Chapter Fifty: The City of Yellow Clouds

Upon entering the small city, Tu Lu was immediately struck by a sense of familiarity. This feeling stemmed from his memories of Divine Wind City. Yet this city was even smaller, lacking even a branch of the Celestial Dragon Guild—hardly worthy of comparison, not even a speck beside Divine Wind City. Despite its modest size, the oppressive atmosphere here mirrored that of Divine Wind City when the beast tide approached.

He didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he spent a spirit stone to inquire about the local situation. Only then did he realize where he was. He had left the Azure Profound Prefecture entirely and arrived within the boundaries of the Grand Void Prefecture, in a small city under its jurisdiction—Yellow Cloud City.

As for news about the Celestial Dragon Guild’s activities in Divine Wind City, nothing had reached here. It wasn’t surprising; even though the Celestial Dragon Guild was the continent’s foremost merchant house, only half a day had passed, and this place had no branch—news simply couldn’t travel so fast.

Thus, he reverted to his original appearance. However, one piece of information, not exactly a secret, piqued his interest: it concerned the city’s lord. The city lord had once been a high cultivator at the peak of the Violet Palace stage, nearly reaching the threshold of Transformation. But recently, he had disappeared.

Now, the position was temporarily held by his son, Zi Tuo Feng, who was only at the early Mountain Moving stage—a far cry from his father’s prowess. Yet, what was intriguing was Zi Tuo Feng’s unusual status: he was the Grand Void Prefecture's prince consort!

This title had a story behind it. It was said that Zi Tuo Feng’s father, the cultivator on the verge of Transformation, had once been a renowned rogue cultivator in the Grand Void Prefecture, acquainted with the old prefect. They had ventured through several secret realms together and agreed on a verbal betrothal. For a time, this engagement was a celebrated tale among a select few; yet at that time, neither man was a city lord nor a prefect.

Then thirty years passed. The old prefect ascended to his office, while Zi Tuo Feng’s father, due to injuries that arrested his progress, came to Yellow Cloud City and became its lord. The engagement faded from memory, as everyone knew their statuses had diverged: one was a prefect, the other a minor city lord. The verbal engagement was never taken seriously.

When the old prefect’s daughter, the betrothed, assumed control as the new city lord, the matter was utterly forgotten. But after Zi Tuo Feng’s father disappeared, Zi Tuo Feng became ambitious. He gathered cultivators and prepared to travel to the Grand Void Prefecture to propose marriage!

Tu Lu had no interest in this. In his view, Zi Tuo Feng must have knocked his head against the wall to even consider such a proposal.

If Zi Tuo Feng possessed extraordinary talent, it might be forgivable. Yet, as the son of a cultivator on the verge of Transformation, he lacked neither inheritance nor resources, and at over twenty years old, he had only barely entered the Mountain Moving stage. With such meager cultivation, he dared to propose to the Grand Void Prefecture?

One must understand—this was the Grand Void Prefecture, widely acknowledged as the most formidable among the eight prefectures of South Cloud Nation! Its heritage rivaled the royal capital; Tu Lu had heard whispers of its power even in Divine Wind City.

Under such circumstances, Zi Tuo Feng hardly considered his own worth. Tu Lu cared little for Zi Tuo Feng’s foolishness; what concerned him was the wedding gift Zi Tuo Feng prepared, which reportedly included a Three-Colored Cloud Blossom!

The Three-Colored Cloud Blossom was a spirit of flora, naturally possessing illusory properties—something that greatly enticed Tu Lu, especially after witnessing Gongsun Yan’s Shadow Guard Eighteen Array.

Array formations were not simply accumulations of power; their attributes mattered greatly. His previous clones had been arranged by Gongsun Yan: the Three-Son Sunflower for offense, the Yin Sunflower for cold domains, and the Hundred-Year Mother Ganoderma for vitality, prolonging combat endurance.

Each of the five clones had its strengths, but none possessed the power of illusion—a capability not even Gongsun Yan possessed!

Thus, Tu Lu was determined to obtain the Three-Colored Cloud Blossom. More importantly, his cultivation had reached the late Filling Sea stage, nearing the Violet Palace. After gaining insights from the Seven-Colored Giant Dragon, he had new ideas for his path toward the Violet Palace.

Among all his options, using a complete Shadow Guard Eighteen Array to break through was the most reliable. Even one additional clone would increase his chances.

But how to acquire the Three-Colored Cloud Blossom required careful thought.

From what he knew, though the city lord of Yellow Cloud was missing, he had left behind two loyal old servants, both at the half-step Violet Palace stage. Though they’d never break through, they were stronger than most at the peak of Filling Sea.

Without these two, Zi Tuo Feng, with only early Mountain Moving cultivation, could never have held the acting city lord position.

“Troublesome,” Tu Lu sighed.

“Sir, is there anything else you wish to know?” the information broker asked.

Tu Lu glanced at him and said, “Do you know how one might join the city lord’s marriage proposal entourage?”

“Of course! Please, this way,” the broker replied excitedly, eager to guide him.

Tu Lu nodded and followed.

He would never actually go to the Grand Void Prefecture; to him, it would be suicide. Even if the prefect was filial and respected the old city lord, and didn’t object openly, the rest of the prefecture would never tolerate a Mountain Moving cultivator as their prefect’s husband—it would be a disgrace!

But he didn’t know where the Three-Colored Cloud Blossom was, nor was he confident he could wrest it from the two half-step Violet Palace guards. So, he planned to first infiltrate the marriage proposal team.

...

“Sir, please wait here for a moment.”

They arrived outside an inn near the city lord’s manor. The broker spoke, then hurried inside.

Moments later, he reemerged.

“Sir, the city lord’s proposal team needs only ten people. Eight places are already taken, so the remaining slots are scarce. It might require some Thunder Stones to smooth things over.”

“Oh? How many?” Tu Lu smiled slightly.

The broker rubbed his hands and whispered, “One thousand…”

Tu Lu nodded. Though he’d spent much in Divine Wind City, he still had a few thousand Thunder Stones left.

“Wait!”

Just then, a slightly plump young man emerged from the city lord’s manor, followed by an elderly man with white-streaked brows.

The broker’s face went deathly pale at the sight of them!

“Useless fool! When was my proposal entourage ever open to those who pay their way in? Elder Fang, what is the meaning of this?! Didn’t I say only Filling Sea cultivators are eligible?!” the young man demanded.

The old man called Elder Fang bowed his head. “Young master, perhaps the staff acted on their own. I will investigate thoroughly.”

“Indeed, make sure you do!” the plump youth nodded arrogantly.

From their exchange, Tu Lu surmised this was Zi Tuo Feng, and Elder Fang was likely Fang Jinrui, one of the two half-step Violet Palace servants.

Tu Lu raised an eyebrow, his gaze settling on Fang Jinrui.

At that moment, his expression changed abruptly—a terrifying murderous intent erupted from inside the inn. Though not directed at him, its intensity instantly explained the oppressive atmosphere he’d felt upon entering the city.

A sword light flashed, and the inn was suddenly torn apart!

“Kill!”

Simultaneously, three gray figures shot out of the inn, appearing before Zi Tuo Feng in the blink of an eye!