Chapter 281: Breaking Out and Emerging into the Mortal World!

The past half year felt more agonizing than the previous twelve years combined.

Wang Sheng's Dao Heart never found peace. Every day was spent practicing the sword, refining the sword, and bathing in heavenly tribulation. He frequently had impulses, including numerous false signs of advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Fortunately, he had always been patient and was well aware of his own condition. Though he grew increasingly restless, he never became smug or complacent. He repeatedly resisted the urge to break through.

Wang Sheng found his situation similar to when he had used the Sword-Pressing Stone to suppress himself, allowing him to steadily cultivate until he had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment Stage before breaking through. Unlike back then, though, he was now striving to reach perfection at the Heavenly Abode Realm.

The method he was using now only seemed to condense his enchanted power and strengthen his Primordial Soul, which offered no dramatic increase in overall strength. Nevertheless, he could never go wrong with building a solid foundation. In pursuing the Dao, he had to think long-term since he planned to achieve immortality with his senior sister. Even then, he could still end up being "carried."

In the final half month before they could break out, Yaoyun never appeared. Wang Sheng spent the remaining days making over thirty summaries about the gains that he had made over the past thirteen years and revising his plans over four or five hundred times.

He had already reached the peak of the Heavenly Abode Realm. Moreover, his Primordial Soul was now wrapped in a layer of cyan-blue heavenly tribulation soul shroud, a protective measure that he had created while Yaoyun was not around to guide him. It kept all corruption at bay and made him immune to illusions.

When he had nearly completed his soul shroud, Yaoyun noticed his "little trick" and reassessed his comprehension. From above average, her judgment changed to "not bad." She also pointed out that his seemingly minor technique was, in truth, rare in the star domain's cultivation world, and it could be considered a force powerful enough to be recorded in Daoist Canons.

Wang Sheng had merely created it in a flash of inspiration, though. To him, it was just a way to make the power-deficient Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent useful; it was nothing more than a small technique or basic trick that wasn't even worthy of being mentioned.

Three years ago, Wang Sheng's perfected Heavenly Ziwei Sword Intent also began to transform. It seemed to evolve along with his soul, further boosting his Heavenly Ziwei Sword Art's power. However, his massive cultivation progress had already tremendously strengthened his sword arts, making the improvement a little insignificant.

Wang Sheng had also fully grasped the Realm of Sword Momentum. With the Sword-Controlling Art as his guide, he had taken a firm step toward the Realm of Sword Control. Now, he was close to being able to unleash the Ten Thousand Swords Convergence.

Even Wang Sheng himself couldn't quite make sense of his Dao Body after all the tempering that it had endured from the power of heavenly tribulations. He genuinely didn't know how to assess it anymore. He figured being strong was enough.

After summarizing all his progress, he concluded that all his improvements were well within his expectations. None of them seemed unreasonable.

Meanwhile, among the four to five hundred revisions that he had made, most of them were about what he should do during the first minute of his reunion with his senior sister.

A passionate embrace? Locking eyes and exchanging vows of eternal love? Perhaps, just like before, we'll just look at each other and that'll be enough to make our hearts happy and at ease.

He imagined it countless times, replayed it over and over, and gradually began to confront his feelings for his senior sister.

Wang Sheng did love her. There was no doubt about it. Moreover, he had to admit that his feelings for her did not stem from physical desire after her figure had fully matured. It was a simple affection that had grown over time. As they spent more time together, he found himself wanting to protect her, shield her from harm, and stay by her side. It didn't even matter if all they were doing was cultivating quietly together.

He had already accepted that he had feelings for her long ago. Otherwise, when he "schemed" against Mu Wanxuan and leaped into the Earth Qi Seal himself, he would have hesitated at least a little. Instead, he didn't hesitate at all. Refusing to let his senior sister die, he sacrificed himself.

That reminds me, back then, Senior Sister took the initiative to kiss me, an innocent young man. Surely she has to take responsibility for that now.

Wang Sheng smiled, making him squint. He savored the memory of her soft lips brushing his cheek. Though more than a decade had passed, he could still vividly feel it.

I'm done waiting. As soon as I get out of here, I'll confess my feelings to her and ask her to be my wife! Worse comes to worse, I'll propose that we commit ourselves to each other right in the Small Nether Realm.

Wang Sheng grew excited as he imagined vivid scenes. His senior sister's clear, serene eyes then appeared in his thoughts, making him calm himself immediately.

Self-doubt followed right after.

She still seems completely unfamiliar with matters between men and women. What if, on our wedding night, we just played Go

[1]

under the covers and binge-watch anime all night long? How wonderful that would be!

Wang Sheng gently slapped himself twice.

What nonsense am I thinking?

