Fish on the Hook

Meanwhile, a day earlier, Yun Shan was in seclusion at the Misty Cloud Sect, striving to break through his cultivation level and successfully advance to the Dou Zong realm.

If he succeeds in advancing, the Misty Cloud Sect will undergo tremendous changes, and he will realize his childhood ambition of bringing the Misty Cloud Sect back to the Central Continent.

Breaking through from Dou Huang expert to Dou Zong sounds easy, but in practice it's incredibly difficult. He had been in seclusion for the past few years, but made no progress until he met the Soul Hall's salesman, Vulture Protector. That's when he went astray and, in order to advance to Dou Zong, he colluded with Vulture Protector Jiu.

Just yesterday, when he was about to take the problematic pill that Vulture Protector had given him, his disciple Yun Yun suddenly barged in, preventing him from taking the pill.

"Yun'er, didn't I instruct that no one is allowed to disturb you during your seclusion? As the sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect and my personal disciple, you actually disregard the sect rules. You have truly disappointed me."

Yun Shan was in a bad mood. He had just decided to take the pill, but Yun Yun's sudden intrusion made him hesitate again.

"Teacher, I know I was wrong and am willing to accept punishment," Yun Yun, bowing her head in apology as she saw Yun Shan's fury.

"Sigh! It's not that you're wrong, it's that I'm wrong." Yun Shan sighed and silently put away the pill he was holding. After thinking for a moment, he decided it was best not to take the pill for now.

Although the Soul Hall is a leading enterprise in the Central Continent, it is a notorious force on the Dou Qi Continent. If you take a bowl of rice from them, you must return a bag of flour. It's best to avoid dealing with such a greedy force.

Yun Yun's appearance successfully changed Yun Shan's mind. He no longer cared whether he could lead Misty Cloud Sect to glory in the future; he only hoped to have the face to meet his grandmaster Yun Potian after his death!

"What exactly is it you're talking about?" Yun Shan knew his disciple Yun Yun wouldn't disturb his secluded cultivation so easily; there must be something important she wanted to discuss with him.

Yun Yun adopted a spoiled, girlish tone and said dejectedly, "Teacher, a lot has happened in the sect while you were in seclusion these past few years. Those elders actually ganged up on me! If I hadn't come to find you, I would have been utterly bullied by these old geezers."

"There's such a thing? Tell me about it." Yun Shan immediately became interested. He knew what kind of people the elders in the sect were; they were all old-fashioned and wouldn't do anything outrageous. But now they were actually forcing his disciple to do something, which was unprecedented.

Yun Yun turned her beautiful eyes and came behind Yun Shan, placing her hands on his shoulders. While massaging Yun Shan's shoulders, she recounted her various experiences.

She gave a comprehensive report on everything that had happened at the Misty Cloud Sect over the past three years, and also focused on explaining Ling Feiyan's situation.

"I thought this was something serious, but it's just a change of Young Sect Master. Since the Nalan Family girl's cultivation has been ruined, it's only right to replace her." Yun Shan closed his eyes, enjoying Yun Yun's massage. How many years had it been since his precious disciple had given him a back massage? Today, for this small matter, he had put aside his years of sect leader's airs.

"Isn't this a big deal?" Yun Yun released her grip unhappily, saying, "Yanran is my personal disciple; no one can replace her."

"But she's already crippled." Yun Shan opened his eyes and said to Yun Yun earnestly, "Yun'er, you're not a child anymore. You are now the sect leader, and everything you do must be for the future of the Misty Cloud Sect. The position of Young Sect Master is for preparing for the future succession of the sect leader. You were the Young Sect Master back then, how could you not know that?"

"Does this mean that my Misty Cloud Sect will be led by a useless person who can't cultivate?"

These last words struck Yun Yun's heart. No matter how unwilling she was, she couldn't make the Misty Cloud Sect change its unchanging rules of the past thousand years.

