Chapter 776: Chapter 511: Fan Family (Part 2)

After a few breaths of sending the message, the void above the sky suddenly caved inwards and twisted instantly. An irresistibly vast pressure descended abruptly, as a figure coalesced from the void and stepped out slowly.

The newcomer was a middle-aged man, draped in a brocade robe, seemingly woven from the molten flames of the Stars. His visage was resolute, and his eyes were as deep and steady as an abyss, unfathomable.

The most unnerving aspect was the natural aura of power that permeated around him, vast and domineering, like a volcano, harboring the destructive potential of heaven and earth, perfectly constrained within a mere inch, each gesture seemingly invoking the most primal fluctuations of the Laws of this realm.

The Ninth Realm, a genuine Immortal Venerable.

The middle-aged man’s gaze swept over the crowd and quickly locked onto Yun Tianji. In a flash, he appeared before Yun Tianji, slightly lowering his head, extremely humble in demeanor, he bowed deeply:

“Young Master, I am Yun Canglan, ordered by the main lineage to await Young Master here for a long time. The ancestral land of the Yun Family has activated the Boundary Gate, all preparations are complete, ready to welcome Young Master back to the clan at any time.”

“Yun Canglan…”

Yun Tianji searched his memory for this name, but found little recollection, clearly someone from a side branch, not very significant.

“Thank you, Elder Canglan.” Yun Tianji nodded in return.

“Just fulfilling my duty.”

Yun Canglan straightened up, still respectful: “Young Master, you must have had a hard journey, please follow me, the elders of the main lineage are all eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

Upon hearing this, Yun Tianji shook his head slightly, calmly saying: “No rush, before returning to the clan’s land, I need to find two old friends. I kindly ask Elder Canglan to utilize the Yun Family’s resources here to help me keep an eye out.”

A trace of astonishment flashed in Yun Canglan’s eyes, but he did not ask further, solemnly stating: “As ordered by Young Master, I will do my utmost, but the Yun Family has little power stationed in the Near Immortal Realm, so I can only try my best. May I know who Young Master is looking for?”

“Zheng Chu and Xue Qing.”

“Zheng Chu… Xue Qing…” Yun Canglan repeated softly, he had not heard of Zheng Chu, but had heard quite a bit about Xue Qing in recent years.

Without delay, he sent out a message.

In less than an hour, Yun Canglan received news and bowed, “Young Master, there is already news of Xue Qing.”

“Oh? So fast?” Yun Tianji’s eyebrow arched slightly, somewhat surprised at the Yun Family’s ability to gather information.

“Yes.” Yun Canglan said in a deep voice: “Miss Xue Qing is currently in Lingbi City, her fame is widespread in the Upper Realm, so she is not difficult to find.”

“Widespread fame?” Yun Tianji was startled.

“Yes.” Yun Canglan nodded, expression solemn: “According to the intel, although Miss Xue Qing’s cultivation is only at the late-stage Semi-Saint, there are several, possibly more than ten, Great Saints of Martial Path at the Ninth Realm who often accompany her.”

“Ninth Realm Great Saints? Followers? Are they Protectors sent by the Martial Pavilion?”

Yun Tianji’s expression changed slightly, unable to hide his astonishment.

Anyone who can reach the Ninth Realm is a giant in the Great Universe. Why would they follow behind a junior? It must be the Martial Pavilion’s order.

“They are not Protectors” Yun Canglan shook his head and said:

“These Great Saints and Miss Xue Qing do not share a master-servant relationship or typical elder-junior mentoring; they engage in martial exchanges.”

He paused to add: “Or rather, it is more akin to seeking guidance.”

“Guidance?” Yun Tianji felt it somewhat absurd for Ninth Realm Great Saints to seek martial guidance from a Seventh Realm Semi-Saint?

“Indeed.” Yun Canglan nodded: “During the exchanges, the Great Saints greatly benefit and hold Miss Xue Qing’s martial insights in high esteem, revering them as commandments. Miss Xue Qing’s talent and comprehensiveness in the Martial Path are unbelievably high. Often… it is the Great Saints who gain more from the discussions.”

Yun Tianji remained silent; the talent Xue Qing displayed in the Lower Realm was already extraordinary, but he never imagined that Xue Qing could, in such an environment of the Upper Realm, humble a group of long-time Great Saints in the Martial Path with her mere Seventh Realm strength.

