Chapter 132: The Great Fire at Wudang, the Theft of a Cultivation Technique

Wang Sheng felt rather frustrated. In his previous life, he had only been a fringe figure in the cultivation world. When the first Grand Tournament of the Immortal Dao had been secretly held, he had still been immersed in the satisfaction of cultivating online and had not qualified to participate.

In this life, although his fortune had turned and his cultivation could be considered among the top tier of the righteous and evil sides' younger generation, he still could not sign up to take part in the grand event. After all, he was one of the organizers, and the officials had used the name of the Golden Core Realm cultivator Qing Yanzi to formally invite the major sects and various Daoist heritages. It would be inappropriate for him to join as a contestant.

As Qing Yanzi's only disciples, Mu Wanxuan and Wang Sheng held important positions. Mu Wanxuan served as the logistics director, responsible for planning the venues and arranging the accommodations and meals for the delegations from each mountain. However, these matters were mostly handled by a special team from the Special Investigation Unit. Mu Wanxuan was merely holding the title.

Clearly, the Special Investigation Unit had already gained a comprehensive understanding of the Quiet Fairy's true capabilities.

While Mu Wanxuan held an entirely idle position, Wang Sheng had to handle real responsibilities. He was the captain of the Referee Committee for the Immortal Dao Conference. Mou Yue, Bulldozer, and more than a dozen members of the Special Investigation Unit were all under his command.

The mistress had also issued an order that before midnight, he had to finalize a complete list of the Referee Committee members. The high-resolution photos of stone tablets that had been sent to Wang Sheng's phone were considered his reward for the task.

After the meeting, Mou Yue immediately initiated a video call. She smiled gently.

—This is great, Daoist Master Wang! We get to work together again! I heard you've learned the Sword-Controlling Art. There should be no problem this time, so please don't feel any pressure. We will all do our best to assist you!

Wang Sheng forced a stiff smile, still feeling somewhat sentimental.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

In the upcoming week, while other young cultivators would be competing fiercely in the arena, striving for fame and glory, he would be standing on the sidelines, judging their matches and stepping in to stop them when tempers flared. It could not be helped. After all, his master's wife had deep connections.

Fishing out the Yin-Yang Cult was only a secondary objective of the first Immortal Dao Conference—something the officials intended to accomplish along the way. Its true purpose was to strengthen the government's control over the cultivation world and enhance the righteous cultivators' recognition of the Hua Republic authorities.

"This conference holds profound significance for promoting the grand unity of the cultivation world, building a cultivation order with Hua Republic characteristics, and creating a harmonious cultivation environment..."

Reading through the information on his phone, Wang Sheng yawned while lying back on a rattan chair. Soon, Mou Yue sent over a form, which was the preliminary draft of the proposed list of referees.

The inaugural Immortal Dao Conference adopted a system where Daoist heritages would recommend participants, but they had to be cultivators under the age of thirty-five.

Given that the top prize involved the comprehension of the Celestial Moon-Remnant Tablet—an extremely valuable opportunity—it was expected that each Daoist heritage would swallow their pride and select one or two top-notch second-generation sect members to form a team with their outstanding disciples.

If only third-generation disciples participated, whose cultivation realms hovered around the early to late stages of the Spirit Convergence Realm or early Seed Formation Realm, the competition would lack excitement. By allowing some second-generation sect members with higher cultivation to participate, the competition would become much more thrilling, and the clashes of Daoist arts would certainly be far more intense.

There would surely be fierce battles, and the contests of Daoist arts would be dazzling to watch. However, none of it had much to do with Wang Sheng.

The referees had to be Daoist masters who were over forty years old, and Wang Sheng had to choose at least one from each Daoist heritage. The higher the cultivation level, the better.

The tournament format required a total of eighteen referees. For the sake of fairness, they had to ensure representation from as many Great Dao heritages as possible, which was a rather painstaking task. The referees not only had to possess deep cultivation that could command respect, but they also had to have a good temper and be willing to shoulder the responsibility.

The first person that Wang Sheng selected was Fei Lianzi of the Shu Sword Sect. Afterward, he began tapping rapidly on his phone screen, circling eighteen familiar righteous Daoist masters like Tian Zheng of the Longhu Mountains and Gao Shixing of the Wudang Mountains.

After sending the list back to Mou Yue, she and the others immediately began contacting the Daoist masters that Wang Sheng had chosen. If any of the selected people were in secluded cultivation or unwilling to serve as judges, Wang Sheng would have to discuss suitable alternative candidates with his team.

The task kept him busy for an entire afternoon. It was already past 8:00 PM when they finalized the list of eighteen referees, all of whom were Daoist masters at the Illusory Core Realm. Wang Sheng, who had not even completed the Foundation Establishment Stage yet, felt a slight sense of pressure as their captain.

The event would be held a week later at Mount Sanqing. As one of the major Daoist sacred grounds, and bearing the name "Three Pure Ones," Mount Sanqing was the perfect venue for hosting the very first Immortal Dao Conference.

