SWDnovel Chapter 87 A Spirit Soaring to the Clouds, No Questions Asked of Heaven!
Chapter 87 A Spirit Soaring to the Clouds, No Questions Asked of Heaven!
Shen Qing stood up, his tone suddenly changing to one of carefree and boldness.
"I have traveled extensively for over twenty years, experiencing and witnessing a great deal. I know how vast the cultivation world is, and I also know how powerful the Heavenly God Sect is."
"But it is precisely because I have witnessed these things that I understand a principle—a tree has its roots, and a person has their origin. Only by possessing one's own lineage can one truly stand tall between heaven and earth."
Shen Qing looked up, his eyes shining, his voice becoming increasingly firm.
"In this life, I have only one wish: to make Qingyun Sect become Qingyun Clan, to stand upright on this land, not relying on anyone, but relying solely on my own strength to establish a sect."
"Brother Zhao, in the cultivation world, there are traditional distinctions such as 'Immortal Sect,' 'Upper Sect,' 'Lower Sect,' and 'Sect.' The Immortal Sect is high above, in charge of the cultivation trend in the world. Only forces that have produced True Immortals or Ascended Immortals are worthy of this title."
"The Upper Sect has inherited the ancient lineage to this day, and each generation has had a Nascent Soul cultivator in charge. It has a profound foundation and can govern a continent."
"Lower sects are mostly branches of upper sects, inheriting branch lineages. Although they have independent sect systems, their origins and roots ultimately belong to the major upper sects."
"As for sects—they have no independent lineage or complete inheritance; they can only rely on other sects and cannot be called 'sects'."
Shen Qing's gaze was calm as still water, yet it concealed a sharp edge.
"Qingyun Sect is now just a sect. It has been more than two hundred years since its founding, and it can't even be called a 'grand sect'."
"I have traveled abroad for more than 20 years, seen the stars and the sea, and also seen the state of those lower sects that depend on the major sects."
"It's stable enough, but it's also really frustrating. Everything has to be done according to the whims of those above. Development has to be controlled, and the scale has to be controlled. If one day a dispute breaks out between the major sects, the smaller sects will be the first to be pushed out as cannon fodder."
"Mo is unwilling."
The impassioned voice echoed through the quiet back room.
"Qingyun Sect is the foundation laid by our founder. It may never become a major sect, but I would rather let it move forward on its own than let it be dependent on others."
At this point, Shen Qing suddenly chuckled, a hint of arrogance in his voice:
"Besides—Brother Zhao, what do cultivators seek? Nothing more than freedom. If I were to join the Heavenly God Sect, I would certainly have a backer, but I would also have more shackles."
"From now on, every action must conform to the sect's rules and regulations, and every word and deed must be reported to the sect. This is not the path of cultivation that I, Mo, desire."
Shen Qing stood with his hands behind his back, his blue Taoist robe gleaming faintly in the candlelight.
At this moment, Shen Qing truly saw herself as Mo Wentian.
"What I want is to carve out a path with my own sword. If I succeed, I will stand atop the mountain; if I fail, I will turn to dust. But as long as I have a breath left, I will make the Qingyun Sect stand tall and proud."
Zhao Yuanlang looked at the person in front of him and remained silent for a long time.
His eyes held scrutiny, assessment, and a complex meaning that Shen Qing couldn't quite understand.
After a long silence, Zhao Yuanlang sighed and slammed the teacup down on the table.
"What a wonderful saying, 'The roots are in the people,' and what a wonderful saying, 'Establishing a new school of thought.'"
He stood up and solemnly bowed to Shen Qing.
"I admire your resolve, Brother Dao. After hearing your words, I realize how short-sighted I've been. However, I'll say it again—if you ever change your mind or encounter difficulties elsewhere, please don't hesitate to come to me. I'll be waiting for you here."
Shen Qingwei breathed a silent sigh of relief, knowing that she had passed this hurdle.
"Brother Zhao, you flatter me. I will remember the county magistrate's kindness. However, establishing a sect is not something that can be done in a year or two, and I know the hardships involved. But for the sake of my ancestors and my teacher—I must continue on this path."
