Chapter 399: Mu Wanxuan Breaks Her Core!

The twelve lotus petals closed at the same time. The Platform of Immortal Dreams spun nine times.

Although Wang Sheng had vanished, a lone lantern appeared directly above the lotus pedestal. Its tiny flame, no larger than a thumb, trembled gently.

On a closer look, scenes flickered quickly along the lamp's wick. They showed that Wang Sheng had already entered his dream and began to temper his heart and mind.

"This..."

Standing on Spiritless, Yaoyun forced a wry smile. Knowing now how easily Wang Sheng had passed the first trial, she wondered why she had insisted earlier that he would need three tries.

The platform soon stabilized. She transformed into immortal light and returned to Spiritless. Since it didn't seem as though Wang Sheng would be waking up anytime soon, the sword flew over to Mu Wanxuan. Yaoyun would wait for her to emerge from seclusion. After all, though she and her master often bickered, she always respected his wishes.

With Mu Wanxuan and Wang Sheng now in different forms of secluded cultivation, the already peaceful Small Immortal Realm quieted down again.

Spiritless hovered among the clouds. Yaoyun surfaced beside it, staring at familiar scenes with reverie, helplessness, and a little bitterness.

Are the owners of these palaces safe? How many are still alive?

Soon after leaving the Realm of Exiled Immortals, the Heavenly Court found itself in constant combat. Yaoyun had been gravely wounded in one of the battles, putting her divine soul at death's door. Even a Grand Dao Golden Immortal could not save her.

The other immortals wanted to send her back to the Small Nether Realm to be reborn, but the moment she reached the Realm of Exiled Immortals, she scolded the heavenly soldiers assigned to guard her and sent them back to the battlefield. She dragged herself back to the Small Immortal Realm on her own.

Yaoyun didn't have to think that much about her decision; she refused to waste a single soldier on her behalf. After all, despite her special status, she was only a Heavenly Immortal.

To her surprise, the last of her spirit was awakened a thousand years later, "resurrecting" her. The rest was history.

She turned from being a princess of the Heavenly Court to the sword spirit of Spiritless. Her master's unique nature was the only thing that could have persuaded her to accept such a fate.

"I hope this isn't all for nothing," she murmured.

Spiritless descended slowly in front of the great palace where Mu Wanxuan cultivated. Its tip rested on the seam between jade bricks.

No wind stirred. Only a pleasant heavenly melody drifted through the air.

***

Four months passed in the blink of an eye. Yaoyun had spent every waking day of it recalling distant memories.

It was also a crucial period for Mu Wanxuan. By cross-verifying more than a dozen yin-yang Daoist arts and refining what she was lacking, she had taken a huge step forward in understanding the Dao of Balanced Yin and Yang.

Gaining insight after insight, her control of yin-yang qi became ever more natural and effortless. She also finally got past her bottleneck. Moreover, she had reduced the risk of breaking her Golden Core and harming her Nascent Soul by more than half!

It was still dangerous, though. For the obscure Dao of Yin and Yang, integrating one's Dao with their soul required establishing a new yin-yang balance at the very instant they broke their Golden Core. Even if they knew the method, the slightest degree of error could damage their divine soul.

Mu Wanxuan opened her eyes. Her spiritual perception sensed Spiritless waiting outside the palace. After thinking about it briefly, she concluded that her junior brother had to be cultivating in a similar state and had sent Spiritless to wait for her.

Mu Wanxuan pressed her lips together, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes again.

It's time to break through!

If her junior brother were here, he would surely worry that she would run into danger and fret needlessly. Since he wasn't around, she immediately decided to attempt advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Many protagonists in mangas relied on "aura" to overcome stronger foes. Currently, she felt hers surging. She would press on and ascend in one decisive push.

If she couldn't surprise her junior brother, then scaring him would do just as well.

***

Special Investigation Unit headquarters, Hua Republic.

Six to seventeen senior officers sat heavily with tension in a meeting room, their expressions grim. Mou Yue, who presided over the meeting, rubbed her brow nonstop.

A projection above the long table displayed a dense array of documents and screenshots of news articles with shocking headlines.

Large swarms of poisonous insects appeared on the southern border! Over six hundred civilian casualties reported!

Corrupt cultivators hiding in a rainforest descended into madness and wreaked havoc!

Corrupt cultivators poisoned a Special Warfare Unit base, the lethal toxins causing heavy casualties among its personnel! Serious concerns over the unit's vigilance raised!

An overseas corrupt cultivator organization attacks Western regions to get revenge on the Hua Republic's cultivation world!

"Who leaked these data and reports?" Mou Yue asked coldly.

With thoughtful expressions, the people in the room shook their heads.

"These incidents happened less than half an hour ago. We haven't even disclosed any of this to the media, yet these articles have already listed precise casualty figures down to the last digit. Do any of you think the Special Investigation Unit's discipline is a joke? You think you can just leak this information and not take responsibility for it since it'll be made public soon anyway?!"

Several senior officers with a rank equal to or higher than Mou Yue spoke up in turn.

A middle-aged man blew an exhale of smoke. In a deep tone, he replied, "Captain Mou, we have all been serving in this unit for years now. We're well aware of its level of discipline. I doubt any of us here would do something like that."

"We should discuss how to mobilize and coordinate with the Daoist masters in eliminating those corrupt cultivators instead, Captain."