"If you have nothing else to do, you should leave. This time, I'm on the elders' side," Yun Shan said, issuing an order to leave.

Yun Yun looked disappointed and had no choice but to walk out of the cave. At this moment, she suddenly remembered the matter that Na Lan Yan Ran had asked her to do, so she turned back.

"Teacher, Yanran asked me to pass on a message to you. In the fifty-second chapter of the Wind Cloud Secret Record, it is wrong to press down with your qi. The correct method is to gather your qi and push it upward."

In an instant, Yun Shan's body trembled violently, and his eyes widened in shock.

The Wind Cloud Secret Record —that's something only Peak Dou Emperor experts are qualified to read within the sect. Even Yun Yun isn't qualified to consult it, so how could that girl from the Nalan Family know about it?

"Sinking and pressing down is wrong; the correct method is to gather energy and push it upwards."

Yun Shan kept repeating this phrase, as if he had gone mad with desire. Finally, he made up his mind and, risking serious injury from making a mistake in his cultivation, boldly circulated his Dou Qi according to this incantation.

A miraculous thing happened: the bottleneck, which had been completely immovable, suddenly began to loosen.

However, the shackles on Yun Shan's cultivation level were only loosened slightly by this incantation. If he continued to cultivate according to the original incantation, he would remain the same.

"That girl definitely knows more." Yun Shan could no longer sit still. In order to advance to the Dou Zong level and bring glory to the Misty Cloud Sect, he had to go out and find out the truth.

The night is cool as water, and the moonlight accompanies one on one's walk.

Yun Shan flew out of the Misty Cloud Sect and finally landed outside Na Lan Yan Ran's room. Just as his feet touched the ground and he was about to push open the door, he heard a questioning voice coming from inside the room.

"Yun Shan, do you know your crime?" came an old man's voice from inside the house.

Confess to your crime?

What crime have I committed?

The old-fashioned question posed inside the room left Yun Shan, the monk, completely baffled.

Just as he was about to push the door open, a series of soul shocks suddenly surged out from inside the room. The moment the Emperor Realm Soul was released, even Yun Shan, who had experienced countless things in his life, was startled by this aura.

"If you have the nerve to push open this door, then you are not worthy to be the sect leader of my Misty Cloud Sect."

This sentence once again stopped Yun Shan from pushing the door open and made him even more curious about the person inside the room.

"Back in the day, Misty Cloud Sect, the ancestor of the Yun Potian Sect, was a man of extraordinary talent. At the age of thirty, he had already established a great reputation in the Central Continent and built an unparalleled foundation. The Soul Palace, Pill Tower, Flower Sect, Heavenly Nether Sect Blazing Flame Valley, Burning Ice River Valley Heavenly Sound Valley, Starfall Pavilion, Starfall Pavilion, Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion Yellow Springs Pavilion Wind Thunder Pavilion were all insignificant compared to the Misty Cloud Sect."

However, it was precisely because these people feared the power of my Misty Cloud Sect they joined forces to suppress it. Although Yun Potian was powerful, he was ultimately outnumbered and was driven out of the Central Continent, forced to retreat to the barren land of the Northwest Continent. He spent his entire life thinking of returning to the Central Continent, but he could never achieve his wish and died in despair. Have you forgotten all of this?

The words spoken by the people inside the room were half true and half false. Yun Shan only understood the sect's secrets that he himself knew, but he was also secretly shocked. It turned out that the ancestor Yun Potian was so powerful that he was actually suppressed by the combined forces of the Central Continent.

Yun Shan was even more puzzled. How did the people in this room know about the glorious past of the Misty Cloud Sect?

He was about to push open the door again, but his actions were once again interrupted by the words spoken inside.

"After Yun Potian's death, his disciple Yun Haitian succeeded Misty Cloud Sect Master. Yun Haitian upheld his master's last wish, vowing to develop and strengthen Misty Cloud Sect, return to the Central Continent, and reclaim everything that belonged to the Misty Cloud Sect. He devoted himself wholeheartedly to his work, but in the end, he was ambushed by the local forces in the Northwest and died from his injuries. Even in his death, he wanted to lead Misty Cloud Sect back to the Central Continent. Have you forgotten all of this?"

