Yu Ci's understanding of Taoist Li's stance was becoming increasingly clear.

The stout man had initially seemed to be at odds with him, then claimed to be taking people's money, and now he was shamelessly tattling, step by step. What had once been an annoying issue that seemed to be specifically targeted at him had been stirred into a pot of porridge, a pure farce. His ability to control the situation was truly admirable. It seemed that his position within the Sect's Mountain Gate must be extraordinary.

No matter how heated the fight on the other side, Yu Ci and his companions, standing upon the Clouds Sea, were quite noticeable. It wasn't long before they were spotted, and immediately a sword light split and shot towards them.

Before the sword light could reach them, Li You's hearty laughter arrived first, "Junior Brother Yu, congratulations!"

After a few months apart, Li You had lost a lot of weight, his round face had become pointed, and his face was stubbly. However, his spirit was excellent, especially the electric light flowing in his eyes, stirring the surrounding atmosphere with a surging energy. Yet his aura was completely integrated, exerting a great pressure. But his smile remained the same, especially lively when the corners of his mouth lifted:

"With Junior Brother Yu's abilities, cultivating at the Sect's Mountain Gate would be mutually beneficial and far better than worrying about mundane matters at the foot of the mountain. Now that you're back at the Sect's Mountain Gate, you're not leaving, are you?"

"The Sect has given me a three-year term for Cultivation in Sect," Yu Ci answered truthfully.

Li You patted his shoulder heavily and laughed, "We have these three years, and we can have thirty years, three hundred years. There's no need to worry about time."

He truly had faith in Yu Ci. Part of this was probably to save face for Yu Ci in front of everyone. Yu Ci understood this and was very grateful.

However, his words were bound to displease some. The Tu Brothers had just been left dizzy by Yu Ci and did not respond this time, but someone else did, with a very loud snort.

Li You knew who it was, but didn't turn around, laughing heartily, "Junior Brother, you must not belittle yourself. Being an Outer Disciple is not bad, it's better than some who use Merit Points to trouble newly joined juniors!"

Following his words, Yu Ci looked back at the person.

This man, whom both Taoist Li and Li You called "Old Zhan" and the Tu Brothers referred to as "Senior Brother Zhan," was actually named Zhan Chuanyi. He was a prominent figure among the fourth-generation disciples of the Empirical Department. Not tall, but exuding a tough aura, his most striking feature was his rather large mouth. Even now, as he pursed his lips tightly, his face was dark and stormy, like a cloud-covered peak.

Yu Ci had just entered the Sect's Mountain Gate. He was reluctant to make enemies, and of course, he wouldn't go out of his way to provoke someone. When he met this person, he simply nodded. Zhan Chuanyi, on the other hand, gave him a quick glance before coldly greeting Taoist Li and the Tu Brothers.

When these four met, apart from Taoist Li who was stirring the pot, the other three were rather awkward. Zhan Chuanyi, in particular, was in a predicament he couldn't articulate. Contrary to what Li You had said, he hadn't stooped so low as to deliberately trouble an Outer Disciple. He had always considered himself Senior Brother Zhou's right-hand man, and Senior Brother Zhou was clearly dissatisfied with Yu Ci's annihilation of the entire White Sun Mansion. Thus, Zhan Chuanyi naturally sought ways to align with Senior Brother Zhou's intentions.

Originally, he had intended to take matters into his own hands, to dampen Yu Ci's spirit. However, today he couldn't neglect an important task. He hadn't taken it seriously himself and had casually released a message about Merit Points, thinking that he could settle this matter with a half-hearted joke.

To his surprise, apart from him, the Tu Brothers were also involved in the Empirical Department. What was even more absurd was that Li Hong, whom even Senior Brother Zhou had to give way to, had jumped out and taken over the matter. As a result, things had escalated, leaking out and provoking Li You, who had just emerged from seclusion, to come out and confront him on the spot, giving him a good scolding.

Now, he had lost face and found it difficult to maintain his usual composure. Trapped in a situation where he couldn't back down, he had no choice but to play the villain to the hilt, naturally showing no goodwill towards Yu Ci.

Moreover, he truly didn't believe that a mere Outer Disciple could stay long at the Sect's Mountain Gate.

Driven by this mindset, Zhan Chuanyi exchanged a few words with the others before announcing that he needed to complete his task for the day. With a grim face, he excused himself, and no one tried to keep him.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Watching Zhan Chuanyi's departing figure, Li You furrowed his brows before breaking into a smile, "I was in seclusive cultivation recently, so I was probably the last to hear about your arrival at the Sect's Mountain Gate. Now that I know, we should celebrate..."

As Li You spoke, the group followed the route along the Heavenly Passage River towards the Sect's Mountain Gate. Apart from Yu Ci, the other four were seasoned travelers, familiar with the sights along the way. Especially Taoist Li and Li You, one was adept at controlling the situation, always ready with witty comments; the other was lively and loved to laugh, devoid of any pretense. With two Golden Elixir cultivators behaving in such a manner, the Tu Brothers gradually joined in. Although they were still not at ease to joke around with Yu Ci, they occasionally chimed in, gradually easing the atmosphere.

