The Misty Cloud Sect's Strongest Ancestor

"Since you've enjoyed so many favors from the sect and used its power to throw your weight around outside, it's time you paid it back."

Yun Shan gave a cold laugh. His words carried a heavy meaning, and Nalan Yanran's eyes reddened when she heard them.

"Grandmaster, what terrible mistake has Yanran committed to bring shame upon the sect?"

Nalan Yanran stubbornly held her head high. As far as she knew, she had never done anything improper in her daily life. When could she have caused a disaster grave enough to drag the sect down with her?

She didn't believe it.

"When you went to break off the engagement, didn't you bother to find out more first? Did you think our Misty Cloud Sect really was invincible under heaven?"

This foolish woman nearly made Yun Shan laugh in anger. He wasn't angry at her for breaking off the engagement. After all, if the Misty Cloud Sect really were powerful enough, it could indeed do as it pleased.

But right now, the side that could do as it pleased was clearly the other one!

"The Xiao Clan?"

Nalan Yanran was baffled. Wasn't the Xiao Clan just a clan in a third-rate little city? Did Grandmaster really have to be so angry?

She was confident that after cultivating for a little while, even if she wasn't invincible under heaven, she could at least make the Xiao Clan shut up.

Under those circumstances, she naturally wanted to make her own decisions about her marriage.

"Good-for-nothing!"

Seeing that she still showed no intention of changing her ways, Yun Shan struck her with his palm in a fury.

But he immediately regretted it.

If he hurt her, Senior would blame him again. She was supposed to be left for the young master as a trial.

Even though he himself was the target of that trial... Yun Shan could hardly hide his smile.

At his age, he couldn't take too much punishment!

"Phew! Good thing you're all right. Senior gave me instructions: for the Three-Year Agreement, you're the young master's whetstone. You must make sure to cultivate diligently."

Yun Shan emphasized the point, looking at Nalan Yanran with some expectation.

The little girl was indeed quite pretty.

If she could offer herself to that young master, perhaps they could turn this misfortune into a blessing.

As for pursuing happiness and all that... would being slapped to death make her happy?

They would see whether she knew what was good for her!

"Xiao Yan? I'd rather die and jump off Misty Cloud Mountain than marry someone like Xiao Yan!"

Nalan Yanran was clearly so angry that she had lost her reason, and the words came out without passing through her brain.

"Outrageous!"

This time, Yun Shan held back. He merely struck her hard enough for the pain to knock her unconscious, without affecting her future progress in cultivation in the slightest.

"You've failed as her master."

If Nalan Yanran couldn't do her job properly, he naturally had to give his own disciple a lesson.

If she hadn't brought her along, how could the Misty Cloud Sect have suffered this undeserved calamity these past few days?

"Master, I know about the Xiao Clan too. Its strongest member is only a Da Dou Shi. Even the Xiao Clan's ancestor was only a Dou Ling, and he has already fallen."

Yun Yun was somewhat puzzled, but she also understood how serious the matter was.

If they had truly broken off an engagement with a major power, they would naturally have been courting death.

But the Xiao Clan... shouldn't have fallen into that category.

"Hmph! You've got the nerve to say that? An expert from the Xiao Clan has already come to pay me a visit. If I hadn't handled things properly, the Misty Cloud Sect would be nothing but ruins now."

Yun Shan grew angry when he heard her. Apparently, no one had come looking for her, so she could stand there and talk without her back aching.

If she weren't the disciple he had painstakingly raised, Yun Shan would have liked to slap her to death and be done with it.

"Ah?"

Yun Yun cried out in shock, fully grasping the seriousness of the situation.

"Has that senior already graced our Misty Cloud Sect with his presence?"

"Yes, and he still hasn't left!"

The hollow voice echoed in Yun Yun's ears like a demon's. Yun Shan wasn't trying to frighten her.

Who knew how many methods a senior of such strength possessed, or what might offend him?

The only thing they knew was that if they displeased the old man, every last one of them would have to go back into the furnace and be remade.

"..."

