In mid-February, on the day of the handover, Li Ling and the Ninth Princess welcomed Lu Zheng, who had come to collect the tribute.
Unlike previous visits, however, Lu Zheng did not simply take the Returning Soul Incense and leave. Instead, he summoned a cloud carpet some ten feet wide and told them, "Come aboard."
As a True Disciple of the Immortal Sects, he had naturally heard that Yellow Cloud True Person had emerged from seclusion, so Mystic Xin Peak's request that he bring Li Ling and the Ninth Princess into the blessed land came as no surprise.
Li Ling and the Ninth Princess had long since prepared themselves. With solemn expressions, they stepped onto the cloud carpet. "Sorry for the trouble, Senior Lu."
Lu Zheng activated his Cloud Escape, soaring swiftly into the heavens before flying eastward across the Mystic Continent, toward the boundless sea.
Cloud Above Heaven's true location was an offshore grotto-heaven, an independent realm within the void. Mortals could not find it; they merely saw immortal masters coming and going in that direction, leaving all manner of legends behind.
Unaware that Li Ling had already embarked on the path of cultivation, Lu Zheng deliberately slowed down considerably for his sake. Even so, they crossed more than ten thousand li during the day and entered the grotto-heaven.
While Li Ling and the Ninth Princess were feeling apprehensive, the monotonous blue sky, white clouds, and boundless sea suddenly vanished before their eyes. In their place appeared peaks floating in the heavens, glowing with spiritual light. Countless rosy clouds drifted like silken sashes, with jade towers and jeweled palaces scattered among them.
Amid this scene of immortal splendor, Lu Zheng's cloud carpet crossed layer upon layer of cloud seas, heading straight toward one particularly lofty peak. After roughly another