The Decline of the Misty Cloud Sect

Watching Xiao Li and Yun Yun train so diligently, the two old men felt deeply gratified. At the very least, they both understood that diligent cultivation was the foundation of everything.

"Old Yun, it seems our disciples are quite alike. They're both hardworking and diligent people. I just wonder whether they're fated to be together." Wang Ming said with a chuckle.

"Hmph! Old Wang! Let me tell you, if he wants to marry Yun'er, he isn't qualified yet! Though his talent is astonishing now, there are plenty of geniuses on the continent whose talent never amounts to anything!

"We can talk about it once he becomes a powerhouse in his own right!" Yun Shan said angrily, even directly calling Old Wang "Old Wang." Clearly, Yun Yun held a very important place in his heart.

"Hehe, we'll wait and see. Once Li'er breaks through to the Dou Ling realm, I'll take him to the Black Horn Region to train for a while." Wang Ming did not refute Yun Shan's words.

Because what Yun Shan said was indeed true. Xiao Li was merely a rising star, and he still had a long way to go before becoming a true powerhouse.

"The Black Horn Region? The most chaotic region on the Northwest Continent! You're actually taking him there? Aren't you afraid he'll die there? The Black Horn Region is nothing like the Jia Ma Empire. There are truly Dou Ancestors there.

"The Old Ghost of the Earth Demon, ranked first on the Black List of the Black Horn Region, is an old-generation Dou Ancestor. The Demon Flame Valley he established also has several Dou Emperor Experts.

"You may be a Six-Star Dou Emperor and capable of stirring up the winds and clouds in the Jia Ma Empire, but can you protect that boy in the Black Horn Region?" Yun Shan was greatly shocked by Old Wang's decision. The Black Horn Region was simply too dangerous.

Even a powerhouse like Yun Shan, with the strength of a Seven Star Dou Emperor, could not act too high-profile in the Black Horn Region. The weakest among the top five experts there was at least an Eight-Star Dou Emperor.

Though the Black Horn Region was chaotic, it was extremely wealthy. High-level cultivation methods, Dou Techniques, all manner of divine weapons and armor, medicine cauldrons, medicinal herbs, high-grade pills, and more were everywhere, enough to dazzle the eye. Earth Rank Cultivation Methods had even appeared several times at the auction houses of the Black Horn Region.

"Hehe, the Black Horn Region has more than one major faction. Don't forget that Jia Nan Academy, the continent's foremost academy, is located there. I intend to take Li'er to Jia Nan Academy for further study." Old Wang revealed his plan.

"Jia Nan Academy? That is indeed a suitable place for tempering oneself. Jia Nan Academy has a Dou Ancestor guarding it, and according to rumors, its Headmaster is a Dou Zun Expert.

"Every year, geniuses from all over the continent join Jia Nan Academy. All kinds of geniuses from across the continent gather there. It's a good place to train."

Yun Shan nodded. As the sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect, he needed to understand the distribution of forces across the continent. It was his duty as sect leader to know which factions could bring catastrophic disaster upon his sect.

"Wasn't your Misty Cloud Sect's founder, Shattering Heaven Venerable, also a Dou Zun Expert? How did it decline so badly by your generation? You haven't even produced a Dou Ancestor? How does this resemble a force left behind by a Dou Zun Expert?"

Wang Ming voiced the question that had troubled him for many years.

"Sigh... because the core inheritance of my Misty Cloud Sect was lost!" Yun Shan seemed to lose all his strength as he spoke.

"What do you mean?"

Wang Ming could not help but be surprised. Although the Misty Cloud Sect had declined and fallen to the bottom of the second-rate sects on the Northwest Continent, it was still not to be provoked. The Misty Cloud Sect's Protective Sect Array, the Cloud Smoke Covering Sun Array, had been personally set down by Yun Potian.

If Yun Shan deployed the Cloud Smoke Covering Sun Array and gathered the strength of the entire Misty Cloud Sect, even a Dou Ancestor Expert would be unable to do anything about it—at least a low-level Dou Ancestor.

"According to my master, my Grandmaster, Yun Aokong, died for unknown reasons. He had carried the sect's core inheritance cultivation method, the Earth Rank High Grade cultivation method Cloud Smoke Covering Sun Technique, as well as its Matching Dou Techniques, Heavenly Breaking Sword Technique.

