Chapter 00116: The Pitiful Red Cloud Lineage (An Extra Chapter for the Leader's Desperate Gamble)
# The Pitiful Red Cloud Lineage (An Extra Chapter for the Leader's Desperate Gamble)
Chapter 116
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 116: The Pitiful Red Cloud Lineage (An Extra Chapter for the Leader's Desperate Gamble)
Upon hearing the words "Red Cloud," Shan Qianyue quickly stood up and bowed respectfully in the direction of her sect.
After completing her formalities, she turned to Lan Xiaobu and said, "Our Qianyun Immortal Gate is actually a branch of the Red Cloud Ancestor's lineage. Back in the day, when the Red Cloud Ancestor had an unfortunate incident, his disciple Fu Luan established the Red Cloud Sect. Later, due to the oppression from the descendants of Kunpeng, the Red Cloud Sect was forced to leave, wandering the void in search of a new sect location. Until today, I still do not know if the Red Cloud Sect still exists."
Lan Xiaobu was taken aback.
Could it be true? He realized he was slowly unraveling a legend about the ancient heritage of Huaxia.
While many people on Earth, including himself, believed this legend was merely a myth, now he discovered that many figures from the legend were, in fact, real.
The Red Cloud Ancestor had a pretty tragic fate himself.
After being bullied, the weight of responsibility also seemed to have burdened his disciples and descendants.
"What happened later? Please, take a seat and continue," Lan Xiaobu asked, only then realizing that Shan Qianyue was still standing.
He quickly invited her to sit down.
With a sigh, Shan Qianyue settled down.
"The founding master of our Qianyun Immortal Gate was Wang Xindan, a disciple of the late Ancestor Fu Luan, which makes him the great-granddisciple of the Red Cloud Ancestor. When the Qianyun Immortal Gate was established, it was a grand event in Yuanzhou, but now we are only barely struggling as a two-star sect."
As she spoke, a touch of sorrow washed over Shan Qianyue.
Lan Xiaobu slowly imagined a scene in his mind.
After the kind-hearted Red Cloud was taken down, his disciple Fu Luan felt the urge for revenge.
However, revenge could not be done alone, especially since everyone at that time emphasized unity.
Thus, he founded the Red Cloud Sect.
Strong figures standing opposed to Red Cloud continuously suppressed the sect, forcing it to wander into the void, eventually establishing itself on Jade Dawn Star.
Later, due to the increasing scarcity of resources on Earth, all major cultivation sects began to leave Earth for the vast universe.
Over time, this vast cosmos slowly formed a new civilization—the cultivation civilization.
Both the cultivation civilization and technological civilization developed rapidly in this boundless universe.
Because both civilizations placed immense importance on resources, which also marked the key to their development, conflicts inevitably arose between the two.
After teaching the technological civilization a lesson and pushing them back several eras, the cultivation civilization departed the interstellar realms dominated by scientific culture, crossing the cosmic wall and arriving in Yuanzhou.
Yet, Lan Xiaobu pondered, how did this cosmic wall come about? If it was a vast cosmic formation, that was merely his speculation.
He refrained from asking Shan Qianyue these questions, knowing she would likely not have the answers.
"Was it because the Red Cloud Ancestor was harmed by Kunpeng and the Dark River… uh, were these two responsible?" Lan Xiaobu asked awkwardly, realizing he had spoken carelessly.
Shan Qianyue shook her head.
"I'm not sure about that."
Lan Xiaobu had seen the Red Cloud appear on the list of gods.
This figure was a registered disciple of the Hongjun Ancestor and was later reincarnated as Yunzizi after being ambushed.
Lan Xiaobu believed in reincarnation; after all, he himself had been reborn.
But to say Red Cloud had reincarnated as Yunzizi? He felt some doubt.
Aside from their similar backgrounds, the two had quite different personalities.
He decided not to delve deeper into this topic, as it seemed Shan Qianyue was also unaware of the questions he had.
"Miss Qianyue, if you have something to discuss, just get straight to it," Lan Xiaobu said, feeling troubled about his own cultivation methods.
After a bit of gossip, he was growing disinterested.
Shan Qianyue stood once again and bowed to Lan Xiaobu.
"Boss Lan, on behalf of the Qianyun Immortal Gate, I would like to invite you to become our sect leader. So, so…"
As she reached this point, Shan Qianyue fell into an awkward silence.
Inviting someone to be a sect leader with such little ceremony and no gifts seemed to imply she was asking Lan Xiaobu merely to return to help the sect with its menial tasks rather than actually leading it.
Lan Xiaobu stared at Shan Qianyue in astonishment.
He had initially thought she came to thank him, but he never expected such a significant proposal awaited him.
After momentarily processing his surprise, Lan Xiaobu immediately replied, "I'm truly sorry, but I cannot accept the position of your sect leader. My capabilities are limited, and I am not worthy to lead a sect with such a prestigious background as the Qianyun Immortal Gate."
If it had been before, he might have been overly excited—after all, joining the Qianyun Immortal Gate meant he wouldn't have to worry about cultivation methods.
But now, knowing he possessed the Seven Sounds Model and being aware that the Jinwu Technique was not suitable for him to cultivate, he realized that even the Jinwu Technique from the Qianyun Immortal Gate was inferior to his own.
What reason did he have to join a two-star sect? If he were to join, it should at least be a five-star sect, where being a disciple would be more worthwhile.
"Ah…" Shan Qianyue seemed unable to comprehend what was happening.
Lan Xiaobu's decisive rejection caught her off guard, and she instinctively lowered her head, flushing red with embarrassment, unable to speak further.
