#969 - Qingyun Cave

The flying sword was very fast, traveling at several times the speed of sound, weaving through the clouds in the high sky. Along the way, one could see the magnificent and vast sea of clouds.

Jun Wuxie could tell that it was a middle-grade Saint artifact, and both deacons were using Saint Spirit True Qi to activate it.

Clearly, this middle-grade Saint artifact flying sword did not belong to either of them; it should be something the sect gave them to travel quickly.

Recalling those middle-aged men who wanted to bribe the deacons, they were influential figures in Qingyun City.

He could see their realms at the time, each of them being Saint King Realm Minor Celestial experts.

It was evident that these families had some strength.

However, even the heads of families with the Saint King Realm remained respectful and humble before the deacons of Qingyun Cave Heaven, who were at the peak of the Saint Realm.

The position of Qingyun Cave Heaven in this region was evident. It was definitely a superior existence, causing even Saint Kings to bow their heads before Saints, speaking politely.

After today's events, his goodwill towards Qingyun Cave Heaven increased sharply.

The two deacons in charge of the preliminary selection were decent. Today, they had their faces somewhat disgraced, but they did not target him because of it.

The major families of Qingyun City used second-grade Saint Pills to bribe the two deacons, hoping they would open a door of convenience and recommend their direct descendants, but they refused without hesitation.

From this, it could be seen that these two deacons were relatively upright and would not abuse their power for personal gain.

"The journey is a bit far, you all shouldn't stand. Sit down and rest. It will probably take a day and a half to arrive."

The deacon reminded everyone.

About twenty people from Qingyun City passed the assessment this time.

These twenty people formed small groups of three or five, chatting in low voices along the way. There was basically no interaction between the small groups.

Jun Wuxie and Jingya also sat down. They were very quiet, not talking all the way like the others.

"Yue Wuxie."

At this moment, three people walked up to them and sat down about two meters away.

This was a small group, two men and one woman.

"I say, Yue Wuxie, you wouldn't be a humanoid incarnation of an Ancient Savage Beast, would you?"

"You threw that cauldron with one hand. How did you do it?"

"You look so delicate and handsome, how can you have so much strength? Do all body cultivators have this much power?"

Jun Wuxie smiled at them upon hearing this.

"We will be fellow disciples in the future. Let me introduce myself. My name is Zhou Ling," said the relatively thin young man among the three, looking about twenty years old.

"My name is Lin Sheng."

The dark-skinned, lean young man to Zhou Ling's left introduced himself somewhat shyly.

"Hi, Yue Wuxie, nice to meet you. My name is Zhou Meng, nineteen this year. I'm Zhou Ling's cousin. We should help each other after entering the sect," Zhou Meng said, winking at Jun Wuxie. She looked at Jingya and said, "Yue Wuxie, is she your elder?"

"Yes, her name is Jingya. I call her Aunt Jing."

As Jun Wuxie spoke, he wrote the characters for Jingya.

"Hello, Aunt Jing."

Zhou Meng and the others greeted her.

"Hello."

Jingya nodded to them and then stopped talking.

She liked peace and quiet and was not accustomed to talking to irrelevant people.

"Hey, Yue Wuxie, how did you cultivate such great strength?"

Zhou Meng was very lively and not shy at all. She was completely a social butterfly, chattering and asking Jun Wuxie all sorts of questions, looking like a curious baby.

She was quite beautiful, with top-notch looks, youthful and radiant, and her appearance was among the rare top-quality girls.

Jun Wuxie was annoyed by her questions and had to deal with them casually, unable to find a moment of peace.

Zhou Ling would also occasionally ask a few questions out of curiosity.

Among the three of them, only the dark-skinned, lean young man named Lin Sheng was more introverted, always looking shy, smiling at them, not speaking, and sometimes appearing a little restrained.

The flying sword traveled through the clouds, crossing mountains and flying over lakes, the scenery retreating rapidly.

