The stars were bright as usual but the moon's light seemed more radiant.
The clouds were small and covered the whole night's sky above the lands of the Blue Dragon continent.
As peaceful as such a
night was, it was not the case for the City of Towers.
A city known for their immense influence and great power, governed by 5 great clans who have long been a part of the city's history.
But tonight these great clans have caused tension in the city, The great Wu clan is being accused of weakening the city,
The four other great clans expressed their disappointment in the Wu clan for not being able to keep up with them in power but demand the same resources as them, when they the Wu clan have been declining for the last decades, unable to produce any great geniuses,
The great Gu clan patriarch even added, "Wu clan Master surely you cannot see fault in our reasons, isn't it better to give us the spiritual vein mine, for us to help strengthen our families and the city itself"
It was such behaviour that enraged the Wu Patriarch that a commotion started, "you all would show up at night with all your disciples and think I would not see this attempt to bully my clan"
the air was full of malice and the presence of all 5 clan heads in one place was already enough to alert the townspeople but this friction in the air increased their worries, they quickly went to where they felt it and found themselves at the Wu clan manor,
The moon's light was striking the opposing parties standing in front of the Wu residence.
With more eyes watching, the other 4 great clans would not shy away.
"Wu clan Master do what is right and do it for the city we all love, with the people here teach them of your righteous character" said the great Chen clan Patriarch, smirking with every word uttered.
The Wu clan Master had long seen the plot of these great clans and so he took a moment to fix his thoughts,
'seems I can only yield, If we fight now I'll only put my clan at risk'
The elders of the Wu and its members all realised a fight would not be in their advantage but they also knew the clan has been low on resources for decades, that mine was a very important asset to the clan.
Under such immense pressure the clan Master of the Wu could only prioritise the life of his family while also keeping their dignity, so he gave his verdict.
"alright you old foxes win, take the mine for yourselves but in three years the geniuses and disciples of my clan will fight for it in a clan competition against yours, if these terms can't be met then let the night become one of blood"
To save their faces in front of the townspeople they agreed to this arrangement but couldn't help themselves from ending it there, especially the geniuses and disciples from the other great clans that were present,
"Ha those weak cultivators can also be called geniuses"
"How are they even called a great clan when they are this mediocre"
When the Wu clan looked at his clan listening to these insults he saw a sight that left him proud, the disciples did not show any sign of taking those words to mind, in fact they seemed calm and focused like the eyes of an eagle, it was this attitude that impressed the clan Head, he knew those words hurt his family but the resolve they exhibited reminded him why he was a proud member of the Wu family.
The four great clans took their leave and the Wu clan entered back in their residence,
The night was still long and the youth could not sleep, they couldn't believe this was the state of their great clan
The geniuses especially felt more saddened by this powerlessness, in this state of despair most of them and even the average disciples vowed to practice hard and win back their clans possession but one vowed a different goal,
"I will avenge this humiliation a thousand folds"
Said one of the average clan members, Wu Feng
This was the third son of the 4th elder of the great Wu clan.
From a young age his talent for the Wu clan cultivation technique was not good, however like most members he took pride in his great clan but among his generation he was the only Red Gathering stage cultivator while the geniuses had already entered the sublime Ocean stage, one realm apart from him
But this humiliation by the four great clans was one that instilled his sense of honour, to uphold the clan's reputation from those who seek to harm, he cared not for his standing.
In the following morning Wu Feng informed his father of his plans after drinking a warm cup of tea together, their favourite kind, one made by Wu Feng's mother.
"Father I intend to leave the city and join a sect to prepare for the clan's competition and help the family's geniuses in our fight"
The 4th elder was indeed surprised, his lazy son finally had a goal that required cultivation and not money to go to bars and waste his essence.
"Very well Feng'er your Father will give you some spiritual stones to aid you in this goal of yours"
Happy to hear such news he quickly went to his mother to both inform and bid her farewell.
