Yun Shan

In a small village not far from Misty Cloud Mountain, a mysterious person moved here three months ago and bought a small Bamboo House. The area around this Bamboo House can be described as a restricted zone, and no one is ever allowed to enter.

Inside the Bamboo House, a woman lay on a bamboo chair, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders. Her face was serene and beautiful, like a clear spring in the mountains, yet she exuded an aura of nobility and majesty.

The woman lay on a rocking bamboo chair, gazing through the window at the golden wheat fields in the distance. The setting sun cast its glow on her face, and a maternal radiance suddenly welled up within her. She touched her already protruding belly and murmured softly, "In another month, you'll be here to see this world!"

This person was none other than Misty Cloud Sect Master the Yun Yun Sect. The reason she told Nalan Yanran that she was in seclusion was that she had actually come to this small village to give birth to the child in her womb.

Creak!

A soft sound came, and the small door of the Bamboo House was pushed open. A maid walked in and said to Yun Yun, "Miss, it's time to rest. Here's some medicinal soup, please drink it!"

"Hmm." Yun Yun withdrew her gaze and drank the medicinal soup from the maid's hand.

This was a maid she found in the Imperial Capital. The medicinal soup was also a calming medicine that the maid had obtained from an alchemist at the Alchemist Guild. Yun Yun couldn't afford to be careless in order to give birth to this child!

Nalan Yanran Misty Cloud Sect, who had already returned to the Yunlan Sect, immediately went to the back mountain, where the sect leader was in seclusion. Ge Ye, on the other hand, went to the elders' Elder Council in the main hall to report everything that had happened in Yan City to Great Elder Yun Leng.

In the main hall where the Elder Council was located, Yun Leng's expression gradually darkened after hearing Ge Ye's report. He asked in a deep voice, "Are you sure everything you said is true?"

Ge Ye's face trembled as he said, "I dare not deceive the Great Elder, that person definitely possesses the strength of Dou Zong!"

Yun Lei, standing to the side, roared angrily, "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! If what Ge Ye said were true, Dou Zong expert would not hide in our Jia Ma Empire. Moreover, even among the surrounding empires, I have never heard of any Fire Attribute Dou Zong!"

Yun Sheng nodded slightly and said, "If it really is a Dou Zong expert, then our Misty Cloud Sect must make preparations as soon as possible. Even if it's just the sect leader, we must treat him with caution!"

Yun Mu frowned and said, "But the sect leader is currently in seclusion, and we don't even know if that Dou Zong expert has left the Jia Ma Empire. Should we really go and inform the sect leader?"

Upon hearing their words, Yun Leng immediately formed a plan and said, "Since Ge Ye has vouched for this, we can't just sit idly by. Regardless of the origins of this mysterious Dou Zong expert, we must report to the Sect Master. Don't forget, Ge Ye said that the Dou Zong expert is accompanied by a Dou Emperor, but a Dou Emperor with Cold Ice Attribute... why does that seem so familiar to me?"

As Yun Leng finished speaking, he seemed to have some doubts about the identity of the Dou Emperor. Suddenly, he looked up at the other elders and asked, "The Jia Ma Empire has Dou Emperor with the Cold Ice Attribute. I remember that Ice Emperor Hai Bodong was one of them!"

"Yes, isn't Ice Emperor Hai Bodong Dou Huang expert with the Cold Ice Attribute?" Yun Lei stood up in surprise.

Yun Sheng and Yun Mu then asked Yun Leng with a question, "But didn't Hai Bodong fight the old sect master before? He seemed to have been seriously injured, so how did he recover so quickly?"

Yun Leng sneered, "That old fox Hai Bodong has a close relationship with the Mittel Family. It's not unreasonable for them to buy some pills for me from the Alchemist Guild. Besides, so many years have passed, Hai Bodong's injuries should be almost healed by now."

After Yun Leng's reminder, everyone remembered that Hai Bodong was a supreme elder in the Mittel Family. "So, should we send someone to keep an eye on the Mittel Family?" Yun Sheng asked.

"No, those old guys in the Imperial Capital are already somewhat dissatisfied with our Misty Cloud Sect. Now it's about to be the crucial moment for the Empire to hold the Alchemist Tournament. We can't afford to clash with the Imperial Family at this time. Forget it, this isn't something only our Misty Cloud Sect is worried about. I think that old guy Jia Xingtian has already gone to discuss it with the other families in the Empire!" Yun Leng stopped Yun Sheng's suggestion and said in a deep voice.

Just as the group was discussing, Nalan Yanran rushed in. Yun Leng frowned, and seeing Nalan Yanran's anxious appearance, asked, "Yan Ran, what happened?"

Nalan Yanran hurriedly said, "Great Elder, Teacher is missing!"

"What?" Everyone looked at Nalan Yanran with some confusion. Wasn't her teacher the sect leader?

Nalan Yanran explained, "I just went to my teacher's secluded cultivation spot on the back mountain. Although she said not to go to her unless it's something urgent for the sect, I felt it was better to report to her because of what happened in Yan City. But there was no sign of her there at all!"

After listening to Nalan Yanran's words, Yun Leng quickly calmed down and said, "Perhaps the Sect Master hasn't returned yet because of some other matters. Yan Ran, you don't need to worry too much. The Sect Master is Dou Huang expert after all; he won't be in any danger!"

Although that's what she said, Nalan Yanran was still somewhat worried. Yun Leng gave her some more instructions, telling the sect to strengthen its vigilance during this period to prevent any trouble. Then he said to Nalan Yanran, "In two more months, it will be the Three Year Pact. Yan Ran, don't bring shame to the sect!"

"Don't worry, Great Elder, Yan Ran have confidence in myself!" Nalan Yanran said with a faint smile.

On the other side, atop a secluded peak in the back mountains of the Misty Cloud Sect, lies a secret realm. This is the place where Misty Cloud Sect, the previous sect leader of the Yun Shan, secluded himself for cultivation. Only Yun Yun, the only person in the entire sect, knows about this place!

Within the secret realm, a white figure sat cross-legged in the center. The figure wore an extremely simple white robe and did not appear to be very old. There were no wrinkles on the face of an elderly person; instead, the figure resembled a piece of warm jade radiating light. The figure sat cross-legged on the central futon with eyes closed, surrounded by faint battle Dou Qi, exuding an ethereal and otherworldly aura.

"Hehehe!" Suddenly, a sinister laugh emanated from all around, making it difficult to pinpoint its source, and sending chills down the spine in this silent secret realm.

But Yun Shan seemed unfazed, not even blinking, and said indifferently, "What brings you here?"

A mass of black mist appeared before Yun Shan. As the mist surged, a blurry human face emerged, looking at Yun Shan with a half-smile and saying, "I just discovered something interesting, and I'm considering whether to tell you about it."

Upon hearing this, Yun Shan frowned and said, "I told you, you'd better not leave the back mountain area of the Misty Cloud Sect. Those old guys in the Imperial Capital are very troublesome. If they find out, it will cause trouble for our Misty Cloud Sect!"

"Hehehe! A bunch of Dou Emperor dare to be so insolent in front of me? They're nothing but frogs in a well. If they do discover me, that's fine too—what wonderful souls they possess!" A chilling voice, tinged with killing intent, echoed from within the black mist.

Yun Shan clearly didn't want to get entangled with him here, and asked directly, "What do you want to tell me?"