……

On the morning of the third day, a round of golden-red sun rose from the east. Above the clouds, the sunlight was particularly bright, and the clouds were beautiful like a painting.

"The sect is almost here. There are some things I must remind you of." The two deacons sitting cross-legged on the flying sword had serious expressions. "When you arrive at your destination, you will not directly enter the sect. You will need to stay in the courtyard in front of the sect for a day. The official entry assessment will only be held tomorrow morning."

"You have passed the preliminary selection. Regardless of whether you pass the entry assessment, you will become disciples of our Qingyun Cave Heaven. It just depends on whether you become outer sect disciples or inner sect disciples."

"However, before tomorrow's assessment concludes, you are not yet officially initiated disciples. Before then, you are not bound by the sect rules."

"Today, in the courtyard where you will be staying, there are preliminary selection passers from various cities. Among those people, there will inevitably be some who like to cause trouble. If they provoke you, I hope you try to restrain yourselves and not conflict with them."

"Well, that's all we have to say. When you get there, someone will arrange corresponding resting areas for you. Someone will also take you to the assessment site early tomorrow morning."

As the flying sword flew, it entered a world covered by a natural field.

Inside, there was a vast, continuous mountain range.

The mountain range was majestic and magnificent, shrouded in mist and clouds, and rich in Saint Spirit energy.

Among the mountain range were several particularly majestic and tall peaks, with imposing momentum.

Those peaks were not only covered with dense, verdant trees, but also had spiritual springs and waterfalls, with pavilions and ancient palaces built on them.

"Is this Qingyun Cave Heaven? Have we arrived?"

The deacon nodded: "That's right, this is Qingyun Cave Heaven. This place is hidden by a natural field. You can't see the real scene inside unless you enter here, so it's called a Cave Heaven."

"Wow, those peaks are too majestic and magnificent, and those ancient halls, with their imposing momentum! And and, look at those sky bridges, they're so spectacular! Heavens, so Qingyun Cave Heaven is so beautiful!"

Some female cultivators exclaimed, with expressions of intoxication on their faces.

Jun Wuxie was also observing. The environment here was indeed very beautiful, especially those peaks.

The entire sect was built with those peaks as the core. Each peak had many pavilions and buildings, as well as exquisite courtyards.

On the central peak, there was a huge square. At the end was a magnificent ancient hall, and along the edge of the square were sky bridges, crossing the sky and connecting to the other peaks.

Those long bridges were surrounded by mist and clouds, and higher up in the sky floated rosy clouds. Rainbows could even be seen in the clouds, like a beautiful painting.

The flying sword was decreasing its altitude and speed, swooping down towards a large courtyard outside the main peaks.

"You're back, thank you for your hard work."

The deacons of the Deacon Hall were waiting here. When the flying sword landed, some of them came forward to greet it, their eyes sweeping over the preliminary selection participants who came down from the flying sword, and said, "The number doesn't seem ideal."

"Ah, bad luck. Our cycles coincide with other forces once every ten years, each of us staggering the time. Every year, they encounter excellent talents, while we…"

The two deacons in charge of the preliminary selection shook their heads, without continuing the topic, "Please take them inside."

After speaking, they turned and left.

The deacon who greeted them here led Jun Wuxie and the others into the courtyard.

This courtyard was very spacious, surrounded by exquisite houses, each separated by tens of meters, built along the edge of the courtyard.

In the middle of the courtyard was a large shallow pond, planted with lotuses. It was March, and the lotus leaves had already grown out of the water.

Several wooden bridges were built over the pond, leading to several pavilions built in the middle of the pond.

Next to the pond, there was a patch of green bamboo forest, rustling in the wind.

The deacon led them to several houses and said, "You will be staying here temporarily today. Choose your own rooms. Try not to conflict with people from other cities. If there is a death, you will be deprived of your entry qualification."

After speaking, the deacon left.

Jun Wuxie looked at the houses here. Each house had a spirit wood plaque hanging on it, with the words "Qingyun City" engraved on it.

