Chapter 494: Searching For the Bug Among Celestial Ruins

Instead of returning to Earth, Xi Lian and Mu Wanxuan opened the Small Immortal Realm, left Huai Jing near a celestial gate where primal qi was abundant, and then returned to the battlefield to wait.

Mu Wanxuan decided to stay until Wang Sheng returned, and Xi Lian felt too uneasy to leave her alone. Nameless ended up heading back to Earth alone to report what had happened.

Fortunately, Mu Wanxuan's soul lamp kept her updated about Wang Sheng's condition. Without it, she might have already rushed out recklessly to search for him.

They waited a few days, then several months. At some point, Huai Jing had even woken up. However, Wang Sheng still hadn't returned.

Compared to the barren vastness of the Realm of Exiled Immortals, Earth was no more than a drop in the ocean. According to Huai Jing's analysis, Wang Sheng had chased the beetle toward the Realm of Exiled Immortals' gate.

"Instead of waiting here, we should return to Earth and cultivate in peace," Huai Jing urged. "Fei Yu is inherently steady and cautious, and Yaoyun, who was once a Heavenly Immortal, is by his side. We don't have to worry too much. Space is simply too large. Even he waited to break through to the Ascended Immortal Realm before daring to explore beyond.

"The same should apply to us. Rather than anxiously waiting here, we should return to Earth or the Small Immortal Realm and cultivate. When we ascend, we'll be able to fight with far greater confidence."

Mu Wanxuan thought it over and agreed that Huai Jing had a valid point. She told him to return, though she still stayed at the site for a while longer.

Left with no other option, Huai Jing took his leave. Xi Lian, who was ever so loyal, simply built a small dwelling on the Moon and kept Mu Wanxuan company.

Nameless returned to Earth and spread word that Wang Sheng had defeated Ziyun and was pursuing her remnant soul. The news quickly spread through the cultivation world.

For an Ascended Immortal to defeat a Primordial Immortal was astonishing, even if they had an array to assist them. However, everyone treated it as nothing out of the ordinary, as though they were oddly accustomed to such feats from him. After all, whenever Wang Shen was mentioned, people always recalled how he had slain fifteen ancient cultivators while still at the Rebirth Realm.

The Ascended Immortal and Primordial Immortal Realms were too distant for most of Earth's cultivators to grasp. They admired, offered praise, and muttered "Impressive," but they couldn't explain exactly why.

They weren't even that worried about Wang Sheng pursuing Ziyun's remnant soul for months. They carried a strange, inherent confidence in him.

That sword cultivator had entered the Small Nether Realm, unlocked the Small Immortal Realm, cut down foreign foes, and slain ancient cultivators.

The young man who had once walked out of the Wudang Mountains with a sword now stood at the forefront of Earth's cultivation world. He had become a banner—a symbol that shaped the path ahead and guarded Earth while waiting for the cultivation world to rise.

Many cultivators called Wang Sheng a hero. If the title ever reached him, he would likely just smile.

Li Yunzhi had dragged back Shi Qianzhang, whom Wang Sheng had slapped into outer space. Shi Qianzhang wasn't too badly hurt, but when he heard that his mistake could have aroused Ziyun's suspicions and drawn Wang Sheng into that lunar battle, he couldn't help but feel completely guilty and withdrew.

Since then, Shi Qianzhang had changed. He became quieter and laughed far less. For a time, he waited at the Pure Yang Sword Faction, but when Wang Sheng still hadn't returned, he headed back to the Longhu Mountains and went into seclusion.

During this period of unity within the cultivation world, the three special departments finally began their long-prepared reforms.

The second phase of the separation of regular civilians and cultivators was put into motion. Since it involved millions of cultivators and their interests, a few words or the Daoist sects nodding in agreement weren't enough to achieve it. Instead, Daoist heritage representatives were assigned to coordination teams. The departments also required the sects to have formal records of their cultivators' departure from their respective mountains.

Moreover, the secular world was divided into zones. Some permitted Daoist arts, while others prohibited them. Violators were warned or punished.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The recent incursion of extraterrestrial immortals caused considerable losses. More than thirty cultivators were killed, including several experts on the Heavenly Rankings.

The entire incident was slowly reconstructed and circulated across the cultivation world, making every cultivator feel unprecedented pressure.

Cultivation shifted from a relaxed pace to a tense rhythm of preparation for future conflict. Most Daoist sects valued acting in accord with nature, though. Hence, their efforts, though sincere, produced limited results.

Everything still progressed at a steady, methodical pace.

***

A full year went by. The cultivation world quieted again, and cultivators began to shift their attention to the distant stars.

Led by the Daoist sects and the Hidden Earth Sect, the second phase of separation proceeded smoothly. Even the unaffiliated practitioners cooperated. The Hua Republic remained stable, and the Universal Cultivation Method continued to improve.

However, there was still no word from Wang Sheng.

Hearing that Mu Wanxuan and Xi Lian had returned, the Daoist masters and elders concerned about his whereabouts, along with his close friends, all came to the Pure Yang Sword Faction. However, all they got was Xi Lian's head shake, Mu Wanxuan's sigh, and the steady glow of the soul lamp.

Mu Wanxuan had grown haggard. She never neglected her cultivation, and even on the qi-starved lunar surface, her realm continued its steady rise. However, she worried every day.

