Sunset Glow Valley

Biodata

History

Sunset Glow Valley was a mid-tier sect of the Great Qi Dynasty and one of Azure Province’s foremost local powers. Despite its standing, its foundations were limited; before Lin Qing’s arrival, Yun Nian was one of only two young disciples at the Mid-Fourth Tier. 64 65

Yun Nian encountered Lin Qing after he emerged from the Ten-Thousand Mountains and invited the unaffiliated rogue cultivator to join the valley. Shen Yurong accepted him as a true disciple after assessing his apparent Mid-Fourth Tier cultivation, and he agreed to represent the sect in the Heavenly Prodigy Tournament. 63 64

The sect sent Lin Qing, Yun Nian, Jing Rong, Yun Chong, and Xing Mian to the tournament under Shen Yurong and Elder Yuan Kun’s personal escort. Lin Qing and Xing Mian reached the top twenty, while Lin Qing ultimately placed first and secured a place in the Cloudrise Immortal Sect entrance examination. 67 83 89

During the journey to the tournament, Pinecloud Abbey forced Sunset Glow Valley into a market wager that placed the Border Glow Market at risk. Sunset Glow Valley won Pinecloud Abbey’s Evening Forest Market, but Pinecloud Abbey had already collected five years of taxes and arranged for merchants to withhold revenue, turning the prize into a financial burden. 72 95

After Lin Qing annihilated Pinecloud Abbey’s leadership, Sunset Glow Valley publicly expelled him and reported the killings to the Great Qi Sect Management Alliance to avoid being implicated. At the same time, it secretly commissioned the Harmony Prosperity Trading Association to help him escape Great Qi. Lin Qing later accepted that Shen Yurong had acted to protect the sect’s thousands of disciples. 101

The valley was initially protected in secret by the Sun Family and Sixth Princess Duan Qinghuan. Once Lin Qing’s status in the Cloudrise Immortal Sect became known, Great Qi’s major factions visited Sunset Glow Valley to seek cooperation and favor. 118 119

Soon afterward, the King of Qi and five major powers betrayed the valley and ordered its extermination. Shen Yurong ordered ordinary disciples dispersed, while the elders and core disciples retreated toward the Ten-Thousand Mountains. Elder Yuan Kun and several elders remained behind to evacuate disciples and were killed during the rear-guard operation. 120 121 125

Fierce Tiger Hall ambushed the fleeing survivors, killing or injuring many disciples before two Sixth-Tier elders of Autumn Mountain Sect intervened and killed Hu Wanshan. The survivors were later surrounded by the Darknight Demon Court’s allied forces, but Lin Qing arrived in time to protect them. 122 123 124

Although Juechenzi’s avatar forced the Divine Realm cultivator Mingjin to retreat, the valley suffered catastrophic losses: most elders were dead, countless disciples had been killed or wounded, and fewer than one-tenth of its people initially remained. Lin Qing subsequently eliminated the surviving Fierce Tiger Hall elders in retaliation. 125

Upon returning to the original valley, the survivors found their mountain gate shattered, courtyards demolished, and local factions looting the abandoned grounds. Lin Qing ordered the sect to leave Azure Province and relocate to Cloudrise City, where the Darknight Demon Court would find it harder to target them. 126

Former Azure Province Grounds

Sunset Glow Valley’s original home was enclosed by three continuous green mountains arranged like a horseshoe. At sunset, the cliffs reflected crimson light, giving the valley its name and the appearance of being covered in rosy clouds and immortal mist. 64

• An ancient mountain gate was carved from a single slab of azure stone and decorated only with drifting-cloud and sunset-cloud motifs. 64
• A broad bluestone path crossed the valley between orderly bamboo cottages and wooden houses built against the mountainsides. 64
• Sunset Glow Hall, the central hall, stood deep in the valley against the mountain slope and overlooked the sect grounds. 64
• True disciples lived in private walled courtyards containing two-story wooden residences. 65
• The original mountain gate, residences, and inner grounds were largely destroyed during the extermination campaign. 126

Organization

Cloudrise City Settlement

Lin Qing purchased a former minor faction’s district on the outskirts of Cloudrise City for two million Spirit Stones and transferred ownership to Sunset Glow Valley. The compound included residences, warehouses, a dining hall, a discussion hall, training grounds, Spirit Realm seclusion rooms, and a basic Divine Sense isolation formation. 134

• The compound’s central discussion hall was renamed Sunset Glow Hall. 134
• Several hundred disciples migrated with the sect, though fewer than thirty percent of the previously evacuated disciples returned before the departure. 126 134
• Elder Xiu Lan trained disciples in standardized alchemy procedures, while other members handled material purchases, sales, accounting, and support work. 134
• The sect established pill shops selling exclusive First- and Second-Tier pills whose effects allowed them to compete in Cloudrise City’s crowded market. 134
• Lin Qing personally attended the pill shop’s opening to use his reputation as a deterrent against local interference. 134
• Before leaving for the Central Continent expedition, Lin Qing arranged for Ling Shu’s former teammates to protect the sect in his absence. 153

Relationships

• Lin Qing — Former true disciple, protector, and principal benefactor. The valley publicly expelled him to survive political pressure, but later relied on him for rescue, relocation, and reconstruction. 101 120 126 134
• Shen Yurong — Sect Master whose decisions repeatedly prioritized the survival of the sect and its disciples, including the public severance from Lin Qing and the migration from Azure Province. 101 120 126
• Sun Family — Secretly protected the valley after Lin Qing became wanted; later migrated alongside the sect to Cloudrise City under Lin Qing’s protection. 118 126 134
• Sixth Princess Duan Qinghuan — Quietly helped eliminate forces monitoring Sunset Glow Valley before the extermination campaign. 118
• Pinecloud Abbey — Rival Azure Province sect. Its market wager and subsequent tax scheme intensified hostilities before Lin Qing destroyed its leadership. 72 95 100
• Fierce Tiger Hall — Rival sect whose master Hu Wanshan joined the campaign to destroy Sunset Glow Valley; its remaining elders were later killed by Lin Qing. 72 122 125
• Autumn Mountain Sect — Initially backed Pinecloud Abbey, but two of its Sixth-Tier elders later saved the valley’s survivors after breaking with the Darknight Demon Court’s scheme. 72 123
• Cloudrise Immortal Sect — Governing immortal sect of the region and the authority whose city became Sunset Glow Valley’s new refuge. 65 126 134