Inside the main hall, the numerous Golden Core cultivators were utterly silent, creating a somewhat eerie atmosphere. Shortly after, another seven or eight Golden Core elders arrived, bringing the total gathered to over thirty.
Although Zhang Ling had not been a member of the Flying Cloud Sect for long, he naturally had some understanding of the Golden Core elders within the sect.
The Flying Cloud Sect had over fifty Golden Core elders stationed on the island year-round, with six or seven of them having reached the late stage of the Golden Core realm.
Of course, besides the sect's elders, there were also some Golden Core stage rogue cultivators serving as guest elders, who were not included in this count.
After waiting a while, and with thirty-four Golden Core elders present, Zhang Ling suddenly sensed a powerful wave of divine sense sweeping over him.
It seemed the Supreme Elder of the Flying Cloud Sect had arrived.
The thought had barely formed in his mind when he saw a black streak of light shoot into the main hall from outside. This streak of light circled above everyone's heads before landing next to Sect Master Sun, revealing an old woman with white hair.
This old woman was draped in a black fur robe. Although her face was somewhat pale, her eyes were exceptionally bright, and the aura emanating from her body was extremely formidable.
"Greetings, Martial Aunt Lu."
Upon seeing the old woman, everyone immediately bowed in respect. Zhang Ling naturally followed suit.
Although he had never met the three Nascent Soul elders of the Flying Cloud Sect, he had seen their portraits in the sect's ancestral hall, led by Sect Master Sun, on the day he joined the Flying Cloud Sect. This old woman was one of the Flying Cloud Sect's existing Nascent Soul experts.
"Rise."
The aged voice came from the old woman's mouth. She glanced at everyone and then turned to Sect Master Sun, asking, "Have all the elders in the sect arrived?"
"Reporting to Martial Aunt, except for Martial Brother He and Martial Brother Wu, who are in seclusion for life-or-death breakthroughs, all the elders currently in the sect are here," Sect Master Sun replied respectfully.
The old woman showed little reaction and spoke again expressionlessly.
"The situation in the desolate region is unfavorable. The reason I summoned you is likely known to some of you. I won't beat around the bush. The beast tide has already erupted and will soon spread to Flying Cloud Island."
"What? The beast tide has erupted!"
"How could it be so fast? Flying Cloud Island is tens of thousands of miles away from the desolate region."
Upon hearing Martial Aunt Lu's words, the people present immediately erupted in commotion.
Hearing this news, Zhang Ling's heart also sank. The beast tide was coming much faster than he had imagined. According to the information he had previously obtained, even if the beast tide erupted, it would take at least half a year to reach Flying Cloud Island.
But listening to the old woman, it seemed it would spread here immediately, several months faster than he had anticipated.
Seeing the commotion, the old woman frowned slightly but quickly regained her composure and spoke again.
"Now, Myriad Manifestation City and the Ten Great Sects have already issued summoning orders. According to the research of the Elder Council of Myriad Manifestation City, this beast tide is more dangerous than usual. The entire human race, even the demon race, has begun to mobilize completely. Flying Cloud Island is naturally no exception."
"According to the summoning order of Myriad Manifestation City, Flying Cloud Island has been designated as the second line of defense. However, you don't need to worry. Flying Cloud Island is still some distance from the desolate region. We don't need to reinforce other places, just guard the entire island."
"Alright, there's nothing to discuss now. Our Flying Cloud Sect has been on the island for thousands of years and has resisted many beast tides. Just be vigilant. Sun Qing, you arrange their duties. Also, those among you who use the Flying Cloud Flag as your natal magic weapon, gather twelve people to practice the Flowing Cloud Grand Formation in preparation for resisting the beast tide."
After the old woman finished speaking, she did not stay in the main hall any longer and directly transformed into a streak of light and left.
Sun Qing was the Sect Master's given name. Hearing the old woman's instructions, he hurriedly responded.
Next, Sect Master Sun began to assign duties to everyone. The many elders of the Flying Cloud Sect discussed in the main hall for the better part of the day before dispersing.
After everyone dispersed, Zhang Ling and a man and a woman followed Sect Master Sun together, flying directly towards the summit of Mount Qiyun.
After ascending only a thousand feet, Sect Master Sun led them to a cave dwelling with abundant spiritual energy, where they saw the old woman who had left not long ago.
"Martial Aunt, the three junior brothers are disciples who have recently joined our Flying Cloud Sect in the last ten years," Sect Master Sun introduced them to the old woman.
"This Junior Brother Xu was originally a rogue cultivator who had been friends with several of our Flying Cloud Sect's martial brothers for a long time. He joined our sect through the recommendation of several elders."
"Disciple Xu Lianfeng greets Martial Aunt Lu," the tall, thin man with thick eyebrows next to Zhang Ling said, bowing quickly as he was introduced. This man had mid-stage Golden Core strength. Being able to cultivate to the Golden Core stage as a rogue cultivator was not easy.
The other woman, in her early twenties and wearing a green dress, was named Tang Qingqing and had early-stage Golden Core strength. During the introduction, it was mentioned that she was born into a cultivating family named Tang, but not on Flying Cloud Island. It was unknown why she wanted to join the Flying Cloud Sect.
Zhang Ling could clearly feel the fluctuations in this woman's spiritual energy, sometimes strong and sometimes weak. This was the situation of someone who had just entered the Core Formation stage, and her cultivation had obviously not been fully consolidated. What surprised him was that Martial Aunt Lu suddenly asked when she heard this woman's surname was Tang.
"Girl, your surname is Tang. Do you know the Rouge Immortal?"
"Does Martial Aunt also know this junior's great-grandmother?" Tang Qingqing couldn't help but ask hesitantly upon hearing the old woman's question.
"Heh, so you are the old poison woman's blood relative. Come to think of it, this old one has crossed paths with that poison woman a few times. I presume you also cultivate poison techniques, girl?"
Martial Aunt Lu chuckled, seemingly interested as she sized up Tang Qingqing. This made Tang Qingqing feel uncomfortable all over. Being stared at by a Nascent Soul expert was not a good feeling.
Tang Qingqing hesitated for a moment and then honestly replied, "Senior is wise. This junior indeed cultivates the family's inherited poison techniques."
"You're not bad, girl. Just stay in the Flying Cloud Sect. After the beast tide, this old one happens to have some business to attend to at your Tang family," the old woman said before turning to look at Baiyun Sanren, whom Zhang Ling was impersonating.
Zhang Ling immediately felt a powerful divine sense sweep over him. He naturally didn't dare to be negligent and quickly said, "Junior Hu Yun greets Martial Aunt."
"Hmm, you're a Hu family disciple."
Before Zhang Ling could answer, Sect Master Sun smiled and replied for him, "Martial Aunt, Junior Brother Hu is a clansman of Martial Brother Chi Huo."
"I see, very well. Since you've also joined this sect, you must prioritize the sect's interests," the old woman said in a deep voice to Baiyun Sanren, whom Zhang Ling was impersonating.
Zhang Ling naturally agreed repeatedly, while also breathing a sigh of relief in his heart, as he had not been seen through by this Nascent Soul expert.
The change in his appearance was not due to a secret technique but was transformed using Illusionary Mud. If it were solely based on a secret technique, it might not have been able to deceive a Nascent Soul expert.
However, Illusionary Mud, this peculiar material, inherently possessed the characteristic of transforming into anything. This was an important reason why he dared to impersonate Baiyun Sanren and join the Flying Cloud Sect.
Then, this Martial Aunt Lu gave them a few more instructions before waving her hand to dismiss them.
