Ascending, Do Not Disturb!

Chapter 6: Splendid Cloud Sect

“This is the Immortality Questing Path—each sect will have such a path. The ordinary people that want to join the sect to cultivate have to walk this path before they can remain.” Cheng Yi introduced Splendid Cloud Sect’s buildings to Kong Hou. “Over there is Moon Perching Peak where Master and we will live.”

Looking where Cheng Yi was pointing, Kong Hou found a mountain in the west shrouded mysteriously in mist. But she didn’t dare to speak now. She feared that Master and Eldest Shixiong would remember that she hadn’t walked that Immortality Questing Path and would throw her to the base of the mountain to climb up by herself.

Cheng Yi thought that Kong Hou hadn’t adjusted to Lingyou World yet and didn’t think more. He landed with Kong Hou on the training ground outside the main hall. The disciples on the training ground all wore blue outer robes. Seeing Cheng Yi arrive, they put away their weapons, and bowed to Cheng Yi. As a personal apprentice to the master of Moon Perching Peak, Cheng Yi had great status in the sect.

“Shixiong and Shimei do not have to be so courteous.” Cheng Yi corrected the mistakes of several disciples in their sword moves, and then pulled Kong Hou to watch from the side.

Kong Hou did not understand swordsmanship well, but she felt these people had better-looking swordsmanship than the ones from the palace. Also, these people did not fear the cold. On such a cold day, they wore cotton robes. The robes were beautiful to look at but not insulating.

She looked into the sky. Where had Master and Second Shixiong gone to?

As she thought this, she suddenly saw red clouds rolling in the sky, and snow being swept up by great winds. On a singing crane, Master came, dressed in snowy-white robes.

Kong Hou was astounded by her master’s ethereal appearance. She dazedly looked at the flying crane and felt that Master, in this moment, was truly an immortal.

She seemed to hear Eldest Shixiong laugh, but when she turned to look, she only saw Eldest Shixiong‘s serious face.

Had she heard it wrong?

Seeing Wang Tong riding the crane directly into the main hall, Cheng Yi said to Kong Hou, “Let’s go in.”

“Oh.” Kong Hou felt someone seemed to be inside the clouds, and Second Shixiong was not here.

“Eldest Shixiong, where is Second Shixiong?”

“Your second shixiong—” Cheng Yi looked into the sky “—he is doing something very important for Master.”

Kong Hou looked at Eldest Shixiong‘s face and felt for some reason that Eldest Shixiong‘s expression was full of meaning. This probably represented the worries of an adult world. After walking with Cheng Yi for a while along a path, Kong Hou said in a small voice to Cheng Yi, “Eldest Shixiong, those shixiong and shijie 1 who are practicing seem to be peeking at us.”

“Do not mind them.” Cheng Yi patted Kong Hou’s hair buns. “Young people are curious and their cultivation still insufficient.”

Kong Hou turned around to look at those shixiong and shijie. They withdrew their gazes. They were similar to the old officials of the previous dynasty who had joined Emperor Jinghong. They would peek at her but they would pretend that nothing was happening.

As expected, the world of adults was filled with matters where people buried their heads in the sand.

In the main hall, snow swept onto the faces of the sect master and the four peak masters. Qing Yuan’s temper was fiery, and he almost slapped the table and left. But when he remembered the person coming was Wang Tong, he swallowed his anger.