Chapter 14: The Union of Three Sects

Over the course of three months, True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin, along with the disciples of the Hidden Cloud Sect, swept through the areas surrounding Hidden Cloud Peak.
The smaller sects that had once pledged allegiance to the Qianhuo Palace were no match for the Hidden Cloud Sect. After all, True Master Floating Cloud, a powerhouse in the early stages of cultivation fusion, could single-handedly wipe out these smaller sects. As a result, many of them chose to join the Hidden Cloud Sect.
True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin cleverly scattered these smaller sects, splitting them apart and sending them to various branches of the Hidden Cloud Sect.
Now, apart from True Master Hanjin, the Hidden Cloud Sect also had five others in the early stages of cultivation at the Divinity level. There were even more at the Nascent Soul stage—now numbering five hundred.
At that time, the sect leader of the Hidden Cloud Sect, Qu Yi, was on a flat area halfway up Hidden Cloud Peak, reviewing the sect’s current elite fighters.
More than five hundred cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage or above stood in front of him. Those disciples below the Golden Core stage did not qualify to be here. Qu Yi smiled nonstop as he watched them.
“Everyone, the Hidden Cloud Sect has been glorious before and has never declined. Now, it is in our hands to restore its glory,” Qu Yi declared loudly as he stood firm.
“Yes, Sect Leader!” The five hundred people shouted in unison.
True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin were extremely excited. They had endured too much humiliation during the sect’s decline. Seeing the current situation filled them with deep emotion.
Qu Yi nodded and continued, “From today onward, go to various places around and seize all the territories of other sects. Those who wish to submit should be brought to Hidden Cloud Peak, while those who refuse shall be killed on the spot. The power structures of the Feiyun Continent must be reorganized, and under any circumstances, the Hidden Cloud Sect must claim the most important share.”
“Yes, Sect Leader!” The five hundred people shouted passionately once again.
Qu Yi waved his hand and said with a smile, “Let’s set off. You have three months to reclaim all of the Hidden Cloud Sect’s former territories.”
“Yes, Sect Leader!” they replied immediately.
Soon, these five hundred Nascent Soul cultivators, led by the five elite Divinity-level fighters, split into five groups and flew in different directions to sweep through all the surrounding sects.
Qu Yi smiled and then returned to the Smiling Cloud Palace to meditate.
…
For cultivators, time passes quickly once they begin to meditate.
One day, Qu Yi suddenly opened his eyes from meditation and called out to True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin, who were also in the Smiling Cloud Palace, “Floating Cloud, Hanjin, enemies are approaching. Come here for a moment.”

As soon as he finished speaking, True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin arrived beside Qu Yi.
“Both of you, that True Master Fire Hook is here again. It seems he’s brought together the strong warriors from Thousand Demons Forest and Azure Cloud Tower,” Qu Yi said with a smile.
Just earlier, the spiritual sense of the God of Weapons had scanned the surrounding area and discovered a valley where three groups of people were gathered, one of whom was indeed True Master Fire Hook. Pity those three factions—they thought they were far enough from Hidden Cloud Peak that its people wouldn’t notice them, not realizing there was also the hidden powerhouse, the God of Weapons.
“Oh, the strong warriors from these three sects have all come?” True Master Hanjin’s face turned deathly pale.
Upon hearing this, True Master Floating Cloud also looked uneasy, his lips trembling.
Qianhuo Palace, Thousand Demons Forest, and Azure Cloud Tower were the three largest factions on Feiyun Star. If these three joined forces, they would have five strong warriors in the later stages of cultivation. How could Hidden Cloud Sect resist them?
Qu Yi saw that these two, who had once been so confident in themselves, were now terrified at the mere thought of the three sects uniting.
“Both of you, what are you afraid of? With me here, no matter how they unite, I’ll chop off all their heads. Enough talk—I asked you to come here so that you can immediately inform all the disciples to hide inside the ‘Wind Follows Nature’ formation and avoid being affected by our battle,” Qu Yi said calmly with a smile.
True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin stared at Qu Yi strangely, unsure what to say. They flew down to the foot of the peak to inform all the disciples at Hidden Cloud Peak to hide inside the formation right away.
After that, True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin returned to Smile Cloud Palace.
Seeing them fly back, Qu Yi said with a smile, “Both of you are afraid that I can’t defeat those five strong warriors in the later stages of cultivation, right?”
True Master Floating Cloud and True Master Hanjin nodded simultaneously. Although they had seen Qu Yi hold his own against True Master Fire Hook from Qianhuo Palace, that was only because of the Heavenly Fire Rock Heart Thunder and the Yuan Ying in the later stages of cultivation, which helped him recover his energy. Now, those three factions must have realized that Qu Yi no longer had the Heavenly Fire Rock Heart Thunder, nor could he obtain a Yuan Ying—so he wouldn’t be able to continue fighting.
“Elder Master, if you can’t defeat them, you could negotiate with those three sects. We four factions could rule Feiyun Continent together,” True Master Hanjin said worriedly.

Upon hearing this, Qu Yi burst into loud laughter, waved his hand, and then said, “Han Jin, your thinking is truly too naive. In the realm of cultivation, strength speaks. Once those three factions see that I can fight against those in the late fusion stage while still being in the late separation stage, they certainly won’t let me grow any further. It will definitely end in a fight to the death. Alright, you all just watch from the side and see how I kill them all.”

