Chapter 130: Alone in the Small Courtyard

In the small courtyard of Wang Sheng's sect, Wudang Mountains.

Wang Sheng did not alert anyone when he returned. Although he encountered a few young disciples along the way, he kept his head down and hurried past them without exchanging greetings since he did not recognize them.

In front of the courtyard gate, weeds and fallen leaves had piled up everywhere. After all, it had been more than a year since anyone had lived there. Lacking regular upkeep, the place now appeared somewhat desolate.

Wang Sheng pushed open the gate and brought his suitcases inside. The two piles of belongings that he had brought were now considered priceless treasures, yet he simply placed them in the inner room without much concern.

In cultivating the Dao, one had to first cultivate their heart. If the surroundings were too messy, it would naturally affect one's state of mind.

Wang Sheng rolled up his sleeves and began to busy himself: sweeping the courtyard, fetching water, washing clothes, drying books under the sun, weeding, repairing electrical wiring...

He tended to their home for most of the day. When the sun started setting, he sat in his master's exclusive rattan chair, reclining comfortably at the entrance of the small courtyard. Soon, he watched the stars shoot across the sky and listened quietly to the whispers carried by the wind.

Mu Wanxuan seemed very busy; by the time she responded to Wang Sheng's message about his return from seclusion, it was already past 9:00 PM. When she finally did, though, she sent a bombardment of memes.

Clearly, his senior sister was quite displeased that Wang Sheng had been out of contact for over a year. He spent a long time apologizing before she finally calmed down and began venting about their master.

Qing Yanzi was now an official celebrity. Over the past year, he had only taken action once, during which he single-handedly suppressed several hundred rampaging corrupt cultivators.

For the most part, Qing Yanzi spent his days leisurely cultivating, visiting the Special Warfare Unit from time to time, and sleeping with his wife. He was truly at the peak of his life.

Mu Wanxuan, however, had a much harder and more exhausting life.

Qing Yanzi deliberately encouraged her to have more contact with others and gain a better understanding of society, hoping that it would add some complexity to her character and at least make her aware of the treachery within people's hearts.

With Mu Wanxuan's consent, he even arranged for the Special Investigation Unit to assign her specific cases to participate in. Lately, she had been needing to travel at least three times a month.

Mou Yue and Bulldozer were now Mu Wanxuan's exclusive assistants. Mu Wanxuan's popularity within the Special Investigation Unit had skyrocketed, and within the cultivation world, the name "Quiet Fairy Bu Yu" was rapidly spreading.

Although the frequent missions impacted Mu Wanxuan's time for cultivation, her Daoist realm continued to grow steadily and had already surpassed the limits of her cultivation base.

Moreover, each mission she completed, she received substantial rewards—alchemy pills, Qi-Nurturing Stones, and a decent salary. Thanks to all the benefits, her cultivation speed had not slowed at all. On the contrary, based on her messages, Wang Sheng concluded that her breakthrough to the Illusory Core Realm would likely happen within the next six months.

Most cultivators chose to isolate themselves from the mundane world, seeking to comprehend the Great Dao in the tranquility of the mountains. Mu Wanxuan, however, seemed to have taken the opposite path: the more she witnessed the worldly affairs of mortals, the thicker her Dao Heart grew, yet it remained just as clear and pure as before.

Perhaps this was the cultivation speed befitting a top-ranker in the Heavenly Rankings.

They chatted until the early hours of the morning. Despite being apart for more than a year, there was no sense of unfamiliarity between them. Most of the time, though, Wang Sheng just read his senior sister's rambling about various trivial matters, such as corrupt cultivators harming people, the miserable plight of victims, and how certain Special Investigation Unit members confessed their feelings and fell into unbelievable romances.

When his senior sister reluctantly texted that she had to meditate and cultivate, Wang Sheng also got up, leaped onto the eaves of the main house, and sat on a familiar wooden plank. From his Crane-Spirit Treasure Pouch, he retrieved the lump of black ball.

