Chapter 158: The Feng Clan Bloodline – What a Mess

The scene was deathly quiet, the only sound the howling wind. Bai Li Que’s voice, though soft, seemed jarringly loud in the stillness.

Murong Yi said coldly, “Trying to run? All of you, get over here.”

With his command, the group had no choice but to fly over. In an odd sight, six wheelchairs lined up in front of him, giving off an eerie vibe.

A line of Venerable Elders stared at them. Mei Chengyu gave them a glance and chuckled lightly. “These kids seem pretty close. Braving danger together like that—must be tight-knit.”

Shang Liu snorted, “Just a bunch of troublemakers. The Returning Immortal Sect really needs to rein in its disciples. This was supposed to be a group expedition, and they just broke off on their own. No discipline at all.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Gu Qingyu and Shen Wuxie burst into view, right into the line of sight of the Venerable Elders. The two of them were actually on the same silver kite—and even wrestling with each other.

Mei Chengyu raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that Azure Profound Sect’s top body cultivator? Looks like your sect isn’t as well-behaved as we thought. Same lack of discipline.”

Shang Liu: “…”

Now that all the disciples who’d gone rogue from the three major sects were accounted for, Azure Profound Sect had nothing more to say. Only the Venerable Elders of Crimson Sky Sect looked smug: “At least our disciples know how to follow orders.”

But no one paid Crimson Sky Sect any mind. Shang Liu silently dragged Gu Qingyu away, and the Clear Thought Sect’s Venerable Elder had no choice but to temporarily take charge of Shen Wuxie.

Over on the Returning Immortal Sect’s side, Murong Yi grabbed one in each hand like picking up chicks, and tossed all six onto the silver kite.

“We left an hour before you, and you caught up in less than two quarters of an hour. Not bad,” Murong Yi said with a smile that sent chills down their spines. “Who made this Spirit Artifact? I distinctly remember the rules of the Immortal Sect Grand Competition—no overly fast flying artifacts allowed.”

Flying too fast risked collisions and didn’t meet the standards for group travel.

Sure, there weren’t many people in the desert, so the odds of crashing into someone were low—but still, breaking formation was unacceptable.

Xu Xianxing spoke up timidly, “Venerable Elder, Senior Brother Guan gave us permission to go ahead.”

Wen Yun quickly nodded. “That’s right. He didn’t stop us.”

Murong Yi turned to look at Lian Mu, who immediately played dead.

Murong Yi: “…”

Everyone knew Guan Huailin’s temperament—he always spoiled his junior disciples. Of course he wouldn’t stop them. Even if Murong Yi asked, Guan Huailin would take full responsibility without hesitation.

Murong Yi tightened his grip on his silver fan and tapped each of them on the head. “You think being top disciples gives you free rein? There are things in this desert you haven’t seen yet. If you run into them, it won’t just be a few scratches.”

Lian Mu asked curiously, “What’s in the desert?”

Murong Yi smacked her hard on the head. “You still dare to talk? I bet you were the ringleader again. If you stir up trouble one more time, once this Illusion Realm is over, you’ll be meditating in isolation for three days.”

Lian Mu muttered, “…I won’t dare next time.”

But Murong Yi knew her too well. “Next time” only meant she was bored of this particular trick.

“If you know you were wrong, then behave. Stick with us and stop running off.”

The group had already left the rest of the Four Great Sects behind. Sending anyone back now would be unsafe, so Murong Yi released an extra silver kite and had them follow the Venerable Elders’ team directly.

None of them dared argue. They obediently boarded the silver kite. As soon as Bai Li Que got on, he set up a soundproof barrier.

Xu Xianxing’s legs gave out and he plopped down, only to feel sore all over. “Still more comfortable in a wheelchair.”

“I thought I was gonna die back there. I really thought Venerable Murong was going to beat us.”

Guan Shize was still shaken. When he bumped into someone and looked up to see Murong Yi, his soul nearly fled his body.

Lian Mu asked, “Besides demonic beasts, what else is in the desert?”

“No idea,” Bai Li Que replied. “Maybe the Venerable Elder is just worried about us.”

With their strength, they could easily handle high-level demonic beast packs. Bai Li Que didn’t really understand why the Venerable Elder was so tense.

