Chapter 589: Three Moons Competing for Brilliance

"Her six spirits are calm, her three fragments of the ethereal souls are auspicious and tranquil, and her Primordial Spirit is complete and flawless..." Stroking his beard, Yao Xingzi frowned. "For most cultivators, impaired speech simply means their Primordial Spirit has been damaged. I truly can't tell what is going on here."

Wang Sheng said, "My senior sister suffered a fright when she was young. Could it be related to that?"

Mu Wanxuan, who was standing nearby, blinked.

A fright?

Understanding then dawned on her face. She realized that her junior brother was referring to the incident years ago when their master told her ghost stories.

"How could one possibly be frightened into only being able to say two words at once?"

Yao Xingzi frowned repeatedly at the side, his eyes full of confusion. He pondered for a long time, stood up, and then began pacing back and forth, clearly taking the matter very seriously.

Mu Wanxuan tugged at Wang Sheng's arm. Wang Sheng shook his head at her, signaling that she shouldn't be anxious and to simply let Yao Xingzi think it over for a while.

The Heavenly Immortal might not be particularly skilled at managing a sect, but he was at least stubbornly earnest. Though he seemed to have walked into a dead end, he showed some sort of "bull-headed" fixation, determined not to let the matter go until he fully understood it.

When Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan bid farewell to him, he was still lost in thought over the problem. After they left, he even took out several jade slips. They contained vast amounts of information—notes that he had recorded while cultivating under his master.

Yao Xingzi searched through them for quite some time. Not only was it obvious that he wanted to understand why Mu Wanxuan had turned out in such a way, but it was also clear that his concern was not simply due to her identity.

Back in the small pavilion, Wang Sheng removed his Daoist robe and lay down on the rarely used bed. His senior sister sat by the window, admiring the ethereal clouds drifting beyond the back mountain.

"I didn't expect the Old Man of Xinghai to have once served in the Heavenly Court."

Wang Sheng summoned Spiritless, and Yaoyun appeared atop the hilt. She had naturally heard everything about the matter earlier.

Yaoyun didn't comment much on the Old Man of Xinghai. She only said, "I have no specific recollection of such an individual. Since the Heavenly Court was at the height of its prosperity during those years, it had countless capable and extraordinary members."

Mu Wanxuan immediately drifted over and sat at the bedside, looking at the palm-sized Yaoyun.

A little, fairy-like, spiritual entity figurine...

She wanted one.

"Not even Sect Master Yao Xingzi can clearly explain why Senior Sister's speech is impaired," Wang Sheng said as he gently squeezed his senior sister's soft hand.

Mu Wanxuan gave him a faint, helpless smile and simply shrugged.

"This is related to Hua Qing's reincarnation," Yaoyun said. "Before her death, Hua Qing already attained the fruit of immortality, reached the Golden Immortal Realm, and became a proper deity of the Heavenly Court. During the great war, Hua Qing was severely injured. Her soul was most likely already flawed when she reincarnated, leading to innate deficiencies and almost a premature death."

Wang Sheng frowned. "My senior sister's reincarnated soul is incomplete?"

"Yes," Yaoyun replied softly as she drifted in front of Mu Wanxuan. "I'm only speculating, though. No one actually knows the whole truth. It's also quite difficult to determine why Hua Qing lost all her memories when she reincarnated, even though she was already a Golden Immortal."

Wang Sheng sat up and fell into deep thought.

Meanwhile, Mu Wanxuan's attention was on a completely different matter.

She kept thinking that if she could just jump back to her old cultivation realm or at least regain her cultivation insights, she would be able to break through rapidly and return to the Golden Immortal Realm without too much difficulty. That would allow her to properly fulfill her role as Wang Sheng's senior sister and take good care of him.

Unfortunately, at the Platform of Immortal Dream, she only experienced a segment of Hua Qing's life within a dream. She didn't regain even a shred of cultivation insight.

Hua Qing had cultivated for more than seven hundred thousand years. It was unfortunate, but Mu Wanxuan couldn't possibly comprehend all of her previous life's experiences within a mere thousand-year dream.

