Unease of Yun Shan

Yun Shan tapped his fingers lightly against the sandalwood table, contemplating how much of what Yun Zimo had said was truth and how much was fabrication.

Having heard it so many times, even if he didn't want to believe it, he had to accept at least a portion of it...

As for the ancestor appearing in a dream, that was only enough to fool his foolish disciple. Unless one was a powerful alchemist like Gu He or a cultivator with a powerful soul like himself, even if Ancestor Potian had truly left behind a remnant soul, after all these years, it would either be senile from memory loss or long since withered away. It would never be as wise as that boy described; when a person dies, the light goes out—that was not merely a saying.

However, much of what the boy Zimo said contained elements that rang true, leaving Yun Shan unable to make up his mind. This was one of the reasons Yun Shan had decided to emerge from seclusion.

"Nalan breaks off the engagement, unrest in the Imperial Capital, the Soul Hall's conspiracy, the destruction of the Misty Cloud Sect..."

The more he thought, the more alarmed Yun Shan became. He consulted a vast number of ancient texts and even secretly infiltrated the royal treasury to pore over the secret records of previous dynasties, where he truly discovered traces regarding the Soul Hall.

"I would sell myself and even the sect just to break through to the Dou Ancestor realm? Absurd!"

No matter how he thought about it, Yun Shan could not believe that the person in the so-called ancestor's prophecy was himself—that he would become so deranged for the sake of a breakthrough that he would end up burying eight hundred years of heritage with his own hands!

"But Gu He said the boy Zimo's soul is pure and unified, and everything about him is perfectly normal..."

Yun Shan truly could not fathom how, if the boy had not been possessed by someone, he could have concocted such a lie to deceive him.

Could it really be Ancestor Potian?!

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

Yun Shan dismissed the thought once more. Practitioners of their generation firmly believed that there was no such thing as an immortal spirit in this world, nor any god that governed all; those were merely powerful individuals.

"It seems this boy has many secrets. He swindled my disciple and extinguished Gu He's romantic inclinations; this is truly..."

But regardless, Yun Shan was not one to sit and wait for death. He immediately decided to go to the Imperial Capital in person to discuss an alliance with Jia Xingtian.

"I wonder if this half-true, half-false prophecy can bluff the Old Sect Master."

At this moment, Yun Zimo was also restless. He had used the guise of Yun Potian to fabricate an ancestor's prophecy, recounting a partially redacted version of the plot regarding the destruction of the Misty Cloud Sect.

However, he had changed the protagonist to Yun Shan, claiming that under the instigation of the Soul Hall, he would annex the Jia Ma Empire and wage war across the continent, only to be countered by the Jia Ma Empire's resistance forces allied with other nations, leading to the Misty Cloud Sect's ultimate demise.

This also conveniently explained why he had tried so hard to prevent Nalan Yanran from breaking off the engagement back then, as Xiao Yan was one of the key figures in the Jia Ma resistance.

With this half-truth prophecy combined with the unfolding of the Nalan engagement incident, Yun Zimo believed that even if Yun Shan were the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang, he would still have to weigh the gravity of this prophecy.

"Hall Master, the Sect Master requests your presence in the main hall for a meeting."

"Understood."

Yun Zimo turned to change into his Punishment Hall Master attire, picked up his sword, stepped out the door, and headed toward the meeting hall. Uniting with the Sect Master to invite the Old Sect Master out of seclusion and then pushing for reforms to purge the sect—the plan was well-laid, but...

It seemed he would have to reason with them today!

"Absurd!"

"We are to change the ancestral rules based on nothing but his word!"

"A mere child, spouting nonsense all day long!"

Before Yun Zimo had even entered, he heard several sharp rebukes, and he couldn't help but smile as he pushed the door open.

"Creak~"

The noisy meeting hall fell silent in an instant. Seeing Yun Zimo in his formal attire with the Judgment Sword in hand, the few who had been shouting earlier immediately composed themselves, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Yun Yun's eyes held a hint of amusement. She had remained silent, allowing the elders to argue, simply wanting to see how those pedantic old fools would react once Zimo arrived.