Ji Mingyue said, “Venerable Murong couldn’t bring himself to punish us. Look over there—Gu Qingyu’s getting the beating of his life.”

They all turned to look. The Venerable Elders of Azure Profound Sect had surrounded Gu Qingyu. Shang Liu wasn’t doing anything, just watching from the side, while one of the body cultivator Venerable Elders—clearly Gu Qingyu’s master—was giving him a thorough thrashing.

Meanwhile, over at Clear Thought Sect, Shen Wuxie looked completely unfazed. The Venerable Elder next to him didn’t even bother to intervene. Shen Wuxie was, after all, the Sect Master’s nephew. Aside from his own master, few Venerable Elders dared lay a hand on him.

Xu Xianxing shook his head. “Body cultivators are way too violent.”

“This sucks,” Wen Yun complained. “Now that we’re stuck with the Venerable Elders, we can’t have any fun. This silver kite is so slow, there’s no breeze at all. I’m roasting.”

Bai Li Que said, “Aren’t you body cultivators supposed to have spirit bodies? In spirit form, you shouldn’t feel hot or cold.”

Wen Yun grumbled, “Who keeps their spirit body active all the time? That’s for fighting, not daily life.”

Ji Mingyue took out a few Ice-cold Pills and handed them around. “Isn’t Bai Li Que a Wind Spirit Root? Let him stir up some breeze… Speaking of which, Penglai Immortal Island is by the sea, and I’ve heard the Azure Dragon East often has hurricanes. Isn’t that your home turf?”

Bai Li Que replied, “More or less. But among the top disciples, I’m not the only one with a Wind Spirit Root.”

Wen Yun swallowed an Ice-cold Pill, feeling instantly refreshed. “The environment in Azure Dragon East suits you perfectly. Drawing on the power of nature makes cultivation a lot easier than in most places. Why didn’t you join the Crimson Sky Sect back then?”

“The power of heaven and earth ultimately belongs to heaven and earth, not to me,” Bai Li Que said calmly. “If I get used to relying on external forces, I’ll be helpless once I leave that environment. I don’t want to trap myself. I want to be able to defeat powerful enemies even in places where there’s no wind.”

“No wonder you’ve never liked strong winds,” Xu Xianxing said. “I always thought you weren’t satisfied with your Spiritual Root.”

As the last Ice-cold Pill was handed out, Lian Mu reached out to take hers, but Ji Mingyue twisted his wrist and passed it to Guan Shize instead.

Lian Mu frowned. “What about mine?”

Ji Mingyue replied, “Ice-cold Pills conflict with spirit replenishing pills. You can’t take them.”

Lian Mu muttered, “…Bai Li Que, put up a barrier. I’m hot too.”

Bai Li Que said, “I’ve already put up a soundproofing barrier. The area’s too small—if I add a heat-insulation layer, I’ll have to remove the soundproofing.”

Lian Mu glanced at Murong Yi and gave up. No one wanted their idle chatter overheard by a Venerable Elder—it’d be too embarrassing.

Guan Shize scooted closer to her, brushing against her hand and quietly transferring spiritual energy. Lian Mu felt a wave of coolness wash over her.

“I’ve got Wind, Fire, and Earth Spiritual Roots,” Guan Shize whispered. “Not quite a Heavenly Wind Root, but I can still stir up a breeze.”

Lian Mu smiled. “Thanks. I’ll treat you to a meal when we get back.”

Bai Li Que, who had just reached out his hand, silently pulled it back. “…”

“Lian Mu, you’re still taking spirit replenishing pills? Didn’t your sect fix your dantian issue?” Wen Yun asked.

Lian Mu replied, “I just got enough pills to last through the Immortal Sect Grand Competition. Fixing my dantian is still a long way off.”

Ji Mingyue suddenly remembered something. “We just left White Tiger West like that—what about that matter?”

Xu Xianxing asked, “What matter? Don’t keep us in the dark—spill it.”

“Before we came, Venerable Elder Yi from Fragrance-Attracting Peak asked us to go to the Feng Clan and steal the secret manual for dantian restoration,” Lian Mu said bluntly, though she didn’t mention anything about Feng Tianche.

Wen Yun offered, “Need help? I know where the Feng Clan is—I know their territory like the back of my hand.”