The method for refining a sword core flowed through his mind. He quietly activated his Pure Yang True Essence and took his time to comprehend the process.

Forming a sword finger with his right hand, he injected streams of true essence into the black ball. It instantly radiated multicolored light and unleashed gentle ripples of energy.

This light and ripple...

"Five-Colored Gold Essence? A celestial-grade flying sword?"

Wang Sheng could not help but frown in amazement as his Dao heart slightly stirred.

The primary material of the flying sword was apparently the Five-Colored Gold Essence, which was among the top ten recorded materials for sword crafting in the Sword-Nurturing Technique!

It is five-colored, and it contains the sharpness of refined metal, embodying the spirit of the West. When touched, it feels like liquid gold and can be forged into an immortal-grade flying sword.

Wang Sheng poked the glowing sword core lightly. It truly felt like touching a water balloon, yet it inexplicably gave him a sharp, lethal sensation.

The formation spirit had treated him quite generously.

Wang Sheng breathed out slowly and calmed his mind. Following the refining technique recorded in the Sword-Controlling Art, he pressed a finger to the center of his chest. He extracted three drops of sharp heart blood and slowly fed them to the sword core.

Afterward, he wrapped his spiritual consciousness around the sword core and slowly familiarized himself with its temperament. He poured his intent into it through the Sword-Controlling Art.

This process was extremely slow. By the time the eastern sky began to brighten, Wang Sheng finally stopped. The sword core in front of him had transformed into a three-foot-long sword embryo, floating steadily above his palm.

Next, he would have to carry the sword embryo close to him for forty-nine days, constantly nurturing it with his aura and spiritual consciousness. By the fiftieth day, he would be able to shape it into the blade form he desired, thus completing the recognition process for the flying sword. Afterward, he would need to select a major acupuncture point in his body to house it.

Since the primary material of the sword was Five-Colored Gold Essence, a metal aligned with the West and corresponding to the lungs, Wang Sheng decisively chose to nurture the flying sword within the meridian to the left of his chest's

Shanzhong

acupoint[1].

Being able to nurture a flying sword within the body was considered one of the ultimate techniques of the Sword-Controlling Art. This was made possible because the sword core could merge with the sword master's flesh and blood.

This personal flying sword's potential was immense. Although Wang Sheng's current cultivation was limited and he could not unleash its full power yet, it was destined to be a formidable weapon. An immortal-grade sword would likely serve him all the way to ascension, never once needing to be replaced.

After stretching lazily for a bit, Wang Sheng laid the sword embryo flat before him, turned his palm upward, and began to absorb the scorching primal qi of the just-risen sun.

The Heavenly Ziwei Sword and the immortal-grade flying sword were both powerful and rare, but they were merely means of defense. The Pure Yang Immortal Mantra must never be neglected. After all, it was his true foundation and the real reliance for achieving immortality and seeking the Dao in the future.

***

When Wang Sheng returned to the mountain, he had been so discreet that even after cultivating in the small courtyard for nearly a month, he still had not attracted any attention. If it were not for two members of the Special Investigation Unit passing by the Wudang Mountains and deliberately delivering a package to him, thereby alarming some sect members, news of his return for seclusion would not have spread.

The two members personally handed the package to Wang Sheng, then hurried off to continue their mission. The Special Investigation Unit had matured a great deal compared to the year before, and its size had expanded two or three times. Although the majority were still young people, there were now many "veterans" holding the fort.

It had also clearly defined its focus and begun to prioritize investigating crimes committed by groups of cultivators. Blocking the spread of cultivation techniques online and investigating rumors about online cultivators were now handled by specialized departments.

Wang Sheng opened the package and could not help but laugh helplessly. He had finally received the gift that his senior sister had prepared for him a few days earlier: a plush toy of the Thunder God Dog.

Beneath the plush toy was a square box, inside which sixteen bottles of pills were neatly arranged. There was also a sheet of paper listing the types and effects of the pills. With this and the gifts that he had received from the Shu Sword Sect, Wang Sheng now had enough pills to chew on like candy.

