538: Chapter 538 Clouds in Sight

The morning of the third day.

As the first ray of dawn tore through the eastern sea of clouds like a sharp sword, the atmosphere on the flying vessel finally awoke from the silence of the previous night.

Qing Feng rubbed his bleary eyes and climbed up from the deck. He gave a massive yawn and vigorously stretched his stiff limbs, his bones letting out a series of crisp pops.

“That was a deep sleep,” Qing Feng muttered.

He turned his head and saw Su Ming still sitting cross-legged at the stern in the same posture as last night, as if even the folds in his clothes hadn't changed.

Qing Feng blinked and suddenly remembered something. He slapped his forehead and hurriedly fished out three glossy copper coins from his Storage Pouch.

These were the 'Path-finding Coins' his Master, Immortal Master Xuan Ming, had tossed to him yesterday, saying they were for Tianji Pavilion Outer Sect Disciples to practice with.

Qing Feng took a deep breath, mimicked his Master's profound and enigmatic manner, cupped the three copper coins in his palms, and began to chant under his breath.

“Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, Ancestral Master manifest your power...” Qing Feng mumbled those disorganized phrases and shook his hands vigorously a few times.

Ming Yue was woken up by his commotion. She rubbed her eyes and, seeing her Senior Brother's comical appearance, couldn't help but burst out laughing with a "pfft."

*Clatter—*

Qing Feng loosened his hands, and the three copper coins fell onto the hard deck with a crisp clinking sound, spinning a few times before finally coming to a stop.

Qing Feng’s eyes widened as he stared at the coins on the ground for a moment, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

“Two heads and one tail? No, that one just now seemed to be standing on its edge...” Qing Feng scratched his head, picked up the coins, and shook them again, unwilling to give up.

*Clatter!*

They hit the ground again.

“Three tails?” Qing Feng sucked in a breath of cold air. “Does this mean we can't go back?”

Beside him, Ming Yue was doubled over with laughter, tears nearly coming to her eyes.

“Senior Brother, just give it up.” Ming Yue clutched her stomach and pointed at the coins. “You're suited for sword practice in this life. Divination is meticulous work; you simply can't calm your heart. You're not casting a hexagram, you're just rolling dice.”

“What do you know!” Qing Feng’s face flushed red, and he stuck out his neck stubbornly. “I’m just a beginner, I haven't found the feeling yet! Just wait until I get it right once and show you!”

As he spoke, he turned to look at Su Ming.

“Su Ming, you usually have the most tricks up your sleeve, you be the judge.” Qing Feng pointed at the coins on the ground. “How come the result is different every time these three coins fall?”

Su Ming slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the three copper coins.

“What are you calculating?” Su Ming asked.

“I'm calculating when this flying vessel of ours will reach the mountain gate of the Cloud Hidden Sect,” Qing Feng said with a serious face.

Su Ming didn't look at the hexagram on the ground. Instead, he looked up, glanced at the speed of the clouds flowing past the sides of the vessel, and felt the consumption rate of the spiritual energy shield.

“I am not proficient in the Dao of Divination.” Su Ming’s voice was steady and gentle. “But Formations and divination are, to some extent, connected. Before calculating the secrets of heaven, one must first calculate one's own heart. Your heart is too chaotic.”

“Calm my heart?” Qing Feng scratched his chin. “How?”

Su Ming withdrew his gaze and calmly uttered four words: “Talk less, do more.”

Qing Feng was stunned for a moment.

“Then... when do you think we will arrive?” Qing Feng pressed on, unwilling to let it go.

Su Ming closed his eyes and said casually, “At this speed, we should see the mountain gate before dusk today.”

Qing Feng looked at Su Ming skeptically. He took a deep breath, forcing himself not to listen to the wind or Ming Yue’s laughter. He closed his eyes and truly went through the mantra his Master had taught him in his mind.

This time, he didn't shake them wildly but released his hand with extreme steadiness.

*Clatter.*

The coins hit the deck.

Qing Feng opened his eyes and stared intently at the hexagram on the ground. One head, two tails—Kan above, Li below.

He silently deduced in his heart for a moment, then suddenly looked up, his gaze toward Su Ming filled with unbelievable shock.

“Dusk... it really is dusk!” Qing Feng’s voice changed pitch, and he looked at Su Ming as if he were looking at a monster. “You didn't even touch the coins, how did you calculate it?!”

Inside the xuantian ring, Lin Yu let out a loud, unceremonious sneer.

Su Ming ignored Lin Yu’s mockery. He maintained a profound silence and simply nodded slightly.

Just as Qing Feng was about to lung forward to ask for guidance.

A bolt of black lightning suddenly shot out from Su Ming's collar.

“Chirp!”

Ying let out an extremely crisp cry and streaked through the air like a sharp arrow, pecking hard and with unerring precision on the back of Qing Feng’s outstretched hand.

“Ouch!” Qing Feng cried out in pain, snapping his hand back. Seeing the bright red dot on the back of his hand, he jumped in anger. “You dead crow, why did you peck me again!”

Ying circled triumphantly in the air, as if showing off her victory, then landed steadily back on Su Ming’s right shoulder. She preened her feathers with her sharp beak, not even sparing Qing Feng a glance.

Qing Feng rubbed the back of his hand and sat back down resentfully, while Ming Yue snickered on the side, covering her mouth.

The flying vessel continued forward.

On the distant horizon, an extremely thick sea of clouds began to roll. And in the deepest part of that sea of clouds, the familiar silhouettes of several mountains were slowly emerging in the morning light.

Cloud Hidden Sect had arrived.

The mountain silhouettes of the Cloud Hidden Sect grew clearer bit by bit in the setting sun.

The central main peak of the Sect Head pierced into the clouds, while the other peaks surrounded it like stars around the moon. A faint, hemispherical blue light curtain formed by the Mountain-protecting Formation tightly enveloped the entire Sect.

Su Ming stood up from the deck and walked slowly to the bow of the flying vessel.

The night wind, mixed with the cold and fresh moisture unique to the Northern Border, blew against his face.

He took a deep breath. The sense of dryness and crisis that had constantly lingered in his heart while in the Central State was finally completely dispersed at this moment.

Looking at the mountain gate drawing closer, an exceptionally rare sense of indescribable security welled up in Su Ming's chest.

The Central State was indeed prosperous to the extreme, but it was not his home.

As for these mountains before him, although they were similarly filled with internal Sect power struggles, and although he had once been framed by Sun Quan and made things difficult for by the Artifact Hall here, at least here, he had the Formation safe house he had built himself, the Foundation of the Repair Hall, and even more so, the great mountain of his Revered Master, Master Xuan Heng, to lean on for the time being.

An extremely faint sound of fabric rubbing came from behind him.

Immortal Master Xuan Ming had woken from his meditation at some point. With his hands behind his back, he walked slowly to Su Ming's side.

That face, as thin as a skeleton, still bore no extra expression. Those eyes, deep-set in their sockets, quietly watched the Mountain-protecting Formation ahead.

Su Ming did not turn his head, only slightly shifting his body to maintain a respectful posture.

The two stood side by side for a full ten breaths, neither of them speaking.

The speed of the flying vessel began to decrease sharply, and the light-blue protective light shield around the hull gradually thinned.

Su Ming sent out his True Disciple token. The Mountain-protecting Formation sensed the spiritual energy beacon belonging to the Cloud Hidden Sect on the vessel, and ripples like water waves appeared on the surface of the blue light curtain. Immediately after, the light curtain slowly slid open from the center to both sides, revealing a massive passage wide enough for the flying vessel to pass through.

The flying vessel glided into the passage.