Outside Qingyan Mountain Manor's secluded cultivation chamber.
The manor lord, Luo Feizhou, stood respectfully before the wooden door, his head lowered in silence.
Only after a long while did an aged voice come from behind the dilapidated wooden door. "Is everything you just said true?"
Luo Feizhou hurriedly nodded at those words, then said, "Ancestor, every word I just said is true! You've been in seclusion for so long that you may not know much about events outside, but this Primordial Hall really did appear out of nowhere a short while ago!"
"Ten white jade steles suddenly rose from the ground, occupying the centers of ten cities, and all of them are indestructible Saint Artifacts!"
"They display a ranking called the 'Eastern Wasteland Heaven's Chosen Ranking.' Many people doubted it at first, but several battles in recent days have established its reliability."
"Just a few days ago, Primordial Hall released the 'Eastern Wasteland Faction Rankings,' and our Qingyan Mountain Manor was ranked fifth..."
Luo Feizhou looked somewhat embarrassed as he reached the end, but this was precisely why he had come to the cultivation chamber to see the ancestor.
Bang! A tremor resounded from within the cultivation chamber, and the entire chamber seemed to shudder with it. The already dilapidated wooden door was pulverized outright by the impact.
"Outrageous!" Indescribable fury filled the ancestor's voice. Had he not still been in seclusion, needing to carefully control his heart meridians lest his surging anger attack his heart, there was no telling what might have happened!
"What ignorant brat dares rank our Qingyan Mountain Manor fifth! He must have a death wish!" The ancestor's furious voice rang out.
Luo Feizhou said somewhat awkwardly, "Well... Ancestor, the master of Primordial Hall once forged a Half-Step Saint Artifact out of ordinary sand and stones!"
"Hmph, one listen is enough to know that's a rumor distorted with every retelling. It's one thing for others to believe it, but why would a manor lord like you join them in this nonsense?" Qingyan Mountain Manor's ancestor said disdainfully.
"Ancestor, it's absolutely true. That Half-Step Saint Artifact is still hovering above Cloud Firmament City, and the Hall Master of the Primordial Hall personally forged it in front of countless cultivators. It truly couldn't have been faked!" Luo Feizhou said.
Only then did Qingyan Mountain Manor's ancestor fall silent. Luo Feizhou was, after all, a manor lord; he would never spout baseless claims.
But if that was true, didn't it prove how terrifying the Hall Master of the Primordial Hall's cultivation was?
Forging a Half-Step Saint Artifact with his bare hands, using nothing but ordinary sand and stones-what terrifying power was that? Even the Saints of today probably couldn't accomplish such a feat!
"Tell me in detail what that ranking is all about." Only then did Qingyan Mountain Manor's ancestor take the matter seriously.
Luo Feizhou had long since prepared himself, and the words poured from his mouth like beans spilling from a sack.
"The 'Eastern Wasteland Faction Rankings' were just released by Primordial Hall a short while ago. We're ranked fifth on them!"
Luo Feizhou had already told the ancestor this, so the ancestor did not grow too angry. He merely asked coldly, "Which sects hold the top four spots? I'd like to see which sects can stand above our Qingyan Mountain Manor!"
"First place is a sect called 'Short Sky Island.' There's no information about it on the rankings."
"If it were some other renowned faction, that would be one thing, but the name Short Sky Island is utterly unheard of. Even this junior has never heard of it!"
"That's why many cultivators suspect that Primordial Hall fabricated this sect just to make the rankings seem more mysterious. But judging by the Hall Master of the Primordial Hall's past conduct, this junior suspects he would disdain doing such a thing..."
Before Luo Feizhou could finish, a burst of rapid breathing from Ancestor Qingyan interrupted him.
"This... what happened a thousand years ago really was true! Short Sky Island actually exists!" Ancestor Qingyan's voice carried a distinct tremor, but above all, it was filled with excitement!
A thousand years ago, Ancestor Qingyan had encountered an obstacle in his cultivation. He exhausted every method without achieving a breakthrough, until a chance encounter led him onto an immortal island.
Life on the immortal island had been like a dream, like an illusion. Ancestor Qingyan's memories of it no longer felt real. All he knew was that after leaving Short Sky Island, it had seemed like one long dream.
Though he could no longer clearly remember everything that had happened on Short Sky Island, the improvement in his strength was very real!
Indeed, his experience on Short Sky Island had allowed Ancestor Qingyan to break through the barrier that had troubled him for so long. Yet after leaving, he could never find its entrance again.
Excellent. Since Short Sky Island is on these rankings, presumably the Hall Master of the Primordial Hall has investigated it as well. In that case, he must know where Short Sky Island is!
Ancestor Qingyan thought to himself.
"What about the remaining three?" Only after a long while did Ancestor Qingyan ask leisurely.
Naturally, Luo Feizhou had not heard any of Ancestor Qingyan's thoughts, so the ancestor's sudden silence had left him utterly lost in a fog.
Unfortunately, Luo Feizhou felt too awkward to say anything. Since the ancestor remained silent, he could only wait obediently outside the cultivation chamber.
"The faction ranked second is the Valley of Devouring!"
The instant Luo Feizhou finished speaking, another wave of terrifying pressure emanated from within the cultivation chamber.
In truth, Qingyan Mountain Manor had a secret unknown to others. Just how secret was it? Even Luo Feizhou, the lord of Qingyan Mountain Manor, knew nothing about it!
At present, Ancestor Qingyan was probably the only person in all of Qingyan Mountain Manor who knew of it.
That secret was that Qingyan Mountain Manor had once shared countless interwoven ties with the Valley of Devouring.
As far back as ten thousand years ago, Qingyan Mountain Manor had merely been an outside subordinate faction of the Valley of Devouring. But after various events, the Valley of Devouring withdrew from the world, leaving Qingyan Mountain Manor no choice but to find its own way forward.
Even so, Qingyan Mountain Manor still contained a secret passage-a passage leading to the Valley of Devouring!
This was the only mercy the Valley of Devouring had left them.
But they could only use this secret passage to flee to the Valley of Devouring in the direst emergency-when they faced annihilation.
He even knows about the Valley of Devouring, Ancestor Qingyan thought incredulously.
In that instant, Ancestor Qingyan's curiosity about Primordial Hall reached its peak.
The Valley of Devouring was a sacred place even to him, yet this unknown brat might actually have been there.
Seen in that light, these rankings that had suddenly appeared did carry some genuine weight.
"Continue!" Ancestor Qingyan said.
"Third place, Saint King Yunteng's Tomb!"
Ancestor Qingyan nodded at that. With a faction like the Valley of Devouring already setting a jewel-like precedent, the appearance of Saint King Yunteng's Tomb was hardly surprising.
As far back as ten thousand years ago, these two great factions had been evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand. They had merely withdrawn from the world now.
"As for fourth place, it's Night Moon Palace!"