The Wen family used to be close with the Feng Clan, but after the Fengs gave up the position of Sect Master of Clear Thought Sect, their relationship had gradually faded.

Guan Shize frowned. “A prestigious Immortal Sect family like the Feng Clan must have tight security. It won’t be easy.”

“We can’t act on it for now,” Lian Mu said. “Even if we manage to sneak into the Feng Clan, not just anyone can access their library pavilion. Sect Master Shen told me the Feng Clan’s library pavilion can only be opened by someone with Feng blood. It’s a Heavenly Lock Tower—if an outsider tries to force their way in, they’ll be obliterated by the formation at the base of the tower. Even if we want to steal the manual, we’d need someone from the Feng Clan to open the pavilion first.”

“When did Sect Master Shen tell you this?” Ji Mingyue asked.

“Yesterday morning,” Lian Mu replied.

Xu Xianxing said, “So that’s why you were late yesterday. If you’d told Venerable Elder Mei, she wouldn’t have come down so hard on you.”

“That’s strange,” Wen Yun said, puzzled. “Why is Sect Master Shen being so nice to you? He’s not usually the meddling type.”

Ji Mingyue added, “Since he told you all that, I’m guessing he also gave you a way to get around it? He’s the top talisman cultivator of our time—breaking a formation at the base of a tower should be a breeze for him.”

Xu Xianxing shook his head. “Feng Jiuzhou, the Feng Clan’s ancestor, was the founding patriarch of Clear Thought Sect. Sect Master Shen is the current sect leader—he can’t act directly. If someone of his level makes a move, the whole world will know.”

Lian Mu said, “The death formation has no solution. There’s only one way in—enter with someone carrying Feng blood. Sect Master Shen said my opportunity will come in the next Illusion Realm trial, but he didn’t say what it is yet.”

In the Illusion Realm, there were only two people with Feng blood. Feng Huanyin, the Feng Clan’s young mistress, would never agree to help. That left only one target—Fengyun Yi.

“Looks like we’ll have to start with Fengyun Yi,” Ji Mingyue said, frowning.

Wen Yun sighed. “That’s going to be tricky. From what I know, Fengyun Yi and his father absolutely hate the Wuyang branch of the Feng family. He swore he’d never return to the Feng Clan.”

“But didn’t Fengyun Yi use his Feng Clan heritage to get into Azure Profound Sect? Why would he hate them?”

Wen Yun leaned in, and the group huddled together as he whispered, “You guys might not know this, but while outsiders say Fengyun Yi and his father defected, the truth is—they were kicked out.”

“The current head of the Feng Clan is Fengyun Yi’s mother. Back then, she gave birth to a pair of twins—one was Feng Huanyin, the other was Fengyun Yi. Feng Huanyin was tested early on and found to have a Heavenly Spiritual Root, while Fengyun Yi was mistakenly identified as having a crippled Spiritual Root. The Feng Clan was eager to groom the next young master, so they chose his sister. As for him, with his poor aptitude, the clan let him fend for himself. His childhood was absolutely miserable.”

“Later, Fengyun Yi caused a scene at the Feng Clan Ancestor’s birthday banquet, bringing great shame to the clan. Less than a month after that, he and his father were both kicked out. With nowhere to go, he wandered from place to place until he ended up at the Azure Profound Sect,” Wen Yun said. “Strangely enough, even though the Feng Clan head clearly didn’t like Fengyun Yi and drove him out, she still wrote a letter asking the Azure Profound Sect to take him in.”

“Who would’ve thought that after joining Azure Profound Sect, he’d discover the Spirit Testing Stone had made a mistake back then—he actually had a Heavenly Spiritual Root too.”

Ji Mingyue muttered, “The lives of noble clans are really something else.”

Wen Yun said, “Fengyun Yi hates the Feng Clan to death. Back when we were at White Tiger West, he avoided any members of the Feng Clan from Clear Thought Sect like the plague. There’s no way he’d go back to the Feng Clan willingly—unless someone had something on him.”

Lian Mu thought for a moment. Maybe Sect Master Shen was trying to tell her that this Illusion Realm held something that could be used against Fengyun Yi.

“So that’s how it is. There’s still a sliver of hope.”