Chapter 521: Gaining A Sword Technique Through Insight

After over ten years in seclusion, Wang Sheng stepped out and wondered how this small city had suddenly become the Fengli Sect's territory. He remembered it belonging to the Tonglin Immortal Sect when he had bought the courtyard. Now, most of the shops displayed the Fengli Sect's emblem of a divine phoenix with its wings spread. All traces of the Tonglin Immortal Sect had been erased.

Did the Fengli Sect conquer it?

He chose a refined teahouse at the entrance of the marketplace, sat down with tea and dim sum, and listened to the chatter of unaffiliated practitioners. Before long, he got his answer: the Tonglin Immortal Sect had merged into the Fengli Sect.

The battle among celestial sects had lasted for decades, but in truth, it was simply great sects swallowing smaller ones. However, because the Celestial Wind Sect had grown too dominant, it had become the natural target of every other sect's hostility.

The Fengli Sect took advantage of this situation. They united openly but infiltrated in secret, swallowing smaller forces. They had essentially strengthened themselves through war.

Feeling that the conflict would gradually calm down and that no true experts would fall, Wang Sheng calculated in silence.

The Celestial Wind Sect had been the strongest for far too long. They found it hard to lower themselves and extend goodwill to small sects, especially since they were more than strong and unbreakable enough to dominate the ancient battlefield's thirteen qi planets.

However, once a celestial sect had grown as large as the Celestial Wind Sect, they'd be faced with a different set of concerns. They had to maintain their reputation and win the hearts of people.

Otherwise, even if they ruled seven or eight qi planets, unaffiliated practitioners would eventually move to the other factions' territories to live and cultivate. They would end up ruling empty lands and lose the soil necessary for growth.

The Fengli Sect's ambition was clearly to replace the Celestial Wind Sect. Wang Sheng wondered if a higher power was guiding this from behind, perhaps a celestial gate equal to the North-River Sword Sect.

Which sects in this endless space can I bring under my control?

he kept asking himself.

He had initially taken a liking to the Tonglin Immortal Sect. Unfortunately, it had become part of the Fengli Sect.

"Perhaps it's not fated."

Wang Sheng spun a white jade cup lightly and tasted the fragrant tea within.

In the past years, he had quietly remained in seclusion. Other than lighting a fire to start a conflict, he had made no further waves. People still occasionally mentioned the legend of the nameless sword immortal, but the one spoken of most often now was Li Tianyao, the heir of the Celestial Wind Sect and a favored disciple of the North-River Sword Sect.

Li Tianyao was also a sword cultivator. Rumor had it that he had already reached the True Immortal Realm and wielded the North-River Shadowless Sword Art's many and many other techniques.

He had been staying in the Celestial Wind Sect for more than forty years now. Apparently, he had also invited two Heavenly Immortals from his own sect to guard it for a hundred years. Perhaps the experts whom the Star Deity had injured had yet to fully recover.

Just how terrifying was the Star Deity when he was still alive?

Wang Sheng swept his spiritual perception over the greatsword inside the Qiankun Ring. In the last fifty years, he had not touched it once. Besides being unaccustomed to wielding such a broad weapon, he had decided to focus completely on breaking through his realm; he refused to divide his attention by learning a new sword technique.

The greatsword possessed a spirit and was imbued with the Daoist heritage of the Eastern Kang Star Deity. It could certainly be considered its own Dao of the Sword.

He lingered in the teahouse for a while longer. Just as he was about to rise, he heard noise from the city gate.

He extended his spiritual perception and raised an eyebrow.

Several female immortals approached on drifting clouds, followed by more than twenty celestial soldiers in pale-green armor.

Among them was a familiar face: Lan Huilin—no, Fairy Caiwei of the Fengli Sect.

Wang Sheng shook his head, turned away slightly, and continued drinking his tea.

Her master had nearly gotten her killed, yet she continued to serve the Fengli Sect with such devotion. Such foolish loyalty wasn't that surprising, though.

Among unaffiliated practitioners, the Fengli Sect's sect master was often described as a lawless, unrestrained, and ruthless matriarch. She acted without hesitation and killed without blinking.

However, that was likely the Celestial Wind Sect's distorted version. Wang Sheng hadn't interacted with the sect master of the Fengli Sect to make his own judgment.

But the female disciples under that sect were all beautiful and charming young women. They were the key for the Fengli Sect to recruit wandering experts. This stain was something the Fengli Sect would never be able to erase.

Unbeknownst to Wang Sheng, Lan Huilin had been sent to investigate the blood mine because she had disobeyed the order to accompany a True Immortal for a "friendly conversation." Now, she was trusted again mainly due to her close ties with the nameless sword immortal who had destroyed the blood mine alongside bones and ashes. Whichever way one looked at it, everything turned out to be a scheme.

As the group passed by the teahouse, the immortals released a hint of their cultivation. With dignified makeup and solemn expressions, they gave off natural authority.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The unaffiliated practitioners only watched with interest. No one dared gather around or seek death by speaking badly of the Fengli Sect at this moment. At most, they simply moved aside to give way.

Lan Huilin gracefully walked forward. After passing the teahouse, she stopped, and her delicate brows rose slightly. Concerned, several of the female cultivators beside her turned. Lan Huilin tilted her head just a little toward the teahouse, her eyes filled with a faint trace of confusion.

