Daily life of a cultivation judge
Chapter 1206 - 1206: Its bound to have the flavor some place on it, right?

As taken aback by the scene as Yang Qing was, it was a hundred times more intense for Bolin and Haishi. At least in Yang Qing's case, he was somewhat used to it, having spent time at the Order and experienced various facilities with the same level of grandeur, though the environment around his own abode was no better than a flea-riddled pauper's shack in comparison.

But for Bolin and Haishi, this was a first. The spiritual qi density alone had already overwhelmed their senses, to say nothing of the rest of the features.

Their former home had been renowned for its spiritually rich environment, which was why most human cultivators were willing to risk venturing there despite the dangers. As abundant as it was, however, it still paled compared to this place.

Of course, that only held true if the eighth zone was the one being considered in the comparison. From what Bolin knew—something most long-lived residents of the Green Fog Region were also aware of, especially those with a certain level of strength and influence—the deeper one ventured into the forest, the richer the environment became.

Going deeper into those regions was an ambition held by many spirit beasts, especially if you desired to grow your strength and improve your realm and or even bloodline, which was something spirit beasts held with much greater regard than even strength, as bloodline held greater sway amongst them to an instinctual level.

Any spirit beast that wanted to improve itself had to venture deeper into the region, where the quality of the environment rose in proportion to how far one went, but so did the risks.

Though Bolin had never been there himself and relied only on imagination and rumor, he was willing to bet his precious gall bladder that the environment in the core area of the Green Fog Region was just as otherworldly as this place. After all, it was said that the true leaders of the region resided there, and from what little he knew, rumor had it they were all soul formation realm experts.

Soaking in this atmosphere and all its grandeur stirred up the long-dormant desire he once held, which was to one day reach the core region of the Green Fog Region, see it for himself, and leave his mark as one of the conquerors of the region.

To every spirit beast, reaching the core was considered reaching the peak of their existence. But the longer he lived, the more that dream was drowned by the waters of experience, until it was finally snuffed out. With the growing realities of where he stood ability-wise and talent-wise, he had long given up on ever setting foot in the core region.

In fact, it wasn't just the core region. Even reaching the next zone over was something Bolin had deemed impossible for himself, especially after the time he accidentally stumbled upon one of its former residents—the golden-scaled alligator. Just a single glance from that beast had left him frozen. Despite all his years dancing with death, Bolin had been so overwhelmed by its gaze that he fainted on the spot.

As terrifying as Feng Xin was to him, he was nothing compared to that alligator.

If even one of the residents from that zone was that frightening, what did that say about the rest? So, with deep reluctance, Bolin had gradually let go of his ambitions and made peace with the idea of dying in the zone where Feng Xin found him.

Does this count as me realizing our dream, Li Lun? Bolin wondered, a wistful smile forming as he gazed at the scene before him.

Meanwhile, Yang Qing was caught up in his own thoughts. One in particular kept gnawing at him: if his suspicions about the Silver Crane Sect were true—if they really did have a soul formation expert hidden away—then he would have to reevaluate several things, chief among them being the Cyan Crescent Kingdom.

He had been operating under the assumption that the Silver Crane Sect had given face to the kingdom by allowing one of its members to enact vengeance on a clan founded by their former disciple, out of respect for the kingdom's strength. After all, it was a former rank-one kingdom, with recent growing rumors strongly suggesting they were about to rejoin those ranks once more.

But now… with this… no, he would have to reevaluate that particular assumption. If the Silver Crane Sect already had a soul formation expert, then it was the Cyan Crescent Kingdom that ought to give them face, not the other way around. And wiping out all the palace realm experts of the Xia Clan was certainly no way to do it.

"One step at a time..." Yang Qing whispered to himself, deciding to set his doubts aside for now. There was no need to tire himself trying to figure them out, given he was in the perfect place to have those questions answered.

Though there was still something he could confirm now, something a certain late-stage domain expert likely had the answer to, especially given his apparent acquaintance here… and a very close one at that, by the looks of it.

"What?" Hou Dehui asked through a voiceless transmission, sensing Yang Qing's scheming gaze on him.

Choosing to be direct, Yang Qing asked, "Senior, does the Silver Crane Sect really not have a soul formation expert?"

"What do you think?" Hou Dehui replied, wearing a mysterious smile.

Even without a direct answer, his expression said it all.

"I think they do," Yang Qing said with a sigh.

"I guess it's to be expected. With their rumored ancestry, it would be stranger if a sect said to have belonged to an ancient holy land had never produced a single soul formation expert," Yang Qing mused.

He quickly readjusted his mindset and accepted this new reality about the sect, which freed his thoughts enough to finally appreciate the scenery and the sheer vastness of the Silver Crane Sect.

