High-Cloud Quintet

The High-Cloud Quintet was a legendary group of five heroes in Xianzhou history. They were led by Jingliu, the previous Sword Champion of the Xianzhou Luofu. However, they disbanded less than a hundred years after their group's formation.
==Description==
The High-Cloud Quintet was made up of five members from different Xianzhou ships:
*Jingliu, from the Xianzhou Cangcheng.
*Jing Yuan, original ship unknown.Jing Yuan's actual birthplace is unknown, although he is most closely affiliated with the Luofu.
*Dan Feng, from the Xianzhou Luofu.
*Baiheng, from the Xianzhou Yaoqing.Visitor Dialogue: Jing Yuan
*Yingxing, a short-lived species man who came to the Xianzhou Zhuming on a merchant vessel and stayed to study their craftsmanship before coming to the Luofu.
Using what he learned from his time with the Xianzhou, Yingxing forged four powerful weapons that came to be used by the other members of the Quintet.
==History==
===Formation===
In their heyday, the High-Cloud Quintet were close friends and heroes of the Xianzhou. Jingliu, the Luofu's Sword Champion, recruited four other distinguished individuals; Imbibitor Lunae Dan Feng — High Elder of the Luofu Vidyadhara, Baiheng — an ace starskiff pilot from the most renowned of the Yaoqing's Foxian adventuring flying families known as the "Starskiff Killer", Yingxing — a short-life species craftsman who managed to attain the title of the Luofu's Furnace Master, and finally Jing Yuan — a Cloud Knight Lieutenant who was Jingliu's student, implied to be the last to join. 
They were initially gathered to save the Xianzhou Yuque from an assault by the Denizens of Abundance.Not to be confused with the failed assault on the Yuque in Year 5749 Star Calendar led by Shuhu, an Abundance Emanator, which occurred over a millennium prior to the Quintet's formation. Other feats that the Quintet accomplished in their short span included defeating the borisin at Thalassa, destroying the alliance between the Houyhnhnms and the wingweavers in the Abundance Axis, and defeating the living planet Ketu Mirage.
===Sedition and Dissolution===
The group came to an end more than 700 years before the main story,A Flash mentions that Yanqing became a Cloud Knight Lieutenant in Year 8096, 716 years after Jingliu succumbed to Mara and 717 after the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae. in Year 7379 Star Calendar, when Baiheng sacrificed herself in a great battle against Shuhu. In an attempt to resurrect Baiheng, and also to solve the Vidyadharas' reproduction problem, Dan Feng committed a great sin that was known as the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae. Upset by the endless cycle of death that war brought about, he used the Transmutation Arcanum to resurrect Baiheng, while also allowing other races to be incorporated into the Vidyadhara species. However, his tampering ended up creating an uncontrollable draconic abomination that wrought great destruction to Scalegorge Waterscape.
Yingxing assisted Dan Feng in the resurrection process by using Shuhu's flesh, which backfired on him, transforming him into an immortal being struck with mara. Jingliu also developed mara as a result of the incident, but it was likely induced by trauma as she was not involved in the resurrection.Jingliu describes her Core Esse, an organ in Xianzhou Natives that is believed to be the source of their immortality and also the mara condition, "boiling" as if it were "about to erupt." This is when she first began wearing a blindfold to maintain her sanity. By using torn fabric from the edge of her skirt as a makeshift blindfold, Jingliu was able to keep her mara in check as she defeated the draconic beast.
===Aftermath===
While Jing Yuan's involvement with the incident was minimal, he is said to have understood the "price" better than anyone, though he did not intervene. One year after the Sedition, in Year 7380 Star Calendar, Jingliu fully succumbed to her mara and went on a murderous rampage until she was finally defeated by Jing Yuan. Following this incident, she left the Xianzhou and her name was erased from the Luofu's public records, with the title of Sword Champion said to have been vacant since the Sedition.