She then seemingly reasoned, "This teahouse happens to sit on the perfect piece of land. Why not build the new branch of the Laifeng Pavilion here?"

"You must be joking, Senior Sister Caiwei," a charming female immortal said, then giggled. "The Laifeng Pavilion naturally has to be hidden as deeply as possible. This area is a bit too conspicuous."

Some of the celestial soldiers behind them also smiled faintly.

Lan Huilin nodded slightly, then quietly withdrew the immortal perception she had been using to examine the teahouse. "Let's keep searching, then. The sooner we find the right location for it, the sooner we can return to cultivate."

One female immortal murmured in complaint, "Junior Sister Caiwei, ever since you escaped the blood mine, you've seemed really obsessed with cultivation. Master scolds us all the time now because of you."

Lan Huilin only smiled. The immortals of the Fengli Sect exchanged a few more jokes, then led the soldiers away at a leisurely pace.

Upstairs in the teahouse, Wang Sheng, who had heard every word, could not help but think,

Lan Huilin couldn't have noticed me. That glance just now was probably just a flicker of instinct.

Though there was still a chance for him to be exposed, he had already disguised his aura in every possible way. He had also only left seclusion twice or thrice in over forty years. Somehow, though, he still ran into Lan Huilin, that old "prison companion" of his.

His luck truly had no equal.

He stood up, left the teahouse, and wandered halfway around the market. After confirming that no one was watching him, he finally returned to the quieter residential district.

Wang Sheng looked around. Since most protective arrays were dome-shaped, this part of the city looked covered in mushrooms. Upon reaching his small courtyard, he activated its array, slipped inside, and packed his things. Now that this place had become part of the Fengli Sect's territory, he decided to leave at night.

It would be safer to move somewhere outside the areas under the Celestial Wind Sect's and the Fengli Sect's control. There were plenty of other cities and markets on Fengmo anyway.

No one could guarantee that the two sects wouldn't just decide to conduct some kind of inspection on immortals.

That night, after cleaning his courtyard, Wang Sheng ran. He didn't do anything dramatic like carry railway tracks on his shoulder[1] or curse under his breath. On the contrary, he simply slipped away in complete silence.

Half a month later, in a small city under the jurisdiction of the Xinghai Sect, Wang Sheng bought another courtyard and settled in. With the Small Immortal Realm backing him, he had enough wealth to rival immortal nations. He was a genuine immortal tycoon.

Considering the value of the multi-colored celestial crystals in Yaoyun's Qiankun Ring, he couldn't just buy a few courtyards. If he did not fear three hundred assassination attempts a day, he could have swiftly bought every piece of land across Fengmo.

Wang Sheng kept a low profile this time. While quietly waiting for his sword spirit to return, he devoted himself entirely to studying the Dao of True Immortality, rarely stepping outside.

After only two years in seclusion, he could already faintly sense the location of his own true spirit. The feeling was ethereal, but undeniably there, which meant he had already taken half a step to the True Immortal Realm.

Ziyun had been at this exact realm when they had fought.

What awaited him now was continuous comprehension of the true spirit. Once he grasped the essence of the undying true spirit, he would ascend to the True Immortal Realm and become a top expert in this remote corner of the Eastern Sky Region.

Delighted, Wang Sheng brought out some wine and set his senior sister's soul lamp before him, drinking alone in the courtyard.

Celestial wine was mellow, and it did not intoxicate.

In high spirits, he took out the Eastern Kang Star Deity's broad-bladed greatsword from his Qiankun Ring and laid it across the stone table. He ran his fingers lightly along its spine.

The immortal sword hummed faintly, expressing its affection toward him.

Its spirituality was already complete. It simply had not taken on a human-like form. Before the Eastern Kang Star Deity fell, he commanded it to follow Wang Sheng and protect the Heavenly Court's thirteenth princess. Hence, it acknowledged only Wang Sheng as its master.

The greatsword far surpassed Spiritless in terms of quality, materials, and the power it could unleash. However, no celestial sword, not even innate legendary or forged legendary ones, could easily replace Spiritless.

Ahem. Maybe the legendary ones would at least be worth considering.

He summoned Flying Haze and placed it beside the greatsword. Flying Haze then hummed softly. Just like it had once "cozied" up to Spiritless, it now seemed to be doing the same to its new "senior."

The greatsword swayed slightly, as if giving Flying Haze some courtesy. After all, the latter had served their master first. In response, five-colored immortal radiance shimmered over Flying Haze, practically showing a satisfied expression.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Sheng decided to start devoting some attention to his Dao of the Sword today. If everything went according to plan, the sword techniques that the Star Deity had left would serve as the foundation of his fifth sword intent.

He wasn't entirely certain how much power the greatsword could unleash in his hands. Still, he put Flying Haze away and placed his left hand on the greatsword's hilt. A vague figure appeared in his mind and started swinging a sword slowly, showing him techniques that were completely different from anything he had learned before.

Not long after, while Wang Sheng was still immersed in studying the techniques, three deep bell chimes suddenly rang out. He opened his eyes and looked toward the array, finding more than ten people in the air outside.

Wang Sheng tensed at once. The pressure was coming from an unknown Heavenly Immortal.

1. A sarcastic idiom describing someone who is deliberately creating unnecessary drama, playing the victim, or making a simple task look extremely difficult and heroic. ☜