Realms In The Firmament
chapter-1107

Jun Yinglian after the time it took for an incense stick to burn.

Many shadows kept approaching. If she didn't intentionally make the lightning scent with thunderclaps which could only be performed by level nine Dao Origin Stage cultivators before she left, these men wouldn't be able to notice anything wrong in a short time.

Over a hundred figures were approaching from different directions. However, when they saw what had happened, they were shocked and stopped.

The plan failed.

They hadn't even seen the target, yet the plan failed.

They didn't even know how.

At the moment, a man was approaching from the sky with thunderclaps in the wind. Flashes of lightning were still striking in the air, but the man had landed in front of the others.

He was tall and robust, with a golden mask on his face and imposing manner.

"Chief." The others saw him and bowed.

The golden-mask man looked at the dead bodies under the tree and blandly said, "Cease the plan. Kill all the other fake Xiao Monarchs we are raising. Immediately. We need a new plan to get Jun Yinglian. Now!"

"Why?" one of the other asked.

Every plan was based on the analysis of human nature. They raised impersonators who could create the most significant effect on the targets. It was never an easy way to make a perfect impersonator. It took a long time and tons of details about the person who was to be impersonated. The cultivation of the imitated person was one challenging job. The men who were raised to impersonate Ye Xiao should have the same appearance and behavior as Ye Xiao, and they had to be good in cultivation.

Even though their weaker capability could be explained as they were seriously injured, they should still be above the initial level of Dao Origin Stage. It was not an easy job to improve somebody to Dao Origin Stage even in Qing-Yun Realm. According to what the golden-mask man said, more people were just like the fake Xiao Monarch that was killed by Jun Yinglian. That was quite a substantial expense!

However, he actually wanted to abandon it. This golden-mask man was terrible!

It was pretty unbelievable and unimaginable for his underlings! Wasn't it too much a waste?

"Simple reason… Jun Yinglian flayed his face." The golden-mask man looked at a small pile of flesh and blood in a bush. It still had the shape of a human face. There were muscles in it too.

The others were silent.

Golden-mask man took a few steps and blandly said, "I said it would work. They just didn't believe it. If Jun Yinglian didn't leave early, and if she found you, it would be easy for her to kill you all… If she captured one of you, it would be pretty possible that our secret would be leaked."

"That is the biggest risk we are taking."

"I said it is impossible to impersonate a peerless great cultivator, yet you insisted on trying… Humph!"

He seemed to complain about somebody. The over one hundred Dao Origin Stage cultivators all bowed and kept listening.

"However, the failure of the plan is not completely a bad thing… At least, she hated the three factions more now." He blandly said, "Everybody, retreat!"

As he gave the order, all the others followed. They immediately disappeared in the forests.

Golden-mask man kept his hands behind the back, looking into the distance, murmuring, "We must do it faster…"

Then he flashed and disappeared in a piece of cloud, leaving no trace behind.

…

In Oracle District.

Under Li Yunxuan's full support, Ye Clan had become the deputy force of Misty Cloud Palace in Oracle District.

It meant all the other forces that were connected to Misty Cloud Palace would have to deal with Ye Clan, including those who traded Regeneration Lotus to Misty Cloud Palace. All medicinal materials should be transferred to Ye Clan, and Ye Clan would get the cultivation resources from Misty Cloud Palace as a relay station.

In another word, no matter what the other clans collected, they had to give it to Ye Clan, not to Misty Cloud Palace. Whoever violated the rule would be punished by Misty Cloud Palace, even not by Ye Clan!

That meant all the local forces would be under the lead of Ye Clan.

Zhan Yunfei who represented Cold Moon Palace had done a bigger favor. He made a list of all the spiritual plants Cold Moon Palace needed and made a fair deal with Ye Clan.

Suddenly, the second-rate local clan, Ye Clan, became the focal point with prestige.

It wasn't the end of the surprise yet. Misty Cloud Palace decided to set up a field base in Ye Clan so that they could work more efficiently.

The clever ones knew that it was apparently the most thoughtful protection to Ye Clan!

