Chapter 527: An Uninvited Guest

Wang Sheng wasn't expecting to gain much from his short and casual conversation with Linyuan. To his surprise, however, the elder came knocking just three Fengmo days later.

Wang Sheng was cultivating when he sensed Linyuan approach his abode. He woke at once, gathered his bearings, and sent a voice transmission to the two maids cultivating on the first floor.

"We have two honored guests outside. Invite them in and serve them tea. I'll be down there shortly."

The two maids agreed, rose, and went out to welcome Linyuan and the female disciple. Meanwhile, Wang Sheng changed into a Daoist robe, slipped into cloth shoes, and let his long hair fall loosely.

Forced to walk the path of a strategist, Wang Sheng could only shift his bearing for now. It was not as dashing as carrying a sword, but it had a bit of refined ease.

Upon seeing Wang Sheng, Linyuan lit up immediately. He stroked his beard as he laughed with surprising vigor, as if he had grown a few thousand years younger.

"Friend Pi!

Hahaha!

You were right! The Celestial Wind Sect didn't send the envoy who visited us half a year ago. Our sect master sent them a letter and, on the same day, received a personal reply from their sect master. Friend Pi, your foresight saved several hundred of our members!

Hahaha!

"

Wang Sheng paused in surprise.

Did the Xinghai Sect really never question it? Well, I guess that's to be expected.

Cultivators were meant to cultivate, not scheme. Earth's cultivators had stronger foundations in strategy than those in remote corners of the endless space.

Wang Sheng smiled. "It was only a suspicion. I felt something was off, but I didn't expect it to be someone else's trap. Please take a seat, Senior. And this is...?"

Linyuan quickly introduced, "This is my young disciple. Her Daoist name is Xuni."

Xuni?

Wang Sheng cupped his hands. "I haven't greeted everyone yet since I've only just joined the sect. Forgive me, Fairy Xuni."

Xuni smiled gently. "You're too polite, Protector Pi."

She had proportionate features and a light, graceful bearing. Though she generally didn't immediately draw attention, she had a pleasant temperament.

Linyuan sat at the main seat of the courtyard, and Xuni naturally sat beside him.

The two maids brought tea. As they placed the cups, they suddenly realized that they had forgotten their master's share. Their faces darkened in alarm.

Unbothered, Wang Sheng waved dismissively. Quietly relieved, they bowed at once and went to a corner to arrange dishes and wine. A moment of inexperience had nearly cost them their jobs.

Wang Sheng smiled. "You didn't have to go all the way here, Senior. You could've just sent a disciple to call me, and I would have gone to the scripture repository myself."

Linyuan grinned, the wrinkles on his face folding like steamed buns. "

Hehehe!

That would not do. I came on the sect master's behalf to express our gratitude. Young Friend Pi, you have rendered the sect great service. If there's anything you want in return, do let me know."

Wang Sheng nodded. Instead of acting modestly, he took out the broad-bladed greatsword that he had bought from a black market peddler and planted it into the ground. "I do lack a useful weapon."

Linyuan and Xuni both paused. They had not expected Wang Sheng to skip all pleasantries and claim a reward.

Xuni covered her mouth and chuckled. "I heard from my master that you're gifted in strategy and foresight—that you can save the Xinghai Sect. Now that I've met you, I can't help but agree with him."

Wang Sheng waved a hand and sighed. "I grew up too poor."

Linyuan collected the weapon. "Alright, I'll take this sword with me. If we can't find any weapon that suits you in the treasure vault, I'll have our craftsmen forge one from the best celestial materials!"

Wang Sheng smiled. He then changed the topic. "I doubt you came here just to deliver this news, Senior. Let me guess, the Celestial Wind Sect mentioned something else in their reply."

Linyuan sighed. "Nothing escapes you!"

Xuni also smiled. "You're amazing, Protector Pi."

Wang Sheng didn't know what to say. After all, it wasn't that hard to guess. The Celestial Wind Sect's sect master would certainly try to win the Xinghai Sect over. What he didn't expect was the degree of goodwill that it would show. In the reply, the sect master stated that he would send his only son to visit the sect soon, in hopes of joining hands and building a prosperous era among the thirteen qi planets together.

Li Tianyao's going to visit the Xinghai Sect?

With no way to judge how much pressure the Celestial Wind Sect currently faced, he had no means of predicting such a move.

"How do you see this matter, Protector Pi?"

Wang Sheng whispered, "This means trouble. Considering his visit will certainly bring attention, the Celestial Wind Sect is surely up to no good."

