Clouds Stirred on All Sides

Looking at the scroll in his hands, Lu Changsheng fell into thought.

The Azure Cloud Map, which others had exhausted their ingenuity and used every means to find without success, had simply fallen out of nowhere. As though afraid he would miss it, it had struck him right on the head.

He had done nothing, yet the map had appeared. No matter how he looked at it, it felt somewhat unreal.

"Could it be a fake?"

Lu Changsheng raised an eyebrow as he examined it. Law Power surged out, and he tossed it into the air. Vast might swept across heaven and earth, and the images within the scroll seemed to come alive.

Endless scenes appeared, imprinted upon the void and obscuring the sky, seemingly stretching for ten thousand miles without end.

Startled by the sight, he hurriedly withdrew the scroll. He had no doubts now. With such power, it was most likely the legendary Azure Cloud Map.

Moreover, the Law Power consumed in activating the scroll was terrifying. Even with his reserves, he could not sustain it for long-at most a quarter of an hour.

Everything had happened so suddenly that he was somewhat at a loss.

Who could have imagined that this thing would appear out of thin air and fall down on its own?

At that thought, he rubbed the back of his head. A sharp ache lingered there, and a thought struck him.

No one had obtained the Azure Cloud Map all these years. Perhaps it was not that it had never appeared, but that when it did, those people had failed to withstand it, been smashed to death, and ascended on the spot.

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. After all, he was at the Ninth Layer of Core Formation and possessed the Myriad Tribulations Immortal Physique, yet he had nearly been smashed to death. What chance would anyone else have?

A smile spread across Lu Changsheng's face. Not only could he obtain a great deal of Spiritual Qi on this trip, he had also picked up the Azure Cloud Map. Just thinking about it was thrilling.

"Wouldn't this thing sell for a few hundred thousand Spirit Stones?"

So many people and so many factions had come for it. A moment's thought made it clear that it could not be cheap.

With that thought, he sat quietly atop the solitary peak, waiting for Spiritual Qi to gather.

After a day passed, Lu Changsheng began drawing in the Spiritual Qi within the formations.

Vast quantities of Spiritual Qi poured into his body and transformed into Law Power. He soon drained one spiritual formation and rushed to the next. After draining them all, he set them up again.

Though his body endured all manner of pain, he never tired of it.

The Spiritual Qi here was dense. Who knew how many Spirit Stones it could save him? For a time, he became so immersed in cultivation that he could not tear himself away.

Meanwhile, excitement appeared on the faces of everyone throughout the secret realm.

Just moments earlier, they had witnessed a scroll emerge, blotting out the sun and sky. It manifested in the heavens, countless scenes interweaving as an indescribable might arose.

"The Azure Cloud Map! It's the Azure Cloud Map!"

"Heavens, the Azure Cloud Map has appeared! It really is in this secret realm!"

"Quick, find it!"

Countless people could no longer hold themselves back, unable to contain their excitement.

The Cangyun Sect disciples were shocked. They had never imagined this.

Some were already heading out of the secret realm to report the matter.

The instant the news reached the outside world, however, an uproar erupted.

Even the members of the Cangyun Sect had not expected it. After confirming it repeatedly, they still had not anticipated that the Azure Cloud Map would actually appear.

Their expressions varied.

Luo Tian fell into thought.

Through so many years and so many attempts, there had never been a trace of it, yet this time it had manifested.

"The ancestral teachings record that the Azure Cloud Map will only manifest when it encounters an unparalleled heavenly prodigy. Could someone like that have appeared this time?"

Luo Tian's voice was very soft.

The Peak Masters said, "If not for a heavenly prodigy, why would the Azure Cloud Map appear?"

"Then who could it be?"

"Xuan Cheng, or Zhao Yang?"

"Most likely Qingyu!"

Not long before, Zhou Qingyu had entered the secret realm. Immediately afterward, someone had brought word that the Azure Cloud Map had appeared.