"The enemy hit and ran. The Special Warfare Unit has already tightened its defenses in the south, but we still haven't decided if we should launch a counterattack. Panicking won't do us any good."

"This leak feels like a setup. The corrupt cultivators in the south, who have been quiet for so long, suddenly launched an offensive. Within half an hour, all the intel was spread online with extreme accuracy."

"I'm almost completely sure that someone is targeting us. Considering the heavy casualties we've suffered, we can't let them go unpunished!"

Mou Yue slammed her hand on the table. "Enough! Mind your words. This meeting is being recorded."

She calmed herself and quickly collected her bearings.

"Put the news aside for now. After this meeting, I will ask the chief to form a team to investigate the leak. Let's focus on how to reduce public panic near the southern border and come up with a plan."

"Captain Mou, should we start deleting the posts?"

"Deleting them immediately will only make it look like we are trying to cover things up; it'll only worsen public panic," Mou Yue replied, then thought for a few seconds. "Vice-Captain Wang and Vice-Captain Wen, issue an official statement and release the detailed account of this attack for now, along with all known information on the corrupt cultivators. The more detailed the better, but watch your wording.

"Remove posts that are pure rumors and take down those that are clearly stirring public opinion, too. Have the Cyber Police Department investigate and strictly punish those spreading misinformation. Deny all conspiracy theories as well."

"Yes, Captain!"

The two middle-aged men rose immediately and hurried out through the glass doors of the meeting room.

"We do not deal in conspiracy theories, but there are things I still cannot make sense of," a petite female officer muttered. "Have the corrupt cultivators hiding in the south lost their minds? Why are they suddenly causing trouble?

"It's only been a year since the Daoist masters crushed the Dark Faction. Sakura Island's cultivation world has been in constant turmoil, and the wielder of the devilish sword is at a crucial moment in uniting the four hidden villages. He certainly won't support these corrupt cultivators. They know they have no allies and are striking an immovable stone with an egg. Why would they bring disaster on themselves?"

Someone added, "They might have another purpose."

"I can't figure out what their deep motives are yet." Mou Yue leaned back in her chair, arms folded across her chest. "Have they refined some strange poison capable of countering cultivators? Perhaps they feel they no longer need to fear the Daoist sects and the Special Warfare Unit?"

An officer immediately refuted, "That seems unlikely, Captain. More importantly, the Daoist masters are not to be underestimated."

"From the information we have, most of those killed or injured in the Special Warfare Unit base were new recruits. Considering those who were already past the Foundation Establishment Stage sustained only minor wounds, the corrupt cultivators' poison isn't as extraordinary as we think."

"Even if the Dami Empire is backing these corrupt cultivators, our cultivation world is still far stronger than theirs. We've got to be missing some deeper logic."

Mou Yue slowly nodded. Softly, she asked, "So?"

"This incident is very likely only a trigger," the middle-aged man with a cigar said as he exhaled a smoke ring. "From our perspective, our unit just suffered a serious breach of discipline in the form of leaked intelligence.

"Because information was leaked and spread online, we now have to deal with widespread public panic. No matter how minor or major this matter turns out to be, we should put up our guard against anyone who would try to use it as leverage.

"We should also note that the Daoist sects' morale is high at the moment. Their experts will inevitably cross borders to hunt down the corrupt cultivators, even if we try to stop them. The Special Warfare Unit's commanders won't tolerate such heavy casualties either. They'll most likely dispatch elite forces to retaliate. Think about it, everyone..."

The middle-aged man paused and put out the cigar.

He then continued, "If our cultivators lose in the coming operations, who will take the blame?"

A middle-aged man in a suit laughed hollowly. "How could we possibly lose?"

The others instinctively turned to him. No one at their table could possibly be that stupid.

The man in a suit put a hand to his forehead and immediately corrected himself. "All right, perhaps I spoke out of turn. We very well could fail. Arrogance is dangerous."

Realizing that this matter was far more complex than what she could handle alone, she swiftly made a decision. "Old Xing, preside over the meeting. I will report this directly to the chief. Everyone, I want you all to draft follow-up plans immediately. We are already on the defensive; we can't let our enemies lead us around by the nose any longer."

The people before her nodded at once. They watched Mou Yue walk out through the glass door.

"Led around by the nose... I thought we were not dealing in conspiracy theories?"

Old Xing pulled out another cigar. In a deep tone, he replied, "Keep those thoughts to yourself. Let's get down to business. First, let's discuss how to reduce the large-scale panic already spreading across the southern border."

Inside the conference room, over a dozen officers began speaking up one after another. Plans were laid out rapidly and with astonishing efficiency.

At the same time, just as Old Xing had predicted, the Daoist sects and the Warfare Unit began dispatching large numbers of experts to the southern frontier.

***

Small Immortal Realm.

On the 142nd day of Mu Wanxuan's closed-door cultivation, Spiritless, which had remained quiet all this time, suddenly released immortal light. Yaoyun appeared on the hilt and gazed at the palace where a profound Dao Rhythm had suddenly emerged.

This is...

Inside the palace, the balance of yin and yang, which had been perfect for months, was suddenly broken. Immortal light burst forth within as yin-yang qi surged and collided chaotically.

Mu Wanxuan had shattered her Golden Core and formed a Nascent Soul!