Obviously, the houses here had fixed areas divided during construction, with people from which city living in which area.

Jun Wuxie and Jingya went close to examine the house and quickly selected a house.

"We want this suite. It's just right for Jing Aunt and me. You can choose the others at will."

He was not polite and directly chose a suitable one, went in with Jingya, and closed the door.

The others did not say anything and each chose their own house.

"Wuxie, I feel like you have something on your mind."

After arriving in the room, Jingya said this.

She used True Qi to heat the tea in the room and poured a cup, handing it to Jun Wuxie.

"We may not have gotten rid of those people."

Jun Wuxie waved his hand, and an invisible formation barrier enveloped the house, and then he spoke.

"Who are the people you are talking about?"

Jingya was stunned, and a bad feeling arose in her heart.

Jun Wuxie walked to the window, looking at the bamboo forest swaying in the wind outside, and gently sipped the tea in his cup, saying, "I can't be sure which ones exactly, but it should be the forces corresponding to the upper realm envoys I killed in the lower realm, including that lineage of your demon clan."

"What exactly is going on?"

Jingya came to the window and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, her worries growing deeper.

"Does Aunt Jing remember the old man with the heavy sword that we met outside Liuyun City?"

"I remember. Does this have anything to do with him?"

"Indeed, a few days ago, before the preliminary screening in Qingyun City, I received a divine sense transmission from him. He directly asked me if I was Jun Wuxie."

"He… how would he know your name?"

Jing Ya's expression changed instantly, realizing the seriousness of the matter.

"This is also what I find puzzling. Come to think of it, among the people in this Upper Realm who know the name Jun Wuxie, I'm afraid only those major forces that sent envoys to the Lower Realm. That senior didn't seem to want my answer. He reminded me not to reveal my name and to use a pseudonym."

Jing Ya pondered slightly upon hearing this, then said, "It seems he received some information and knows who you are. In that case, someone must be looking for you. That old man had never seen the Jun Wuxie he spoke of, yet he could guess that you were Jun Wuxie, which means the information he received must have contained descriptions of your characteristics, such as cultivating the physical body, such as golden blood energy. No wonder you concealed the color of your blood energy when lifting the cauldron, and used the name Yue Wuxie when registering, even using a homophone of my name, Jing."

"We must be careful and cautious now. Currently, I don't have the strength to confront them, so I need to be extremely vigilant and buy myself time to grow. I suspect this matter is the work of your demon race. After all, my hatred with that lineage of your demon race runs the deepest. They hate me to the bone and probably wish they could tear me to pieces."

"Those people might have learned through some means that the Lower Realm survived the apocalyptic flood and guessed that I came to the Upper Realm, so they secretly released the news, layer by layer, reaching the large and small sects. With such a grand scale, the possibility of it being your demon race lineage is the greatest, and with their status and position, they also have the ability to do so."

"Your analysis makes sense; it's very likely."

"Aunt Jing, can you contact Qing Yu?"

"I can't." Jing Ya shook her head and said, "My realm has fallen below the Saint Realm. It's impossible for me to transmit messages back to the demon race using spiritual talismans. The distance is too far."

"Doesn't the Upper Realm have the kind of starfield rune communication devices we had in the Lower Realm?"

"They existed in ancient times, but they don't exist now. In a certain era, there was a great upheaval in the world, and all the communication rune systems in the Upper Realm's universe were destroyed. Since then, no one has been able to repair or rebuild them."

"I see…"

Jun Wuxie originally thought that in the current situation, it would be best if he could contact Ling Qingyu and have her secretly send people to protect Aunt Jing.

But now it seems that this won't work.

In the future, he can only be careful and cautious, hiding his identity, otherwise not only him, but Aunt Jing will be in even greater danger.

It can be imagined that Teng, the Holy Son of the demon race, and his lineage must also hate Aunt Jing to the bone.

If they were to find out that Aunt Jing's realm had fallen below the Saint Realm, that would be terrible.