And in terms of talent, Zhou Qingyu was indeed astonishing. At twenty-eight, he was about to reach Core Formation, and his Sword Dao cultivation had reached the sixth layer. Across all of Cang Province, or even the entire Yue Kingdom, he was an extraordinary figure.

"Let's hope it really is him!"

Luo Tian looked grave. Before it was confirmed, he dared not draw a rash conclusion.

After all, Zhao Yang came from the Divine Firmament Sect and was also a rare genius. When Xuan Cheng had first joined the Profound Heaven Sect, its sect master had taken him as a personal disciple, which spoke volumes about his talent.

There was also that woman. Everything about her hinted at something extraordinary, and she was probably not the slightest bit weaker than the others.

Luo Tian left to inform the ancestor of the matter.

By then, some were already performing divinations. They had come prepared for this.

However, after the Azure Cloud Map appeared, it left no trace. Still, they could confirm that it had truly appeared. Everyone had seen it with their own eyes, and its might had filled every corner of the secret realm.

Even in the Cangyun Hall, the ancestor sat there and made several attempts to investigate, yet found not the slightest trace.

Luo Tian asked, "Ancestor, how is it?"

"I can't sense it!"

"Could something have gone wrong? Could they have been mistaken?"

"No!" The ancestor shook his head. "I cannot sense the Azure Cloud Map's presence, but I can be certain that it appeared, just a short while ago!"

"Then what happened?"

The ancestor pondered. Only after a long while did he slowly say, "The Azure Cloud Map has a spirit. If it appears, an astounding talent must have drawn it out. But now that it has vanished, I fear someone has already obtained it!"

"This..."

Luo Tian's brows immediately knitted tightly.

He did not know whether this news was good or bad.

They knew nothing about any of this right now. What would happen if it fell into someone else's hands?

It was a Law Artifact that had possessed boundless renown long ago.

If the Cangyun Sect obtained it, they might be able to restore the sect's glory. If someone else obtained it, no one knew what would happen.

If it was Xuan Cheng, the Profound Heaven Sect, which had lain dormant for thousands of years, would inevitably rise. Never mind the Yue Kingdom-even the Divine Firmament Sect would probably have to give way.

If it was Zhao Yang, the Divine Firmament Sect would become even more terrifying and powerful.

That woman was also a cause for concern.

Now, they could only hope that the one who obtained it was Zhou Qingyu.

For a time, everyone's heart hung in suspense.

No one had imagined that the Azure Cloud Map would appear this time.

Within the Cangyun Secret Realm, every faction had gone mad. Once the scroll appeared, no one was in the mood to search for any fortuitous opportunities.

Only Lu Changsheng continued setting up spiritual formations and absorbing Spiritual Qi, as though none of this had anything to do with him from beginning to end.

Feeling his Law Power constantly increase, his heart filled with indescribable excitement. Even the pain in his body seemed to ease a little.

Moreover, after obtaining the Azure Cloud Map, he discovered that the Spiritual Qi from all directions seemed to be gathering here of its own accord.

Seven days passed in a flash.

For those seven days, he had remained busy cultivating and gathering Spiritual Qi, reaping considerable gains.

He paid no attention whatsoever to the struggles between the various factions.

With Zhou Qingyu around, those people probably could not overturn the heavens anyway. Even if their cultivation matched his, once his Sword Dao emerged, he would overwhelm them.

Fighting three to five opponents alone would be no problem at all. He was still very confident of that.

Yet just as he was immersed in cultivation, unable to tear himself away, a disturbance on the horizon caught his attention.

A crimson radiance surged into the sky, intertwining above the clouds as though something extraordinary had emerged. Divine light flowed across the heavens and lingered for a long time.

"Could there be something else good?"

Lu Changsheng had originally had no interest in these matters, but if there was something good, that was another story.

He was in no hurry either. He had not yet drained the spiritual formations. He would let them fight first; whoever obtained it in the end, it would be more or less the same as him obtaining it.

Yet while he was immersed in cultivation, someone arrived nearby and headed toward him.