Misty Cloud Palace was trying to protect Ye Clan in every possible way!

If Qiong-Hua Palace wanted to attack Ye Clan afterward, they just couldn't! Unless Misty Cloud Palace collapsed!

People of the other clans in Oracle District were all jealous about the privilege of Ye Clan.

The recent good luck of Ye Clan was unstoppable.

Nobody knew the reason why Misty Cloud Palace would do it and do it in such a thorough way, but they at least knew that Ye Xiao was the real disciple of the three grand elder of Cold Moon Palace!

That meant Ye Xiao was in a pretty high position in Cold Moon Palace!

In fact… according to what they knew about the three old men, he might be the most important person who was in the highest position!

The most important!

Ye Xiao had worked so hard recently. Now his father finally took charge of Ye Clan. It was important to enhance the clan after all!

He had lots of dan beads in Boundless Space…

It would be a waste not to use them when he could use them!

He took out a part of the dan beads and gave it away to the others in the clan. When he gave the dan beads to the clan, he explained that they were gifts from his sect, Cold Moon Palace!

The ignorant people in the clan didn't recognize any of the great dan beads!

They just believed whatever they were told.

Whenever Ye Xiao lied about it, Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian would nod to help. But they would also stare at the dan beads with saliva flowing down their mouths. "That's true… We have plenty of such dan beads… These are not the best though… Just regular…"

Ye Clan people trusted them.

[Cold Moon Palace should be able to take out some dan beads like these… It is a ten thousand years old sect after all…]

[Besides, our young lord is the successor of their grand elders! He is the most important person in their sect!]

[It is reasonable that he takes some dan beads from the sect to help his own family. It makes sense!]

…

Ye Clan people would never know how exactly Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian felt at the moment.

They were not some ignorant men. They were superior cultivators with sharp eyes. Of course, they couldn't be sure what level the supreme dan beads were precisely... but they knew it must be really high!

They looked at Ye Xiao giving away some valuable dan beads that were even beyond their recognition to the others in the name of Cold Moon Palace.

They didn't get one dan bead out of it and even had to help him with the lie.

They kept swallowing when looking at the dan beads, yet they had to say, "These are nothing… Not important… We have plenty of it…"

[Plenty my ass!]

They were shouting in their heads, [We got nothing! We don't have any!]

They never doubted the high value of the dan beads of Ye Xiao, because they knew the secret why the three grand elders' lives would be extended. Ye Xiao had Life Origin Dan that had never been seen in Qing-Yun Realm for centuries, he undoubtedly was possible to have the other high-level dan beads.

The dan beads he gave the others were all at incredibly high levels, but they were all regular dan. They had great effects to low-level cultivators, but no contribution to top-level cultivators like Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian!

Maybe they didn't realize those were the legendary Supreme Dan. If they did, t they would take a few and sent them back to the sect and asked their dan-maker to study it!

However, Cold Moon Palace might not be in need of raising a dan-maker anymore since they had Ye Xiao now, a supreme dan master!

The next few days, Ye Xiao kept giving the dan beads to others. Ye Clan's power was significantly increased!

He was such an experienced cultivator. He could see what a man's weakness just by a glance. That was how he decided to give what kind of dan beads to different people…

People with different needs would get precisely what they needed. After swallowing the dan beads, they would be shockingly improved immediately!

After that, Ye Xiao chose a few youngsters and mainly trained them.

The youngsters took a few dan beads from Ye Xiao and got improved so significantly that even Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian were astonished. The youngsters were just ordinary at the beginning. If they were in Cold Moon Palace, they would be treated as trash.

That was all!

However, after what Ye Xiao did to them, Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian even wanted to have them as their private disciples!

They all became highly talented cultivations!

Their bodies were a bit transparent like they had been refined by the sky and the earth.

Wherever they were, the spiritual qi would automatically keep going into their bodies…

Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian were completely wordless.

[How come?]

[Little brother disciple, don't you think you are carrying too many secrets?]

