Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 322 There are mountains beyond mountains

The mountain road was still shrouded in a thin mist in the early morning as Feng Wenyuan and Feng Yue slowly descended the winding mountain road in their SUV. The car was the one the Feng family often used at the resort, and the trunk was empty, ready to be used to transport medicinal herbs from the foot of the mountain.

Feng Wenyuan sat in the passenger seat, and Feng Yue in the back. The car was quiet, with only the low hum of the engine and the occasional chirping of birds outside the window.

The Feng family disciple driving focused intently on the winding road ahead, not daring to utter a word. He could sense that the usually stern Fourth Elder in the back seat was acting somewhat unusually today.

Feng Yue leaned against the car window, his gaze fixed on the flowing mountain scenery outside. His posture remained upright, his hands resting on his knees, his gray hair meticulously combed, and every fold of his dark gray robe exuding rigor. But upon closer inspection, one would notice that his gaze was somewhat unfocused, not concentrated on any particular scene, but rather as if he were seeing something else through the mountains and forests before him.

Feng Wenyuan glanced at his cousin in the rearview mirror, understanding immediately. He cleared his throat, breaking the silence: "Fourth brother, did you sleep well last night?"

Feng Yue seemed to be startled awake, his gaze refocusing. After a pause, he replied, "So-so."

Two words, dry and lifeless, devoid of any emotion.

Feng Wenyuan didn't press the matter, but changed the subject: "Among the medicinal herbs that Lu'er brought this time, there are several hundred-year-old ginseng roots that were collected from Changbai Mountain. They are of excellent quality. Our sect's medicine storehouse hasn't been replenished with ginseng of this age for a long time."

"Hmm," Feng Yue responded, his gaze drifting back to the window.

Normally, when medicinal herbs were mentioned, especially such rare and high-quality ones, Feng Yue would at least comment on their origin, quality, or processing methods, even if he didn't launch into a lengthy discourse. But today, he simply gave a faint "hmm" and said nothing more.

Feng Wenyuan sighed inwardly, knowing that his stubborn cousin had something on his mind.

Despite Feng Yue's aged appearance, seemingly several generations older than Feng Wenyuan, it's because Feng Yue's cultivation speed and progress are the slowest, making him appear older.

The car rounded a bend, and the mountainside where the Cloud Hidden Sect's gate was located gradually receded into the distance, disappearing into the morning mist. Feng Yue's gaze, however, remained fixed on that direction, lingering there for a long time.

He recalled yesterday afternoon—to be precise, yesterday after being thoroughly angered by those two "matchmaker" nephews, he left "Feng's Herb Pavilion" alone and wandered aimlessly around the resort.

At first, he just wanted to avoid those annoying younger people and find some peace and quiet. As he walked, he came to a side hall that was open to the public halfway up the mountain.

He had heard of that side hall before; it was a place used by the Yunyin Sect to enshrine some "guardian deity statues," and it was also open to tourists, making it a tourist attraction. Feng Yue didn't think much of it at the time—which sect didn't have a few places to offer incense? The Yunyin Sect had only been established for a short time; what decent foundation could it possibly have?

But the moment he stepped into the side hall, all his indifference vanished in an instant.

The hall was quiet, with only two or three tourists talking in hushed tones. In the very center were not the usual Three Pure Ones or Buddha, but several statues of deities he had never seen before, and these statues were all shrouded in a soft, almost imperceptible light.

At first, Feng Yue thought it was some kind of special lighting effect or modern light and shadow technology, but when he looked closely, he was suddenly shocked.

That layer of soft light was not inanimate, but flowed slowly, like a living thing breathing. What alarmed him even more was that the space around the statue was subtly distorted, as if the statue itself was the center of a vortex of spiritual energy, silently absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Feng Yue had cultivated for nearly a hundred years and had never seen such an offering. This was no ordinary statue; it was clearly a living being capable of autonomously absorbing and transforming spiritual energy—or rather, an existence he couldn't comprehend, existing somewhere between a magical artifact and a living being.

He tentatively released a wisp of spiritual power to sense it. As soon as the spiritual power touched the soft light around the statue, it was gently bounced back, carrying a faint sense of "being watched"—as if the statue knew he was probing and was responding.

Feng Yue quickly withdrew his spiritual power, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

Just how many secrets does the Cloud Hidden Sect hold?

"The fourth one?"

Feng Wenyuan's voice rang out again, pulling Feng Yue back to reality from his memories.

The car had already left the mountainous area and entered a relatively flat county road. Not far ahead, in a temporary parking area, two vans belonging to the Feng family were parked, and Feng Lu was standing beside the vans waving at them.

Feng Yue composed himself, opened the car door, and got out. The cool mountain breeze swept over him, clearing his muddled thoughts somewhat.

Feng Lu quickly stepped forward, first bowing to Feng Wenyuan, "Third Master." Then he turned to Feng Yue and respectfully said, "Fourth Master."

Feng Wenyuan patted him on the shoulder: "You've worked hard. Are all the goods ready?"

"It's all set, the list is here." Feng Lu handed over a document, then lowered his voice, "Third Master, I heard some rumors on the way... all the factions are gathered at Cloud Hidden Mountain, has something happened?"

Feng Wenyuan took the list, glanced at it, and said calmly, "It's just some official business, nothing to do with us. Let's unload the goods and get back early."

Feng Lu observed the situation and, without asking any further questions, turned around and directed his disciples to begin unloading the goods.

Feng Yue stood aside, watching his disciples unload boxes of sealed medicinal herbs from the truck. His gaze, however, drifted once again toward the misty Yunyin Mountain in the distance.

The mountain was still the same mountain, but it looked completely different to him at that moment.

"Fourth Master?" Feng Lu carried a box of medicinal herbs by and saw Feng Yue standing there in a daze, so he called out.

Feng Yue snapped out of his reverie, looked at his youthful face, and suddenly asked, "You've been coming over to deliver goods from time to time these days. What do you think of the Cloud Hidden Sect...?"

Feng Lu was taken aback, not expecting the Fourth Master to ask this. He thought for a moment and replied earnestly, "In response to the Fourth Master's question, everyone in the Yunyin Sect is sincere and unpretentious. Fellow Daoist Chen is fair in his dealings, and Sect Leader Su is kind and benevolent. Although there are few disciples, they are all diligent and eager to learn. Most importantly..." He paused, his voice lowering, "I feel that they have a kind of... confidence. It's not something they put on, but a confidence that comes from within."

Feng Yue remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Confidence..." he repeated the word softly, his gaze returning to the distant mountains.

Yes, confidence.

That kind of confidence, deeply rooted in the sect's heritage, that doesn't need to be flaunted but naturally exudes.

Whether it's the endless stream of magical treasures on Chen Anran's person, or what they've seen in their sect now.

Feng Yue suddenly recalled what Feng Wenyuan had said in the "Hundred Herbs Pavilion": "The Feng family's stance was already set from the day your third sister stepped into the Cloud Hidden Sect's mountain gate."

At the time, he felt that the statement was too arbitrary, and even somewhat emotional.

Looking back now, perhaps my third brother saw further and more clearly than he did.

"Fourth brother, come lend a hand," Feng Wenyuan's voice came.

Feng Yue responded and walked towards the truck. His steps were still steady, and his back was still straight, but if you looked closely, you could see that his chin, which was always unconsciously slightly raised, was now relaxed a little.

A mountain breeze blew by, lifting his gray hair.

Hidden in the clouds and mist, Yunyin Mountain remains silent and enigmatic.

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