Yun Yun's thoughts were tangled like a ball of hemp. She had sensed that her master had advanced to Dou Zong and had just been about to congratulate him. How could she have known that joy would turn to sorrow, and that in the blink of an eye, the Misty Cloud Sect would be facing a great calamity?

Even her master, who had become a Dou Zong, couldn't resolve it.

What could a mere Dou Emperor like her amount to?

"Now you know how to worry? Go teach that fine disciple of yours a lesson later. We must make proper arrangements for the Three-Year Agreement she made with the young master!"

"When something happens, discuss it more with the sect elders. Their strength is ordinary, but the way they deal with people is still worth learning from."

As Yun Shan earnestly urged her, he seemed to age several decades all at once.

The high spirits he had felt upon advancing to Dou Zong had now vanished without a trace.

"Inform the sect elders that, from now on, you, Yun Yun, are no longer the master of our Misty Cloud Sect."

"I, Yun Shan, will hold the position of sect master in the meantime. At the same time, spread the news of my breakthrough to Dou Zong throughout the world."

"Discuss a plan for the Three-Year Agreement with the elders. I will review it personally afterward."

After hastily giving a few instructions, Yun Shan prepared to go outside the Gate of Life and Death and respectfully await Senior's emergence.

It wasn't that he was worried someone would take the Misty Cloud Sect's meager scraps. It was just that, apart from this respectful attitude, Yun Shan truly had nothing else to offer.

When an expert was too powerful, one wasn't even qualified to grovel before him!

Otherwise, should he give Yanran back to the young master as an apology, and then offer Yun Yun to Senior to make amends?

For all he knew, Senior might like that sort of thing!

The former Misty Cloud Sect Master wasn't a bad offering.

At that moment, Xiao Xuan had no idea that Yun Shan outside could behave so improperly for his age.

The mysteries within the Gate of Life and Death had indeed caught Xiao Xuan's attention.

The master who had opened up this small world must have reached the realm of a Peak Dou Sheng.

But in the end, he had still fallen one move short. He had failed to defy the heavens and change his fate, to become a Dou Di out of nothing, and had ultimately fallen in obscurity within this small world.

There was no longer any room for a breakthrough on the Dou Qi Continent, so this man had hit upon an idea: using an external small world as a foundation to draw in the Emperor's Origin from somewhere higher and farther away.

It might not exist, but it was still a possible means of breaking through.

In the end, however, his luck had been somewhat poor. His lifespan ran out before he could obtain that trace of the Emperor's Origin.

The small world ultimately became the grave that buried him.

It gradually grew desolate and fell into ruin.

With some regret, Xiao Xuan collected the treasures this Peak Dou Sheng had amassed over his lifetime.

Yun Yangtian!

He was probably connected to the Misty Cloud Sect.

Previously, Yun Yangtian had used great means and tremendous perseverance to forcibly separate this small world from its dependence on the Dou Qi Continent, sending it toward a higher, more distant realm.

But the power of a Dou Sheng had its limits after all.

No matter how long he had schemed, he had ultimately pushed it only a short distance away. In the end, it had returned to the realm of the Dou Qi Continent.

This was probably where he, Yun Yangtian, had set out from all those years ago.

Alas!

Xiao Xuan fell somewhat silent. The path to becoming a Dou Di had truly buried countless heroes.

But he, Xiao Xuan, was different. He sought everything from himself, so whatever interference came from outside, he remained calm and unafraid.

There were many Eighth-Tier pills that had gained spirits, along with some decent Dou Qi Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills. The rest was hardly worth a look.

This Dou Sheng had been an ordinary man after all! Xiao Xuan had hoped to find some opportunity among the collection, but it now seemed to contain nothing more than resources.

Although they were precious, they were no longer of much use to someone at Xiao Xuan's level.

At most, only that Ninth-Tier Xuan Pill was worth a look!

"What's your name?"

With a casual motion, he erased Yun Yangtian's seal and released the spirit of the Xuan Pill.

Xiao Xuan was still very curious about the course of his breakthrough back then.

Whether it had succeeded or failed, it could serve as a reference.

And as for who knew the most, this Ninth-Tier Xuan Pill he had kept by his side presumably knew more than anyone.