi Condensation.
Dozens of Cloud Sky disciples stood at the edge of the stage with indifferent expressions on their faces. They exuded a hint of pride. After all, they were already members of the Cloud Sky Sect, so their standing was naturally higher than those who wanted to join.
Not long after, a middle-aged man wearing a white robe with three pills embroidered on his cuffs floated down from the mountain. He hovered in the area above the stage and looked down at everyone there. He said, in a low tone, “If you want to join my Heavenly Cloud Sect, your seniority will be low. If you are unwilling, then leave now.” *辈降十等*
When he finished speaking, none of the thousands of people on the stage left. They all stared at him with determined gazes. Among these people were several Core Formation cultivators. They knew that the middle-aged man’s words were meant for them.
After waiting for a moment, the middle-aged man waved his right hand and a sudden burst of power erupted from the center of the stage, pushing everyone nearby away and revealing an open space 10 feet in diameter above the stage.
At the same time, a column of black mist rose from the ground. It looked extremely majestic. This thick black mist pillar felt like a giant hand holding up the sky. After rising from the ground, it stretched so far into the sky that even if one looked up from below, they wouldn’t be able to see its top.
The middle-aged man’s voice rang out over the crowd. “No matter which method you choose, as long as you can accurately sense the substance within this dark mist pillar, you are qualified. The time limit is six hours!” After that, he landed to the side and stood still, observing the dark mist pillar.
Wang Lin’s expression remained normal. He stared at the pillar of black mist and began to think. Although he was an avatar, when creating an avatar, the avatar didn’t obtain the cultivation or divine sense of his main body, but all the techniques and memories of the Ancient God were still intact.
Wang Lin’s eyes trembled slightly. He continued to analyze the pillar until a faint smile slowly appeared on his face. From his perspective, this pillar was clearly a type of restriction, and it was used to test anyone who tried to look into it.
This must be the Sky Cloud Sect’s way of getting rid of people who came here to join them with evil intentions, but Wang Lin wasn’t sure about how exactly the restriction would react.
What kind of disciple does the Sky Cloud Sect want to find with these restrictions?
Based on Wang Lin’s knowledge of boundaries, it was impossible for an ordinary person to break this boundary. As a result, even among the thousands of people on this stage, almost no one could see this boundary.
So, if Wang Lin knew about the restrictions, it would be too obvious, and someone would refute his story about wanting to join the Sky Cloud Sect. However, this wasn’t the most important part. Wang Lin was worried that if he didn’t know what type of disciple the Sky Cloud Sect wanted and violated the restrictions, he would definitely attract too much attention from the Sky Cloud Sect. That would make this endeavor worthless.
Therefore, Wang Lin didn’t immediately break the prohibition, but waited. He didn’t believe that the Sky Cloud Sect would gather people and tell them that none of them were qualified.
If the analysis is correct, one will soon find the answer here for him.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, three hours had passed. Some in the crowd were already growing restless. They had already tried to probe with their divine senses, but every time their divine senses approached the dark mist, a mysterious force would push them away. No matter what methods they tried, they found no results.
Finally, someone patted their bag and pulled out a wooden carving. The piece was shaped like an eagle. They chanted a few words, then threw the carving toward the pillar of dark mist.
The middle-aged man in charge of recruiting disciples didn’t say anything about this action, but he silently looked at the pillar. Wang Lin noticed that although the middle-aged man’s expression remained calm, the surrounding Sky Cloud Sect disciples showed strange expressions for a moment.
As soon as the wooden eagle appeared, it instantly grew larger and eventually transformed into a golden eagle, which shot towards the pillar. However, just as the golden eagle touched the pillar, a hand suddenly emerged from the pillar, grabbed the golden eagle, and pulled it into the black mist.
The expression of the person who sent the golden eagle suddenly changed. He immediately stood up, turned to the middle-aged man, and said, “Junior surrenders and requests Senior to return the treasure. This is Junior’s family treasure. Please, Senior!”
The middle-aged man studied the person and said slowly, “That golden wooden eagle is the Gongsun family’s inheritance. Our sect naturally wouldn’t keep it. Since you’ve already left, it will be returned to you when everyone leaves.”
The man’s gaze immediately relaxed slightly. His eyes filled with gratitude as he walked down the stage.
The middle-aged man reiterated. “I’ve said this before; you can use whatever you like. As long as you can clearly see what’s inside, you’ve passed.”
This time, a young man on stage asked cautiously, “But if we say what’s inside the pillar, won’t everyone here know too?”
The middle-aged man smiled and replied, “Impossible! If any of you could see through the fog, you would know the secret that lies here.”
When the hand emerged from the black fog pillar, Wang Lin’s eyes lit up. He had been constantly observing the restriction, and when the hand emerged, a small crack appeared. With his divine sense and divine eye, he immediately saw several pills floating within the fog pillar.
Wang Lin’s expression remained normal, but his heart was pounding. However, he pondered for a moment, but didn’t act rashly. This time, more people became restless in the crowd and took out their treasures to try and break through the dark fog.
More and more people began attacking with magical treasures. Each time, a hand would reach out, grab the magical treasure, and pull it into the dark mist. If the middle-aged man hadn’t said so, they wouldn’t have dared to use all these magical treasures, but the Sky Cloud Sect had already stated that if they surrendered, they would return the treasures upon their departure. As a result, everyone stopped caring. Numerous magical treasures appeared in the sky, one after another.
Through the cracks caused by the attack, Wang Lin could clearly see everything within the boundary. However, he had the eyes of a god that could see through the boundary.
Inside were 11 pills, 11 jade pieces, and 11 tokens with pill furnaces carved on them.
Wang Lin didn’t know what these three objects represented, but at that moment, a golden light appeared around the black fog. Then, a flash of golden light also came from within the fog. After the golden light circled the pillar for a moment, it transformed into a piece of jade and flew into the hands of a girl who was completely unaware of what was happening.
At this point, the middle-aged man from the Sky Cloud Sect’s eyes lit up. He immediately moved to the girl’s side and took the jade stone in her hand. After looking at the jade stone for a moment, he smiled and said, “You pass!” With that, he waved his right hand, and a disciple from the Sky Cloud Sect came and led her away.
“Take him up the mountain!” The middle-aged man smiled at the girl. He waved his sleeve and returned to his seat, waiting for the next person to pass by.
The girl still felt like everything was a blur. While still in a daze, she was led up the mountain by a Sky Cloud Sect disciple.
Seeing someone successfully pass the test, everyone on the stage started discussing with each other, but, for the people from the Sky Cloud Sect, they were not bothered at all.
Wang Lin’s eyes lit up. He clearly saw that it wasn’t that the girl saw the black mist, but that the jade within the black mist had chosen the girl.
And when the middle-aged man saw the jade fall into the girl’s hands, he didn’t immediately announce his departure, but went to examine the jade before announcing it. Through this, Wang Lin judged that the middle-aged man went to check whether the jade had truly chosen him, so that, if he had acted rashly earlier, he would have exposed his weakness.
Wang Lin sneered. The Sky Cloud Sect’s way of accepting disciples was indeed strange.
Just at that moment, golden light suddenly began to shine from the pillar again. Wang Lin’s eyes lit up, and his right hand silently formed a restriction. With his current spiritual energy, he could only use some simple restrictions and couldn’t create an illusionary circle.
However, the restriction it possesses is an ancient restriction inherited from the Ancient Gods. It is not something ordinary cultivators can match.