Qing Yanzi sighed. "Considering the time, distance, and his speed, Little Sheng had already left the Realm of Exiled Immortals if he just kept flying toward its entrance."

Fei Lianzi's expression turned solemn. "That woman must've cut her way through the endless space with sheer resolve, and she probably has impeccable survival skills. Though Fei Yu won against her, eradicating her would certainly take effort."

Huai Jing smiled and pressed his palms together. "

Amitabha.

Please calm down and relax, everyone."

The ears of every Daoist perked up.

Nameless had already revealed his identity. As a reincarnated arhat with memories of his past life, he naturally knew far more than Earth's cultivators.

"I spent the past year thinking it over. The celestial bug that the woman used is strange, but it isn't that powerful. It's essentially a refined external avatar. There's not even a drop of primal qi in the cosmos outside Earth and throughout the Realm of Exiled Immortals, which means she didn't have much primal qi to use.

"If she wanted to maintain her top speed and escape Fei Yu, she had only one option: burn her Primordial Spirit. That could allow her to flee, but she wouldn't get far. She would definitely try to hide somewhere in the ancient battlefield. Fei Yu could even be searching right outside the exit as we speak, trying to find her trail."

"That's a very logical explanation," Xiaomiao said.

Her older brother had been chasing the female intruder for a full year now. She missed him day and night, yet she looked quite well. Her cheeks were even a little rounder.

Xiaomiao smiled and tried to reassure Mu Wanxuan, who was beside her. "Don't worry. My brother is actually quite smart, and my master is watching over him. Everything's going to be okay."

Mu Wanxuan nodded gently and lowered her gaze to the soul lamp in her hands.

The Daoist elders all offered optimistic opinions. Before long, Qing Yanzi intentionally shifted the subject, and the group began discussing reopening the Small Immortal Realm.

They unanimously agreed that no matter when Wang Sheng returned, they would reopen the Small Immortal Realm in two years. With the help of the Platform of Immortal Dreams and the Pool of Transcendence, they would then spend ten or twenty years training a batch of experts.

Several Daoist elders who now ranked among the top of the cultivation world wanted to enter the Pool of Transcendence to train. Half of them had been to the Small Immortal Realm before but had chosen not to enter the pool.

The Pool of Transcendence had once been the Heavenly Court's method for quickly producing heavenly soldiers. It could rapidly elevate a Rebirth Realm cultivator's realm, shortening the time it would take for them to leap to the Ascended Immortal Realm. It

However, after reaching the Ascended Immortal Realm, advancing to the True Immortal Realm would become far more difficult, and their personal Dao would be less pure.

After the incident a year ago, the Daoist elders present decided it was worth making a contribution to the cultivation world. Paying a small price was acceptable. It would merely slow their immortal path, not block it.

Fortunately, before Wang Sheng headed to the gate of the Realm of Exiled Immortals, he had asked Yaoyun to pass the way to open the Small Immortal Realm to Mu Wanxuan and Xi Lian. Together, they could open it.

Interestingly enough, Wang Sheng had always thought of himself as an ordinary cultivator of the current age. He still hadn't realized that in many matters, he had already begun to act as the master of the Small Immortal Realm.

***

Huai Jing had almost completely deduced the reason that Wang Sheng hadn't returned for a full year. For more than three hundred sixty Earth days, the sword cultivator had spent every moment inside the Shadowless Shuttle, flying at full speed. He had long lost track of the celestial bug carrying Ziyun's Primordial Spirit, but he at least found traces of its passing in space.

The region Earth was in didn't have any primal qi, which meant Ziyun had to burn her Primordial Spirit to escape. The traces it had left behind formed faint marks in space, and Wang Sheng followed them closely.

According to Yaoyun's estimates, burning her Primordial Spirit likely caused Ziyun's cultivation to plummet from the peak of the Primordial Immortal Realm. Moreover, her Primordial Spirit had already been heavily damaged when her Immortal Body was shattered.

She couldn't have gone far. It was more likely that she fled out of the Realm of Exiled Immortals into the ancient battlefield and hid somewhere with abundant primal qi to heal.

After more than three hundred thirty days of pursuit, Wang Sheng finally reached the exit. There was no helping it. He needed time to confirm her traces. Otherwise, he could be misled.

Once out of the Realm of Exiled Immortals, he reached the giant thousand-meter Buddha statue again. He looked around and soon found a thumb-sized hole.

Still uneasy, he used his spiritual perception to search the entire statue.

Meanwhile, Yaoyun used Rewinding Light Art to look for the insect's direction and departure time.

Before long, she reported, "That insect left over twenty days ago. No, multiply that by a hundred. It left about six years ago."

Wang Sheng's brow furrowed. "Six years?"

"Don't worry. With such injuries, even centuries may not be enough to recover," Yaoyun said softly. "But five years have passed here, and there are scattered primal qi and floating dust everywhere. The traces of her burning Primordial Spirit have already faded."

"We'll conduct a search, then," Wang Sheng decided.

He glanced toward the entrance of the Realm of Exiled Immortals, thought for a moment, then drilled a small hole in the Buddha's toe. Holding Spiritless, he flew out and used dust to seal both the hole and the one that the insect had left behind.

Finally, he flew off in the direction that Yaoyun had indicated and asked her to teach him the Rewinding Light Art along the way.

They had no choice but to rely on this slow, methodical way of tracing the trail bit by bit. Until he eliminated this threat, Wang Sheng could not rest easy.