Journeying at a leisurely pace, slower than before, a quarter of an hour later, Yu Ci finally laid his eyes on the Snowfall Waterfall.

It was as if a cloud of smoke had descended from the ninth heaven, vanishing as the wind blew. The ephemeral mist gathered like a waterfall, plunging down from the lofty heights in a grand spectacle, colliding with the Cloud Sea beneath. The dispersed cloud fluff was akin to flying snow, reflecting the heavenly light and casting dazzling colours. Behind the magnificent curtain of mist, it seemed as though another world lay.

Drawing closer, Yu Ci discovered the descending cloud smoke carried a considerable chill. Perhaps, it was due to this coldness that such a beautiful scene was formed. As for Taoist Li and Li You's explanation, the formation of this cloud smoke explosion was entirely due to the Forbidden Method/effect of the Sect Mountain Guardian Array. From this point upward, the concentration of Yuan Qi gathered by the Sect Mountain Guardian Array had exceeded ten times that of the normal environment. It was this high-to-low formation that created such a splendid scene.

In fact, they didn't need to explain. The "little fellow" sharing Yu Ci's perspective had already traced the stream upwards, flying to the Snowfall Waterfall first, and frolicking joyfully in the vibrant void.

"Indeed, this is undoubtedly a fairyland!"

Yu Ci closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and the extremely pure Primordial Qi of heaven and earth, like carefully adjusted warm water, poured down from his head, nourishing his whole body. For a moment, he even began to moan in comfort.

Taoist Li and Li You exchanged smiles, the former saying, "Let's move on, the real beauty lies ahead."

Following their advice, Yu Ci moved forward. Soon, he realised that this was not the relatively monotonous white Cloud Sea, but a truly vibrant place. Here, the surging clouds gathered into a river, flowing through the sky. The "two banks" were dotted with peaks of various shapes, brightly coloured. Upon closer inspection, those mountains were actually suspended in mid-air, some even connected by rainbow bridges. If one used their vision, they could even find the shadows of pavilions and terraces in the elusive clouds beyond the ninth heaven.

For this reason, this space was expanded to an incredible extent, even blurring the concept of up, down, left, and right. The "Heavenly Passage River" flowed in such a world, twisting and turning in the contrast of near and far, high and low. Sometimes as thin as a thread, sometimes as vast as the sea, it was irresistible to plunge into it, to truly experience its mysterious and moving charm.

As they marveled at the beauty of this place, the Tu Brothers suddenly exclaimed in unison, "Zhan Senior Brother?"

On a floating mountain by the Heavenly Passage River, the figure standing was none other than Zhan Chuanyi, who had just left a step ahead of them.

Zhan Chuanyi knew they had followed him. He glanced back, his brows seemingly furrowing, but in the end, he didn't hide again. Instead, he craned his neck to gaze into the distance.

"Who's there?"

Li You curiously asked, but no one could answer at the moment. However, immediately after, a clear melody softly flowed into everyone's ears.

At first, Yu Ci didn't know where the sound was coming from, only finding it pleasing. He focused his attention and realized that this was not the natural music of the Clouds Sea's empty mountains, but a melodious song sung by someone, growing louder as it neared.

"Boundless is the Clouds Sea in the sky, crossing it from a leaf-like boat. The sky's face and the sea's color, waves calm and wind steady, never a tempest. Scales and shells cover a thousand mountains, the sounds of the sheng and yong instruments, unshielded. Laughing as I read your beautiful verse, seeking past events, must believe in the Dao, forget coming and going..."

Yu Ci followed the sound and gazed into the distance. Upon discerning the lyrics, he finally saw that on the Heavenly Passage River, there really was a flat boat, with a single person rowing, seemingly going downstream. The figure on the boat sung a pleasing song, seemingly carefree, yet possessing a certain serene charm.

"That is, that is..." Yu Ci strained his eyes, although the figure was still blurry, he felt that the person was quite familiar. A name was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say it.

"It's Sister Meng!" The Tu Brothers, in sync, called out in unison.

"Sister Meng?"

That dignified and calm female cultivator, she also enjoys singing on a boat, leisurely passing the years?

Yu Ci turned back in surprise, only to see that everyone around him was equally puzzled. Seeing his gaze, Taoist Li was the first to react, smiling and saying, "It's rare to hear Sister Meng sing, today is indeed a treat for the ears... Having said that, she seems to be in a good mood today."

Li You and the Tu Brothers all nodded in agreement, sharing the sentiment.

At this moment, the boat was getting closer. Yu Ci, looking at the increasingly clear figure on the boat, felt something. He glanced sideways and indeed saw that Zhan Chuanyi's body language was somewhat tense. Just as he had a vague guess, the boat had already traveled several miles and was about to reach them.

At this point, the female cultivator on the boat stood up, smiling and asking from afar, "Is Junior Brother Yu here?"

Everyone turned their heads in unison, except for Yu Ci.

At this moment, he was standing in the center of everyone's line of sight, momentarily at a loss for words.

...