In truth, almost everyone had assumed that the so-called Tai Gu Plane was in fact Cloud Terrace Island. After all, both were legendary higher planes, and their names did not clash in the slightest, so they naturally took it for granted that Cloud Terrace Island and the Tai Gu Plane were one and the same place—simply that no one had ever been there.

Yet now, ever since they received the letter Wei Zhao had sent from Cloud Terrace Island, the others might still be in the dark, but Qiu Lingshan and her circle already knew that Cloud Terrace Island and the Tai Gu Plane were two entirely different matters.

There was no Tai Gu sect of any kind on Cloud Terrace Island at all; the layout of the Five Great Cloud Terrace Islands was wholly unlike anything imagined, and there was no Five Luminaries Sect or Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect either. As for the similarly named Five Elements Chamber of Commerce, it was simply founded later by Zhang Liju and had nothing whatsoever to do with the Five Luminaries Sect.

As for where the legendary Tai Gu Plane actually was—or whether it existed at all—that remained an unverifiable unknown.

But today, this formidable expert who had appeared out of nowhere had suddenly declared that he came from the Tai Gu Alliance!

Qiu Lingshan's instinctive reaction was: could the Tai Gu Alliance be merely an inconspicuous corner of Cloud Terrace Island, which was why Wei Zhao had never noticed it before? After all, apart from Cloud Terrace Island, she truly could not imagine any other place harboring such a formidable expert.

"Are you from Cloud Terrace Island?" Qiu Lingshan asked at once.

"Cloud Terrace Island?" Xue Jianfeng was taken aback, then burst out laughing, a touch of mockery creeping unbidden onto his face. "You people of the mortal world are so ignorant. Cloud Terrace Island is nothing but a rumor distorted in the retelling—where in this world is there any Cloud Terrace Island? The Tai Gu Alliance is the Tai Gu Alliance. Do not confuse the two."

"Truly?" Qiu Lingshan's expression turned somewhat strange. Wei Zhao's letter had long since verified the existence of Cloud Terrace Island—that was beyond doubt. And yet this man claimed Cloud Terrace Island was merely a rumor distorted in the retelling. Did he truly not know, or was he deliberately feigning ignorance?

"Of course it is true. I know that the highest level in your mortal world is the Ancient Sects. Our Tai Gu Alliance, by contrast, is an independent plane that stands above the Ancient—the very pinnacle of the entire cultivation world. Cloud Terrace Island and the like are utterly baseless rumors, figments conjured from thin air by the ignorant." Xue Jianfeng lectured from on high.

Hearing this, Qiu Lingshan could be essentially certain that this fellow truly did not know of Cloud Terrace Island. To think that the Tai Gu Alliance and Cloud Terrace Island were two completely unrelated matters—this outcome genuinely astonished her.

"So those high-level cultivators operating out in the world now are all from your Tai Gu Alliance?" Qiu Lingshan asked, betraying nothing in her expression.

"Precisely. They are all disciples of our Tai Gu Alliance sent into the mortal world for training. As for their strength, though it counts for nothing in the Tai Gu Alliance, to your mortal world it is already a realm beyond reach. Every disciple sent out for training is a Foundation Establishment expert!" Xue Jianfeng said proudly.

"Foundation Establishment expert?" Qiu Lingshan had some notion of the term, but everyone else present was baffled, glancing at one another in bewilderment. What on earth was Foundation Establishment?

"Ah, I nearly forgot. Your mortal world has no concept of Foundation Establishment, so let me put it another way. Foundation Establishment is an entirely new realm above Heaven-Tier Great Perfection—what you call the Heaven Dao Realm." Xue Jianfeng wore the look of a city dweller regarding a country bumpkin.

"The Heaven Dao Realm!" Again the crowd drew a collective sharp breath. In fact, during their earlier investigations they had already discovered that these high-level cultivators were strong beyond all common sense, but because they had never crossed blows directly, the notion had not struck them forcefully, and many had dismissed it as their own illusion. Today it was finally confirmed—these people were all Heaven Dao experts!

The revelation broke the crowd into a cold sweat. Thank goodness they had restrained themselves earlier and not acted rashly; had anyone let their hot head carry them into charging forward to seize someone outright, they would have died without even knowing how.

"Indeed. Foundation Establishment experts are merely ordinary disciples in our Tai Gu Alliance. Above them are the even mightier Golden Core stage, and beyond that, the legendary Nascent Soul old monsters!" Xue Jianfeng had deliberately meant to show off before Qiu Lingshan, which was why he had taken the trouble to say so much. Seeing the crowd's stunned expressions, he said with a disdainful look, "The mortal world may be vast in territory, but in terms of cultivation it amounts to nothing more than frogs at the bottom of a well. Everything I have described lies at the very pinnacle of realms that you mortal-world cultivators can scarcely touch, or even imagine. In truth, telling you is pointless, for you will never come into contact with such beings."

Though they knew full well they were being looked down upon, the crowd could not help swallowing hard. After all, what the man said was true. The strongest experts they could ordinarily encounter were Heaven-Tier Great Perfection at best; they could not even imagine Foundation Establishment, let alone Golden Core or Nascent Soul.

Qiu Lingshan, however, was not among them. Apart from not knowing of the Tai Gu Alliance, she had long since learned of all these realms from Wei Zhao's letter—and knew far more besides.

From what the man implied, Nascent Soul experts seemed to be the top-tier existence in the Tai Gu Alliance, yet on Cloud Terrace Island they counted for nothing at all; experts surpassing the Nascent Soul stage were legion. It seemed the Tai Gu Alliance fell far short of Cloud Terrace Island in stature.

Frogs at the bottom of a well? He was probably speaking of himself. Knowing nothing of Cloud Terrace Island, yet posturing as though the Tai Gu Alliance were peerless under heaven—if that was not a frog at the bottom of a well, what was?

"In that case, the Tai Gu Alliance and we mortal-world cultivators should keep to our own sides of the river. So what brings you to my Mysterious Investigation Bureau today?" Qiu Lingshan asked.

"True enough. Our Tai Gu Alliance has an explicit rule against disrupting the order of the mortal world; otherwise, with so many Foundation Establishment experts suddenly coming out for training, your mortal world would long since have been thrown into chaos." Xue Jianfeng nodded loftily, and only then finally came to the matter at hand. "It was supposed to be each keeping to their own side, but things are different now. Two disciples of our Tai Gu Alliance are dead."

"What?" Everyone was greatly shocked. If the Tai Gu Alliance was made up of Foundation Establishment experts, then in this mortal world they were invincible—and yet two of their disciples had died all at once?

"You are not about to say this has something to do with us mortal-world cultivators, are you? The strongest among us are Heaven-Tier Great Perfection at best—no match at all for your Tai Gu Alliance disciples. Besides, we have never taken any action in that regard; at most we conducted some covert investigation," Qiu Lingshan said with a frown. (To be continued.)