With enough money to last 6 months, 15 yr old Wu Feng left his City,
The Blue Dragon continent had 5 regions and Wu Feng lived in the east region, known for its mountainous landscapes and streams of rivers it was often called the Mountain Valley region.
The capital city of this region was Silver Spear City, it was home to many big sects and most famous for its four Great sects.
Wu Feng had long known of this city and was in fact heading there, a trip that would take him 5 days.
Along the way he saw many different lands with beautiful sceneries, he took in the beauty of nature as he passed by but in some areas the lands were dry and the people showed no sign of joy, it was such places that reminded him of his goal and what could become of his clan, a people clinging to past glory.
After sleeping in unknown forests and eating different foods along the way, young Wu Feng finally made it to Silver Spear City.
As expected of the capital, the architecture and layout of the city was magnificent, restaurants had double floors, the markets were clean and organised, the vendors looked happy and had rare items for sale.
Wu Feng decided to go to a nearby restaurant to have a meal and get information on how he can join a sect.
After ordering a meal he asked the waiter what sects would allow someone new.
"Someone new you say, well in Silver Spear City joining a sect depends on two things, whether you meet the cultivation requirements of the sect or you passed their trials when they were looking for new disciples. Unfortunately that happened early this year, and to join most sects here you must at least be at the Ocean Realm, only the alchemy sects have lesser restrictions"
This was a problem for Wu Feng, in the Gathering Realm there were four stages
Black
Yellow
Red
Jade
Wu Feng was at the Red stage of the Gathering Realm, hoping to enter the next realm, the Ocean Realm without a sect's guidance would be a fool's decision,
"With my cultivation, the sects that cultivate martial art techniques won't take me, and trying to do it alone will take me forever, better to join an alchemy sect and leave when I'm strong enough to join another sect, surely they wouldn't mind an alchemist for a new member"
Of the 4 Great sects none focused heavily on alchemy and so his options would be among the 3 big sects,
Among those 3, only The Sky Cloud Pill sect was a sect studying alchemy.
Alchemy in this city was considered a path of cultivation that appealed to intellectuals and so many nobles and royals flooded these sects.
As such, sects mainly built their bases in the outskirts of cities to accommodate a lot of members while also acting as walls surrounding these cities.
Having the title of a big sect, The Sky Cloud Pill sect was no small estate, its size was comparable to a thriving village, its length stretched with the horizon like it had no ending.
After paying for his meal Wu Feng asked for the directions to The Sky Cloud Pill sect.
Before he even approached the sect, he could see it,
"Now that is worthy of a big sect, I can see the many mountain peaks in the distance, how much does it even cost to build such a place"
Young Wu Feng's mind was filled with curiosity as he moved forth through the outskirts.
Upon reaching the gates he could see the cloud much clearly, it was a gold metal that resembled a cloud shape and two guards at the gates seemed to be controlling it while also guarding the gate.
Wu Feng approached them,
"Greetings to you seniors, I have learned about this great sect from distant lands and have come here in hopes of being a disciple"
The guards seemed to not care, they looked focused, staring into space but one responded with a shaky voice
"Look kid we have been given a great task of maintaining this cloud to remind the city of our Big sect, so if you want to join us just enter the gate, you will see a hall as soon as you enter and if you are accepted then welcome to our sect junior brother be sure to return here to inform us"
Wu Feng quickly thanked his potential senior brother and jumped in.
Just like the guard senior said he came across a hall and it had two small cauldron statues at the sides of the door.
Inside a rich scent of herbs hit his nose, the air was so rejuvenating, it was as if it had some healing effects when it had none.
Just across the door, there was a reception desk and it was there Wu Feng met Manager Yan, a disciple of the sect responsible for issuing resources and collecting items for contribution points.
"Greetings to the senior, I'm called Wu Feng, I was told to come in here if I wish to join the sect"
Manager Yan, who seemed bored suddenly had energy.
"that's great news, normally we would take tests but your Red stage cultivation is perfect for the outer sect"
Wu Feng could not believe it was that easy and in fact it was not that easy however because it was an alchemy sect the outer sect was for training theory and the basic practices for alchemists unlike a sword sect that would need one's cultivation be high so they can start learning combat techniques.