They discussed the matter back and forth, but they ended up failing to reach a conclusion. The problem was simply far beyond their capabilities.

Out of his desire to protect his senior sister, Wang Sheng didn't dwell on the matter further. Since they couldn't change her speech, he would simply speak on her behalf in the future.

A problem with her throat? That was impossible. Even he found that thought somewhat ridiculous. When his senior sister used voice transmission, she still only said two words at a time.

"Rest for now. Tomorrow, I'll take you to meet the vice sect master, Senior Sister."

Mu Wanxuan murmured, "Lishang..."

That descendant of Nuwa had a human upper body and a serpentine tail. Just thinking about it was enough to make her feel... very excited!

Moreover, according to her junior brother, Lishang had given him enormous benefits and shared a deep connection with him. She would have to go and meet her sooner or later.

Yaoyun telepathically asked Wang Sheng, "

You want Hua Qing to go meet that Lishang?

"

Wang Sheng was confused. "

What's wrong with that?

"

Lishang had previously instructed him that once his senior sister arrived, he should inform her so she could come out of seclusion. After all, he had mentioned along the way that his senior sister might get along with her.

Yaoyun coldly replied, "

Hmph. I only looked away for a mere hundred years, yet you've already come home with some woman named Lishang. If I leave you for a thousand years, are you planning to learn from the Ancient Era's human race and copy Emperor Xuanyuan's harem of three thousand?

"

"

Don't be ridiculous!

"

Wang Sheng glared at Yaoyun, yet Yaoyun did not care in the slightest.

"

Mm?

" Seemingly noticing the subtle tension between Wang Sheng and Yaoyun, Mu Wanxuan whispered, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Yaoyun said indifferently. "I simply recalled an old anecdote. Romantic entanglements were said to surround Chun Yangzi, yet many of them were not of his own choosing. Back when the Pure Yang Immortal Mantra was incomplete, it frequently ran out of control and required the assistance of women to suppress it.

"What I did not expect was that even after it had been perfected, the hearts of men would still fail to learn how to be satisfied."

Wang Sheng frowned. In a tone that wasn't particularly harsh, he replied, "That's going too far, Yaoyun."

Yaoyun softly snorted and flew onto Mu Wanxuan's shoulder. She then turned her head away, paying Wang Sheng no attention.

Wang Sheng was at a loss for words.

He sighed deeply, spread his arms, and lay back on the bed. Mu Wanxuan had been about to ask what was wrong, but Yaoyun leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words.

Mu Wanxuan frowned slightly. "Really?"

"Of course. Just trust me, Hua Qing."

Hearing how certain Yaoyun sounded, Mu Wanxuan glanced at Wang Sheng. With light steps, she lowered her head and brought Yaoyun into the quiet room next door.

Wang Sheng immediately stood up and took two steps toward the wall. Just as he was about to carefully probe with his immortal perception to see what they were doing, a familiar glow flashed. Yaoyun had already set up a barrier.

That little sword spirit of mine is really getting out of hand!

Wang Sheng then realized that his sword spirit had never truly "stepped off her pedestal" in the first place. Despite being her sword master, he seemed to have no authority whatsoever.

Thinking that Yaoyun was surely filling his senior sister's mind with talk about men being fickle by nature, Wang Sheng genuinely didn't know how he could prove his unwavering devotion to his senior sister.

He smiled bitterly and shook his head slightly. "This is far too difficult. It is completely groundless."

Before long, Mu Wanxuan slowly and gracefully walked over in a long, plain white dress, her eyes curved slightly in faint delight. Her cloud-like hair fell softly, as if immortal qi surrounded her.

Wang Sheng was stunned.

Yaoyun floated back onto Wang Sheng's shoulder and urged, "Let's go meet this descendant of Nuwa."

Wang Sheng nodded. He had nothing to hide and nothing to fear.

He took the initiative to hold his senior sister's small hand. She naturally hooked her arm through his, clearly unaffected by anything Yaoyun had said.