Xuni nodded slightly. "That's right. They intend to borrow the Xinghai Sect's strength to ease the pressure they currently face. They likely have other aims, too. Li Tianyao is a core disciple of the North-River Sword Sect. Though only a True Immortal, he is said to have a profound Dao of the Sword."

Wang Sheng nodded. Recalling scenes from the ancient dramas that he had watched, he unknowingly blurted, "For a sect as large as the Celestial Wind Sect, nothing stabilizes hearts more than an outstanding heir."

Linyuan and Xuni looked surprised, but after thinking it over, they felt it made perfect sense. Since cultivators rarely approached matters from such an angle, that remark left them with a sudden enlightenment.

Wang Sheng gestured at them welcomingly. "Come, let us eat and talk."

The three moved to the round table by the window, already laden with fine dishes and celestial wine.

It didn't take long for him to determine that Xuni wasn't just any ordinary disciple. He didn't know who she really was, but she wouldn't be allowed to interrupt her master so casually otherwise.

Wang Sheng focused on important matters instead of prying further. In truth, though, he simply repeated what he had already said earlier.

The stream outside murmured. Inside, laughter periodically echoed.

The longer they conversed, the more Wang Sheng appeared to be a strategist ready to divide the world before ever leaving his thatched hut.

After Wang Sheng had repeated his ideas for the Xinghai Sect's future development, Linyuan stroked his beard while looking at Xuni, who had fallen into thought. A moment later, Xuni remembered she was currently in disguise. She lowered her head and quietly took some food.

Linyuan shifted to discussing Dao scriptures, revealing that on the scripture repository's fifth floor were several volumes of miscellaneous Daoist texts that the Old Man of Xinghai had annotated. If Wang Sheng were interested in them, he could go read them.

He then glanced at Xuni, who nodded subtly. Linyuan took out a jade pendant from his sleeve.

"Young Friend Pi, this item will allow you to freely enter the fifth floor of the scripture repository. If you have any concerns, you may use it to see the vice sect master directly."

Wang Sheng smiled and accepted it without ceremony. If nothing else, he always upheld one code: immediately take what was offered. Pushing back and forth was pointless.

The reward that the Xinghai Sect gave him only increased his access, not his position, but he was in no hurry. Considering he had only just joined the Xinghai Sect, it was only natural that they were still wary of him.

They drank and talked late into the night before his guests finally took their leave.

Lost in thought at the door, Wang Sheng toyed with the two identity jade pendants in his hand. He then activated his arrays and returned to his seclusion room.

Before going upstairs, he called his two maids, who were cleaning the hall. "You two..."

Both stiffened at once.

"Remember to bring me a cup of tea as well next time."

"Y-yes, Master!"

***

Two days after Wang Sheng went into seclusion, the sect master, vice sect master, and core disciples were summoned to the great palace to discuss the Xinghai Sect's future.

"Xuni" naturally wasn't one of them. After all, that was only a fake identity.

Half a day later, Linyuan realized that not one of all the members and elders present could offer a sound plan. They only reminisced about the sect's former glory and sighed over the misfortune they now faced.

The sect master remained silent, his expression grim. Even the vice sect master, who had been leading the discussion, gradually fell quiet.

Another half a day passed. Everyone dispersed to cultivate in their own dwellings, while the sect master, vice sect master, elders, and core disciples gathered in a secret chamber. They all looked troubled.

The snake-tailed vice sect master calmly commented, "So many of our disciples speak freely, yet not one of them is useful."

Linyuan frowned. "Protector Pi is a valuable asset we should be putting to good use. How else are we supposed to keep such talent?"

An elder immediately countered, "He's only just joined the sect. We don't even know his background. What if he's a spy of another celestial sect?"

Yao Xingzi, their tall and thin sect master, asked from the main seat, "You still haven't checked his origins?"

A middle-aged female cultivator replied, "We're trying, but it's proving difficult. Many cultivators enter and leave Fengmo every day. All we know is that he lived for decades in the Tonglin Immortal Sect's market. When the Fengli Sect swallowed them, he moved to our market. We can't find any record of him fighting, but he does have records of coming to the ancient battlefield and selling celestial insects at a stall."

The vice sect master calmly responded, "You've all heard of his entry test. A late-stage Primordial Immortal shouldn't be able to resist my divine ability."

"We should still be cautious—"

Dong~

The ten or so people in the chamber rose at once. The sect master's Heavenly Immortal pressure spread faintly.

Yao Xingzi then stood up and calmly declared, "Calm down. It's just one of the disciples guarding the gate coming over with a report. Anyway, prepare the sect at once. The Celestial Wind Sect's young sect master has arrived."