Watching the Mountain

Chapter 265: Chapter 164: Wind and Rain

Her elegant white robes swayed gently in the wind, as if they had absorbed all the color between heaven and earth. Everything else in the world seemed to lose its charm, leaving only Senior Sister Yue’s magnificent figure standing there—a fleeting moment of beauty, splendid and eternal.

A single glance was all it took for her image to be forever etched into his heart.

Countless disciples of the Profound Pure Sect erupted in cheers, welcoming their new Sect Leader.

There was only support for Yue Qingyu’s ascension to Sect Leader; not a single voice of opposition could be heard throughout the Profound Pure Sect.

During the previous Sect Leader competition, when Chen Minghe, who was leading his team, thought Shen Wuchen was about to lose, his only request was that Yue Qingyu be the one to judge his transgressions. He would have accepted any verdict from her.

This alone showed the extent of Yue Qingyu’s prestige within the Sect. In everyone’s hearts, she had long been considered the next Sect Leader.

The succession of a new Sect Leader signaled the Sect’s entry into a new era. Everyone believed and eagerly anticipated that under Yue Qingyu’s leadership, the Sect would ascend to new heights.

As Xu Ran watched the crowd cheer for Senior Sister Yue, a strange feeling bloomed within him. He’d never imagined that he, who had only seen the Profound Pure Sect as a temporary stop upon joining, would be here to witness it enter a new era. And the person at the center of it all was Senior Sister Yue, the one who had guided him onto his path of cultivation. It all felt rather surreal.

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After Senior Sister Yue took over as Sect Leader, she wasn’t as overwhelmingly busy as Xu Ran had imagined.

The Profound Pure Sect had a long history and a well-established structure for handling various matters. Only major issues concerning the Sect’s overall direction required the Sect Leader’s decision.

When Xu Ran went to visit Senior Sister Yue, he found her quietly cultivating, just as she always had.

She was all alone in the vast grand hall, making the space feel somewhat desolate.

Yue Qingyu, however, was not as optimistic as the rest of the Sect.

”The relatively peaceful days the Sect has enjoyed were never because of young prodigies like myself, Junior Brother Zhang, or Junior Brother Chen. It has always been because of Master’s presence.”

”As long as Master is here, most factions wouldn’t dare to make a move against us openly.”

Xu Ran nodded slightly. He was well aware of this. Back when the Sect Leader and Supreme Elder Zi Yun had mentioned that Shen Wuchen, aside from Senior Sister Yue, had the best chance of breaking through to Divinity Transformation—and that Zhang Zhentian’s and Chen Chang’an’s chances were slim—he had taken it upon himself to research the Sect Leader’s combat history.

The Sect Leader, Taihua True Monarch, had always been the Profound Pure Sect’s greatest pillar of strength. During his time in the Nascent Soul Stage, he had, on multiple occasions, defeated several opponents of the same Realm simultaneously.

For Cultivators, defeating several opponents of the same Realm before reaching the Nascent Soul Stage was not unheard of. Zhang Zhentian, for example, had a record of defeating ten other Golden Core Stage cultivators at once during his time in that Realm.

However, such a feat became extremely rare after reaching the Nascent Soul Stage.

Battles between cultivators at the Nascent Soul Stage were often intense and drawn-out. Unlike the lower Realms, where staggering differences in combat power could exist, it was difficult to determine a victor even in a one-on-one fight, which could last for a very long time.

As far as Xu Ran knew, even Zhang Zhentian, hailed as the Golden Core First Person, could only display absolute dominance in one-on-one fights after reaching the Nascent Soul Stage. Against two opponents, victory was nearly impossible.

This indirectly proved just how impressive the Sect Leader’s victories against multiple opponents truly were.

No wonder he’d said Zhang Zhentian and Chen Chang’an’s chances of breaking through to Divinity Transformation were slim. He himself had once been a prodigy on their level, if not even greater.

It was just as Senior Sister Yue had said: if the Profound Pure Sect were without Taihua True Monarch, its deterrent power would plummet. Even with new Nascent Soul cultivators like herself, Zhang Zhentian, and Chen Chang’an, the Sect couldn’t possibly maintain its former might.

After all, they were only in the Nascent Soul Early Stage. Compared to Taihua True Monarch, who was at the Nascent Soul Late Stage, their deterrent power was far inferior.

Yue Qingyu gazed into the distance, her eyes seemingly peering into the world beyond the Sect’s borders, and spoke softly.

”I am confident, but I will still need some time to reach Master’s level of combat strength. The Sect’s position in the Cultivation Realm is extremely delicate right now, and I don’t know if the outside world will grant me that time.”

Xu Ran fell silent at her words.

He knew what she was talking about. Ever since the Secret Realm had merged with their world and unleashed the ”plague,” things had been quiet at first.

But as time went on and the affliction remained unresolved, dissenting voices gradually began to rise in the Cultivation Realm.

They questioned why Sword Dao Ye Shan had allowed the Secret Realm to fall into their world, bringing such a great peril to the Cultivation Realm.

Human nature is fickle. When the Secret Realm first fell, everyone cheered for Ye Shan, singing praises of his greatness for bringing such a massive opportunity to the Cultivation Realm.

But now that the disaster lurking behind that opportunity had erupted, people were starting to blame him. They completely forgot their own elation as they entered the Secret Realm, and they forgot that if not for this ”plague,” an even greater catastrophe might have befallen the Cultivation Realm.

Back when everyone sang Ye Shan’s praises, they conveniently ignored that he was from the Profound Pure Sect, never offering any real gratitude to the Sect.

Yet, now that they were blaming him, they all suddenly remembered he was a member of the Profound Pure Sect.

Of course, the Cultivation Realm’s complaints against Ye Shan and the Profound Pure Sect were currently just verbal; no one had taken any real action. Perhaps people could still rationally see what Ye Shan had done for the Cultivation Realm, beyond the ”plague.”

However, as more time passed, it was hard to say how much longer that rationality would hold.

The Cultivation Realm was vast and populous. Even if the vast majority of people did not blame Ye Shan and the Profound Pure Sect, it would only take one in ten thousand, one in a million, or even one in a hundred million people to lose their minds to resentment for it to become a monumental disaster for the Profound Pure Sect.

The disciples of the Profound Pure Sect cheered for the transition between the old and new Sect Leaders, completely unaware that their Sect was already teetering on the brink of a storm.

’If he hadn’t been worried about unforeseen disasters and anxious about the future, why would the former Sect Leader have been in such a rush to step down and enter seclusion?’

Xu Ran silently gazed down at the disciples below, who were still immersed in their celebration. A sudden gust of mountain wind swept up, scattering the clouds and mist from the peak.

On the distant horizon, a bank of lead-gray clouds pressed down heavily upon the sprawling peaks of the Profound Pure Sect, churning in silence.