Chapter 146: Sect in Crisis

The yin-yang arts that Mu Wanxuan practiced were from the Yin-Yang Secret Scroll that the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect had been desperately seeking.

Who would believe such a thing if it were said aloud?

If this matter were exposed, then the righteous sects would probably hold Qing Yanzi accountable for teaching a corrupt Daoist cultivation technique to his disciple, and the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect would likely stop at nothing to seize the Yin-Yang Secret Scroll and kill Mu Wanxuan.

The Yin-Yang Secret Scroll was not just a scroll that contained profound cultivation techniques. To the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect, it was a shame of a thousand years past—a symbol of dignity that they had to reclaim.

Wang Sheng was truly starting to feel anxious. What he didn't know was whether the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect had already set their sights on his senior sister.

That night, although more than seven thousand cultivators were on Mount Sanqing, the place had become rather quiet.

In the bedroom of the small Daoist temple, Qing Yanzi and his disciples gathered once more. The atmosphere was heavy. Mu Wanxuan sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, a hint of confusion lingering in her eyes, while her master and junior brother paced around her nonstop, making her feel dizzy. Both seemed to be deep in thought, working through some complex issue.

Mu Wanxuan wanted to help think things through, but her master and junior brother kept speaking in riddles; they used cryptic words and jargon, never fully expressing the core of the problem.

She had always felt she was... quite clever, though...

"

Mm!

"

"Master," Wang Sheng called, "has senior sister fully learned this cultivation technique?"

Qing Yanzi nodded. "More or less. Aside from her foundation being the Pure Yang Immortal Mantra, which was passed down by our forefathers, she has mastered about ninety percent of the yin-yang arts in that little booklet. That's why Little Xuan's true essence can shift freely between Pure Yang and Yin-Yang attributes."

Her true essence could change attributes? Wang Sheng was surprised. He continued pacing back and forth with his master.

Mu Wanxuan silently raised her phone, displaying a meme with a dizzy emoji, but neither Wang Sheng nor Qing Yanzi had time to look. Both were engrossed in figuring out how to resolve the predicament.

If the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect decided to target Mu Wanxuan, how should they respond? The Yin-Yang Grand Formation, derived from the Yin-Yang Secret Scroll, was a two-person formation that Mu Wanxuan had studied and improved. If it were being practiced within the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect as well, the truth could easily come to light. After all, cultivation techniques were not only recorded in texts but could also be passed down orally.

Back then, the elder from the Zhongnan Mountains had handed Qing Yanzi the Yin-Yang Secret Scroll because it contained methods to harmonize yin and yang. It also stated ways to remedy congenital flaws in one's cultivation. The elder likely never expected it to have such a notorious origin and involve so many entanglements.

Qing Yanzi had Mu Wanxuan start cultivating from the age of seven and taught her the arts of the Eight Trigrams. She had always followed the path of Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams.

"Master, how about we have Senior Sister conceal the technique for now?"

Qing Yanzi clasped his hands behind his back and sighed. "Your senior sister has already made many trips down the mountains over the past two years and has likely revealed her cultivation technique more than once. Those people may have already taken notice.

"I have also thoroughly comprehended this cultivation technique. I had originally planned for your senior sister to abandon the Pure Yang Immortal Mantra and fully transition into the path of yin and yang. That way, once she reached the Golden Core Realm, she would make extraordinary achievements. Now, we must proceed more cautiously.

Tsk.

"

After a brief pause, Wang Sheng countered, "Though this is a dangerous situation, we can't just put a stop to my senior sister's cultivation. Why not make her go into seclusion for a few years in the mountains? So what if she's practiced their cultivation technique? Once we've wiped them out, I doubt they'd be able to crawl out of the dirt and give us trouble."

His final remark made Mu Wanxuan tremble slightly. Meanwhile, Qing Yanzi and Wang Sheng exchanged a glance. They seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

"I'll call Ah-Ling and ask about the size of the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect first," Qing Yanzi said.

The Yin-Yang Sect had to be eradicated anyway. Once they were gone, what did it matter if Mu Wanxuan had trained in the technique that they had searched so hard for?

Wang Sheng's suggestion carried some validity. In his previous life, the so-called Yin-Yang Cult had caused significant disturbance, with related rumors circulating online for five or six years. In other words, the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect would inevitably be destroyed, and it would happen within the next five or six years.

As of now, the reason they felt the sect was troublesome was largely because it remained hidden in the shadows. Once they revealed themselves and made a move, it would mark the beginning of their downfall. Even if they struggled for another six years, Mu Wanxuan would be free to walk the world as she pleased after that.

Soon, Qing Yanzi finished the call. His expression grew even more solemn.

According to Wan Linqian's confession and the intelligence previously gathered by the Special Investigation Unit, the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect had already recruited nearly half of the corrupt Daoist experts in the cultivation world.

Thanks to their long concealment, their strength had grown explosively over the past two years. Within that period, five of their cultivators had even broken through to the Golden Core Realm.

Three of those Golden Core Realm cultivators had been identified as Elder Azure Dragon, Elder Black Tortoise, and their yin sect master. Their names were used as promotional material to boost their cohesion, which was widely publicized internally by the Five Elements.