Zhao Yuanlang didn't try to persuade him any further, but just sighed softly.
"In that case, I, Zhao, will offer tea instead of wine to congratulate you on your success in advance. Now that you have come, I will certainly not let you leave empty-handed."
He took out a palm-sized brocade pouch from his sleeve and gently placed it on the table.
The brocade pouch was entirely black, with extremely fine gold patterns embroidered on its surface, which shimmered faintly in the candlelight.
Shen Qing's gaze fell upon it, and he subconsciously probed it with his divine sense, only to find that his divine sense seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier, and he could not penetrate it at all.
"This is a low-grade storage bag."
Zhao Yuanlang explained, "There is a small space inside that can be used to store personal belongings. This item is only given to those who have made meritorious contributions within the Heavenly God Sect. Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators may never see it even once in their entire lives."
"When I returned to the county town to report on my duties, I was fortunate to receive an extra one thanks to the elder's kindness. I am taking this opportunity to present it to you, my fellow Daoist."
Shen Qing's gaze sharpened slightly.
Storage bag.
He had naturally heard of the extremely rare magical artifacts in the cultivation world, which were crafted using spatial arrays and contained an independent space that could hold items far exceeding their external size.
In its more than two hundred years of history, the Qingyun Sect has never possessed such an item. Not to mention the Qingyun Sect, within Qinghe County, apart from Zhao Yuanlang, probably no one else possesses it.
Shen Qing said sincerely, "Brother Zhao, this gift is too much. I cannot accept such a gift without having done anything in return."
"Brother Dao, you are mistaken."
Zhao Yuanlang laughed and said, "Regarding the Huang family's matter, I was out of my element and made a fool of myself. Please forgive me, fellow Daoist. Consider this storage bag my apology gift to your esteemed family. If you do not accept it, it means you are still blaming me."
Having said all that, to refuse would be disrespectful.
Shen Qing accepted the storage bag with both hands and said solemnly, "In that case, I shall accept your kind offer. I will remember Brother Zhao's kindness."
Zhao Yuanlang pointed to the brocade pouch: "This item was crafted by the sect elders using a secret method. It requires one's own divine sense to imprint and refine it before it can be used at will. Fellow Daoist, why not give it a try?"
Shen Qing did as instructed, holding the storage bag in her palm and probing it with her divine sense.
However, the moment his divine sense touched the bag, he encountered an incredibly solid divine sense imprint.
The brand was as tough as metal; when his divine sense struck it, it was as if he had hit a wall of bronze and iron.
No matter how much he tried to activate his divine sense, the mark remained completely still.
Shen Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she knew something was wrong.
He didn't know the grade of this divine sense imprint, but he knew very well that even his divine sense couldn't shake it, which meant that the cultivator who left the imprint had a divine sense strength far above his own.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator could never possess such divine sense. The owner of this mark must have a cultivation level of at least the Golden Core stage, or even higher.
Worse still, if he can't even refine the divine sense imprint, wouldn't his pretense of being at the peak of Foundation Establishment be exposed immediately?
Thinking of this, Shen Qing's palms were already slightly sweaty.
Zhao Yuanlang's gaze remained fixed on him, as if he were waiting.
Just as Shen Qing was filled with anxiety, a sudden change occurred.
Suddenly, the last wisp of immortal light remaining in Shen Qingmei's brow lit up. It trembled slightly, and an invisible ripple emanated from between his brows, reaching the divine sense imprint on the storage bag as he extended his divine sense.
That once indestructible mark was as fragile as paper in the face of this ripple.
Silently, the brand shattered.
The internal space of the storage bag was fully revealed to his divine sense; it was a space about three feet square.
Shen Qing was both surprised and delighted, but showed no sign of it on her face.
He naturally channeled a wisp of his divine sense into the core of the array in the bag, completing the refining process. Then he opened his eyes, tied the storage bag to his waist, and moved with composure and ease.
"It really is a wonderful treasure."