Chapter 368: Ling Yun Cave

A faction that could command the Ji Family of Celestial Bright City and the True Martial Temple, and even interfere with the rise and fall of dynasties… just thinking about it made it clear this was no ordinary power.

As Chen Yuan and Qingchen were pondering this, Gu Lichuan asked in surprise, “If such a powerful faction exists, why isn’t it listed on the Jianghu Wind and Cloud Rankings?

“Even the Northwest Two Cities, which rarely appear in the Jianghu, and the legendary East Sea Island are recorded on the Wind and Cloud Rankings.”

Just as Qingchen was about to speak, a charming female voice sounded from behind the group.

“Because the Jianghu Wind and Cloud Rankings only record factions. Ling Yun Cave doesn’t even count as a faction, so my Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower naturally has no way to include it.”

Wen Rou’s figure appeared beside them. She shook her head gently and said, “Besides, the identity of Ling Yun Cave’s master is rather unusual. While my Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower has records, we would never publicly release them to the Jianghu for fear of stirring up trouble.”

Wen Rou had hurried over from the main entrance of the Endless Immortal Palace.

She had been waiting at the main entrance and happened to see Jiang Mu and some other Martial Artists leaving, but she didn’t spot Chen Yuan and his group.

Wen Rou didn’t believe for a second that Chen Yuan would have met with any mishap inside the Endless Immortal Palace, so she searched the area around it and, sure enough, found their tracks.

“So the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower also knows about Ling Yun Cave? Tell us everything.”

Wen Rou gave a sly smile. “Information from my Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower doesn’t come for free. First, tell me what you all encountered inside the Endless Immortal Palace. I want firsthand information.”

Aside from concealing the fact that he had killed Zhang Xuanzhong and Han Chang, Chen Yuan had nothing else to hide. He told Wen Rou everything in one go.

Gu Lichuan and the others also recounted their own experiences in detail to Wen Rou.

As Wen Rou took notes, her mouth fell slightly agape, the shock in her eyes impossible to conceal.

She knew Chen Yuan was strong and that the Hidden Dragon Rankings had greatly underestimated him, but she never imagined he was *this* powerful.

Ji Man of Celestial Bright City was no match for him, and Chen Yuan had even traded several blows with Jiang Mu without being at a disadvantage.

By the time this trial in the Heaven-Reaching Tower was over, Chen Yuan might just shoot straight into the top three of the Hidden Dragon Rankings.

After everyone had finished speaking, Wen Rou recalled the information about Ling Yun Cave and said, “Ling Yun Cave is the name of a place, but no one knows its exact location.”

“Throughout history, Ling Yun Cave has only ever appeared during times of great chaos. Furthermore, it has always been represented by a single, immensely powerful individual. That’s why, as far as my Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower is concerned, we’ve always considered it a single-lineage inheritance, which naturally doesn’t qualify as a faction.”

“Master Cui said he has appeared three times, but according to my Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower’s records, he has appeared in the Jianghu at least eighteen times. However, there’s a long interval between each appearance, almost as if he cannot easily leave Ling Yun Cave.”

At this point, Wen Rou suddenly lowered her voice. “And according to our records, the masters of Ling Yun Cave from every generation seem to have fought against many of history’s strongest experts.”

“Master Cui mentioned that four thousand years ago, someone from Ling Yun Cave had Celestial Official City divine the location where the Dragon Qi would descend, which turned out to be the hometown of the Great Wei Ancestor.”

“After the Great Wei Ancestor ascended the throne, he once wielded the Human Emperor Sword and led his elite forces to a secret location to fight a fierce battle with the master of Ling Yun Cave. Afterward, the Human Emperor Sword returned stained with blood.”

“Later, during the turmoil at the end of the Great Wei Dynasty, the master of Ling Yun Cave fought Wu Yuanqing—the ‘World-Suppressing Celestial King,’ a hero of Liang Province and one of the top experts of his time—over a certain object, and was defeated by him.”

“Three thousand years ago, Ning Canghai, the ‘Supreme Celestial Demon’ and Sect Leader of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect, dominated the Martial World. With power that was said to eclipse even the combined might of the Daoist and Buddhist Lineages, he single-handedly suppressed them both. He too once fought the master of Ling Yun Cave and gravely injured him.”

“Oh, and the material used to forge the Demon-Drinking Saber? Ning Canghai took it from that very master of Ling Yun Cave.”

“Two thousand years ago, the master of Ling Yun Cave launched a sneak attack on Lü Chongyang, the ‘Pure Yang Sword Immortal,’ who was known as the number one expert of the Daoist Sects and the foremost Sword Cultivator of his time. As a result, Lü Chongyang gravely wounded him with a single sword strike.”

“His most recent appearance was five hundred years ago, during the chaos that engulfed the world. But during that period, he actually appeared twice.”

“The first time was near the end of the previous dynasty, which was when he had Celestial Official City help him find someone. The master of Ling Yun Cave found that person, but was severely injured by them and didn’t appear again for decades.”

“Then, at the very beginning of the Great Xia’s founding, he appeared again, seemingly to interfere with the succession of the Crown Prince of Xia. But at that time, the Great Brightness Sect was the state religion of Great Xia. The ‘Bright Venerable,’ Qin Wuye, took action and gravely wounded him. For the next five hundred years, there was no news of him at all, until now, when we learned from Ji Man and Zhong Li that he still has a successor.”

When she mentioned the Great Brightness Sect, Wen Rou gave Chen Yuan a pointed look.

She was the only one here who knew about Chen Yuan’s other identity with the Ming Sect.

After hearing Wen Rou’s account, everyone present looked at each other in bewilderment.