"How lively. Why stop now?"

After bowing, Yun Zimo walked slowly past the elders and said softly.

"Hall Master, we fully support your reforms, but the ancestral rules must never be changed. Even when your father, the former Hall Master, was in charge, he never altered the ancestral rules."

Yun Zimo looked toward the voice; it was the Great Elder, Yun Leng, a pedantic and stubborn old man who was also the most obsessed with power and wealth in the Misty Cloud Sect.

However, he was loyal to the sect and highly capable, having assisted two Sect Masters in keeping the sect in perfect order. Though his foresight was lacking, he was deeply trusted by the Sect Master and respected by the entire sect.

Does following ancestral rules breed a bunch of lawless, arrogant fools?

Yun Zimo thought to himself. Recalling the rumors he had heard these past few days, as news of Nalan Yanran being rejected by the Xiao Clan reached the sect, the most frequent comments he heard were mocking Xiao Yan for overestimating himself, or simply belittling him without any desire to understand the truth.

The Punishment Hall had recently arrested several disciples who wanted to sneak out of the mountain to "teach Xiao Yan a lesson." Setting aside who was fanning the flames behind the scenes, with such an atmosphere, where was the demeanor of a secluded sect?

But what Yun Zimo found most incomprehensible was that Yun Yun seemed to indulge these people in turning the sect into a mess, or perhaps she herself had gradually fallen into the nightmare of arrogance, believing they were invincible.

Well, two Dou Emperors and a group of Dou Kings could indeed be considered invincible in the Jia Ma Empire...

Thinking of this, a sense of sorrow welled up in Yun Zimo. He could not bear to see the sect degenerate like this; otherwise, it would be better if it were just destroyed.

"Great Elder, that is where you are wrong!"

Yun Zimo said in a clear voice, then proceeded to cite historical precedents, leaving the Great Elder speechless. He spoke of how previous dynasties had perished due to their adherence to outdated traditions, and how the sect's millennium of stability was the result of progress...

He stood alone against several elders without losing his footing, and in the end, the elders rose, bowed, and flicked their sleeves as they departed. The first reform meeting ended in such a discord.

"You, why did you have to speak so harshly?"

After the meeting, Yun Yun tapped Yun Zimo's forehead lightly, speaking with a hint of reproach.

"Sister, reform of the sect is urgent. I only realized this after traveling for five years and seeing more of the world; blind comfort will only drag the sect into the abyss."

"In the Jia Ma Empire, who else could possibly threaten my Misty Cloud Sect?"

Yun Yun said casually, as if she didn't care at all.

Yun Zimo frowned, but thinking of Yun Yun's hands-off personality, he could only sigh.

"What about the Sect Assembly? And those neighboring sects?"

Yun Zimo uttered these words, which made Yun Yun bristle.

Because there was no longer a Dou Ancestor within the sect, the Misty Cloud Sect was the target of mockery from every other sect during each Sect Assembly. Yun Shan had been forced into seclusion while still an eight-star Dou Emperor, hoping to break through to the Dou Ancestor realm as soon as possible—if not to reclaim their status as the number one in the Northwest, then at least to avoid being ridiculed by the surrounding sects.

"You!"

Yun Yun wanted to retort, but she found herself unable to.

"Sister, on this continent, only absolute strength is the means of survival..."

"Clap!"

Yun Zimo reached out and caught the Sect Master Seal that Yun Yun had tossed at him.

"I am going into seclusion then. You will handle the sect's affairs from now on."

Without caring about Yun Zimo's reaction, Yun Yun's figure flickered and vanished from the room.

"Sister..."

The next day, Yun Yun announced she was entering the Gate of Life and Death for seclusion, with Yun Zimo acting as the interim Sect Master!

"And the old Sect Master? He went to visit a friend?!"

Yun Leng listened to what Yun Shan's attendant had said. This—the two Sect Masters hadn't disappeared early or late, but chose this exact moment for one to go into seclusion and the other to visit a friend.

Blinding light pierced through the clouds and mist, shining down upon the massive Misty Cloud Square, as if the dissipating clouds and fog had swept away a trace of the decaying atmosphere...