[You made your father a Dao Origin Stage cultivator within one single day. That's fine. He is known as a talented man after all. Your grandfather, who was not quite gifted in cultivation, actually boosted up two levels in Dao Origin Stage! Isn't it too much? He is an experienced cultivator. That is right. All he needed was to take one step up. True. But… Isn't it too fast?]

[After that, things are becoming ridiculous…]

[You made these young men became completely different people!]

[That is incredible!]

[That is something only a god could do…]

When Ye Xiao finally finished everything in Ye Clan, Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian grabbed him aside and started to question him again.

"Say it! What is going on?" Zhan Yunfei slapped the table fiercely as if Ye Xiao would have to tell him exactly what he wanted to know.

"What do you mean what is going on?" Ye Xiao looked confused. [I don't know what you are talking about.]

"Just tell us what those dan beads are!" Zhan Yunfei nearly went crazy. "Those dan beads! They are unbelievably valuable! I haven't even seen some of them… No. I haven't even heard to them! It's fine that you need me to cover your lie. But I felt sick! I feel jealous! I can't help it… You… It will hurt me so bad if you still won't tell me the truth…"

"Oh… You mean the dan beads…" Ye Xiao took a deep breath, "I thought it was something serious…"

"Holy hell! Isn't this a serious thing? Are you really going to be this pretentious to us?" Zhan and Zhu were both mad.

[We Cold Moon Palace has lived for ten thousand years, yet we have never gotten any one of those dan beads! Those are super powerful dan beads! You just gave away hundreds of it… And you even don't think it is a serious thing?]

[We feel pain in the heart, the muscle, the livers! We feel reluctant!]

[Are you telling us that those incredibly precious dan beads actually mean nothing to you?]

[You can't be more arrogant, can you?]

"What kind of serious thing is it?" Ye Xiao widely opened his eyes and showed an innocent face, like he was totally lost. "That dan beads are… just normal… They are not something valuable…"

Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian were speechless.

They suddenly didn't know what to say.

[Those dan beads don't have any significant effects indeed, but they are in incredible levels! All right?]

[At least they are in the levels neither of us ever heard of!]

The two of them looked at each other and then took a heavy breath with a deep sigh. They felt weak in their bodies and didn't know what words to say at the moment.

After a while, Zhan Yunfei weakly said, "Those dan beads are… actually quite good…"

"Quite good?" Ye Xiao said with the eyes wide open, "How? Bone Ablutionary Dan, Pei-Yuan Dan, Spirit Gathering Dan, Mai Ablution Dan, Limit Breaking Dan… They are all low-grade dan! We have a dan-maker in the sect! He can make you more than you want… I am just giving away such a small amount… Why mention it? Brothers, please no more kidding. Please, if you want to flatter me, think of some other words. What you said was merely a joke. And it wasn't funny."

Zhan Yunfei had to sigh, being questioned by Ye Xiao.

He was thinking, [Maybe he doesn't know?]

Then he sighed and said, "I am not trying to flatter you. I am not kidding. Our dan-maker can make the same kinds of dan that you mentioned indeed… However, the dan beads he makes are not even close to those that you gave to your people…"

He thought for a while and said, "Pah! That's a stupid comparison. His dan beads are too much weaker! There is a huge difference between his dan beads and yours! Look, think about this. If your dan beads are golds, then his dan beads are rocks… No, worse than rocks…"

Ye Xiao pretended to be shocked. "What?"

Apparently, he was going to pretend ignorance till the end of the conversation.

Zhan Yunfei kept sighing. He gave up on making that comparison. "I know that the extension of the three elders' lives is your work. I know you used to focus on studying the art of dan, in a quite influential sect that only makes valuable dan beads. However, it is still unbelievable that you can make such precious things… Where did you… Where did you get the dan beads?"

Ye Xiao suddenly turned overjoyed when he heard Zhan Yunfei's words. He said, "The Life Origin Dan beads I gave to my three masters are extraordinary! Those were utterly superior dan beads! I took those heavenly level dan beads from my origin sect. My skills are not good enough to make dan beads like that. The dan beads I just gave my people… It is a long story…"

Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian were depressed. They stared at him and felt like their bodies were shaking. "Go slowly… We've got plenty of time."