Fuyun Zhenren and Han Jin were overjoyed upon hearing this. They could sense Qu Yi’s confidence from his tone, but they still grew worried. They still didn’t believe that Qu Yi alone could withstand the attacks of five people in the late fusion stage, let alone those in the mid and early fusion stages as well.

……

Seventy thousand miles away from Yinyun Peak, there was a valley with breathtaking scenery. At that moment, there were three groups of people in the valley.

From Qianhuo Palace, only Gouhuo Zhenren came.

From Qianyao Forest, there were Si Er Lie Tu Shu and Tianyan Bingjiao, along with three cultivators in the early fusion stage: Shuangtou She, Dundi Han Can, and Fengpao Niu.

From Biyun Tower, there were two powerful cultivators in the late fusion stage, Yuan Feng and Yuan Zi, two in the mid fusion stage, Sang Bai and Sang Shuan, and two in the early fusion stage, Le Chuan and Le Geng. All six of them practiced wood-based cultivation techniques.

The strong cultivators from these three sects were all at the fusion stage, while those in the separation stage were completely useless.

In the valley, the members of the three sects discussed plans to attack Yinyun Sect.

“Everyone, I’ve already mentioned Li Mu, the new leader of Yinyun Sect. First, his speed is extremely fast, on par with those in the late fusion stage. Second, he has a strange ambush skill. Third, he can devour Yuan Ying. We must not underestimate these three skills. Therefore, I suggest that in the first wave of attacks, all five of us strong cultivators in the late fusion stage should go together,” said Gouhuo Zhenren calmly.

Gouhuo Zhenren only wanted to kill Qu Yi, so he wanted to combine the strength of five people in the first attack to kill him at once.

Yuan Feng, the leader of Biyun Tower, with his carefree demeanor, smiled after hearing Gouhuo Zhenren’s words and said, “Gouhuo, you also said that Li Mu is extremely fast, not inferior to us cultivators in the late fusion stage. Moreover, it’s been rumored in the cultivation world that Li Mu single-handedly killed the entire enforcement team of Jin Yang Sect in the Tianhuo Star Region. This shows that he also has considerable experience dealing with combined attacks. Therefore, I think everyone here must attack together in the first wave to kill Li Mu in one strike.”

Si Er Lie Tu Shu remained silent the whole time, while Tianyan Bingjiao kept scanning everyone present with its eyes, as if trying to figure out who among them was plotting something.

Suddenly, the Four-Eared Earth Splitter Rat said, “It’s a good idea for everyone to work together, but there’s one condition: all of us from the three factions must swear that we won’t launch surprise attacks on members of other factions during the attack.”

It turned out that the Four-Eared Earth Splitter Rat was worried that if the five beasts from the Thousand Monster Forest attacked Qu Yi, Bi Yun Tower and Master Gou Huo might instead attack the Thousand Monster Forest, in which case the five demon cultivators would likely die at the hands of Yin Yun Sect. Truly cautious!

Upon hearing this, Master Gou Huo understood the Thousand Monster Forest’s concerns. The six people from Bi Yun Tower laughed out loud, thinking that these demon cultivators, coming from the forest, were indeed overly suspicious.

“Alright, let each of us take a Soul Oath of Heart Calamity, pledging not to attack members of other factions while attacking Yin Yun Sect,” Master Gou Huo said immediately to ease the Thousand Monster Forest’s worries.

The Soul Oath of Heart Calamity was one of the most advanced soul oaths in the cultivation world. Once such an oath was taken, violating it would cause interference during the tribulation, preventing one from stabilizing their soul to resist the calamity—resulting in failure and turning to ashes.

The people from Bi Yun Tower and the Thousand Monster Forest both nodded.

“I’ll go first,” said Master Gou Huo.

He then separated his spirit from his body in front of everyone, formed a hand seal, and swore loudly, “Qian Huo Palace, Gou Huo, I swear with my soul that if I attack anyone from Bi Yun Tower or the Thousand Monster Forest while attacking Yin Yun Sect, I shall be struck dead by the lightning of the heart calamity during my next tribulation.”

After hearing Master Gou Huo’s oath, the people from Bi Yun Tower and the Thousand Monster Forest nodded again.

Soon, the members of the two factions also took their Soul Oaths of Heart Calamity one by one.

With all three factions having taken such oaths, they could finally relax, knowing they could focus entirely on dealing with Yin Yun Sect.

Just as the three factions finished taking their oaths, a figure suddenly appeared in the sky—it was Qu Yi.

“Master Gou Huo, thank you for bringing the strong members of Bi Yun Tower and the Thousand Monster Forest here. That’s great; now I don’t have to go there myself and can deal with all three of your factions at once,” Qu Yi shouted loudly from above the valley.

Indeed, after realizing that the members of the three factions hadn’t arrived at Yin Yun Peak for a long time, Qu Yi grew impatient and flew over himself. In the sky behind him, Master Floating Cloud and Master Han Jin were struggling to catch up.

“You…”

The people from the three factions looked at Qu Yi in panic. They realized they hadn’t sensed him approaching at all, and what surprised them even more was how he had managed to find their gathering place.