Chapter 446: "Inheritance"

Qing Yanzi gave the order in a tone full of authority. However, once he turned around, he ended up staying up all night by candlelight, personally writing invitation letters.

The day after they erected the mountain gate, he went down to the Cultivation Research Institute to find a friend who could provide a generator that ran on Spirit Stones.

Huai Jing, Xi Lian, and Xiaomiao began pulling two dedicated network lines up the mountain, one for the sect's use and another for... gaming.

The Pure Yang Sword Faction covered all expenses. Qing Yanzi even said that if the internet speed wasn't good enough, they would hire someone to install a communication base station on the mountain. Under no circumstances would they allow Xi Lian's daily gaming experience to be compromised.

Xi Lian was now a genuine Grand Immortal-Ascension Realm cultivator. During the whole construction period, her injuries had fully healed, and her cultivation had advanced through several minor breakthroughs. She was now about to reach the middle stage of the Grand Immortal-Ascension Realm, which would put her on the verge of becoming an Ascended Immortal.

With such a powerful guardian spirit, or rather, such a powerful honorary elder, the Pure Yang Sword Faction naturally gave their powerful guardian spirit, or rather, their powerful honorary elder, the best treatment.

Xi Lian had endured her share of suffering. Qinglin had sealed her for a thousand years, and after being unsealed, she constantly risked turning into a devil, forcing her to suppress her cultivation when fighting others. She dared not lose control either during the grueling battle in the Small Nether Realm. When the ancient cultivators ambushed and forced her to transform, it came at a great cost to her power.

Only when Wang Sheng brought back celestial pills from the Small Immortal Realm and purified her devilish nature did she finally regain her peak state of dual cultivation in Buddhism and Daoism. She had since advanced by leaps and bounds. From a half-immortal fox, she had become a quasi-immortal fox.

For as long as she steadily completed her ascension and transformed her Dao Body into an Immortal Body, she would reach the Ascended Immortal Realm, becoming a new immortal. After that, her origins would no longer matter. Her very existence would have transcended to another level.

Meanwhile, Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan dressed neatly and went down the mountain together, carrying over a hundred invitation letters addressed to various Daoist heritages and notable unaffiliated practitioners. When founding a sect, the more people who attended the ceremony, the more recognition and influence the sect would gain in the future.

The date that Qing Yanzi had written on the invites for their auspicious day was half a month away. Since Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan didn't have to rush, Wang Sheng used his phone for navigation and planned a trip that circled the Hua Republic and ended near his home. He and his senior sister would travel leisurely along the way.

When they came across a clear mountain stream, they would stop to wash their feet. When they saw clouds of migrating wild geese, they would fly up to disturb their formation for fun.

Occasionally, when they were alone, they would have moments of quiet intimacy. Mu Wanxuan seemed to understand a little more about the matters between men and women now, but she remained shy and restrained. Still, Wang Sheng felt content throughout the journey, smiling far more often than he had in recent days.

They first visited the Shu Sword Sect, then the Wudang Mountains. They delivered the rest of the invitations based on which was the closest.

At the Daoist heritages that had supported the ancient cultivators during the Immortal Dao Conference, Wang Sheng just handed the invitations to the disciples guarding the mountain gate. At the sects that had stood against the ancient cultivators, he and his senior sister went inside to chat briefly, drink tea, and exchange polite words before leaving.

Wang Sheng didn't have any prejudice toward the former. However, since he had personally slain their forefathers, they could still harbor resentment. It was wiser not to intrude.

Every night, when all was quiet, Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan would stop at places rich in primal qi to meditate and cultivate. When dawn broke, they would resume their journey at dawn.

They circled nearly the entire Hua Republic and finished delivering all the invitations in about three and a half days. With their task done, they stopped by Wang Sheng's home to visit his parents and have lunch with them.

Unfortunately, celestial pills were still celestial pills. Even the mildest healing ones, suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators, were far too potent for mortals.

