CHAPTER 553: CHAPTER 515: QUYUN PEAK

It was rumored that Zhai Xingzi would return to the sect the next day, but in reality, seven days passed without any news of Zhai Xingzi.

At this point, not only did the sect disciples doubt the accuracy of Zhai Xingzi’s return, even the sect elders began to question whether Zhai Xingzi would come at all.

But regardless of whether Zhai Xingzi was coming or not, Ju Yunhai’s master-disciple ceremony went ahead as scheduled.

The ceremony was arranged at Qu Yun Peak in the secret realm, a site established by Tang Zhi after becoming a Nascent Soul. If nothing else, Ju Yunhai would also cultivate at Qu Yun Peak in the future.

"All the other peaks are established in the south, yet this Qu Yun Peak is in the north. I wonder what considerations Elder Tang Zhi had in choosing this location."

Wang Yanyu was traveling with Mei Xiangu and Tian Lin on a Flying Boat.

During the time when Zhai Xingzi did not appear, she managed, with Tang Chujie’s help, to find a place for the Su family and herself.

The Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement cultivators of the Su family were taken into the secret realm and dispersed across various peaks to do miscellaneous tasks.

And those clan elders at the Golden Core Realm were assigned various sect-issued tasks—in short, the Su family was working for the Wenda Sect without pay.

The payment for this unpaid labor was that the Wenda Sect allowed them to live in the secret realm and provided for their meals and cultivation.

A proud aristocratic family now serving as unpaid laborers was something unimaginable in the pre-flying locust era.

But circumstances have changed, and being able to live in the secret realm and receive cultivation resources are conditions that were obtained with Tang Chujie’s assistance.

So the Su family had no reason to complain, and Wang Yanyu was not dissatisfied with this outcome.

"Qu Yun Peak, the terrain is indeed too secluded."

Tian Lin looked at the distant mountain peak and the misty shadows of evil spirits in the distance, and couldn’t help but say:

"If a Great Demon were to cause trouble here, Qu Yun Peak is too far from the other sect peaks and would be in an isolated and helpless state. Moreover, any sect news would be difficult to reach the ears of Qu Yun Peak—

But choosing this secluded location has one advantage: it escapes the sect’s prying eyes, making it hard for anyone to easily detect anything done here."

Tian Lin’s first comment was fine, but the latter comment seemed rather insidious.

He seemed to imply that Tang Zhi had something to hide from the sect, which is why he chose Qu Yun Peak as his own site.

"What could Tang Zhi have that needs to be hidden from the sect’s scrutiny?"

Wang Yanyu frowned, and as she spoke, the group got closer to Qu Yun Peak.

Originally, it was said that Qu Yun Peak did not recruit any disciples, so apart from Ju Yunhai’s relatives and Tang Zhi, there should not have been many outsiders on the mountain.

But today, as Ju Yunhai becomes a True Disciple, many of Tang Zhi’s elder acquaintances and Ju Yunhai’s friends and relatives have come to witness the occasion.

This has made the normally deserted Qu Yun Peak now crowded with people.

As they approached Qu Yun Peak, Tian Lin and Wang Yanyu naturally stopped discussing Qu Yun Peak.

Their Flying Boat soon caught the attention of many disciples on Qu Yun Peak, and one disciple whom Tian Lin didn’t recognize flew up to greet them:

"Wenda Peak disciple Zhou Qing, greets Senior Brother and Senior Sister."

Mei Xiangu asked him, "Do you recognize us?"

Zhou Qing said, "I once worked in the Deacon Hall, handling many senior brothers’ tokens, so I recognize quite a few people. I come to Qu Yun Peak, both to celebrate Senior Brother Ju becoming a True Disciple and to assist Uncle Tang in welcoming senior brothers and elders from various peaks."

Qu Yun Peak doesn’t have many people, yet the disciple ceremony requires hosting many guests.

This Zhou Qing was evidently temporarily borrowed from Wenda Peak for the occasion.

"There are many outsiders here for the ceremony at Qu Yun Peak, Junior Brother only needs to point us to our resting place; you need not spend time on us."

After Tian Lin spoke, Zhou Qing said, "Then I’ll first lead you to rest at Cloud Lamp Court."

With that, he turned and flew towards the midpoint of Qu Yun Peak.

The terrain of Qu Yun Peak is notably high, but its form resembles a tombstone more than a typical mountain peak.

And in fact, this Qu Yun Peak is composed of an immense stone stele reaching to the skies.

The back of this towering stone stele is inscribed with four characters: "Qu Yun’s Tomb," while the front is chiseled with thousands of stone caves.

The so-called Cloud Lamp Court is one of these thousands of stone caves.

"Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters may rest here for a while; the master-disciple ceremony should commence within an hour."

After leading them over, Zhou Qing paid his respects to Tian Lin and the others and then flew away from Cloud Lamp Court.

The so-called Cloud Lamp Court is actually a tomb chamber, and within this tomb chamber are several rooms such as the antechamber and main chamber.

The antechamber and other side rooms are now furnished with stone tables and stone beds, evidently added by Tang Zhi after establishing his site here.

But throughout Cloud Lamp Court, the murals and the "Cloud Lamp Tomb" in the main chamber remain untouched, retaining their original state.

Tian Lin and the others first browsed by the murals. From the clothing depicted, Tian Lin quickly concluded that the figures painted were from the Daqi Dynasty.

"This is a tomb of a general from the Daqi Dynasty; the scenes on the murals likely depict the battles of this general’s lifetime."

Compared to the general’s life portrayed on the murals, Mei Xiangu was more interested in the large tomb in the main chamber.

"This General Yun Zhan was probably at least Nascent Soul late stage in life. His grand tomb is rich in Yin energy, resembling a Spirit Gathering Array."

Mei Xiangu sneered, "Now I understand why Tang Zhi would go so far to come here to establish his site! If it’s true that these thousands of mountain caves in Qu Yun Peak have such grand tombs, wouldn’t he be collecting the corpses of numerous Nascent Soul experts?

Such a fortune would surely make even those of the Xiangxi Sect envious."

Tian Lin nodded, unable to hold back, "And the fact that he could guard so many expert corpses reveals that this great stone stele of Qu Yun Peak is in itself an invaluable treasure. Such a treasure would be immensely profitable whether used or sold."

It’s fortunate that Tang Zhi belongs to the Tang Family and has cultivation at the Nascent Soul Realm.

Otherwise, such a remarkable place of geomancy would be impossible for him to defend.

Through this disciple ceremony, Tang Zhi has also summoned cultivators from both the sect and beyond. Probably aside from having them witness Ju Yunhai becoming his disciple, it’s also to let them witness that Qu Yun Peak is his site from now on, and no one should dare harbor any ideas.

While they chatted, a woman’s voice came from outside the cave, "Senior Brother Tian and Senior Sister Mei, are you there?"

At this moment, Yu’er entered and said to Tian Lin, "I don’t know which peak’s servant disciple was entrusted by Qu Yun Peak to bring food."

Tian Lin nodded and let Yu’er go greet them.

After they exited the main chamber, the table in the front hall was already laid out with fruits and snacks.

In these times, food is indeed scarce. But for the Wenda Sect, the food served to guests is still very sumptuous.

After sending away the serving Outer Disciples, a commotion rose from the adjacent room, "Ju Yunhai is just a dog of the Ju Family, so what’s so great about becoming a True Disciple now?"