"When I left the sect… I kept heading to the south. I kept walking casually and accidentally entered a big mountain…" Ye Xiao said.

"What mountain?" The two brothers asked.

"It was a weird mountain… When I walked over, I fell below a cliff. The cliff was absolutely straight down…"

He was telling the truth.

Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian were confused.

What Ye Xiao was talking about was where he found Li Wuliang. It was all true. He wasn't lying!

However… even Li Wuliang, who had been living down the cliff for a long time, never found the sharp and weird cliff, let alone Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian!

"A cliff… absolute straight from the top to the bottom?" Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian looked at each other. They truly couldn't think of any place like that. "What then?"

"When I was in that strange place, the first thing I did was to look around. I found that some clouds were covering the bottom of the cliff. I couldn't see any sunlight at all. Down in the bottom, it was all covered by snow, which wouldn't melt forever…"

He was being serious, "I was so upset. I tried everything that was possible to get me out of there. However, I just couldn't find a way out… More importantly, I didn't have much food with me. I was cold and sleepy and hungry. So I decided to find a spot to stay warm… Luckily, I found a cave on the wall of the cliff!"

"Of course, I just entered it without any hesitation…"

Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian seemed enlightened when Ye Xiao mentioned the cave.

[It seems the cave is the key to everything.]

"It was a residence in the cave… There was a skeleton sitting in the center of the cave. I don't know how many years that man had been sitting there. Only his bones were left. The bones were like jade, hard and impossible to break. I tried everything I could, but it couldn't be broken…" Ye Xiao said.

Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian took a deep cold breath. "A skeleton? Hard? Unbreakable? For real?"

[In what level that departed man was?]

[At least there is no one among the most powerful figures in Qing-Yun Realm can leave an unbreakable skeleton after death…]

"That's right." Ye Xiao nodded. "On the wall beside the skeleton, there were some words. It said that a Dan God from outside the realm got plotted against…"

Now, Ye Xiao started to make up a story in a fluid and casual way as if every word he said was valid.

However, he couldn't tell anybody the truth, could he? No, he couldn't!

Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian were listening to a ridiculous, absurd, and unbelievable story with a bullsh*t main character. When they finally heard the end of the story, they still felt lost in it. They felt dazzled and confused like they were just awakening from a dream. Everything seemed to be so unreal to them.

"You said, that skeleton was a Dan God from outside the realm?"

"Right."

"You said… there are lots of bottles with dan beads in them? That Dan God wrote the applications on the bottles?"

"Yes."

"All dan beads are in such a high level?"

"Apparently."

"That means you have gotten the inheritance from a Dan God?"

"… Well, what can I say? I inherited the skills from quite an influential sect in the first place. The forefather of my origin sect was also capable of making supreme dan. In fact, I think maybe he is better than that Dan God. My master told me before he died, that I was a talented dan-maker that hadn't been known to the world. I should be more talented than all the forefathers of the sect. The art of dan may be developed and promulgated to a record-breaking level in my hands! So… In fact, I don't really need that Dan God's inheritance. It was a useless favor to me!"

"Holy hell! That is too arrogant!"

"What? What did you say? Look, the Life Origin Dan that my three masters had are made by my old master. Do you think I am joking? If only the three elders didn't tell me to keep my dan-making talent a secret to others… Humph…"

"That Dan God claimed to be a Dan God himself. How do you know he was not lying?"

"Never mind. There is always a bigger mountain. Nobody is perfect. I know it now. There is never the most ignorant man, but always the more ignorant one than the previous one… Hmm. Okay. You said that when you left that place, it collapsed?"

"Yes. It just fell down. I don't know what was wrong even now… Why would it just collapse like that?" Ye Xiao looked confused.

It seemed he was waiting for others to give him the answer.

Zhan Yunfei and Zhu Jiutian were stunned.

...

<Author's note: Didn't you realize this chapter is much longer than usual? It is a three-in-one chapter…