Before Wen Rou went into detail, they had all thought the lineage of Ling Yun Cave was incredibly impressive, like some extraordinary Hidden Sect.

Whenever they took action, it was always to interfere in major events like the rise and fall of dynasties, and they could even command the Ji Family of Celestial Bright City and the True Martial Temple to act on their behalf.

Although, judging by Ji Man and Zhong Li’s attitudes, it seemed they had traded something with the Ji Family and the True Martial Temple, it was still enough to prove their immense power.

But after Wen Rou finished, they realized something: this supposedly impressive lineage of Ling Yun Cave didn’t seem to have a very good track record…

They basically just came out to stir up trouble at the end of dynasties, only to get thrashed by the top expert of the era. They’d been thrashed by the Daoist Sects, thrashed by the Demon Sects, and five hundred years ago was even worse—they got thrashed twice in a short period.

Just then, Chen Yuan suddenly said, “The master of Ling Yun Cave isn’t as strong as you imagine, but he’s not as weak as you imagine, either. Over the years, the ones who could defeat him were all supreme experts of their time, pinnacle figures of absolute power.”

“Also, I don’t think Ling Yun Cave is a single-lineage inheritance. It’s possible that from ancient times to the present day, there has only ever been one person.”

Hearing Chen Yuan’s words, everyone present was aghast.

“The same person from ancient times until now? His earliest appearance was at the end of the Ji Dynasty, which was seven thousand years ago! Doesn’t that mean he’s lived for seven thousand years?” Cui Xuanye was in disbelief.

The Endless Immortal Palace spent its entire existence researching longevity and immortality. Could it be that someone had actually achieved it?

“It could be even longer—ten thousand years.”

Chen Yuan recounted the story of the empty coffin inside the Longevity Hall, then continued:

“Even a faction like Unrivaled City, with a lineage stretching back to antiquity, didn’t know about the Life Stones in the Longevity Hall. So how did the master of Ling Yun Cave know?”

“So, the most likely possibility is that he already possessed a Life Stone. He was one of the nine high-ranking members of the Endless Immortal Palace, but he managed to walk out.”

“Besides, living for nearly ten thousand years doesn’t mean true longevity, much less that he has become an Immortal.”

“If he were truly an Immortal, how could he be defeated every time he appears?”

“And even if he has lived for ten thousand years, the conditions for it must be extremely harsh. Otherwise, there’s no way he would only be able to appear after such long intervals.”

Chen Yuan’s theory was bold, but as the others listened, they had to admit it had a certain logic to it.

Wen Rou frowned. “But if what you say is true, and the master of Ling Yun Cave really did walk out of the Endless Immortal Palace, why didn’t he take the other Life Stones back then? Why only now is he having the Ji Family and the True Martial Temple retrieve them from the Heaven-Reaching Tower?”

Chen Yuan shook his head. “That, I don’t know. It’s possible that when he left the Endless Immortal Palace, the other eight in the Longevity Hall weren’t dead yet, merely sealed in their coffins. So he only dared to escape on his own and didn’t dare take the Life Stones.”

“It’s also possible he didn’t know the purpose of the Life Stones at first and has only now discovered how to use them.”

“Of course, this is all just my speculation. But the master of Ling Yun Cave is indeed mysterious and powerful. Ji Man was right about one thing—this thing is definitely a hot potato.”

With that, Chen Yuan turned his gaze to Qingchen. “Daoist Qingchen, now that you know all this, are you thinking of trading with Ji Man and handing over the Life Stone?”

Qingchen raised a single eyebrow and asked in return, “And what about you, Brother Chen?”

Chen Yuan smiled. “I don’t make a habit of giving up things that have fallen into my hands.”

In truth, Chen Yuan wasn’t sure what effect the Life Stone really had. As Qingchen said, it could be used to defy heaven, change one’s fate, and re-enter the cycle of reincarnation. Such things were profound and mysterious, and seemed somewhat unrealistic.

Therefore, if Ji Man’s offer was high enough, Chen Yuan would have actually been willing to trade the Life Stone.

But now, Chen Yuan could no longer produce the Life Stone.

Earlier, after Chen Yuan had seized the Life Stone, he had tossed it into his Qiankun Bag.

Just now, when Chen Yuan had sent his consciousness into his Qiankun Bag to check, he discovered that the Life Stone had actually fused with the Jade left behind by Qin Wuye, which the Ming Sect had given him!

To be precise, the Jade had devoured the two Life Stones. It had now grown a size larger, and its surface carried a faint glow characteristic of a Life Stone.

How could Chen Yuan possibly trade the Life Stone in this state? Besides, he would never give away the opportunity left to him by Qin Wuye.

Still, Chen Yuan wasn’t too panicked about being targeted by a mysterious and powerful expert.

The master of Ling Yun Cave had been defeated by Qin Wuye, so he must hate the Ming Sect to the bone.

But in all the time since, he had never sought revenge against the Ming Sect, which was enough to prove that he wasn’t in good condition.

Even this time, when he had Ji Man and Zhong Li help him seize the Life Stones, it was, according to them, a transaction where he had given their two factions some benefits in return.

Therefore, for the time being, he should be in a state where he’s unable to act personally.

Besides, it wasn’t like Chen Yuan didn’t have any backing. After he got out, he planned to find Lu Beiming and tell him about this.

Lu Beiming was once Qin Wuye’s trusted confidant. He would certainly know something about Qin Wuye gravely wounding the master of Ling Yun Cave.

At that time, Chen Yuan could also ask Lu Beiming for details about the master of Ling Yun Cave and see if there were any countermeasures.