Luo Yun Sect – a mysterious sect; its vitality flourished, and masters were as numerous as clouds. Legend has it that this sect was founded by a venerable master who, while gazing at the flying clouds, attained enlightenment and ascended to the immortal realm. Before his ascension, he left behind only one sentence: "I wish to be a cloud in the sky, drifting with the years, carried by the wind, wandering across the world."
His disciples, in remembrance of their benevolent master, established a small sect named Luo Yun Sect. Curiously, ever since this sect came into existence, the world seemed to be cursed. Countless great calamities, from ancient times to the present, swept over the mortal realm in waves.
As if hearing the pleas of the myriad beings, his disciples abandoned their tranquil lives within the mountain sect to join the mortal world, and together with other cultivators, repel the great calamities.
Over the course of these calamities, this sect grew increasingly renowned. From a small sect, Luo Yun Sect had now become a pillar of the world, standing shoulder to shoulder with the great sects of the mortal realm.
Despite its fame, no one outside of its own disciples knew where this sect was located, or even its general whereabouts. Only when a new great calamity arose would the prominent figures from this sect appear.
After countless times surviving these calamities, people grew even more curious about this sect. They tried to investigate and inquired many times, but they were only met with headshakes and gazes towards the distant horizon. From then on, people speculated that this sect was not actually located on solid ground, but that its mountain gate was obscured by the clouds in the sky.
Qing Yun Village – a small village nestled at the foot of Qing Yun Mountain. Though called a village, its population was not small. Legend has it that in the past, the Daoist master of Luo Yun Sect once attained enlightenment on Qing Yun Mountain. Because of this, many renowned cultivators visited this area. However, upon arriving, they discovered a harsh truth: although it was a fertile land with picturesque scenery, the spiritual energy here was exceedingly faint. Thus, they eventually left. Though they regretted leaving such a beautiful place, cultivation always required spiritual energy. Therefore, they only regarded it as a place for mundane literati to compose poetry and prose.
Because many renowned cultivators had once visited this place, everyone here was a cultivator. Although their cultivation level was not high, mostly at the Qi Condensation stage, that was enough to strengthen their bodies and ward off illness and disease. And not a few individuals with cultivation talent had been welcomed as disciples by sects across the land. Though there were many cultivators, those with talent were not particularly attached to this land. Thus, once they achieved certain accomplishments, they often brought their entire families with them when they left. As a result, the population here was constantly changing, and there was hardly any large family clan.
As night fell, this land grew even more desolate. After the afternoon shower, the atmosphere became even quieter, further enhancing the peaceful ambiance of the place.
At the village well at the edge of the village, a young man suddenly appeared. This young man had a handsome face and a radiant demeanor, like a shining sword. He wore a set of blue robes embroidered with white cloud patterns. He silently gazed at the well, then turned and walked away. The young man's solitary figure in the night added to his sense of loneliness. He walked lightly, step by step, as if afraid of disturbing the villagers. After leaving the village a considerable distance, he finally activated a cultivation art. A wisp of green cloud, appearing from nowhere, enveloped him and carried him into the sky.
"Ah!" an exclamation rang out from the small cloud.
"Indeed, my cultivation has dropped terribly. If I were still at my peak, I would have arrived by now," the young man muttered, lamenting his cruel fate but not paying it too much mind.
"Alright, I'll rest here for now and continue later." Though reluctant, he was helpless; the distance to his destination was simply too great for his current cultivation. As if on cue, the cloud slowly descended and then dissipated, leaving only the young man alone in the vast forest. By the time he landed, the world had already entered a new day.
He found a relatively flat spot, sat down, and bit into a medicinal pill to restore his spiritual energy. Fortunately, this was the outer perimeter of the Dark Forest, so while there were many demonic beasts passing through, their cultivation levels were too low to pose a threat. He paid them no mind, sitting in meditation to recover his cultivation.
"Perhaps just one or two more flights and I'll be there," he mused. After repeating this process three times, he was finally nearing his destination. He let out a sigh of relief and began to descend towards a nearby area. But just as he was about to land, a loud noise startled him.
"Sounds like a fight. Looks like a demonic beast hunting party," he thought. He extended his divine sense to investigate, and indeed, not far to his east, a battle was raging – a battle between humans and demonic beasts.
The group consisted of seven individuals, all at the early-to-mid Condensation Stage of cultivation. Facing them was a late Foundation Establishment Stage demonic beast. At this moment, the group held a complete advantage. The poor demonic beast was surrounded by six people, and not only that, it was also trapped within a profound formation. It was like a sandbag being brutally beaten.