To avoid backlash from the cultivation world, the Special Warfare Unit would not publicly station troops around the mountain. Instead, they would secretly deploy enough personnel in the surrounding area to respond to any emergencies.

The large number of righteous sect experts gathering there would already constitute a formidable force anyway. Adding three or four hundred plainclothes Special Warfare Unit members to maintain order at various locations would be more than enough as their security measures.

After Mou Yue and the others clocked out and went to rest, Wang Sheng stretched and yawned. Unlike their tedious administrative work, cultivation truly relaxed his body and mind. Moreover, it filled him with joy.

"Right, the stone tablet."

Wang Sheng picked up his now-warm phone, found the photos of the tablets, and stared at them intently.

The Hua Republic had brought back not only the female corpse from the moon but also the six black stone tablets beside her. They were covered in tadpole-like characters that resemble some kind of symbols, yet they emanated a certain Dao Rhythm.

Wang Sheng stared at the photos for a while and unconsciously began to feel dizzy and muddleheaded. His spiritual consciousness grew somewhat chaotic.

A wave of astonishment rose in his heart.

He was only looking at photos of the stone tablets, yet he was already feeling dizzy? If he were standing directly in front of the stone tablets, would he faint on the spot?

What is going on...

Was it because his cultivation was lacking, or was there something inherently wrong with the characters?

Wang Sheng had also received several papers discussing the stone tablets. He forced himself to patiently read through them word by word. Afterward, he caught himself sighing in admiration. He had no idea how the researchers had managed to stretch the words "no findings whatsoever" into an entire thesis!

What was actually recorded on the stone tablets had yet to be deciphered. However, to lure the Yin-Yang Cult into action, the authorities had released information claiming that the stone tablets contained Supreme Immortal Sutras, and cultivating using them could lead to ascension in broad daylight.

What exactly were these stone tablets?

The female corpse, the celestial tablets, the moon palace, and the moon laurel that had appeared during the First Breath of Heaven and Earth...

The sudden severance of primal qi a thousand years ago, the female corpse singing to the moon to summon back primal qi, the Rebirth Realm cultivators prematurely registering as immortals and collectively ascending, and the forefathers who had descended from the heavens like Qing Feng of the Shu Sword Sect...

Wang Sheng stared blankly at the starry sky, countless wandering thoughts rising in his mind.

Where exactly did the path of cultivation lead?

"Fire! The Daoist canon repository is on fire! Quick, help put it out!"

Mm?

Just as Wang Sheng was letting his imagination run wild, a shout from the mountains jolted him awake. He immediately leaped onto the eaves, looked up, and saw a great blaze lighting up the mountainside in the rear! Seemingly blazing out of nowhere, the fiercely raging flames had already engulfed Wudang's Daoist canon repository!

Could it be...

"Not good!"

Wang Sheng's heart jumped. He immediately stretched out his left hand, and the treasured sword resting in the corner of the courtyard flew into his grasp. As true essence surged through him, he leaped high into the air and rushed toward the sea of flames, dashing rapidly over the treetops behind the courtyard.

Almost simultaneously, auras began to emerge all across the Wudang Mountains. One Daoist master after another, all with profound cultivation, raced toward the burning repository. A figure even soared into the air from the Golden Summit, releasing a powerful pressure that blanketed the entire Wudang Mountains.

Halfway there, Wang Sheng saw more than a dozen Daoist masters charging into the flames, desperately rescuing the important texts stored within the Daoist canon repository.

Just before he could reach the pavilion, a Daoist master loudly bellowed, "One of the disciples guarding the canon repository has been injured! Three volumes of texts buried underground have been stolen! Seal the mountains and search for them!"

The texts have been stolen? Wudang's texts... Tai Chi, Dual Polarity, and Yin-Yang! Is it really the Yin-Yang Cult?

The fire had to have been started to create chaos, and the one who stole the texts was surely trying to escape amid the confusion!

Wang Sheng's mind raced. If he were the one stealing the texts, knowing that experts were all over the Wudang Mountains, what escape route would he choose at a time like this?

He'd disguise himself amid the chaos and blend in with the pursuers!

Standing on a treetop, he turned around and looked toward the Daoist canon repository. As the Daoist masters shouted commands, the dozens who had first arrived to fight the fire had already split into over a dozen groups, rushing across the Wudang Mountains in all directions to search for the thief.

The culprit was likely hidden among them!

Wang Sheng let out a long howl, but with the scene already in turmoil and the Daoist masters all shouting over each other, his cultivation was not strong enough to command the field. Almost no one heard him.

Fortunately, several figures were rushing in his direction. Leading them was a tanned and thin Daoist master—Gao Shixing.

"Fei Yu, what's wrong?!"

"Martial Uncle, help me stop the disciples! The thief is likely hiding among them!"

Gao Shixing froze for a moment, then immediately nodded. "Alright! Split up and chase them!"

The two sword cultivators instantly reached an understanding. They darted swiftly to the left and right, stunning the two Daoist masters with Gao Shixing in place.