Chapter 518: When a Sword Cultivator Starts Thinking

Not born and not extinguished, this alone is the true spirit. Pure Yang fills all shadows; nothing is born from what has gone before.

All lives within the Six Paths arise from nothingness. The Three Realms and the Ten Directions appear only through existence.

Life begins with spirit; clarity arises from illusion. Where the spirit goes, there emerges the Dao of the True Immortal.

***

"True spirit, True Immortal."

Wang Sheng watched the faint milky glow of immortal power at his fingertip. A moment ago, he had been thinking about how to stir conflict among the factions here, yet his focus had now shifted back to the Dao of True Immortality.

After centuries of captivity in the blood mine, he had finally accumulated enough foundation to reach the first threshold of the True Immortal Realm. Much like the Golden Core Realm before ascension, countless cultivators had gotten stuck at that realm. It served as the boundary between the skilled and the ordinary.

While one with Yaoyun, Wang Sheng had borrowed her cultivation realm and experienced the power of a True Immortal. However, he found it incredibly difficult to actually break through the barrier himself.

He hadn't even reached the peak of the Primordial Immortal Realm. Nevertheless, he already pondered the principle of the undying true spirit, the concept of which was quite simple. The true spirit was an essence that pierced through space. When it manifested as souls, living beings emerged.

According to old tales, the ancient goddess Nwa[1] once shaped humans from clay in the Immortal Saint Realm. Her art of creation guided true spirits into becoming living beings, giving birth to the human race.

Every race followed the same principle. Whether they originated from innate divine beings or natural evolution, their foundation was the true spirit's projection in the realm of truth.

The Daoist heritage that the Heavenly Court had left on Earth was extremely mature and complete, yet each lineage interpreted the true spirit in its own way. Those differences formed the distinctions among the various Daoist heritages.

To become a True Immortal, one had to comprehend the location and nature of their true spirit and combine it with their personal Dao. Upon completion, they would gain a longer lifespan and step onto the steep and treacherous path that led to true immortality.

Wang Sheng softly snapped his fingers, rolled off the bed, and walked to the wardrobe. He chose a silver-gray robe embroidered with cloud brocade, then carefully tidied his hair.

Though he didn't know any arts of disguise, he knew how to make himself look unremarkable. The key was staying calm and adopting the appearance of the average wandering unaffiliated immortal.

He fastened a flowing cloud sash, slipped on black scale boots, and let a strand of hair fall across his left eye. Afterward, he openly released his late-stage Primordial Immortal Realm aura, picked up a folding fan, and checked himself in a bronze mirror.

Although he wasn't as handsome as Yunzhi, he at least had a hint of Zhou Yinglong's charm.

With a soft

pfft

, the folding fan opened, the lady painted on it seemingly swaying with his movements. Wang Sheng stepped out of the room, sealed the protective array around the courtyard, and passed the palace-like hotel front desk into the bustling market streets.

The market was filled year-round with unaffiliated practitioners running stalls that sold all manner of things, from alchemical pills to artifacts. Their goods' quality ranged from poor to exceptional. The more valuable items were cultivation techniques, celestial insects, celestial pets, and a few other strange things.

Some hidden corners hosted forbidden trades between immortals, but the place was far from lawless. On the contrary, it had strict rules, and the Fengli Sect, which owned the market, had assigned celestial soldiers to maintain order and patrol regularly. Hence, no one could start trouble or harm others here without consequence. Otherwise, the sect would treat it as a challenge.

Moreover, anyone running a stall had to pay the sect with Spirit Stones or treasures as a setup fee. The market also had rows of proper shops, the most visited of which were owned by the Fengli Sect. They essentially monopolized high-quality alchemical pills and artifacts.

Wang Sheng observed these practices, determining them to be the commercial foundations that kept large sects thriving. However, though he studied them with interest, he didn't focus too deeply on them. He knew Earth's cultivators had a natural advantage in finance and management.

The streets weren't that busy since several major sects were on the brink of battle on Fengmo. Many cultivators preferred to stay indoors until the conflict outside had been resolved. Once peace returned, the place would regain its lively atmosphere.

The market's ownership could change, but unaffiliated practitioners wouldn't be greatly affected. Their numbers were simply too vast. Large sects had to maintain a respectable reputation, which meant they rarely changed stall fees or the prices of popular pills. Otherwise, they risked provoking widespread dissatisfaction and giving their rivals an opportunity.

Wang Sheng wandered halfway down the street and entered a nicely decorated tea house, but he very quickly walked back out with a speechless expression. Two beautiful female cultivators in light cloud robes followed closely behind.

Flanking him, they each held onto one of his arms. One had a soft and seductive charm, the other a clear and refined beauty.

"Why leave so quickly, Immortal Master? Come sit with us at the Feng Pavilion for a while."

Wang Sheng smiled helplessly. "Sorry, I have an appointment and mistook your establishment for another."

The woman to his right gently shook his arm. "Why not invite the person you're meeting to join as well?"

"That... will be difficult. I cultivate using the Supreme Pure Yang Art." Wang Sheng made a wave of Pure Yang Qi wash over them. "I cannot approach women. I truly entered the wrong place."

The two women froze. Wang Sheng slipped free from their grasp, shook his fan, and walked away. Behind him, they looked at him with nothing but sympathy and helplessness.

"He's such a handsome male immortal. I can't help but feel like he's wasting himself. "

"I can't even tell what kind of profound art he's practicing. With that outstanding aura of his, he could be a disciple from some great, faraway sect. What a pity."

