Chapter Twenty-Six: Where is the Valley of Whispering Clouds?

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Although the great Dumpling’s appearance was far from what Shen Wan had imagined as a flying tiger, after spending the past few days together, he found this silly and adorable creature rather endearing. Besides licking Shen Wan, it had no other skills except for licking spirit stones. As a result, the color on the legs of the jeans Shen Wan had brought from Earth had nearly faded away. He made a special trip to the Hundred Beasts Garden and had a detailed conversation with Hong Zhichu about all the living habits of the Cloudy Tiger. Seeing Shen Wan take out a little notebook to jot down notes, Elder Hong was extremely pleased with his junior brother’s studious attitude. He handed him a large supply of fodder from the garden and instructed him to feed the Cloudy Tiger together with the meat of a Water Chestnut Sheep.

Of course, Shen Wan mainly took notes for fear of forgetting. After all, he wasn’t a cultivator and didn’t have the memory of those who were. He called Lin Bufan to help him purchase some Water Chestnut Sheep meat. Then, mixing the meat with the fodder from the garden, he carelessly stuffed it all into a large sack and tossed it beside the pile of spirit stones.

As usual, the spirit stones were heaped inside the room. Since Shen Wan couldn’t use a storage pouch anyway, he simply let the stones pile up, which also made it more convenient for the great Dumpling to lick. Every time Lin Bufan came over and saw the mountain of spirit stones, he couldn’t help but inwardly criticize his little martial uncle for being so wasteful.

Day after day.

The great Dumpling now had an extra task each day: after licking Shen Wan, it would lick the spirit stones; after the stones, it would lick the fodder; and after the fodder, it would return to licking Shen Wan.

…

But after a few days of feeding, Shen Wan discovered that the creature could, in fact, relieve itself. Each time, it would run out to the courtyard to find a patch of sandy soil. After doing its business, it would use its already short little legs to scratch sand over it and bury it.

This left Shen Wan even more unsettled.

Wasn’t this the signature trait of a feline? Could that be the origin of the word “tiger”? Bearing the name of a tiger, looking like a pig, possessing the characteristics of a dog, yet classified as a feline… It immediately reminded Shen Wan of Jiang Ziya’s mount in the classic tales. Could the fabled “four not alike” be this thing’s ancestor? Shen Wan slapped his forehead again, feeling even more exhausted.

Time passed like flowing water. The shameless days spent with the great Dumpling slipped by in a flash.

Soon, the days of training at Listening Cloud Ravine arrived.

Wei Zhen, afraid his junior brother would forget, specifically had Lin Bufan run over the night before to remind him.

So, early in the morning, Shen Wan was all packed and ready, strapping the Demon Black Blade he had obtained from the Ten Hells Tower to his back.

Looking at the great Dumpling clinging to his leg, reluctant to part, Shen Wan gave it a kick, locked the door quickly, and strolled out of the courtyard at ease.

It wasn’t that he was heartless; it was just that the little thing was too clingy. For the past ten-odd days, Shen Wan had practically lived in a sea of the Dumpling’s drool. With spirit stones and fodder piled in the house, he wasn’t worried the creature would starve, but as for the issue of its waste… he would deal with that later.

Humming a tune, Shen Wan, with the black blade on his back, strode off toward Listening Cloud Ravine in a blaze of lightning and stardust.

At that moment, atop Immortal Cloud Terrace, the top ten of the Ten Hells Tower had all arrived. Of course, Yun Shu was still absent.

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Some said she’d entered Listening Cloud Ravine years ago, but whether she’d truly broken through the Divine Meridian remained unknown. Others claimed that the senior sister had lost her mind in a fit of anger and had shut herself away in the Mind Realm. There was endless speculation.

Still, the fact that the senior sister was absent brought a sigh of relief to the others. After all, the thought of training alongside the undisputed “Iron-faced Demoness” of Qianxuan Sect was enough to make anyone feel immense pressure.

Elder Qu Fanghua, noticing the little junior brother hadn’t arrived, told everyone to wait a bit. The other elders present had no objections. And so, a group of people stood at the entrance to Immortal Cloud Terrace, waiting together for Shen Wan.

Meanwhile, Shen Wan, carefree as usual, had gone to the wrong place…

“Listening Cloud Ravine… Not a sound from these clouds though?” he muttered as he walked, greeting the disciples who passed by, returning their bows one by one. He even stopped some to ask for directions to Listening Cloud Ravine. But almost every disciple he asked gave the same answer: they didn’t know.

This left Shen Wan rather flustered.

What he didn’t know was that Listening Cloud Ravine was a forbidden ground of the sect. Though everyone in the sect knew of its existence, very few had actually ever been there. Those qualified to enter for training were always led in by an elder. So, while Shen Wan was busy asking about the location of Listening Cloud Ravine, he forgot entirely that he was supposed to gather at Immortal Cloud Terrace.

