Chapter 123: Masterful Calligraphy, the Sect Leader’s Seal

Antelope Lord tossed the celestial jade stones he had selected into the formation disk. Instantly, an apparition of Wuyun appeared, looking so lifelike that had the runes on the chosen jade not been mismatched, one would have truly believed it was Wuyun himself casting the spell.

Yet, despite the wiggling of the waist, the dancing of the legs, and the rubbing from forehead to chin, why did it end with a muffled thud? The flowing vitality within condensed into the purest celestial essence and detonated.

One stone failed, so Antelope Lord tried five. Five failed, so he tried ten. Finally, he even tested the two that Wuyun had picked out, but to no avail. Needle Boss was heartbroken, yet as a merchant, he could not complain—the celestial jade stones were clearly priced, totaling no more than one hundred thousand celestial stones. But what if, as Wuyun claimed, these contained Rainbow Celestial Spirit Beasts?

"Are you cheating me? My formation talisman can mimic everything before it. If you cast a spell or chant a mantra, it should be exactly the same. You're lying to me!"

Antelope Lord shifted the blame onto Wuyun. The Dragon Driver, standing nearby, fanned the flames and deliberately goaded him, until the latter finally agreed to Wuyun's terms.

"You chose the right stones, but your posture was wrong, so naturally, you couldn't open them. I see that your final piece can also be opened. How about this: if it yields a prize, one million is yours. No deception for young or old!"

Waiting for Antelope Lord to take the bait, Wuyun performed another set of "health exercises for children," ending with a flick of his left index finger. Suddenly, another Rainbow Celestial Spirit Beast appeared, floating and swimming in the air.

A stunned Antelope Lord produced a small mountain of a million celestial stones and muttered, "I bought too many; they're hard to resell."

The clothing merchant behind them collected his celestial stones and left satisfied, while the remaining three continued to follow, chests puffed out. Seeing Wuyun demonstrate such talent, the three were in no rush, waiting for the final outcome. Wuyun praised the fat antelope for his loyalty and adherence to principles, prompting the latter to insist on dragging Wuyun to his family's shop to make purchases.

"Brother, Senior, Lord, Big Brother—since you've bought so much, surely you have the funds to pick up some formation disks, talismans, and techniques! Our shop has everything; as long as you visit, I'll give you a thirty percent discount."

Wuyun nodded and was about to move on when Needle Boss suddenly grabbed him, pleading urgently, "Fellow Daoist, stay your steps! Stay your steps!"

"My nephew needs an accompanying celestial spirit beast. He has a Wood-Water Celestial Physique with a Yin attribute. Could you see if we can find a Yin-Wood-Water spirit beast? I'll pay five hundred thousand!"

Hearing a price exceeding half a million, Wuyun turned back. He cast a spell on his own remaining celestial jade, and a monkey-like, Yin-attribute Wood-Water baleful spirit beast sprang forth.

This scene completely shocked Antelope Lord, while Needle Boss’s hands trembled uncontrollably. Both were desperate to keep Wuyun to get to the bottom of this! Because arrays and array spirits were inextricably linked, if Wuyun possessed the secret technique to conjure spirit beasts, their family businesses could dominate an entire star sector.

Their trembling hands finally stilled. Needle Boss paid the price, clutching the beast like a treasure, spending a long time analyzing Wuyun's previous gestures. Wuyun shook his head, tapped Jiayouke, and two markers floated out from his body. Without even glancing at them, he continued toward the next hall.

The final ten floors were the Hall of Demands, the Auction House, the Appraisal Level, the Crafting and Forging area, and the Intelligence Bureau. As soon as Wuyun entered the first floor, beams of light projected information about his arrival, filling the entire hall.

The crowd behind him was astonished; was this intelligence being made public for free? Wuyun looked back at the Dragon Driver, who appeared innocent. As for the alien Ghost-Face Celestials hiding in the lowest levels, they wished no one knew of Wuyun's existence to avoid losing face!