"Junior Brother, when did you return?" someone shouted from outside the courtyard.

Zhou Yinglong, clad in snow-white robes, dashed into the courtyard in a few quick strides and burst into hearty laughter when he saw Wang Sheng.

"I heard you went to the Shu Sword Sect to study sword-controlling techniques. Did you manage to learn any?"

Wang Sheng smiled calmly. He lightly traced a sword finger in front of him, and a longsword lying in the corner immediately soared into the air, shimmering with a brilliant light. It then landed steadily in another corner.

Zhou Yinglong's face filled with admiration. Rubbing his hands together, he moved closer to Wang Sheng. "Can you teach me?"

"Nope." Wang Sheng shrugged, making Zhou Yinglong tilt his head back and sigh dramatically.

From outside the courtyard came light laughter like wind chimes. Hao Ling approached gracefully.

"The Sword-Controlling Art was taught to Junior Brother Wang because he did the Shu Sword Sect a great favor. How could it be easily passed on to others?" she explained with a smile. "Junior Brother Wang, why did you not tell us you were coming back? We could have welcomed you properly."

Smiling, Wang Sheng extended a Daoist salute toward Hao Ling. "My master punished me and sent me back here to reflect, Senior Sister. I was afraid that making a big scene would get me into more trouble."

"Your battle against the corrupt cultivators at the Yellow Sea has already spread throughout the entire cultivation world. How could Martial Uncle Qing Yanzi punish you with seclusion?" Zhou Yinglong questioned. "Martial Uncle Qing Yanzi clearly just wanted you to return to the mountain and cultivate in peace."

"That is true," Wang Sheng said seriously. "Master traded himself to get me to come back here."

Zhou Yinglong and Hao Ling exchanged a glance and immediately burst into laughter. Naturally, they already knew about Qing Yanzi and Chi Ling.

The three sat together in the small courtyard for a while. Wang Sheng took out two bottles of pills that he had received from the Shu Sword Sect and stuffed them into Zhou Yinglong and Hao Ling's hands.

Zhou Yinglong had already reached the late stage of the Spirit Convergence Realm. Meanwhile, Hao Ling had come across a bountiful encounter, and her cultivation had soared. She was already at the early stage of the Seed Formation Realm. The two were highly valued among the younger disciples of Wudang and received a monthly allocation of pills, though they initially refused to accept them.

"I am quite well-off at the moment. Considering I'm already preparing to form my Illusory Core, these pills for the Foundation Establishment Stage will soon be useless to me. It would be a waste to keep them."

He was being honest. Once one reached the later stages of the Seed Formation Realm, pills meant for the Foundation Establishment Stage would lose much of their effectiveness.

Zhou Yinglong was stunned. "How did you improve your cultivation level so quickly?"

"During the Shu Sword Sect's trial, an elder saw my extraordinary potential and infused me with several hundred years' worth of cultivation," Wang Sheng replied solemnly.

"Yeah, right! Like I would believe that!" Zhou Yinglong snorted but still accepted the porcelain bottle that Wang Sheng handed him. Hao Ling also finally accepted hers.

Naturally, the benefits didn't come without a price. As the two were about to leave, Wang Sheng asked them to help turn away any elders and disciples who might come to visit, telling them simply to say that he was entering seclusion for focused cultivation. As a result, he remained in the small courtyard undisturbed for more than a year.

Around the time he steadily reached the late stage of the Seed Formation Realm, a call from his master slightly disrupted his otherwise undivided focus. According to him, five Daoist sects' Dao Canons had been stolen in the past three days, and they still hadn't identified the culprit.

The news immediately reminded Wang Sheng of the book that he had nearly memorized by now: the Three Scrolls of the Medicine God.

1. A traditional acupuncture point located on the chest, at the center of the sternum, often considered an important point for regulating qi related to the heart and lungs ☜