More than half an hour passed.

Seeing that Shen Wan still hadn’t appeared, Wei Zhen grew a bit anxious and went over to Qu Fanghua.

“Elder Qu, why don’t you take them ahead? I’ll go look for Elder Shen.”

Qu Fanghua nodded. “That’s fine. Once you find the little junior brother, come straight to Listening Cloud Ravine. I’ll wait for you outside.”

“Alright,” Wei Zhen replied, then disappeared on the spot.

The other disciples waiting to enter Listening Cloud Ravine for training were already growing impatient. Only after hearing the two elders’ conversation did they finally relax a bit. Of course, this didn’t include Lin Bufan and Zhu Qianqing.

Zhu Qianqing was anxiously twisting the hem of her robe, staring at the stone path ahead.

Just as the group at Immortal Cloud Terrace split up, Shen Wan was walking out of the Hundred Beasts Garden. Since the sect disciples didn’t know, surely the elders would. Fortunately, Hong Zhichu, being in charge of the garden, had nothing to do with the Listening Cloud Ravine training, which was why he hadn’t gone to Immortal Cloud Terrace. With a Thunderclap Horse about to give birth, Hong Zhichu couldn’t leave, so he simply drew Shen Wan a rough map, telling him to find the place himself.

Clutching the wobbly map, Shen Wan finally had a sense of direction. Adjusting the black blade on his back, he set off along the drawn route.

By now, the nine other disciples had already followed Qu Fanghua into Listening Cloud Ravine. After explaining the precautions for training there, Qu Fanghua hurriedly left, worried that Wei Zhen and Shen Wan would be anxious waiting outside. After all, Qu Fanghua, as the overseer of Immortal Cloud Terrace, managed all the sect’s trial grounds; without her, even Grand Elder Wei Zhen couldn’t enter.

“Hmph, why should he be an elder? He has no cultivation at all, yet he gets to join us for training at Listening Cloud Ravine, all because he abuses his authority as an elder!” Zhao Dongsheng, a disciple of the Formation Pavilion, spat resentfully once Elder Qu’s figure disappeared.

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Hearing this, Lin Bufan and Zhu Qianqing frowned, but before they could speak, Ye Lingfei from the Pill Pavilion waved her sleeve and interjected, “Ah, envy is a poison to the heart. No wonder you haven’t made any progress these past years.”

“What did you say?!” Zhao Dongsheng exploded.

“Ye Lingfei, don’t think I won’t touch you just because you’re from the Ye family!” Zhao Dongsheng threatened.

Ye Lingfei only lifted her eyelids lazily and replied, “Oh? Are you jealous of her background now too?”

Her voice was intoxicatingly sweet, sending shivers through the listeners—charming, but full of challenge.

Zhao Dongsheng shuddered, suddenly feeling his mind cloud over. Sensing something was wrong, he quickly cast a calming spell to regain his senses.

“Ye Lingfei, you’re up to tricks!”

She had used only a minor charm spell, yet this fool had fallen for it. Ye Lingfei smiled alluringly, unfazed at being exposed. Shaking out her sleeves, she turned and said, “I have no time to waste here with you. Training at Listening Cloud Ravine lasts only three days—I don’t want to miss a moment.”

With that, she ignored Zhao Dongsheng’s anger, swayed her slender waist, and entered Listening Cloud Lake.

Zhao Dongsheng’s fists clenched so hard they creaked. The other disciples watched him as if enjoying a show, much to his annoyance. When his gaze swept over Zhu Qianqing and Lin Bufan, he found their eyes cold as ice.

“What are you staring at? Stare any longer and I’ll gouge your eyes out!” he snapped.

He might have hesitated with the other disciples, but not with Zhu Qianqing and Lin Bufan. One was a lowly inner disciple, the other the sect’s universally acknowledged good-for-nothing. He had no need to fear them.

With a curse and a dramatic flick of his sleeve, Zhao Dongsheng stormed into Listening Cloud Lake.

The others could only shake their heads. Everyone knew his temperament, so no one bothered to argue with him.

Of course, Ye Lingfei’s sharp retort wasn’t meant for Shen Wan. It was well known that Elder Zhang Qi and Elder Lian Qiuhan were at odds, so disciples from either side rarely showed each other kindness.

With the farce over, everyone entered Listening Cloud Lake and began their three days of training.

Meanwhile—

With Hong Zhichu’s rough map in hand, Shen Wan pressed onward. Past the wide platform was a broad stone road. As he strolled down the path, he felt something was amiss. Only when he saw the massive archway inscribed with “Qianxuan Sect” did he realize he had walked out of the sect entirely.

“Is Listening Cloud Ravine outside the sect grounds?” Comparing the map in his hand, he felt his deduction was perfectly sound. Giving himself a shameless pat on the back for his cleverness, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and swaggered down the mountain.