The information, complete with multi-angled, layered projections, was detailed: Jiayouke, a servant of mid-stage Celestial Physique, appeared after the meteorite fall and before the frequent eruptions of the remnants of the Ethereal Grand Celestial Sect. He possessed a black bear mount, two snakes (male and female), a Buddhist-like exotic insect, a five-year-old celestial child, and a Golden-Bodied Celestial.

His combat power was uncertain. Initially of Celestial Physique cultivation, he tricked the Dragon Driver into obtaining a black-species Unicorntail Celestial Horse. During the training of the divine sense array, he displayed early-to-mid-stage Profound Celestial cultivation; Tai Feng was defeated, and the three ancestors of the Zhang family were killed.

His only self-revealed identity was the Ethereal Grand Celestial Sect, and he claimed Jiayouke was the Sect Leader. His methods were endless; he met Dao Shan Zhenren with Dao Yuan and Luo Da, after which Luo Da’s war-mount, the Questioning Heaven Beast, was heavily injured and required recovery. Due to his possession of the Heaven-Shattering Treasure Jar, there were suspicions of a connection to the Dragon Driver, but more questions pointed toward the Ethereal Grand Celestial Sect. He was currently in the top ten of the Hundred Mysteries of the Hundred Flower Valley.

After reading this, the life story of Jiayouke appeared, even confirming incidents of him bragging and flirting with Concentrated Spirit-stage female celestials. What made Jiayouke unable to hold his head up the most was that his beloved soulmate, for the sake of celestial stones and to help him cultivate into a Great Celestial, had engaged in divine sense dual cultivation with the young master of the Zhang family.

As Jiayouke’s Dao heart fell into chaos, Wuyun comforted him: "Every celestial’s past contains twists and turns. Even I have too many regrets and too much helplessness. But I believe I have done my best; as long as my conscience is clear, that is enough. If you live in the past, blaming yourself and feeling guilty, you won't find a pill to reverse regrets. You are the Sect Leader of the Ethereal Grand Celestial Sect—you weren't before, but you are now!"

Jiayouke was awestruck and bowed low. From beginning to end, he let Wuyun lead him, yet deep down, he felt as if he were just a bystander. Could a pie really fall from the sky? A sect leader descending upon a mid-stage Celestial Physique waste? Would the ultimate outcome be heartless abandonment? The world of these Profound Celestials was indeed this fickle and ruthless!

As Jiayouke felt a flicker of doubt, Wuyun took an item from the soul lake in his chest. The moment it appeared, the entire hall gasped! Wuyun hung the circular pendant around Jiayouke’s neck. A mass of luminous gas, floating without any connection at the center of the pendant, instantly branded itself onto the center of Jiayouke’s forehead, revealing the very "Ethereal" characters.

Regardless of the surrounding shock, Wuyun muttered, "Damn, I always thought it was a totem. Turns out it's the two characters for 'Ethereal' written in celestial script that gained sentience. Fine calligraphy, truly fine calligraphy."

The onlookers, the Dragon Driver, and his followers stared with wide and narrowed eyes. Antelope Lord, Needle Boss, and the three following Profound Celestials trembled violently. In the floating text introducing Jiayouke’s deeds, a massive line of characters emerged, occupying half the intelligence hall: "The Ethereal Grand Celestial Sect has emerged. After 99,824 years, the sect totem has manifested and recognized Jiayouke as its master. The Sect Leader’s mark is confirmed."

This precious information was not sold for a price but exposed directly. Wuyun pointed at a toad-like exotic beast in the hall: "Toad Demon, is this news worth a million?"

The Toad Beast in demon form dared not answer. Although he possessed Great Demon cultivation, he served others, and he was the one who had announced this information to the entire Hundred Flower Valley.

The Toad Beast dared not answer, but a small figure hidden on his body dared: "The intelligence I obtain can be spread however I wish. What can you do to me? Do you think an ancient sect that disappeared for 100,000 years can still compete with my Hundred Flower Valley for territory and the ownership of this planet?"

