Chapter 231: Chapter 219: A Change in the Situation

Fang Yun had no intention of sleeping.

After all, it was morning.

After considering his schedule for the day, Fang Yun left his cave residence and headed to Dan Cloud Peak to accept his alchemy mission.

Just as he had expected, his first alchemy mission in the Foundation Establishment Stage was to refine Spirit Ascension Pills.

Normally, newly promoted Elders could go three months without accepting any missions to acclimate to their Spiritual Power at the Foundation Establishment Stage. But Fang Yun had proactively requested this alchemy mission during last month’s meeting.

With his level of alchemy, he could easily complete the corresponding mission even if he took it immediately. To prove himself, he wasn’t even using a Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact-level Alchemy Furnace, but one at the peak Magical Artifact level.

After accepting the mission, he went to see Song Qiaoqiao.

Song Qiaoqiao had told him last time that she would inform him immediately when it was time to meet her great-grandfather.

Fang Yun wasn’t in a hurry about this; he would just wait for Song Qiaoqiao’s arrangements.

Upon leaving Song Qiaoqiao’s cave residence, Fang Yun flew directly off Dan Cloud Peak. He had two sets of the Spirit Medicines for refining the Spirit Ascension Pills with him, but he was not in a hurry to refine them today.

His Cultivation Technique conversion was complete. His main plan for the day was to visit the Elders and disciples he knew. He considered this a useful endeavor and believed it was necessary to spend time on it.

Fang Yun made his visits in order of proximity.

As dusk approached, Fang Yun’s figure appeared on a small mountain near Battle Peak.

Battle Peak had the most Elders, but not many of them resided on the peak itself. Currently, only Management Elder Miao Qinghong lived on Battle Peak.

The other Elders of Battle Peak mostly lived in the vicinity.

Bai Qinying was one of them.

Soon, Fang Yun knocked on the stone door of Bai Qinying’s cave residence. She was the last person he needed to see.

Of the Elders and disciples he had visited earlier, only Yang Yingjie had not been at his residence. Knowing Yang Yingjie, Fang Yun figured there was an eighty percent chance the guy was out on a mission.

"Senior Sister Bai."

"Mm, I’ll allow you to call me Senior Sister now."

As she spoke, Bai Qinying waved for Fang Yun to come over quickly.

Among Elders who had been close during their disciple days, some would continue to address each other as "Senior" and "Junior."

"So, tell me, what Cultivation Technique are you practicing now?"

"The Nine Fire Lotus Technique," Fang Yun replied.

"That technique suits you quite well."

After her Foundation Establishment, Bai Qinying had chosen a Thunder Attribute Foundation Establishment Technique. However, before making her choice, she had briefly familiarized herself with all the other techniques in the sect.

So, as soon as Fang Yun mentioned the technique he was practicing, Bai Qinying recognized it.

As they discussed the issues of Foundation Establishment cultivation, Bai Qinying, as a "veteran" who had been at this stage for nearly four years, even offered Fang Yun some cultivation advice.

Fang Yun listened intently to her experience, which gave Bai Qinying a great sense of satisfaction.

They were practically equals, so being able to offer advice gave her a real sense of accomplishment.

"Senior Sister Bai, what’s the current situation with the Shen Family?" Once the topic of cultivation ended, Fang Yun asked about the general situation.

The political situation was one of Fang Yun’s greatest concerns.

His thoughts were greedy; he didn’t want the situation to worsen, yet he also wanted to kill an early-stage Foundation Establishment Demon.

With his current Talent Point bonuses, killing a single early-stage Foundation Establishment Demon would allow him to draw for a Life Talent two thousand, one hundred, and thirty-five times.

"The Shen Family’s situation is stable for now. Red Flame Valley and the Xiao Family are helping them share the pressure."

The Xiao Family, like the Shen Family, is a Foundation Establishment Cultivation Clan, though their overall strength is considerably weaker than the Shen Family’s.

Red Flame Valley is a Foundation Establishment Sect with four Foundation Establishment Cultivators within its ranks, making its overall strength greater than the Shen Family’s.