The martial siblings and the sword spirit left the small pavilion. Wang Sheng rode the clouds toward the valley where Lishang was in seclusion.

Upon arrival, he took out the token that Lishang had given him, allowing them to descend without obstruction. Layer upon layer of arrays, clearly more refined than the ones before, opened a little for them and then swiftly closed behind them.

When they landed beside the lotus pond, Wang Sheng extended his immortal perception and sensed Lishang's aura beneath the water. She seemed to have just awakened from seclusion, yet she did not come out to greet them immediately.

Wang Sheng calmly greeted, "Vice Sect Master Lishang, I've brought my senior sister with me."

Strands of immortal light rose from under the lotus pond. Lishang's voice drifted out with the glow. "Please rest in the house first. I'll be out shortly."

"Let's wait inside," Wang Sheng said, then led his senior sister into the pavilion, moving with practiced familiarity.

Mu Wanxuan looked at the simple furnishings and softly said, "Comfy."

"You mean the arrangement here?"

"

Mmhmm.

"

Wang Sheng led his senior sister to sit beside the low table. While he could behave casually, Mu Wanxuan didn't sit cross-legged since this was her first time here. Instead, she gently gathered her skirt and knelt quietly to one side. The graceful curves that the action revealed caused Wang Sheng's throat to tighten unconsciously.

At that moment, he realized that his senior sister seemed different from usual.

His senior sister had always been beautiful, but she usually exuded a strong sense of cool detachment and had an otherworldly purity rooted deep within her. She also always had clear and tranquil eyes. The ripples stirred in Wang Sheng's heart often turned into restraint and hesitation.

Now, though Mu Wanxuan remained ethereal, her coldness had softened considerably. She moved with a feminine, gentle tenderness, like a pure orchid blooming alone in a quiet valley, so soft that it seemed she would grant Wang Sheng anything he asked.

Wang Sheng's Pure Yang Immortal Power was truly on the verge of stirring now.

At that moment, they heard water splashing from outside the pavilion. They turned to look and saw a figure slowly emerging from the lotus pond, wrapped in immortal light.

If Mu Wanxuan's beauty was gentle and lingering, leaving one reluctant to leave; then Lishang's radiated heat, intense and overtly aggressive.

She did not appear with a serpentine tail. Instead, she was in her human form, her jade-like feet as smooth as mutton fat jade. She was in a red chest-bound garment, with a few strands of her pale-green hair falling loosely before her chest. Light-red makeup traced the corners of her phoenix eyes, making her strikingly alluring.

Wang Sheng lowered his head and coughed softly, suddenly sensing that the atmosphere was slightly off.

Mu Wanxuan didn't cause this unease. After all, she trusted Wang Sheng completely. On the contrary, upon seeing Lishang, she even let out a soft "wow."

The one who met Lishang's gaze was actually the tiny fairy on Wang Sheng's shoulder. Immortal light swayed gently as she gradually transformed into a graceful figure beside Wang Sheng. She was in a magnificent gown and donned the very look that had once stunned the immortals gathered at the Jade Pool banquet[1]. She stood quietly at Wang Sheng's side.

Lishang could not help but look at the spiritual entity a few more times. "And this is?"

"A sword spirit—

ahem.

She's my sword spirit."

Wang Sheng had already come back to his senses. The one harboring hostility toward Lishang was clearly not his senior sister. It was Yaoyun.

Just like back then with Xi Lian, Yaoyun feared that he would fail his senior sister. After all, Hua Qing was one of the very few Heavenly Court immortals whom Yaoyun could still find.

"This is my senior sister. Her Daoist name is Bu Yu," Wang Sheng said as he stood up and took Mu Wanxuan's hand. He smiled and added, "She is the Daoist partner I have mentioned many times before, and the person I value most."

Lishang immediately smiled faintly and gently nodded toward Mu Wanxuan.

Mu Wanxuan's cheeks flushed. That single line about being the one Wang Sheng valued most left her a little lightheaded, yet she still remembered to bow in greeting.

1. Jade Pool banquet was the most prestigious celestial feast in heaven, hosted by the Queen Mother of the West ☜