"Because these two core inheritances were lost, the Misty Cloud Sect's core cultivation inheritance became incomplete. Our cultivation method can only reach Earth Rank Low-Level, while our only famous Dou Technique is the Heaven Rank High Extreme Wind series. This was also why my master spent his entire life without ever breaking through to the Dou Ancestor realm."

At that moment, Yun Shan felt an indescribable desolation.

At the Sect Conference held once every five years on the Northwest Continent, the Misty Cloud Sect had always been the target of ridicule from countless factions. The successors of the great Shattering Heaven Venerable could not even produce a Dou Ancestor—wasn't that laughable?

The more glorious the Misty Cloud Sect of its founding ancestor, Yun Potian, had once been, the more desolate the current Misty Cloud Sect now seemed.

"This! I remember that Senior Yun Aokong was, aside from Shattering Heaven Venerable and the Second Generation Sect Leader, the only sect leader to break through to the Dou Ancestor realm. How could he have suddenly died?" Wang Ming cried out in shock.

Yun Shan shook his head. "I don't know either. I was still young at the time, and my master never told me these things. Now, all my hopes rest on Yun'er.

"Yun'er's talent far surpasses mine. Reaching the Dou Ancestor realm will not be too difficult for her! Once she completes the final trial to inherit the position of sect leader—the Gate of Life and Death—I can pass the position on to her.

"If I can break through to the Dou Ancestor realm during my remaining years, that would naturally be for the best. If not, then it can only be fate.

"Old Wang, can you refine a Breaking Ancestor Pill now? I have already gathered enough medicinal ingredients for two batches of Breaking Ancestor Pills. I wonder if you..."

Old Wang shook his head and sighed. "A Breaking Ancestor Pill... I'm willing, but powerless. To be honest, I'm no better off than you, old fellow. My lifespan is nearly at its end. At most, I have another twenty-odd years to live before my road comes to an end.

"A Breaking Ancestor Pill? You should wait for Li'er to refine it. There is no hope for this old man in this lifetime."

"This..." Yun Shan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.

Among the Dou Emperor Experts of the Jia Ma Empire, the Ice Emperor Hai Bodong was extremely solitary. Perhaps it was simply his nature, but he had few friends.

Jia Xingtian, the protector of the Jia Ma Empire, was far too suspicious. He believed everyone wanted to seize his empire, and such a heavy mind doomed him to have no friends.

Yun Shan and Wang Ming, on the other hand, got along quite well and had an excellent relationship, though no one knew of it openly.

"By the way, Old Wang, how about refining a Foundation Establishment Pill for my disciple?" Yun Shan spoke again. He had given up on the Breaking Ancestor Pill, but getting a pill for Yun Yun's foundation establishment would do as well.

"An Alchemist's rules," Old Wang said flatly.

"I understand, I understand!"

The so-called Alchemist's rules meant that when asking an Alchemist to refine pills, one had to provide the medicinal ingredients oneself—three sets of ingredients, at that—and success was not guaranteed. Of course, success was best, but if it failed, the Alchemist could not be blamed. Pill refinement was a matter of luck to begin with; not everyone had such a high Pill Formation Rate.

"I have already prepared the ingredients. Please refine a Foundation Establishment Pill for me." Yun Shan handed a Storage Ring to Old Wang. The medicinal ingredients were inside it.

Old Wang sent his Soul Force into the Storage Ring and examined its contents. He nodded, then took two Jade Bottles from his own Storage Ring.

"You old fellow are lucky. When I established Li'er's foundation back then, there was one Foundation Establishment Pill left over. Give it to your disciple. The other bottle contains a Medicine Liquid I developed, roughly equivalent to Grade 4.

"Have her soak in a Medicinal Bath and take the pill afterward. That will help her absorb the pill more thoroughly, though the process will be somewhat painful. I rather like that Yun Yun girl. If she can become a pair with Li'er, "I can even refine a Grade 6 Pill for her. Even a Mystic Heaven Foundation Establishment Pill would be possible."

Old Wang stroked his beard as he spoke. He was quite fond of Yun Yun, and having her become his disciple's wife would not be bad at all.

Yun Shan accepted the pills with a dark expression. The heart of an old father had suddenly taken a devastating blow.