They are all subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences of the Celestial Cloud Sect.

As Bai Qinying spoke, the corresponding information for both Foundation Establishment Influences surfaced in Fang Yun’s mind.

The territories of both the Xiao Family and Red Flame Valley bordered the Shen Family’s.

"This situation isn’t good." Fang Yun frowned slightly and immediately pressed, "Have the other subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences of the Celestial Demon Sect made a move?"

"There’s no specific information yet, but it’s only a matter of time."

Fang Yun nodded, indicating he understood.

The flames of war had already spread to the Xiao Family and Red Flame Valley. The day the sect’s Foundation Establishment Elders truly clashed with the Celestial Demon Sect’s Foundation Establishment Demons would be the day the two great Core Formation Sects officially declared all-out war.

At that time, the sect would no longer restrict its Elders from entering the territory of the Celestial Demon Sect.

The restrictions were still in place mainly because the Celestial Cloud Sect did not want an all-out war with the Celestial Demon Sect.

"What about the Black Ghost Cave and the Demon Spirit Sect?" Fang Yun wanted to know more.

"From what I’ve heard, the Black Ghost Cave has been quiet. As for the Demon Spirit Sect... they may have already begun to move in the shadows."

The Demon Spirit Sect and the Celestial Demon Sect follow the same cultivation path. As long as our Celestial Cloud Sect is still around, the relationship between those two Core Formation Sects won’t be bad.

Fang Yun had read a great deal of historical information.

When the Demon Spirit Sect moved against their Celestial Cloud Sect, they rarely did so directly.

Compared to confronting them head-on, the Demon Spirit Sect preferred to use the Celestial Demon Sect as a pawn, secretly exerting their influence from behind the scenes.

Fang Yun judged that if the Celestial Demon Sect ever truly managed to take down their Celestial Cloud Sect, the Demon Spirit Sect would likely follow up with a major move.

This was just his subjective deduction. As a member of the Celestial Cloud Sect, he naturally did not want to see the sect truly destroyed by the Celestial Demon Sect.

The Celestial Cloud Sect’s ability to survive until now, surrounded by Evil Sects, was due to a variety of factors. One of the most important was that the Demon Spirit Sect preferred to scheme in the dark and rarely clashed with them head-on.

If the Demon Spirit Sect acted the same way as the Celestial Demon Sect, the Celestial Cloud Sect’s situation would be grim.

The fact that the Black Ghost Cave cultivated Yin Power was also a very important factor. If they cultivated Demon Power instead, the Celestial Cloud Sect likely wouldn’t have survived for a thousand years.

"Even if we intercept information about the Demon Spirit Sect’s covert operations, we can only turn a blind eye," Fang Yun couldn’t help but say, recalling the historical records he’d read.

"Junior Brother, your grasp of the big picture isn’t bad at all," Bai Qinying praised, then continued, "A Demon Spirit Sect that acts in the shadows won’t deploy too much of its strength, which is what we hope for."

In her conversation with Fang Yun, Bai Qinying avoided bringing up many of the details from the Battle Peak council meetings.

Compared to when she had just become a Sect Elder, she had lost some of her initial zeal.

In a situation like this, there was truly little she could do as an early-stage Foundation Establishment Elder.

Her master, Feng Tianrui, hoped she would not waste her Spirit Root Talent. Only if she successfully reached Core Formation in the future could she do more for the sect.

For an Abnormal Spirit Root Cultivator who reached the Peak of Foundation Establishment, as long as the concentration of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was normal, they had a thirty percent chance of reaching Core Formation even without any external aid.

As they discussed the changing situation, Fang Yun also learned that of the two Celestial Cloud Sect Elders assigned, one was currently acting as Guardian for the Shen Family, while the other had gone to be the Guardian for the Xiao Family.

This was only the current, temporary situation.

"After asking so much, don’t tell me you’re thinking of taking on a Guardian mission, Junior Brother?" Bai Qinying blinked curiously at Fang Yun.