Its outer territory alone was already exceedingly vast, even before considering its interior. That outer territory housed a freshly promoted rank two kingdom by the name of Night Star Jasmine Kingdom that had produced a domain expert roughly 130 years ago.

Besides the Night Star Jasmine Kingdom, there were about a dozen rank-three powers that had established their roots within that territory.

The lands each of them occupied were vast, their scope matching what independent powers of similar ranking would control. For instance, the territory under the Night Star Jasmine Kingdom was no less than that of a typical rank two power, even though everything they owned had been granted to them by the Silver Crane Sect. The same applied to all the other organizations that had settled within the sect's territory.

In exchange for their loyalty and service to the sect, they were granted land, with clearly marked, defined boundaries that could not be altered without the sect's explicit permission. So while these organizations couldn't expand like independent powers could, what they were given still rivaled those of their independent counterparts.

Given its long history, Yang Qing had already expected the Silver Crane Sect to command a massive territory. Yet, seeing it for himself, he still found himself taken aback by its sheer enormity.

What he hadn't expected, though, was to experience that same feeling within the sect's own grounds. In most organizations, the land housing their headquarters was significantly smaller compared to their external holdings. It usually made up only a fraction of their total territory.

And that seemed to be the case with the Silver Crane Sect as well, or at least that's how Yang Qing felt. The territory housing the sect grounds was probably only a fraction of what they controlled outside, yet even that fraction was far larger than he'd expected.

They had flown for nearly ten minutes before stopping at a pavilion that appeared to serve as a relay station. There, they used a teleportation array that brought them to another pavilion, where they used another teleportation array.

In total, they activated three teleportation arrays before reaching their final relay point. From there, they had to fly for at least fifteen more minutes before arriving at their destination.

Granted, their speed had been moderated to match the pace of their slowest member, Haishi. Still, the distance covered—three teleportation jumps and nearly half an hour of flight—was considerable.

Yang Qing couldn't even begin to guess where they were or how deep into the sect they had traveled. He could only assume it was likely the core region, given that they were being guided to one of the peaks held by an elder of the sect.

That assumption seemed reasonable. However, there was still the off chance they were in the outer regions of the sect, and the place Shen Mu had taken them to was maybe some guest peak used for entertaining visitors, with each elder having their own designated visitor peak. Given how big the place was and the sheer number of peaks Yang Qing had seen when first entering the sect, he wouldn't dismiss that possibility entirely, as implausible as it sounded.

But given the implied relationship between Hou Dehui and Shen Mu's master, Yang Qing felt it was unlikely they'd been taken to just a visitor's peak.

His guess was soon confirmed when Hou Dehui sighed nostalgically, his gaze drifting wistfully toward the clouds above.

"Has your master's dawn cloud peach tree produced more fruits?" he asked. "A thousand years have passed, and I still haven't forgotten its taste," he added with a satisfied, reminiscent smile.

Yang Qing's eyes lit up instantly. His gaze darted between Hou Dehui and Shen Mu. To one, his eyes seemed to ask, Dawn cloud peach? Just how good was it that you haven't forgotten its state even after a thousand years?

Toward the other, his eyes screamed, Quick! Answer the Senior! Has it produced?! Say yes! I'll eat it even if it's immature...

"Sorry, Senior. It hasn't," Shen Mu said apologetically. "But according to Master, it should start bearing fruit again in about fifteen years," he added, hoping to soften the blow for the two cultivators. Three, if he counted the mirage dragonfly, which looked like it was about to cry.

"I will come then," Hou Dehui said with a smile.

He was the only one who seemed reinvigorated by the news, while Yang Qing and Haishi looked utterly listless and deflated. Shen Mu found it baffling. For cultivators and even spirit beasts, with their long lifespans, fifteen years was hardly more than a nap.

Yet judging from the way those two reacted, fifteen years might as well have been fifteen thousand.

Shen Mu, unsure of what to do, led them up through the clouds above, which turned out to be an isolation array with strong illusory properties. The instant Yang Qing and the others passed through it, they were greeted by a vast stretch of land filled with lush herb fields, all arranged in neat quadrants. A winding river flowed gently through the fields, weaving past courtyards, pavilions, and pagodas that all maintained the same quaint, rustic design Yang Qing had seen on the way in.

Shen Mu guided them to one of the courtyards situated deeper within the fields and settled Hou Dehui and the others in its front yard, where futons and small tables awaited them. Tea, snacks, and a platter of fruits were already laid out in welcome.

After inviting them to enjoy the refreshments, Shen Mu promptly excused himself to inform his master of their arrival.

Meanwhile, Yang Qing still hadn't recovered. He sat listlessly, muttering under his breath, "Fifteen years… fifteen years… fifteen years! How is someone supposed to wait that long? At this point, I'd settle for nibbling on its seeds... or its bark… even its branches would do… the leaves too… and the dew. It's bound to have some flavor of the fruit somewhere on it, right?"