This talent, without any Heavenly Fate protection, already surpassed those so-called Sons of Heaven he knew!

“Lingbi City…”

Suppressing the shock and curiosity in his heart, Yun Tianji turned and instructed the newly ascended cultivators to rest in place. With a wave of his hand, he said: “Elder Canglan, please lead the way, let’s head to Lingbi City immediately.”

A single encounter will naturally clear everything up.

“As you command.” Yun Canglan bowed and complied. He too wished to see firsthand what kind of person would garner such respect from a group of Great Saints in Martial Path.

……

……

In the blink of an eye, several hours passed.

The breath of the cultivators left behind had gradually stabilized, with most entering a deep meditative state.

Suddenly, several points of black light shot down from the sky, halting above the camp.

The black light dissipated, revealing five figures.

Leading them was a middle-aged man in a dark green combat outfit, clad in dark scale armor, his face grim and his narrow eyes like venomous blades. His lips habitually curled downward, displaying arrogance, and his cultivation was remarkably at the Eighth Order.

“Hmph!”

The middle-aged man snorted coldly, scanning the cultivators within the camp, his brows furrowed slightly:

“My name is Fan Ling. When did you lot crawl up from the Lower Realm? This area is under the jurisdiction of my Fan Family. Who allowed you to camp here at will?”

Judging by the camp, they had been here for some time, without a strong figure to guide them; they were merely stray dogs from the Lower Realm huddled together.

“Fan Family?”

The bewildered gazes of the cultivators fell upon several members of the Yun Family.

Being from the Lower Realm, they were unaware of the situation in the Upper Realm or the Great Universe; for the moment, they dared not speak rashly.

A member of the Yun Family frowned slightly, quietly sent out a message, his eyes flashing with a cold light, then stepped out of the camp:

“What the Yun Family does is none of your concern?”

Yun Family?

Fan Ling paused, summoning with a wave of his hand, and instructed via sound transmission: “Check the Thousand Clan Records, see which Yun Family it is.”

The Thousand Clan Records, containing the large and small families of the Near Immortal Realm, is essential for every family to avoid offending someone beyond their means.

One of Fan Ling’s subordinates immediately took out an ancient bronze book and began flipping through it, starting with the Song, Zhao, and Yuan Families.

In an instant, names of hundreds of aristocratic families in Falling Leaves Heaven flashed by quickly, and the ancient book was swiftly flipped to the last few pages.

With a rustle, the hefty tome was turned to the last page.

Fan Ling’s eyes darted quickly over the few small family names remaining on the last page, his tension easing as a mocking smile spread across his lips, tinged with disdain and arrogance:

“Yun Family?”

He scoffed, full of derision: “From start to finish, rummaging through the Thousand Clan Records, there’s not a single ‘Yun’. Not even considered the tail end of the corner… what kind of bumpkin riffraff emerged to camp in our Fan Family’s domain?”

“Just some lower realm strays not even listed in the Thousand Clan Records!”

Fan Ling’s voice suddenly rose, sharply declaring: “Enough talk, hand over everything you have, and do it now, immediately…”

With that, he slowly drew a long blade, pointing its tip directly at one of the men in the camp, his expression twisted, issuing a high-pitched demand: “Stop wasting time. Hand over everything you have right now, or I’ll put you lowly creatures from the Lower Realm to hard labor for a thousand years or more!”

The camp fell into a deathly silence.

The void rippled, and several figures materialized, slowly approaching the camp.

Upon noticing these individuals approaching, Fan Ling’s expression immediately froze, while those behind him all showed drastic changes in their expressions.

With a sudden darkness in the air, several figures appeared, hovering above the camp.

Their leader was a middle-aged man in a dark green suit, with a black scale armor draping over him. His face was grim, and his narrow eyes were like sharpened blades, with a habitual, disdainful curve at the corners of his mouth, and his cultivation fluctuated powerfully, indicating he had reached the Eighth Order.

Standing against a deathly silence in the camp, the young man who had just ascended gave a knowing smile. He gestured to the stunned group of cultivators, dismissing them with a wave of his hand:

“Elder Canglan, please lead the way to Lingbi City immediately.”

Having seen each other face to face, everything should be clear.

“As you command.” Yun Canglan bowed in response. He was just as curious to see for himself the enigma who could bring the Great Saints of the Martial Path to their knees, begging for guidance.

“””