"There's still one more person," he noticed then. It turned out only six people were trapping the demonic beast. Another girl was standing outside the encirclement, activating a spell. Judging by the fluctuations of this spell, it was likely a high-tier spell.
"How rare!" he exclaimed. "A cultivator at the early Condensation Stage who can activate a high-tier spell is truly a rare talent, especially a female cultivator. Judging by these fluctuations, it might actually succeed."
On the other side, the female cultivator, who had been completely focused on her spell, suddenly sensed something – an enemy. That slight distraction caused her spell to fluctuate wildly, as if on the verge of collapse. The girl struggled to regain her composure, and finally, the spell was activated: a massive ice staff formed above her head.
"Go!" Despite being quite concerned about the outsider, the girl didn't falter and unleashed her spell.
*Boom!* The ice staff shot straight towards the poor demonic beast. It collapsed to the ground as if by natural law.
"Who's there!" After killing the demonic beast, the girl turned and shouted loudly. Her companions, hearing this, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over them. *Are we just doing all the work for someone else?* Though quite surprised, they didn't waver much. After a moment of stunned silence, they moved. The six of them, as one, rushed to surround the girl. The girl, meanwhile, continued to stare intently in his direction.
"Discovered, huh! No wonder," he mused. He had been wondering why the girl had been distracted earlier, and now he realized he had been spotted. Just as he was about to step out, not far ahead of him, a woman emerged. After taking a few steps, she turned her face to look in his direction.
"Master! Martial Uncle!" the group exclaimed joyfully. But when they saw the woman didn't respond, instead staring intently behind them, they seemed to grow suspicious.
"Junior, show yourself," the woman said, looking towards him.
"Greetings, Senior, and fellow Daoists," he said. Knowing he had been discovered, he no longer tried to hide and slowly walked forward.
"This one merely happened to pass by and doesn't intend to stay long, so I request to take my leave first." He tried to calm himself. Standing before a Core Formation Senior, he had to speak with utmost deference. If it were before, he would have probably left long ago without saying a word.
"Thank you, Daoist friend, for your help." At this moment, the woman was more amiable. She had observed the battle for quite some time and knew he had just arrived. Moreover, from the moment he watched the battle until its end, not a single trace of killing intent appeared, proving he had no intention of killing for treasure. Not only that, but when her junior disciple-nephew made a mistake, he, whether intentionally or not, lent a helping hand.
"It's nothing! Senior, this one requests to leave first." Hearing the thanks, he knew the other party held no ill will towards him, so he bowed and prepared to quickly slip away.
"Wait! Junior, from which sect do you hail?" The more she observed the young man, the more mysterious he seemed. Almost no killing intent emanated from him, as if he had never killed a person or a demonic beast. Moreover, the clothes he wore were quite similar to the descriptions of that mysterious sect.
"This one has no sect, no school, merely an ordinary rogue cultivator." When asked this, he involuntarily looked up at the sky, then, as if realizing something was amiss, he lowered his gaze to the ground and slowly replied.
"Junior, is there something you find difficult to speak about? But never mind, in any case, I thank you on behalf of these juniors." The woman seemed to recall something and finally didn't press for more information.
"Daoist friend, what is your name?" At this moment, the girl behind her spoke.
"Vo Tam. If there's nothing else, this one requests to leave first." Having said that, he activated a spell, a cloud enveloped him, and he vanished.
"Yem Nguyet Sect – Nguyet Nhi, I will remember this," he mumbled continuously while in the air.
As for the other group, after he left, they all clamored and surrounded the woman, asking questions.
"Master, that person..." Nguyet Nhi began to ask, but was stopped by the woman.
"Come here with me for a moment." The woman stepped out of the crowd and walked in another direction. The girl followed behind, while the rest of the group divided to retrieve the formation flags and deal with the demonic beast.
"Perhaps you've also guessed."
"Yes, could he be from that sect?"
"If I'm not mistaken, then it must be so."
"Then why did he emerge into the world? Could it be that a calamity is about to occur?"
"I don't know either," the woman thought to herself. "But this person's behavior is quite suspicious. Could it be that this sect sensed something unusual and sent its disciples to investigate? If this is true, I must report it to the sect immediately."
"You did very well!" Putting aside all thoughts, the woman turned back and praised her.
"It's all thanks to Master's guidance."
"Enough talk, I must return to the sect for a trip. This cultivation journey of yours should probably end here." Having said that, the woman activated a spell and vanished, leaving only the girl standing there.
"Vo Tam, remember this: I CHOOSE YOU."