Two others were also rumored to have already broken through to the Golden Core Realm. There had been no official announcement to confirm it, but the Special Investigation Unit decided it was better to believe it than not. Hence, for now, they considered the Yin-Yang Sect to have five Golden Core Realm cultivators.

The number of Illusory Core Realm experts within the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect was also quite alarming, estimated to be around fifty to sixty. Based on the sheer number of their Illusory Core and Golden Core Realm experts alone, the powerful corrupt Daoist force had already caught up to the combined strength of the three talisman sects.

Where did all their Illusory Core experts come from? Wang Sheng wondered.

Soon, he learned that in recent years, quite a few infamous corrupt cultivators whom official pursuits had driven into a corner had suddenly vanished without a trace. The Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect had rescued most of them and brought them under its control. Moreover, ever since the resurgence of primal qi, the cultivation of those like Wan Linqian, who began cultivating within the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect, had always been faster and no weaker than the second-generation disciples of the righteous sects.

After all, though their sect lacked a core Daoist heritage, it was never short on cultivation methods. Moreover, it relied on its influence in the Eastern Lands to brazenly use techniques like soul refinement and qi absorption to increase the cultivation speed of its disciples, aggressively nurturing corrupt Daoist experts.

They even had an advanced training class in the East specifically for their qi absorption technique. Every time a Primal Immortal like Wan Linqian went on one of the overseas missions, their cultivation would leap forward by a significant margin.

This corrupt force, which spanned both the Hua Republic and the ancient Eastern Lands, had truly grown to the point where it could threaten the stability of the Hua Republic itself.

On the other hand, in the entire Special Warfare Unit, there were already several hundred cultivators at the early stage of the Illusory Core Realm who had been built up through alchemical pills and various other methods. However, they all had the duty of guarding the nation's borders, which had only grown more chaotic in the past two years.

At most, in another ten years, the Special Warfare Unit would become a national force capable of standing against the cultivation world as a whole—one that could offer mutual aid and restraint. For now, however, it should not be mobilized unless absolutely necessary.

"Your mistress believes that this grand conference is the perfect opportunity to rally the righteous cultivators to eliminate the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect. At present, all the righteous Daoist heritages combined have just over twenty Golden Core Realm cultivators.

"Aside from myself, they are all veteran Daoist elders from different Daoist heritages. Trying to visit them one by one to ask for support would be troublesome. That's why right now, what we need is a catalyst—something that would stir up the collective fury of all the sects and push them to unite against the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect."

Qing Yanzi fell into a moment of silence, as if something had just occurred to him.

Wang Sheng quickly asked, "Master, what is it?"

"I was thinking of using the Yin-Yang Secret Scroll to stir things up, but if we do that, the enemy will definitely focus their attention on Little Xuan." Qing Yanzi sighed softly, clearly worried about his eldest disciple's safety. He treated his two disciples like they were his own children; they were both dear to him.

Wang Sheng quickly understood what his master meant.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

A celestial tablet had just been rigidly erected at the venue, guarded by over a hundred righteous experts and hundreds of Special Warfare Unit soldiers. If the Yin-Yang Secret Scroll were to be linked to that celestial tablet right now, the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect, which had already taken the bait, would surely put in more effort.

The more the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect revealed its strength, the more attention and caution it would draw from the righteous sects. Once it was forced into the open, the threat it posed would drop by several degrees.

However, at the same time, they would definitely take notice of the Quiet Fairy, who had gained fame throughout the cultivation world through her practice of the Dao of Yin and Yang. Mu Wanxuan would be in extreme danger.

"Master, perhaps we should be more cautious," Wang Sheng suggested. "I'm worried those people will stop at nothing."

Qing Yanzi shook his head. "This is something best resolved swiftly and decisively. The longer we delay, the more danger Little Xuan will be in. If we're going to act, we have to uproot them completely!"

Qing Yanzi had a determined look in his eyes that Wang Sheng had never seen before. Wang Sheng could only sigh and start thinking about how he could protect his senior sister going forward.

Wang Sheng's phone vibrated.

Bzz! Bzz!

Qing Yanzi's phone also rang.

—The working class has power~!♪

The two checked their phones and saw that Mu Wanxuan had added them to a group chat. She had also sent a few messages.

Mu Wanxuan: Master, if the cultivation technique I practice draws the attention of those corrupt cultivators, please allow me to face them myself.

Mu Wanxuan: My junior brother is still young, and you've only been back with the mistress and my junior sister for less than two years. I, on the other hand, have nothing holding me back.

Mu Wanxuan: I also understand what it means to eliminate corruption and defend the Dao!

Qing Yanzi smiled and narrowed his eyes. He sat back down and took a sip of his now-cold tea. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious. Your master can handle it."

Just then, a large hand that wielded a sword pressed down on Mu Wanxuan's shoulder. A phone screen was then held up in front of her face.

"Senior Sister, care to explain what you mean by this message? Tell me, exactly which part of me is young?"

Woah. That was killing intent!