His parents had told him not to defy the natural cycle of life and death. Still, as their son, he wished that they could live long and well. He couldn't help but worry about them.

Wang Sheng didn't dare linger at home. After telling his parents the date of the Pure Yang Sword Faction's founding ceremony, he and his senior sister returned to the mountain to continue working.

The Pure Yang Sword Faction's name and land had already been officially approved. The Special Investigation Unit had even granted them three years' worth of cultivation resources, which was what major sects like the Longhu Mountains received, as a congratulatory gift for Qing Yanzi's establishment of the sect.

Qing Yanzi's years of running around had not been in vain. With strong influence in both the Special Investigation Unit and the cultivation world, all of the Pure Yang Sword Faction's official procedures were approved with astonishing speed.

Wang Sheng didn't ask whether his master would continue helping the Special Investigation Unit. Whatever his master decided, he would support it without question.

***

When the martial siblings reached the Pure Yang Sword Faction, they found dozens of young to middle-aged Daoists sitting quietly in meditation by the cliff outside the mountain gate.

Are they here to deliver gifts?

Wang Sheng and his senior sister looked at each other in midair, puzzled.

Are we too well-known, or are these cultivators simply too free and have nothing to do?

"Cultivation levels," Mu Wanxuan whispered.

Wang Sheng scanned the group below and quickly realized that none of them were particularly strong. Moreover, their auras and Dao Rhythms were all different.

They were clearly unaffiliated practitioners.

Wang Sheng smiled. "They're probably here to join us, hoping to get in early."

At that moment, his master communicated with him using voice transmission.

"

Keep your distance. Don't greet them. They're all here seeking to join us, but I've already observed them in secret. None are promising. In today's cultivation world, opportunists like them are the most common. Once we start recruiting disciples or other sect members, we have to have strict standards. Better to take in fewer candidates than accept the wrong ones.

"

Come to the Daoist canon repository. The scriptures I ordered arrived yesterday. Help me sort and organize them.

"

Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan exchanged a smile, then descended toward the Daoist canon repository at the mountain's peak.

Xi Lian, Xiaomiao, Jingyun, and Chi Wen were already inside, helping open boxes and arrange books. They were all in traditional dresses and had their hair coiled like clouds, hems swaying lightly. Primal qi flowed around them like colorful mist. Occasionally, they used enchanted power to grab a book from afar. It made quite a sight.

Huai Jing, who had already become half a "Pure Yang" man, rolled up his sleeves and joined Qing Yanzi, who had taken off his Daoist robe. The two acted as carpenters in the open area before the Daoist canon repository, building new bookshelves.

"Little Xuanxuan, come help! These things are making me dizzy!"

Xi Lian's complaint echoed from inside the palace. Mu Wanxuan quickly floated into the Daoist canon repository, while Wang Sheng loosened his Daoist robe, changed into short sleeves and long pants, and joined the carpentry work.

With Flying Haze assisting, the cleaved wood came out smooth to the touch, a true display of a celestial-grade sword's sharpness. However, ever since they had started construction, Flying Haze's spirit had rarely interacted with Wang Sheng.

They finished around 9:00 PM. The building finally looked complete.

Since the Pure Yang Sword Faction had just been established, its Daoist canon repository was still small. There were only about three to four hundred books, and among them, only a handful were true texts of cultivation techniques, including the

Pure Yang Immortal Mantra

and

Pure Yang Sword Song

. Some were also inherited from Jingyun's Daoist heritage, like the

Pure Water Immortal Mantra

and

Gentle-Water Jade Maiden Sword

. Altogether, it totaled no more than six or seven.

Still, those alone already represented two complete Daoist heritages. They had enough for future sect members to use in cultivation.

At Mu Wanxuan's suggestion, they renamed the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect's texts and established a third Daoist heritage called the Dao of Balanced Yin and Yang.