Manager Yan continued, "wait here to collect your residence and uniform, I will escort you there and also give you instructions on what to do in the coming days"
With his new uniform on, Wu Feng looked like a proper disciple, the white and blue colour scheme was elegant with their gold linings at the collars going down the robe.
Just as they were about to leave, Wu Feng told Manager Yan of his promise to the guards to update them of his enrollment.
To his surprise Manager Yan laughed and explained,
"The sect has no gate guards, I put them there to showcase my beautiful cloud sculpture, it's punishment for making noise in my hall. They must have wanted to trick you into substituting them, pay them no mind junior brother"
Just as they were walking Wu Feng saw a barrier with a faint blue light emitting from it. As soon as they passed through it he felt the change of Qi, the quality within the barrier was more potent and the fragrance of the area was refreshing.
While still on the way they came across a courtyard with many stations of pill making equipment, they had tables to inspect herbs and sect issued cauldrons.
Many disciples could be seen in groups either at a station or around the courtyard, it was very lively and everyone seemed to be immersed in their activities.
They finally reached the dorm area and it was there Wu Feng received a little hut to himself with a small enough space to have a garden.
In fact many yards were in the vicinity, it was almost like a mini village for outer disciples.
Manager Yan quickly explained how the sect worked,
"In order to receive proper training from the sect you must read the Moonlight Purple Root manual, an essential volume of books to understanding our way of alchemy. After you reach the Jade Gathering stage you will then enter the Inner sect and start learning advanced alchemy so study this manual well"
After Manager Yan left, Wu Feng realised why everyone was happy to see him join, he was a level away from the Jade Gathering stage.
"Yes! This is good news, I'm fortunate to be at the 3rd stage minor second level"
This meant young Wu Feng was a Red Gathering mid-stage cultivator.
He opened the Moonlight Root manual and surprisingly the first volume was a breathing method addressing the Gathering Realm alchemists and how they can progress so long as they are diligent,
Wu Feng found joy in this.
"I must take advantage of this new Qi and cultivate the whole night, ooh my brothers would be jealous"
The breathing method was called THE MISTY CLOUD BREATH
"This cloud breath is interesting, this description at the top reminds me when I first opened my internal stars and reached the first stage"
This part of the book was presented in made up metaphors and known sayings to describe the internal processes.
"Here it describes the opening of the 6 internal stars, allowing you to open the Yellow Channel of a cultivator's Internal star system just like father said"
He spent a bit of time reading through the manual, he then went outside near a tree behind his yard.
The moon was again radiant.
He immersed himself in this breath, using the Misty Cloud breath he quickly got in a trance.
"This breath is powerful, it's indeed like a misty cloud, I can faintly feel an aggressive surge building up but it never arrives, and it strengthens the paths between my internal stars, perhaps I could use this to strengthen my paths and I may activate my 9th star"
These stars were like energy points and the paths were of great importance, once an internal star is activated more Qi can enter the body and enhance the body's physical wellness.
The regulated circulation of energy between these stars will slowly open a path to another star that will then be activated and join part of the system
When all twelve internal stars are open, a great fluctuation of energy is allowed to occur, this unified path leads to a chamber of storing, a vast capacity for Qi like the ocean overflowing with water, this was the entry to the next realm The Ocean Realm.
Not long the sun rose and Wu Feng was still immersed in the breath.
The Misty cloud had 4 phases, and at the third phase it required a practitioner stabilise the gathered Qi in the star-veins, Wu Feng had aimed to strengthen his star-veins and so he kept the Qi in his star-veins for far too long, by the time he reached the last phase the Qi was too violent, this quickly caused him problems,
A sharp intense pain arose like a sharp wind in a mountain retreat, he felt as if he was burning from the inside,
His concentration loosened and the chaos only worsened,
he could only try to maintain whatever focus he had left but the pain was not without cost, now in a fight for his consciousness he fainted.