"Xiānzhǔ, you refined this on your own?"
Qin Lüsha's legs did not go weak because she saw the flying boat, but because of the sheer number of treasures and spirit artifacts in front of her.
Her own wealth was unmatched, yet professions like artifact forgers or pill refiners were not ones she could simply hire whenever she wished.
Most skilled artifact forgers flocked to the Central Domain, and few were willing to remain in the Eastern Wilderness. Even if she spent countless spirit stones, it was not easy to move the heart of a high-level forger.
Flying boats in particular required multiple forgers working together. After years of effort, she had only managed to acquire a small flying boat that could carry one hundred people at most.
But the flying boat Yao Ranran had just given her… within it was an entire inner world. From what she could judge with her eyes, it could at least carry over a thousand passengers.
Yao Ranran nodded lightly. She had indeed spent quite some time on it, even staying up through the night to finish.
"Yes. I heard that your Suohong Tower has a large number of disciples. So I laid down a spatial formation inside this flying boat. It can hold ten thousand people without issue."
"Ten thousand?" Qin Lüsha's lips parted slightly, her eyes full of shock.
"That's right. When the war between righteous and demonic forces erupts, we will be at a disadvantage. When the demon troops strike with their full might, your people can hide inside the flying boat, waiting for the chance to counterattack."
Yao Ranran spoke while already picturing the battle to come.
Qin Lüsha listened as if entranced, as though she could already see the dawn of victory shining before her. When she came back to her senses, the way she looked at Yao Ranran was filled with reverence.
The Eastern Wilderness could be saved!
…
Not long after, Qin Lüsha departed.
Then Yao Ranran received a message from Lu Ziqian.
"The demon troops will arrive tonight at the hour of the Dragon. Disciple has already risen to the rank of commander. By the hour of the Rat, I will lead the demon troops disguised among the demon cultivators and strike directly at Yun Gu Sect's mountain gate!"
"So fast? Thank goodness I had Qin Louzhu return just now!"
Yao Ranran could not help but feel relieved. Qin Lüsha's timely departure was fortunate indeed.
The demons were clearly targeting the weakest sect at present, Yun Gu Sect. By seizing that position first, they would then move against Suohong Tower, the three great demon sects, and finally Piaomiao Sect.
"Speaking of Piao Miao Sect… Lu Ziqian also mentioned the Miaoyun Sect from the Central Domain. What ties do they have?"
From the inherited memories in her body, there was indeed some familiarity with that sect's name, but it was buried deep, almost neglected and forgotten.
"Miaoyun Sect, Miaoyun Sect…"
Yao Ranran pressed her fingers to her brow, searching her memories until she finally found what she sought.
"Miaoyun Sect was once the second-greatest sect of the Central Domain. But a thousand years ago, when Wuxiang Sect produced one genius disciple after another, and later with the emergence of Shen Yuefu and Yue Qingsu, Miaoyun Sect gradually faded from the world's eyes.
Now, whenever people mention the Central Domain, they think only of Wuxiang Sect, the number one sect. No one cares about Miaoyun Sect, let alone any so-called third-rank sect.
Wuxiang Sect alone dominates."
Yao Ranran shook her head. This was not a good thing. No wonder Miaoyun Sect would make a move against the Eastern Wilderness.
But why then would Piao Miao Sect's people follow Miaoyun Sect's orders?
As she pondered, softly murmuring "Miaoyun Sect" to herself, Nie Rong happened to wander nearby and overheard.
"Miaoyun Sect? That's a name I haven't heard in a long while."
He ran his fingers over the elegant flying boat floating beside them, speaking with thoughtfulness.
Yao Ranran was jolted from her reverie. "You know of Miaoyun Sect?"
Nie Rong scratched his head with a smile. "I may be a Wuxiang Sect elder, but I still know the history. A thousand years ago, Miaoyun Sect too had its days of brilliance."
"That's right! You're an elder of Wuxiang Sect. You must know about the connection between Miaoyun Sect and Piaomiao Sect!" Yao Ranran exclaimed.
The corner of Nie Rong's lips curled upward. With a handsome flourish, he opened his jade fan. "Master, are you asking about the relationship between those two sects? If you asked anyone else, they might not know. But you came to me—you've asked the right person."
Yao Ranran's eyes brightened. "So you know the hidden truth between them?"
Nie Rong laughed heartily. "That's right. Both sects originated from the same root. The story goes back one thousand five hundred years."
Yao Ranran waited curiously for him to continue.
"At that time, the strength gap between Wuxiang Sect and Miaoyun Sect was not so wide. Their competition was fierce. Every three years, during disciple recruitment, they fought bitterly for talent. Among them, one disciple rose above all, causing a sensation not inferior to the later appearance of Shen Yuefu."
Yao Ranran was startled. "And in the end, that disciple joined Wuxiang Sect?"
"No. He entered Miaoyun Sect. The Wuxiang Sect elders and patriarch were so furious they never wished to see his face again."
Nie Rong went on, "But even though this genius was born from humble origins, and despite receiving the wholehearted cultivation of Miaoyun Sect's elders and sect master, jealousy over his talent still brewed."
Yao Ranran could already imagine how that genius, caught between the two great sects, must have suffered.
"So Wuxiang Sect people sowed discord, drove him out of Miaoyun Sect, and then he went on to establish Piao Miao Sect?"
Nie Rong paused. "Master's guess is half right. He did establish Piao Miao Sect, but it wasn't because Wuxiang Sect schemed against him."
Seeing the suspicion in Yao Ranran's eyes, Nie Rong quickly explained, "I'm not defending Wuxiang Sect. The truth is that someone within Miaoyun Sect defeated him in combat. His status plummeted overnight. With further suppression from within, he eventually left Miaoyun Sect and created Piao Miao Sect."
Yao Ranran asked doubtfully, "Who was it that defeated this genius?"
"That person has long since ascended. We call him Ancestor Qing Yuan," Nie Rong replied.
"And what about the genius who founded Piao Miao Sect? Did he ascend as well?"
Nie Rong's expression darkened. "No, he perished. Later generations call him Mu Xin Zūnzhě."
"Mu Xin was already a Divine Transformation cultivator? Even so, he still fell? Don't tell me it was your Ancestor Qing Yuan who killed him?"
In her mind, Yao Ranran automatically pieced together a scene of mutual assassinations between the sects.
Nie Rong could only give a wry smile. "Nothing of the sort. Though Ancestor Qing Yuan defeated him in youth, at the time Mu Xin was already attempting Divine Transformation, while Ancestor Qing Yuan was still only in late Nascent Soul. His death was said to be linked to the cultivation method he practiced."
Yao Ranran looked at him and shook her head. "I believe you."
Nie Rong: "…" Who shakes their head while saying they believe?
"By the way, do you know what technique he cultivated?" Yao Ranran pressed, intrigued.
Nie Rong thought for a moment. "It was said to be a crazed technique that could absorb all the qi of heaven and earth. Because of this, people said he died when his body exploded while cultivating in some Black Mountain."
Yao Ranran: "…"
A cultivation method that absorbed all the qi of heaven and earth, and dwelling atop a Black Mountain… wasn't that exactly what she herself was doing now?
Nie Rong sighed, "That genius died so miserably. He left behind no last words. His body was buried in an unknown Black Mountain, and the Piao Miao Sect he founded became nothing more than a vassal of Miaoyun Sect.
If not for me secretly reading a forbidden book hidden within the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, even I wouldn't know such detailed history from a thousand years past."