However, cultivating using the Dao of Balanced Yin and Yang was exceedingly difficult, and Mu Wanxuan likely wouldn't take disciples. It was included mostly for the sake of completeness.

Wang Sheng asked Yaoyun if the immortal arts obtained in the Small Immortal Realm could be stored here. Yaoyun told him to decide for himself, but she also reminded him that most of the cultivation techniques from the immortal pools were not suitable for beginners.

Immortals of the Heavenly Court had left behind most of the modern sects' Daoist heritages. These cultivation techniques could carry one from the Foundation Establishment stage all the way to immortality itself.

Qing Yanzi smiled. "There's no point in having so many cultivation techniques. We already have the Pure Yang Immortal Mantra and Pure Yang Sword Song. Those should be enough. If we ever get a female disciple with a constitution too full of yin to cultivate using the Pure Yang Immortal Mantra, we can have her use Junior Sister Jingyun's Pure Water Immortal Mantra.

"Oh, I also plan to make the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Art the secret art of the sect master's lineage, but I'll also make it a rule that the Seven-Star Sword Formation can't be demonstrated to disciples; they have to learn it on their own. Those who do will be qualified to become a sect master. What do you think?"

Xi Lian laughed and crossed her arms by the bookshelf. "Sect Master, you're hinting that you want to pass the position to Little Fei Yu, aren't you? What about Little Xuanxuan?"

Huai Jing, who had been reading a Daoist scripture in the corner, raised his head. "She'll be the next sect master's wife."

Everyone swiftly looked at Mu Wanxuan. They expected her to blush and stammer, giving them something to tease her about. However, though a soft flush rose to her cheeks, she simply blinked, smiled faintly, and slipped her hand around Wang Sheng's arm.

Xi Lian and Xiaomiao immediately covered their eyes, while Jingyun and Chi Wen exchanged surprised looks. Thankfully, the "most handsome lemon vendor" was still cultivating in seclusion at Mount Mao, leaving the air free of certain teasing energy.

Qing Yanzi waved his hand. "Begin creating arrays. Once they're set, today's work is done. We'll have a much lighter workload tomorrow."

Xiaomiao cheered. "Alright!"

Meanwhile, Xi Lian and Qing Yanzi discussed how to arrange the protective arrays for the Daoist canon repository. In the corner, Huai Jing looked up and smiled faintly before returning to his Daoist scripture. It had been a long time since he had been in such an atmosphere.

"By the way, Master," Wang Sheng said, "the four walls are still bare. How about I carve the Seven-Star Sword Formation moves onto them? On the ceiling, I can inscribe constellations of Ziwei and the Big Dipper to illustrate the surface patterns of the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Art.

"In the future, only core disciples will be allowed into the Daoist canon repository. If someone happens to comprehend the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Intent here, that'll count as an unexpected bonus."

Qing Yanzi's eyes lit up. "Good idea. Go ahead and carve it. Do we have to move the shelves?"

"No need, Master. Please step outside for a moment."

Qing Yanzi and the others left the great palace.

Wang Sheng took out Spiritless from the Qiankun Ring, walked to the center of the Daoist canon repository, and closed his eyes. Dao Rhythm swirled subtly around him as immortal light flowed along Spiritless. Soon, faint sizzles spread throughout the hall, like hot water falling onto snow.

"All done."

Everyone who had initially expected him to demonstrate his sword techniques froze for a moment. They reentered the Daoist canon repository feeling a bit puzzled.

So fast?

The four walls were now covered in more than a hundred simple drawings of sword-bearing figures outlined in fine strokes, each one performing a move in the Seven-Star Sword Formation. The longer one looked, the more they seemed alive, as though they were fluidly unleashing the intricate sword formation.

Wang Sheng stood still, a quiet emotion stirring in his chest.

He suddenly grasped a faint understanding of what "inheritance" truly meant. Touched, he smiled faintly and slowly closed his eyes, the voice around him fading.

To his surprise, it seemed he had just gotten an unexpected enlightenment.