Mountains of pressure descended, but Wuyun slashed open a spatial channel, discharging the attacks formed by these words. When the perpetrator appeared, the three Profound Celestials, who had just been shouting that fighting was forbidden here, suddenly fell silent.

This diminutive, barely visible figure was the Ninth Elder of the Hundred Flower Valley’s Inner Sect, Wang Qing, the master of this place, possessing peak Profound Celestial cultivation. He jumped off the Toad Beast and roared: "That male snake claiming to be 'Dragon One' is actually a disguised True Dragon! If I hadn't used this beast to listen in, I would have been fooled!"

"You had no right—you had absolutely no right to steal and eat my beloved mount, even casting its soul into the Wild Boar Forest for reincarnation! My poor Nine-Legged Mountain-Climbing Beast was fried and sautéed alive by the likes of you!"

Ninth Elder Wang Qing grew as he landed until his mouth was the only thing left, a vortex-like maw. Wuyun, Jiayouke, and the black horse were involuntarily swept inside.

Afterward, Wang Qing transformed back into a lean old man, patting his distended belly and saying, "The Law Enforcement Hall is in internal strife and cannot look after itself. I will deal with this Ethereal Grand Celestial Sect disaster. When the Valley Master emerges from seclusion, I will report it then!"

Wang Qing held a prestigious position in the Hundred Flower Valley, especially since this area was his private domain. Antelope Lord dared not speak, and Needle Boss was full of reservations. The three Profound Celestials behind them treated their previous business dealings as if they had never happened.

Just as the hiding alien Ghost-Face Celestials sent a message requesting instructions, the Dragon Driver moved. He reached out toward Wang Qing and blocked him: "Ninth Elder, what you are doing is against the rules."

Wang Qing frowned. He couldn't imagine a Beast Celestial daring to block his path. Even if he were invited by Vice Valley Master Yang Chi, the majesty of the Ten Great Inner Sect Elders was not something he could withstand.

"Are you blocking me on behalf of Bai Wan?" After Wang Qing spoke, the reflection of Bai Wan appeared, shaking his head in denial. Wang Qing laughed in extreme anger: "Then you shall come with me to the Inner Valley to be interrogated by the Ten Great Inner Sect Elders!"

Having finally obtained the descendant and totem of the Ethereal Grand Celestial Sect, how could the Ninth Elder let them slip away? He longed to return to his cave, activate his defenses, and drain Wuyun and the others of everything they knew, ending this once and for all. This way, his status in the Hundred Flower Valley would be as stable as Mount Tai, and serving as a Vice Valley Master would be more than enough!

Wang Qing opened his mouth, intending to take the Dragon Driver as well. Unexpectedly, before the man could enter, a wisp of colorless gas was sucked into his open mouth. The gas was pungent, causing the peak Profound Celestial to sneeze violently, spraying mucus and even a wisp of celestial blood on the spot.

This celestial blood was the source of the gas contamination. The onlookers were terrified, for the spiritual energy within the celestial blood withered and died rapidly, emerging with a dark gray aura of death that drifted and burrowed into the body of the man in colorful celestial robes beside the Dragon Driver.

This inconspicuous man had neutralized Wang Qing’s focused strike. At such close range, how could an early-stage Profound Celestial withstand it?

"Death Aura? Very few practice such ancient evil arts, and those who do are all people who deal with corpses. Which sect are you from?"

The man in colorful robes smiled, his dark gray mouth crawling with various exotic beasts. Yet, there was no life in them; stained with the aura of death, they spewed forth.

"Wind and clouds cannot hinder; creating a god!"

The colorful-robed man spoke the exact phrase the Dragon Driver had used when fighting Wuyun. Upon hearing this, Wang Qing flashed backward a hundred meters, surprised: "The Yin God Sect? Did this sect not disappear along with the Ethereal Grand Celestial Sect? Could it still exist?"

Looking at the Dragon Driver’s proud and excited eyes, Wang Qing suddenly realized. As the elder responsible for intelligence gathering, nothing could be hidden from him. He blurted out: "The Pressure Dragon Gate and the Shocking Beast Gang—they are all branch sects extended from you!"