Desire between men and women was part of the natural Dao. They were all adults now, too, which meant there was nothing shameful about mentioning it anymore. Still, every time he had such thoughts in front of her, he always felt a bit disgraceful. His senior sister just had an ethereal elegance that made it hard to have indecent thoughts about her.

Daoist partners stayed and cultivated together, and pursuing the Dao was already a joyful endeavor. Hence, it would be ideal if their relationship followed the natural course of things. Guiding her with his own selfish intentions would feel off and wrong.

What was meant to happen would surely happen anyway.

If we have a child, what should we name them? Wait, isn't it difficult for cultivators to have offspring?

"

Prepare to break the seal in half an hour.

"

Just as his imagination had begun to run wild, Wang Sheng jolted. He immediately dismissed his idle thoughts, took a deep breath, and stood up from his corner. Enchanted power surged through him.

His qi sea began to transform, its dark-golden color turning violet-gold as waves of qi surged within. His sword-shaped Golden Core shone dazzlingly.

Within his Heavenly Abode, his Primordial Soul opened its eyes. Arcs of lightning then surrounded him, and three faint sword phantasms floated behind him. Woven from starlight, the longsword in the middle radiated a deep and mysterious brilliance. He interlocked his fingers, stretched his knuckles, and took a soft breath.

Wang Sheng was now completely ready.

The crystalline ground under him trembled as it emitted swirling multicolored streams of light.

More than ten tremors had occurred in the past half hour. Hence, Lady Meng was already waiting outside.

For three consecutive months, primal qi had been leaking from the Earth Qi Seal at an uncontrollable rate. Spiritless, which was at the core of the sealing array, kept trembling. It had even been nearly ejected from its position several times.

Yaoyun still hadn't appeared; she was likely focused on suppressing the Earth Qi Immortal Spring while gradually drawing Spiritless away.

I'll finally see the light of day again.

The process was simple. Wang Sheng had calculated it many times before. However, perhaps because he was so focused, the next thirty minutes felt like the longest period in his life. He couldn't help but feel as though he had to wait for an entire hour.

Images flooded his mind. Excitement and impatience surged, but he forced them all down. Balance was essential. Even cultivation required rest.

After leaving, he would take a proper break. No meditation, no sword training. Just lazing around, letting his mind and body relax after thirteen years of tension.

Here it comes!

"Ready... Now!"

Wang Sheng's eyes widened.

Is she telling me to get ready now or to strike immediately?

Spiritless suddenly emitted immortal light. In response, he dashed forward using the Seven-Star Footwork. In two steps, he shot forth like an arrow fired from a bow.

Hum!

Spiritless's blade trembled violently, and dense runes erupted from the crystalline ground. It was as if a beast that had been suppressed underground was now about to burst free.

Finally, Spiritless flew from the ground!

As if rehearsed countless times, Wang Sheng caught the hilt with one hand, stepped forward, and charged toward the multicolored crystal wall at lightning speed. The moment he had gripped the hilt, he had felt a hidden force awaken within him. His Primordial Soul and Golden Core shook as his enchanted power raged on.

Milky Way Slash!

He thrust Spiritless forward, making immortal light trail it like colored ribbons. Yaoyun's phantasm appeared behind him, one hand gripping his wrist and the other pressing on his shoulder.

The sword technique grew even stronger, instantly shattering the celestial crystal in front of him. As Wang Sheng charged through, the successive layers of multicolored crystals behind the celestial crystal also crumbled one after another.

Behind him, the formation disc that he had stood on for nearly thirteen years cracked. Without a core, they lasted only two seconds before completely collapsing.

A primal qi tide surged up again, flooding the space. One wave followed the path that Wang Sheng had opened and chased after him.

Outside the Earth Qi Seal, Lady Meng hovered in the sky, frowning as she watched the trembling Realm of Exiled Immortals below. Soon, she sensed two auras.

Three seconds later, chunks of celestial crystal below began to tremble and shatter. The jade statue that had been created from Yaoyun's corpse flew upward. After thirteen years, a multicolored pillar of light had once again shot to the sky, but it was far weaker than before.

Lady Meng had no time to rescue anyone. Her grey-white hair danced as she raised her dragon-headed cane and struck downward, resisting the light and shielding Hell, which was above her.

Dense streams of extraordinarily pure primal qi exploded in all directions below. Amid the commotion, Lady Meng noticed a man flying out of the shattered crystals. A wave of primal qi chased him.

Lady Meng momentarily hesitated. Just before she could step in and help, a sword shot out of a nearby celestial crystal shard and soared through the air toward the figure. It stopped squarely under his feet and carried him into the sky.

Flying Haze had been waiting for so long!

1. A Chinese strategic board game. ☜