Through soul-searching, Zhang Ling also learned that the ancient jade scepter was obtained by the old man from an ancient cultivator's cave a hundred years ago. Relying on this treasure, the old man had also killed several Core Formation cultivators. No wonder this person dared to fight him before.
This treasure was considered a decent item. Zhang Ling directly refined it on the spot, planning to use it himself.
Soon after Zhang Ling finished refining the white jade scepter, he directly flew towards Flying Cloud Island.
Three days later, he saw a misty aerial island in the distance.
The overall area of the island was not small, a medium-sized island. Most of the island was covered in a thick layer of clouds and mist. But from afar, he could see a tall mountain standing in the clouds. Rings of wavy clouds surrounded the mountain peak, like a celestial mountain.
This was Flying Cloud Island, and that mountain was probably Mount Qiyun.
According to the information obtained from the Asking Immortal Pavilion, Mount Qiyun was ten thousand feet high, and only a small amount of Cloud Swallowing Stones were produced in the area at the summit.
However, Mount Qiyun was occupied by the Flying Cloud Sect, the immortal cultivation sect on the island. It was their main base, and it would be difficult for outsiders to reach the summit. If he wanted to obtain Cloud Swallowing Stones, he would have to devise a plan.
A quarter of an hour later, Zhang Ling entered an immortal city below the giant mountain. It was a medium-sized immortal city called Flying Cloud City. There were many people in the city, and many mortals lived there. It was quite bustling with people coming and going.
The immortal cities in the Flowing Cloud Sea cultivation world were mostly inhabited by both immortals and mortals. Flying Cloud City was the same. The outer city was basically the area where mortals and Qi Refining cultivators were active.
Zhang Ling directly entered the inner city. The inner city was also not small, divided into several major market areas. He entered one of the market areas and strolled around, occasionally entering some libraries and teahouses.
He came to these places mainly to gather information. After all, he had never been to this immortal city before. To better achieve his goal, the more he knew about this immortal city, the better.
After wandering around for several hours, Zhang Ling entered an inn to rest.
The Flying Cloud Sect, which controlled this area, had considerable power. There were three Nascent Soul elders in the sect, one of whom was an old monster in the middle stage of Nascent Soul. He was the Great Elder of the Flying Cloud Sect, known as True Person Huangyun. In addition, there were more than forty Core Formation elders, and even more low-level cultivators below them.
This kind of power was a decent middle-level power in the entire Flowing Cloud Sea. No wonder they could control a medium-sized island.
After understanding this information, Zhang Ling began to feel troubled.
With his strength, it was probably impossible to force his way to the summit of Mount Qiyun. Moreover, this material was produced in very small quantities. Even if he reached the summit, he might not be able to find Cloud Swallowing Stones.
After inquiring, Zhang Ling discovered that the number of Cloud Swallowing Stones produced here was even less than he had imagined. They were basically occupied by the cultivators of the Flying Cloud Sect. However, if he was willing to spend spirit stones, he could also buy a few Cloud Swallowing Stones from the Flying Cloud Sect.
The most recent Cloud Swallowing Stones that had been released were more than ten years ago at a large auction held here, where a few Cloud Swallowing Stones had appeared.
But each one sold for more than 200,000 spirit stones, basically equivalent to the value of an ordinary magic weapon.
This material could be used to refine a magic weapon called the Flying Cloud Flag, which was the Flying Cloud Sect's inherited treasure. Thirty-six Flying Cloud Flags could be arranged into a Flowing Cloud Formation. Once deployed, it could cover an area of hundreds of miles.
A single Flying Cloud Flag was also a decent magic weapon. Some elders of the Flying Cloud Sect used the Flying Cloud Flag as their natal magic weapon. Together, they could form a formation.
In addition, Cloud Swallowing Stone was also an excellent auxiliary material for refining pills. It was said that as long as a little bit was added during the pill refining process, it could make the pills form faster and increase the chances of success.
Many sects proficient in alchemy often came here to seek Cloud Swallowing Stones. Therefore, the Flying Cloud Sect had made a considerable fortune.
Of course, relying solely on naturally generated Cloud Swallowing Stones was not enough for the Flying Cloud Sect's cultivators themselves, so they naturally would not sell them.
But thousands of years ago, an ancestor of the Flying Cloud Sect researched a set of secret techniques called Cloud Gathering Art. It could condense Cloud Swallowing Stones in places where clouds gathered.
Although the condensed Cloud Swallowing Stones were of lower quality than the natural ones, it was said that the quality was enough to reach about 80% of the natural Cloud Swallowing Stones.
He wanted to refine the Mind Enhancing Powder to assist in the cultivation of the Refining Spirit Art, and one or two Cloud Swallowing Stones would probably not be enough.
If he could get this set of secret techniques, he could use it to condense Cloud Swallowing Stones. Originally, Zhang Ling only thought about this idea in his heart and did not expect to succeed.
His biggest purpose in coming here was to use other methods, or to directly exchange a large number of spirit stones for a certain number of Cloud Swallowing Stones.
But after these few hours of inquiring, the value of Cloud Swallowing Stones was more expensive than he had imagined. A small piece could be sold for 200,000 spirit stones. Even if Zhang Ling was wealthy, he could only exchange for a few pieces at most.
It was not that he did not have enough spirit stones. He had hunted many high-level desolate beasts in the Abyss before, and he also had many unused magic weapons and materials on him, which could be exchanged for a large number of spirit stones.
But the human heart in the cultivation world was unpredictable, and not revealing wealth had always been Zhang Ling's principle. Once he exchanged for too many Cloud Swallowing Stones, it might arouse suspicion, and even attract Nascent Soul cultivators.
But now there was an opportunity in front of him that made Zhang Ling hesitate. He could use the identity of the old man he killed a few days ago to sneak into the Flying Cloud Sect.
It was also a coincidence that the place where White Cloud Hermit and the young man were originally going was also this Flying Cloud Island.
White Cloud Hermit's surname was Hu, and his real name was Hu Yun. He was born in a Hu family of cultivators. The family's base was on Cloud Island.
This Hu family of cultivators originally had two Core Formation cultivators. White Cloud Hermit's uncle was also a Core Formation cultivator with late-stage strength, but he had passed away a few years ago. This person was also an elder of the Flying Cloud Sect. Therefore, the Hu family was also a cultivating family attached to the Flying Cloud Sect.
Now that he had killed White Cloud Hermit, the Hu family no longer had any Core Formation cultivators. If he impersonated this person, he could use the Hu family's relationship to enter the Flying Cloud Sect.
What Zhang Ling was considering was this matter. It was easy to impersonate this person, but there was still some risk in sneaking into the Flying Cloud Sect. If he had not used the Soul Searching Technique to search the man's soul after killing White Cloud Hermit, he would not have known these things.
Now that he knew about this matter, he hesitated instead, thinking about the pros and cons.
