After a thousand years of accumulation, even Xu Fu could rise to become Indra.

Xiao Qingpei went to the Palace of Clouds.

From beginning to end, he felt somewhat bewildered—having just been expelled from the Linwu Sect, he was immediately sent to the Palace of Clouds? At his “advanced age” of thirty, wouldn’t he be eliminated at the bone-testing stage?

Then Xiao Qingpei realized he might have underestimated the influence of a Nascent Soul realm old monster, even if that old monster belonged to the Xianyao Prefecture; not a single person at the Palace of Clouds stopped him.

Yet no one paid him any attention either.

The disciple responsible for guiding him led him to receive his credentials as a disciple, then escorted him out and informed him that he could go wherever he pleased.

This made Xiao Qingpei feel as if he had entered a false Palace of Clouds, but the artifact in his hand made it clear otherwise.

This was not the “mass-produced” artifact like those in the Linwu Sect; it perfectly matched his cultivation method and personal preference. As for personal preference, Xiao Qingpei didn’t much care, so the cultivator in charge gave him a string of beads shaped like skulls.

What surprised Xiao Qingpei most was that this artifact was tailored for the activation of Taiyin Immortal Power!

“Senior Sister…”

Xiao Qingpei wanted to consult the Foundation Establishment “fellow disciple” in charge, but when he opened his mouth, he found she had vanished.

“Is the Palace of Clouds really like this?” Xiao Qingpei was a bit perplexed.

So he decided to review the information the system had given him.

The sheer volume of information had forced Xiao Qingpei to employ “divided spiritual sense and self-sealing” methods just to cope at the time.

Thus, he wasn’t entirely clear on what the information contained.

He only remembered a small part.

What impressed him most were the “plotlines” about himself.

The first “female protagonist” would appear ten years later, and during her growth, she would encounter an “uncle” named Xiao Qingpei.

This uncle named Xiao Qingpei would fall in love at first sight with the first female protagonist and attempt to pursue her, but how could that possibly succeed?

He would then be driven away by a rebellious youth at her side.

Another era would pass. When the second female protagonist appeared, the uncle named Xiao Qingpei would appear once more.

Over two centuries had gone by, and he was still alive.

And, just like the first time, he would fall for the second female protagonist, who was then eighteen, at first sight.

Thus, he would once again pursue her.

Naturally, history would repeat itself: not only would he be driven away again, but he would also be inexplicably hunted.

Finally, the third female protagonist, Situ Yu, would appear.

Situ Yu, beautiful as a flower, was eighteen when she encountered a certain Xiao Qingpei—a decrepit old man.

This old man would once again pursue Situ Yu.

And then he would be killed.

“I am so steadfast and faithful, yet in the end I die because of it—how utterly unreasonable,” Xiao Qingpei muttered, his lips twitching as he reviewed the plot.

If he hadn’t known in advance, this might well have been his fate.

But now, of course, Xiao Qingpei would not let it happen.

He had already decided: when these three female protagonists appear, he will simply hide somewhere and wait until their stories play out, then emerge!

After all, the female protagonists are protagonists too!

And what protagonist isn’t surrounded by a host of miraculous blessings?

“But, once one reaches the Nascent Soul realm, one can ascend to immortality. Even if I arrived early and the system bound to the wrong person, I could live for a thousand years. Why then did I not ascend?”

The thought struck him again.

A millennium of accumulation—even Xu Fu became Emperor Shakra!

There was no reason he couldn’t become immortal!

Unless, he simply didn’t wish to ascend…

With this in mind, Xiao Qingpei resolved to examine the information more carefully, hoping to discover some hidden clues about his future.

Just then, Xiao Qingpei sensed someone approaching.

He looked over.

It was a young woman dressed in pale blue robes. Upon noticing Xiao Qingpei’s gaze, she hurriedly bowed and said, “Uncle, may I ask if you are the new teaching uncle?”

“No,” Xiao Qingpei shook his head. Noting that the girl was only at the Qi Refining stage but wore the Palace of Clouds disciple badge, he asked, “Junior, may I ask why you are asking?”

“Uncle, it’s like this: the previous uncle responsible for teaching swordsmanship left in anger, so the elders said they would send a new teaching uncle.”

“I see.” Xiao Qingpei nodded. Seeing that she was an “old disciple” of the Palace of Clouds, he asked, “I am not very familiar with the rules of the Palace of Clouds. Could you explain them in detail? To be honest, I just joined; after receiving my artifact, I was told I could go wherever I wished.”

Upon hearing this, the young woman’s eyes brightened, and she smiled with curved brows, “Uncle, then what reward do you intend to give me?”

“How about Taiyi Jade Hooks?” Xiao Qingpei considered.

Elsewhere, Taiyi Jade Hooks might seem rather useless due to limited cultivation resources, but here in the Palace of Clouds, it should be different!

“Of course! But, Uncle, for Taiyi Jade Hooks, could I have five?” The girl rubbed her hands, a little embarrassed after she spoke.

Xiao Qingpei said nothing, simply took out five Taiyi Jade Hooks and handed them to her.

Back in the Linwu Sect, he had often been coaxed and threatened to give up his spot, and each time he was offered fifty Taiyi Jade Hooks. After several rounds, plus what his predecessor had accumulated and subtracting what he had spent, Xiao Qingpei still had over two hundred Jade Hooks.

“So, Uncle, where would you like to begin?” The girl accepted the hooks, happily stowing them in her pouch, her attitude now much warmer.

“Why does the Palace of Clouds reside in such a place?” Xiao Qingpei asked.

The Palace of Clouds was situated in a huge county town where cultivators and ordinary folk lived side by side. That was nothing unusual, but the spiritual energy here was not especially rich, only slightly better than that of Fengqing Town on Qingya Mountain.

Yet this was the Palace of Clouds!

“Uncle, this is only the gate area!” the girl giggled.

“The gate area?” Xiao Qingpei was surprised.

“Yes, Uncle.” The girl stopped smiling, remembering she was speaking to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and hurried to explain, “New disciples are sent here to cultivate independently for a period. Then they participate in a major examination. If they achieve good results ten times, they earn a place in the Immortal Selection Exam.”

“And those who pass the selection and successfully reach Foundation Establishment—do they remain here?” Xiao Qingpei suddenly thought of something.

“Of course not!”