About a month ago, after he and Feng Qingyou put the Profound Alliance behind them, they began travelling north hoping to return via the route they came. They had departed from the sea of Nanjiang and traveled south the whole way. They were fairly sure that Hao Tianhong and his allies were the same as well. This meant that Hao Tianhong and his allies had carefully inspected and searched every speck of this route and so would not be inclined to pay it additional attention. Therefore, returning home via the original route was safer than going through another sea region or following a different route. It was also faster and more convenient. When he and Feng Qingyou first set sail into the sea, they were only Half-Sages. They had to take every precaution and be careful every step of the way. But now, they were Sages. Their worries were still the same, but they had changed a lot. That was why they did not need to tread as cautiously as before. It took them less than a month to make it back to the Southern Sea. That was when he and Feng Qingyou saw the celestial mountain of the Eight Views. Curious, they decided to head over and check it out. One, they were curious to know why a magical-looking celestial mountain had suddenly appeared in the Southern Sea. Two, they felt like something wasn’t quite right with the celestial mountain. Driven by curiosity, they decided to give it a look. At their current strength, they weren’t too worried about dangers anymore. Even if they were outmatched by their opponents, it was still well within their capabilities to escape. Later, they ran into this group of jianghu men seeking to visit the Eight Views Sect and join them by accident. So, they slipped into their ranks and used them as cover. This made it easier to conduct certain actions without being discovered. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novèlfire.net So, what did Ye Qing mean when he said, “I wasn’t expecting to watch a self-directed show”? He was referring to the jianghu group’s encounter with the Peach Blossom Coral Reef, of course. To put it simply, everything that happened earlier was the doing of the Eight Views Sect disciple named Xin Yuyao. The Peach Blossom Coral Reef belonged to her. It was she who ordered it to attack the Wave Fighter ship. She waited until the passengers were in a life-or-death crisis before presenting herself as the savior and saving everyone. Naturally, the Peach Blossom Coral Reef wasn’t dead. The Peach Blossom Coral Reef looked like it had been cut in half by the metallic giant, but a simple injury was nothing to the stupidly tenacious Stranger. It wouldn’t take long before it made a full recovery. In conclusion, this was a meticulous, well thought out conspiracy. “They are up to no good,” Feng Qingyou replied indifferently. Ye Qing nodded but did not pursue the line of questioning. Instead, he changed the subject and asked, “Have you heard of an Eight Views Sect, Qingyou?” “I’ve read it in a book. The Eight Views Sect is a famous Taoist sect in ancient times.” Feng Qingyou recalled, “Legend has it that Taiqing Daode Tianzun [1], one of the Three Pure Ones of the ancient Taoist sect, possessed three major Dao Domains. They were the Daluo Palace, the Eight Views Palace, and the Jade Capital and Golden Palace. The Eight Views Sect descended from the Eight Views Palace and are experts in talismans, puppets, and summoning ghosts and gods.” “The Eight Views Sect was once extremely powerful as it was directly descended from an ancient Taoist sect. However, something happened to it, and its gates were sealed. It supposedly died off and disappeared after that.” Ye Qing rubbed his nose. “So, the Eight Views Sect should have fallen a long time ago?” “That is what the book said,” Feng Qingyou neither confirmed nor denied it. “So, a sect that should have been dead long ago had reappeared. Interesting.” Ye Qing rubbed his nose. The era of chaos was nigh, and all sorts of abodes, blessed lands, hidden sects, strange lands, mysterious elites and more were showing their faces. These occurrences weren’t really that strange. But a sect that was marked as destroyed in the history books reappearing all of a sudden? This was a lot stranger. Of course, it was possible that the book was wrong. This was something that happened during the ancient times after all. It was such a long time ago that it was impossible to say what was true and what was false, what was right and what was wrong. “By the way, what is that golem?” Ye Qing eyed the metal giant with curiosity next. The metal giant wasn’t a real person, of course. It was a puppet. A puppet it might be, it was pretty strong. It wasn’t inferior to any ordinary Half-Sage. Besides that, the puppet wasn’t purely forged from metal. It was half-flesh, half-metal. It was an uncommon way of forging puppets, and it was clear that both the metal and the flesh used to make it were extraordinary. At the very least, Ye Qing had certainly never seen something like it before. That was why he was curious. “I believe it’s the Eight Views Sect’s Sea Patrolling Divine General.” Feng Qingyou explained, “The Eight Views Sect is adept in the art of talismans, puppet creation, and ghost control. Legend had it that the Sea Patrolling Divine General was the creation of a champion of the Eight Views Sect. Its main body is made up of outer divine metal and the physical body of a ghost god. It is then shaped into what it is using all kinds of talismanic spells and restrictions. It is used to guard the mountain gates and patrol the sea. Hence the name, ‘Sea Patrolling Divine General.” “The Sea Patrolling Divine General possesses a tenacious body immune to most Magia and secret arts. It is also incredibly strong and proficient in manipulating wind and water. It is incredibly powerful and on par with a Sage. Legend has it that the Eight Views Sect boasted a total of thirty-three Sea Patrolling Divine Generals during their golden age. They had pressured even those living deep within the continents. Fame wise, no one was their better at the time.” “They’re that amazing?” Ye Qing rubbed his nose. Thirty-three Sea Patrolling Divine Generals meant thirty-three Sages. That was a terrifying force no matter where they were. However, this Sea Patrolling Divine General was clearly not at the level of a true Sage. Either this Sea Patrolling Divine General was not one of the thirty-three in the past, or something had happened to it and diminished its strength. No matter the reason, Ye Qing was growing increasingly curious about the ancient Eight Views Sect. “The celestial mountain... we’re at the celestial mountain!” About a teatime later, a fantastical and shiny celestial mountain suddenly appeared before their eyes. It was suspended upside down above the sea and so appeared to be wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. The tip of the mountain was touching the water but not entering it. The top of the mountain was surrounded by auspicious clouds. Auspicious beasts and birds could be seen darting and flying everywhere. Celestial light was descending from the sky, and fantastical phenomena were everywhere. It deserved its name alright. Not only that, the sea surrounding the celestial mountain was overflowing with spiritual energies. Just breathing the air was enough to eliminate all of the physical and metal fatigue the passengers had accumulated for the past few months. They felt comfortable and spirited. The closer they got to the celestial mountain, the richer the spiritual energies became. Without exaggeration, one’s cultivation would go up on its own even if they just sat here and did nothing. “It’s definitely a blessed land alright!” The passengers of the ship all stared at the celestial mountain with awestruck eyes. “This is the Eight Views Celestial Mountain. The Eight Views Sect is located at its peak.” Sitting on the Sea Patrolling Divine General’s shoulder, a hint of disdain flickered in Xin Yuyao’s eyes as she looked down on the stupefied group. However, it was quickly covered up by a smile. The gesture was fast and hidden enough to go unnoticed by everyone. Ye Qing saw it as clear as day though. “I see no path up the celestial mountain, celestial. What should we do?” It was at this moment someone snapped out of their reverie and asked. Smiling, Xin Yuyao wordlessly waved her hand. Celestial cranes and fire phoenixes immediately descended from the sky and the peak of the celestial mountain and grabbed the auspicious clouds with their beaks. They then combined the clouds so they would form a path. 1. Same person as Taishang Laojun, just different name. ☜