Lan Xiaobu sighed, wanting to say something reassuring.
But before he could, Shan Qianyue suddenly looked up.
"Brother Lan, I've heard my master say that while Mobei Market is a good place, it is merely the lowest tier in the cultivation world. While it's easy to live here, one can never progress further. The path of immortality is vast and requires countless opportunities and luck. Otherwise, one might spend their entire life stuck in the Dan Formation stage."
The implication was clear: seeking a comfortable life in cultivation was folly.
Lan Xiaobu thought to himself, did he really need her to tell him that? Mobei Market undoubtedly provided no opportunities for advancement, but he had at least gathered many techniques and resources here, leaving him with a glimmer of hope.
If he joined the Qianyun Immortal Gate, he would likely have no resources to cultivate, and on top of that, he’d have to be busy with the mundane affairs of the sect—all far from his ideal path.
He was considering reaching a certain level of strength first; even if the battle disc faced issues on the way back to Earth, he still wanted that option open.
There were far too many uncertainties about returning to Earth.
Even with the Seven Sounds Model simulating the route back, the chance of success was slim.
Moreover, this would consume a lot of spiritual energy and time, which he could not afford to waste.
Plus, if the battle disc had an issue in a crumpling space, he would be forever cut off from Earth.
As long as he cultivated swiftly in the realm of the cultivation civilization, he might return to Earth sooner than he had anticipated.
The adage of sharpening the axe without wasting time on wood chopping rang true.
Furthermore, his Seven Sounds Model was still in the process of creating the perfect planet purification machine.
Due to the limited time, Lan Xiaobu refused to waste it on the trivial matters of sect affairs.
Shan Qianyue continued, "The Kunxu Xuanjian in Yuanzhou is about to open. Any star-level sect can participate, and our Qianyun Immortal Gate, being a two-star sect, theoretically qualifies. If we can enter Kunxu, perhaps we might take a step forward into the three-star sect tier. Even if we cannot advance, Kunxu holds spiritual veins and top-tier cultivation techniques, even precious multi-colored immortality herbs that can elevate one to the Human Immortal realm…"
The more she spoke, the more animated she became, while Lan Xiaobu’s eyes sparkled at the prospect.
He truly looked down on becoming the sect leader, but if Kunxu Xuanjian really promised spiritual veins, that was a place he longed for.
Not to mention the techniques within Kunxu would surely be superior to the mediocre ones he had sourced from Liu Min.
How could he have reached this level without Jade Dawn Star?
He really needed to venture out to seek some good foundational techniques, otherwise, he would feel embarrassed every day tossing trash techniques into the Seven Sounds Model.
"Alas."
Lan Xiaobu sighed, "In fact, I greatly admire the Red Cloud Ancestor and have always wished to contribute to the Red Cloud Sect. However, I feared that joining the Qianyun Immortal Gate might make me seem too opportunistic, so I directly rejected your request. But hearing you mention the three-star sect, I feel a surge of impulse. The prowess of the Red Cloud Ancestor back in the day was glorious; now, his descendants have fallen to such a state. I really hope to see the Qianyun Immortal Gate rise to the ranks of the three-star sect within my lifetime. Therefore, Miss Qianyue, I accept your request to be the sect leader. When do we leave?"
Lan Xiaobu felt a bit embarrassed himself for speaking such words.
The Red Cloud Ancestor truly wasn't as glorious as he claimed.
"Ah…" Shan Qianyue looked at Lan Xiaobu in disbelief.
How did he change his mind so quickly? Just a moment ago, his resolute tone led her to believe her invitation had failed.
Now, he seemed ready to accept, even calling her "little sister," which was…
Seeing the confusion in Shan Qianyue's eyes, Lan Xiaobu spoke earnestly, "Sister Qianyue, I also practice the Jinwu Technique. The reason I helped you that day was because my cultivation heritage is intricately connected to the Red Cloud Sect, so helping you is akin to helping my own sect."
"Really?" Shan Qianyue was straightforward and had no convoluted thought processes like Lan Xiaobu.
She believed him right away.
Lan Xiaobu responded without hesitation, "Of course it’s true. How about this, I will pass on the Jinwu Technique I’ve acquired to you. Once you cultivate my Jinwu Technique, you will see just how true my words are."
After saying this, he ignored Shan Qianyue's confusion and directly took out a blank jade slip.
Using his divine sense, he inscribed the techniques of refining Qi to form spirit and refining spirit to return to emptiness into the slip, then handed it to her.
Shan Qianyue gazed at Lan Xiaobu in admiration, realizing even her master would not be able to inscribe a jade slip with such speed.
It wasn't until Lan Xiaobu handed over the jade slip that Shan Qianyue finally came to herself, hastily receiving it and scanning it with her divine sense.
"Ah…" This was the third time Shan Qianyue had exclaimed today; her day had been full of surprises.
Lan Xiaobu cleared his throat.
"Sister Qianyue, we cultivators should remain unflustered in the face of honor and disgrace. Look at you! You’ve only been seated for a brief moment, yet your emotions are all over the place. This could easily be exploited by adversaries."
Even before becoming the sect leader, he was already accustomed to positioning himself as the senior brother of the master.
"But Brother, our Qianyun Immortal Gate’s Jinwu Technique only includes methods up to the Qi to Spirit stage, while the teachings for the Spirit to Emptiness stage were developed by the Master Wang Xin. Now, they have been lost, only extending to the Dan Formation stage. But the technique you provide even includes the Spirit Realm and the Virtual Spirit Realm…" With Lan Xiaobu calling her sister, Shan Qianyue unconsciously began to address him as brother too.
(End of Chapter)