"What a pity indeed."

A corner of Wang Sheng's mouth twitched involuntarily. He glanced at the soul lamp quietly burning inside the storage ring that he had bought a few days earlier. The faint smile on his lips eased a little.

Senior Sister is still the best. I wonder how she's doing right now.

Thinking back on it, the Fengli Sect seemed to own the Laifeng Pavilion as well.

The Celestial Wind Sect secretly captured unaffiliated practitioners to force them to dig blood mines for profit and murder. Meanwhile, the Fengli Sect produced their own brand of corrupt Daoist monsters. No wonder it dared to offer women as bait to recruit the "mine-destroying" sword immortal.

After wandering for a while, Wang Sheng finally found the place he sought: a teahouse that had lots of people coming and going. Since it was near the edge of the marketplace, it was quite close to the exit of the city's grand defensive array.

He entered the teahouse, found a refined seat by a window on the third floor, and enjoyed tea while listening to the conversations of its customers. To reduce the danger of exploring the ancient battlefield, cultivators often traveled with familiar companions, and they usually gathered in this establishment before departing.

Wang Sheng had always assumed that a place like this existed. Now, his assumption had been proven true.

He heard plenty of news while sitting for a while, though only a few pieces were actually useful. Allegedly, several factions remained in a standoff. It was not the sort of clash where armies lined up against each other. Rather, each faction gathered within the cities and marketplaces under its control.

Information also kept spreading. They even disclosed that a certain True Immortal had appeared and that a sect had sent several dozen celestial soldiers to reinforce their side.

Wang Sheng made a few calculations. Currently, thousands of immortals would fight in the looming battle. Several thousand immortals from different sects had even gathered on the planet he was in.

Considering their numbers, it was still far from an actual war; the fight would be no more than a clash between opposing forces. Even so, he could not underestimate the combatants.

Fengchen, the Fengli Sect's fully controlled qi planet, only required ten celestial soldiers to patrol each of its marketplaces, and only two True Immortals were needed to maintain order in a city. Even that was already more than enough. Moreover, one or two Heavenly Immortals stationed on a qi planet long-term were already an overwhelming deterrence.

Taking those into consideration, a force of over a thousand celestial soldiers was by no means weak.

Wang Sheng then thought of the Special Warfare Unit. One of its armies, which was composed of millions of cultivators, ascending in the future would create an unimaginable sight, especially since they were armed with strict discipline and backed by the combat formations that the Heavenly Court had left.

He put the thought aside for now. After all, it was undeniable that the future of Earth's cultivation world was bright.

Wang Sheng only felt as though his path had been difficult because he walked ahead of every Earth cultivator. He was essentially his home planet's vanguard and pioneer.

Dang, dang...

Tapping his finger against the table, he considered how to intensify the conflict among the factions without exposing himself. Soon, his sharp ears caught the discussion of several nearby people.

"The son of the Celestial Wind Sect's sect master has apparently returned to Tianfeng. I heard he even invited two experts from his sect to help hold down their fort."

"Everyone knows their sect suffered heavy losses when a sword immortal outplayed them. Considering more than half of their Heavenly Immortals have been incapacitated, they have no choice but to seek reinforcements. Perhaps the other factions have already formed an alliance to crush them while they're at their weakest."

"That's hard to say. The Celestial Wind Sect is still extremely powerful, and I heard that their sect master's son once apprenticed for a top celestial gate in the Eastern Sky Region. If that celestial gate supports the Celestial Wind Sect, the thirteen qi planets around the ancient battlefield could all fall under their control."

"Isn't sending their sect master's only son to train in a celestial gate no different from offering the Celestial Wind Sect to become its subordinate?"

"

Ha,

who knows if that son is even blood-related. They say the sect master's wife cultivated for centuries alongside Elder Long Aotian. They've got quite a deep relationship."

Their conversation swiftly became unpleasant to hear, but this was the Fengli Sect's territory. No one would care if unaffiliated practitioners mocked its enemy.

The Celestial Wind Sect's heir, huh?

Wang Sheng rubbed his chin as bold ideas formed in his mind. He soon dismissed them.

He could not take overly risky actions. Without Spiritless by his side, he could only barely escape from a True Immortal. He could not reproduce the power he had used during the battle at the blood mine.

How can I ignite the flames of conflict between these major sects?

After pondering for a while, he suddenly thought of the Laifeng Pavilion, then of the Celestial Wind Sect's heir.

Staying in the teahouse for another half day, he heard people mention the same heir and the celestial gate backing him up multiple times.

Li Tianyao, North-River Sword Sect, Eastern Sky Region.

Wang Sheng left the teahouse and returned to the small courtyard that he had rented. He supposed he should buy a courtyard soon. Renting cost Spirit Stones and did not guarantee safety from surveillance. He kept having to go through the trouble of setting up multiple arrays before he could do anything else.

After activating layers upon layers of arrays, Wang Sheng took the Qiankun Ring out of his storage ring and retrieved two pieces of fine white jade pendants. He then quickly grabbed a dagger and began carving carefully. On the front of each pendant, he carved "North-River Sword Sect of the Eastern Sky Region," and on the back, "Li Tianyao of Celestial Wind Sect."

Once done, he blended his Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent with his Pure Yang Sword Intent and infused two sharp strands of the resulting sword intent into the jade pendants. Now, he only had to subtly and convincingly place them in the Laifeng Pavilion.

1. A mother goddess, culture hero, and member of the Three Sovereigns of Chinese mythology. ☜