The Perched Cloud Immortal Sect stood in the southwest of the Human World, at the far end of a cloud-shrouded mountain range.
Clouds and mist lingered there year-round, hiding the mountains amid white billows. From afar, it looked like an immortal sect floating atop a sea of clouds.
Seven main peaks formed an encircling formation, with cloud bridges connecting them.
The Perched Cloud Immortal Sect. "Perched," as in a place to roost.
Yun Qing stood outside the mountain gate, looking up at those words. Though the years had worn away the sharpness of the strokes, he could still see the longing behind the brush that had written them.
Yun Tianluo looked at the plaque and said softly, "If this really was founded by members of our Yun Clan, the name leaves something of a bitter taste."
Yun Qing turned his gaze to the terrain of the Perched Cloud Immortal Sect.
Seven peaks encircled one another, their clouds interlinked. Outside the mountain gate, spiritual veins rose from beneath the earth, but upon reaching the mountainside, they did not enter the main peaks directly. Instead, layer upon layer of cloud-patterned lines guided them into seven streams, concealing them amid the clouds overhead.
Yun Tianluo stepped half a pace closer and whispered beside his ear, "Eldest Brother, these formation lines are ancient and unadorned. Though they've been altered many times, their opening configuration still follows the old methods of our Yun Clan's Nine Heavens Cloud-Bearing Formation."
"And the cloud bridge to the north, too. The cloud patterns beneath it fold three times without dispersing. Outsiders would take them for mere levitation restrictions, but they're actually the Threefold Cloud-Hiding Formation."
Yun Qing nodded. "Even ordinary collateral branches of the Yun Clan aren't allowed to learn this configuration. Someone closely connected to the clan's main