As a result of the Sedition, Bailu was chosen to be Dan Feng's successor as the next High Elder. Dan Feng, meanwhile, was imprisoned and sentenced to a forced molting rebirth. His next incarnation, Dan Heng, was kept in the Shackling Prison for an unknown period of time, occasionally visited by Jing Yuan, before eventually being escorted out and exiled from the Luofu.Light Cone: Brighter Than the Sun
After Dan Heng's exile, he traveled across the universe, still only a teen (presumably by Vidyadhara rather than mortal standards).Jinyu claims to undergo hatching rebirth at an unnaturally accelerated rate of just a month, noting that the cycle typically takes five or six centuries. Bailu further notes in a case study that Jinyu only lives a few months before molting again, and that she ages around 100 times faster than a normal Vidyadhara. Assuming Dan Heng's growth has progressed normally, and given Dan Feng's date of death presumably falls around the Sedition, this could make Dan Heng several decades old, though probably no older than a century if he is still mentally and physically considered "teenaged" without being noted as a "child-looking elder" (a rare condition in which a Vidyadhara's growth is stunted). All the while, he was hunted by the person who used to be Yingxing, who was determined to show him what the pain of death feels like as retribution for his past life's crimes. Amidst Dan Heng's travels, he chanced on the Astral Express Crew, incidentally saving them by defeating huge monsters in the path of the Express. Himeko offered to take him in under the guise of being the train's guard and archivist. While Dan Heng has managed to kill Blade and escape many times over,Light Cone: Nowhere to Run he still lives in fear of him, having nightmares about his endless pursuit.
After Yingxing's transformation, he left the Xianzhou, presumably through exile, as he was considered a wanted criminal aboard the ship. For an unknown period of time, he was taught swordsmanship by Jingliu and was also killed by her a hundred times over. Following this, he pursued Dan Heng across the cosmos, always fighting him every time they met. He came to forget his name, abandoning his previous identity and growing progressively more disheveled until he was found by the Stellaron Hunters some centuries later and persuaded by Sam and Kafka to join them. While he still seemingly considers himself to be unnamed, Kafka took his new identity as a blade literally, referring to him as "Bladie" from their first meeting and effectively treating it as his name, something he was apparently amenable to and allowed others to follow suit in (though only without the diminutive nickname).
After the Sedition, and the exiles of Jingliu and Yingxing, Jing Yuan was named the Arbiter-General of the Luofu Cloud Knights, a position he still holds today. He took on a disciple, Yanqing, who was named a Cloud Knight Lieutenant in Year 8096 Star Calendar, much like Jing Yuan was in the days of the High-Cloud Quintet. He also takes it upon himself to check up on Bailu occasionally, faking illnesses as an excuse to visit her, asking after her health and of any dreams she's had recently.
===Stellaron Crisis===
In Year 8100 Star Calendar, after a Stellaron was smuggled onto the Xianzhou Luofu, Blade and the other Stellaron Hunters boarded the ship in pursuit of it. Blade was captured by the Cloud Knights and brought to the Shackling Prison to be interrogated by Jing Yuan, but managed to escape at a later time. The Astral Express Crew eventually boarded the Luofu in order to resolve the Stellaron crisis and clear the Stellaron Hunters' name of any involvement. Despite Dan Heng's banishment from the ship, he decided to tail his companions out of concern for their well-being.
Once aboard the Luofu, Dan Heng traveled with Sushang, a Cloud Knight transferee, and Luocha, a traveling merchant in the hopes of reuniting with his friends. When they reached the Alchemy Commission, Dan Heng slipped away from the others and boarded a starskiff to Scalegorge Waterscape. There, he encountered Kafka and Blade, though his confrontation with the latter was interrupted by Yanqing. Blade proceeded to reveal Dan Heng's true identity as Imbibitor Lunae by stabbing him in the chest. When Yanqing tried to capture both of them, Blade and Dan Heng briefly fought side-by-side to defeat him.
