Chen Wentian opened his eyes aboard the Skyward General. The flying ship was still sailing through the wilderness, passing through layers of clouds, avoiding vast mountain ranges, and crossing countless dangers below. The sun had just arisen and today was finally the day they would arrive at the Temple of the Clouds.
He spread his spiritual sense around, covering the entire ship. Immortal Silver Brawler Yu Yanwu, a newly recruited mber of the Million Swords nace, was manning the wheel and controlling the various spiritual arrays that provided levitation and propulsion. A few of Yu Yanwu’s subordinates were at their assigned stations while others slept.
Everything was calm, a calm before the storm.
Of his disciples, Lin Qingcheng was in bed with him, still sleeping soundly like a pig, a very cute and lovable pig. She was the only one who climbed into his bed last night. The others were either worried or staying alert, knowing that they would soon reach the target of their mission.
The Temple of the Clouds was known as the most ferocious battleground in the whole of the Martial Brilliance Continent. They had to treat it with complete seriousness. Even Chen Wentian couldn’t slack off.
He threw away the furs covering Lin Qingcheng’s naked body and smacked her perky butt.
“Ah!” She let out a cry and sat up.
After looking around at the situation, she giggled and dived into his embrace. A few kisses later, she was fighting with his pants, fully intent on getting payback for the tornts she suffered last night.
Chen Wentian rejected her kind intentions with another gentle slap on her buttocks, “We should get ready, the others are already up.”
“Yes, master.”
Lin Qingcheng cleaned up and dressed in her disguise as Ren Jinjin. After putting on several layers of makeup and a pile of fancy jewelry, she was ready. Chen Wentian also disguised himself and beca Immortal Sword Bandit Lin Huzhong. Together, they stepped out of the captain’s suite to find the rest ready and waiting.
“Morning, master,” They greeted.
“Mmm, morning,” He waved his hand and led them onto the deck.
After a few words with Yu Yanwu, everyone settled in and waited.
A few hours later, as the sun was reaching its peak in the sky, it finally ca into view, the Temple of the Clouds.
It was a strange sight. From high up in the flying boat, he saw a vast depression in the ground. Where there were supposed to be hills and valleys, there was instead a white ocean, an ocean of clouds that extended all the way to the horizon. Bordering this white ocean was a sheer cliff. It was so tall and sheer that it seed as if an unfathomably huge giant had sliced apart the ground, creating a void of untold depths that had subsequently been filled by clouds.
“Amazing, this is the Temple of the Clouds?” Chen Wentian asked.
“Yes, my lord,” Yu Yanwu replied.
“Where are the temples?” Lin Qingcheng asked, “I can’t see anything. There’s nothing but clouds.”
Yu Yanwu shook his head, “My lord’s miss, the temples are hidden within the countless layers of thick clouds. Nobody knows how deep this sea of clouds is. Nobody has ever reached the bottom. If you dare to venture inside, you’ll discover that so clouds are not like the rest. So clouds behave like they are alive, flying quickly and with strange purposes. If you manage to capture one, they can sell for an astonishing price. Other clouds are solid like the ground. You can step on them or even build a fortress if you wish. You can claim it as your own as long you have the strength to defend it. But the most desired… are the temples. These are special clouds that contain secret realms. Inside, one can find untold treasures as well as countless dangers.”
“What kind of treasures?” Lin Qingcheng asked with great interest.
“Spiritual crystals, rare beasts, mysterious ores, priceless spiritual herbs… as far as I know, the possibilities are endless. Also, so of these treasures are so powerful that they can help a mortal directly step into the immortal realms.”
“Wow!” Lin Qingcheng cried out.
“These temples, do people fight over them? Why don’t so of the Spirit Emperors co over and just take over everything?” Zhou Ziyun asked.
Yu Yanwu nodded, “Many first-ti visitors have wondered about this. These temples are not easy to find. So move around unpredictably. So only exist for a short period of ti. Others have already been claid by various major powers. But most importantly, many of these temples have mysterious restrictions on who can enter or even detect their presence. For example, they may be restricted to those at the Spirit Initiate Realm or below. Others are restricted to the Lesser Realm of Spiritual Growth and below. So on and so forth.”
“Wow! That makes it fair for everyone!” Lin Qingcheng said.
“It's not that it’s fair,” Yu Yanwu replied, “It just allows the younger generation of major powers to test their ttle. This whole Temple of the Clouds is a proving ground for various cultivators of the continent. But if their elders and masters are not strong enough to protect their safety, they won’t ever be able to leave a temple even if they are peerless within.”
Chen Wentian nodded along. Most of this information, he had heard of before from various sources. But it was good to get a fresh overview for everyone.
The Skyward General reached the sea of clouds but didn’t cross over it. Instead, it followed the cliff-like shoreline. Soon, a large city appeared, situated right at the edge of the sheer cliff, overlooking the endless clouds below.
“Cloud Edge City, we’ll be there soon.” Yu Yanwu said, “This is the only city open to the public within a hundred thousand kiloters. Bandit gangs, the orthodox sects, the Immortal Association, none of them have complete control of the city. There is a tacit understanding that fighting should be kept to a minimum within its walls. Immortals are even forbidden from fighting there. They can go to the life-or-death arena and bet their lives to settle disputes. Or, they can find each other amidst the sea of clouds and kill each other to their heart's content.”
Yu Yanwu turned to Chen Wentian, “My Lord Bandit, you should be careful. It is best to get an understanding of the environnt first and not make large moves that will attract attention. This city is one built on alliances and relationships. My status as a mber of the Hero Alliance of Mount Liang will provide us with so cover. But it can only do so much. If you catch the ire of a major power, then we can only flee south and never co back.”
“Or perhaps… we can flee into the sea of clouds? I am sure many people have done that.” Chen Wentian replied casually.
“That is true, but the Temple of the Clouds has swallowed more immortals than anyone can count. It is not a place to be taken lightly.”
Chen Wentian smiled, “Understood, only as a last resort then. Good! Takes us into Cloud Edge City. There is a lot to do and not a lot of ti.”
“Yes, Lord Sword Bandit...”
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