Yun Shan knew the second sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect very well, because that was his master. Back then, his master often talked about returning to the Central Continent, something he could never forget.

The person inside the room continued, "By your generation, the Misty Cloud Sect is not as strong as it used to be. The once powerful sect, teeming with talented individuals, has now become depleted of talent, like a turtle hiding in a remote corner of the Jia Ma Empire, complacent and allowing itself to be bullied by others."

It's laughable that back then, there was a young lad who would shout every day while eating in the cafeteria that he would become the sect leader and lead the Misty Cloud Sect to glory.

Yun Shan, have you lived up to your ancestor Yun Potian? Have you lived up to Yun Haitian who entrusted you with such a great responsibility? Have you lived up to... your past self?

"Enough!" Upon hearing this, Yun Shan could no longer contain himself. He stood outside the door and roared angrily, "How could I forget? How could I have let down the patriarch? How could I have let down my late master? Since I took office, I have been working hard to cultivate talent. Have I done anything wrong?"

The various forces in the Northwest are intertwined, and I, in my efforts to navigate these complexities, have managed to keep the Misty Cloud Sect stable amidst the chaos. Have I done anything wrong?

The Jia Ma Royal Family has been constantly suppressing the Misty Cloud Sect. In order to protect myself, I have no choice but to endure humiliation. Am I wrong?

I've abandoned my dignity, intending to use the Soul Palace to help the Misty Cloud Sect regain its former glory. Tell me, have I been wrong about all of this?

Yun Shan was unwilling to accept this. If he could advance to the Dou Zong level, he would be confident that he could overthrow the control of the Jia Ma Royal Family. Unfortunately, for many years, his strength had been stuck at the Dou Huang Realm and he could not break through. So he could only silently swallow his anger.

"What you said is all correct, but you are also terribly wrong. You think that you can revitalize the sect by calmly training disciples, but you don't know how many exceptionally talented young people are waiting for you to discover on this Dou Qi Continent."

You might think that by playing both sides, you can secure your future, but you are sorely mistaken. Playing both sides will only cause your allies to fall apart and your loved ones to be heartbroken.

You harbor illusions, endlessly endure, hoping for a better tomorrow, but you don't realize that constant forbearance and humility will only lead to more unscrupulous suppression from others.

You abandoned your dignity, your relationship with the Soul Hall is ambiguous, yet you've forgotten that it was the Soul Hall that first humiliated the Misty Cloud Sect, and you... you actually still want to be their... dog."

Bang!

Yun Shan could no longer contain himself. He kicked open the door in front of him, and the powerful Dou Qi shattered the door into pieces. He saw Na Lan Yan Ran's face, but what shocked him even more was that there was actually an old man with an otherworldly air standing inside the room. The old man appeared in the form of a soul, which scared Yun Shan so much that he almost lost his soul.

Yun Potian, that spiritual entity was actually Yun Potian.

At this moment, Yun Shan finally understood why the people in the room knew so many secrets of the Misty Cloud Sect, and why Na Lan Yan Ran knew the sect's secret Wind Cloud Secret Record. The reason was actually this.

Na Lan Yan Ran sat cross-legged on the ground with her eyes closed, seemingly asleep. However, Yun Potian, who was beside her, saw Yun Shan and shouted angrily.

"You wretched creature, why don't you kneel before me?"

Yun Potian's soul released an immense soul pressure, its sound like a tsunami and a mountain collapsing, crushing towards Yun Shan.

"Misty Cloud Sect Yun Shan, pays respects to the ancestral master." Yun Shan was so frightened by the scene before him that he lost his composure and hurriedly kowtowed heavily to Na Lan Yan Ran's soul avatar.