After the fight ended, Jing Yuan appeared and dismissed the Stellaron Hunters. He and Dan Heng continued deeper into the delve to meet up with the Astral Express Crew. Calling upon his powers from his previous incarnation, Dan Heng parted the waters of Scalegorge Waterscape to clear a path to the roots of the Ambrosial Arbor. After removing the seals on the Arbor, the group confronted Lord Ravager Phantylia. Dan Heng and Jing Yuan managed to defeat her vessel by coordinating their attacks, with the powers of Dan Heng's Cloudhymn Roar and Jing Yuan's Lightning Lord, though Jing Yuan was injured in the battle and had to spend time away from his duties to recuperate. During his leave of absence, he appointed Master Diviner Fu Xuan to temporarily take on his responsibilities.
===Post-Crisis===
Due to Dan Heng's part in resolving the Stellaron crisis, Jing Yuan revoked his banishment decree, allowing him to come and go freely on the Luofu. Dan Heng later met with the Luofu's current High Elder, Bailu, and together they repaired the seal on the Ambrosial Arbor.
Some time later, Jingliu arrived on the Luofu and turned herself in to the Cloud Knights for arrest, but requested one day of freedom before her trial. She sent an anonymous letter to Dan Heng, who went to the Seat of Divine Foresight with the intention of asking Jing Yuan about it, but instead encountered Jingliu. The two of them, accompanied by Yanqing, who was ordered to keep an eye on them, first visited Stargazer Navalia. Jingliu revealed that the reason she wanted to come to this area was to pay tribute to Baiheng with a soul-soothing ceremony.
After manufacturing a starskiff and sending it off to the stars with Baiheng's flagon, the trio passed through the Artisanship and Alchemy Commissions. They then met with Jing Yuan and Blade at Scalegorge Waterscape, where the general was interrogating Luocha's involvement in the Stellaron crisis. Yanqing escorted Luocha away, leaving the High-Cloud Quintet members alone.
According to Jingliu, the members of the Quintet all made a promise to each other 700 years ago — that no matter what happened, the five of them would always gather at Scalegorge Waterscape and share a drink. Jingliu reflected on the group's unhappy fate, reiterating that "Of five people, three must pay the price," and musing in what specific ways each person will pay their price: Dan Heng will forever bear the shadow and sins of his past self, Blade will experience only murder and his own death for the rest of his life, and Jingliu will face the punishment of the Xianzhou Alliance before "paying an even worse price." She then bid the High-Cloud Quintet a final farewell.
Before she left, Jingliu fulfilled Blade's promise of one last attempt to end his life. They dueled, with Jingliu emerging victorious once again, and everyone went their separate ways.
==Weapons==
Four members of the Quintet used weapons forged by Yingxing, which were his most famous creations:
*Jingliu used the Shard Sword, now used by Blade.
*Jing Yuan uses Starfall Reverie, a devastator glaive.
*Dan Feng used Cloud-Piercer, a spear, now used by Dan Heng.
*Baiheng used an unnamed recurve bow.
Shard Sword (Object).png|Shard Sword
Starfall Reverie.png|Starfall Reverie
Cloud-Piercer.png|Cloud-Piercer
==Faction Mentions==
==Trivia==
*Blade's catchphrase, "Of five people, three must pay the price," appears to reference the High-Cloud Quintet's respective involvements in the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae. Blade excludes Jing Yuan from the three, but also says he was most aware of the "price."
**Jingliu later confirms the three people to be Imbibitor Lunae, Yingxing, and herself: Imbibitor Lunae for using the Transmutation Arcanum as a means of resurrection, Yingxing for using the flesh of the Abundance Emanator to assist him, and Jingliu for succumbing to her mara and slaughtering her own people.
==Notes==
==Other Languages==
==Change History==
==References==
==Navigation==
pl:Podniebny Kwintet