Chapter 636: Qiling Immortal Sect

After waiting outside for several hours, the Heavenly Immortal who had entered the mustard seed realm earlier finally flew back out amid a swirling vortex. He mounted a streak of flowing light and sped straight toward Qiling.

Inside the Shadowless Shuttle, the trio discussed their options for quite some time. In the end, Wang Sheng decided that Mu Wanxuan should remain inside the shuttle while he carried Spiritless and went alone to the location of the gateway.

Leaving the Shadowless Shuttle was already risky, but there was no other choice. After all, no matter how hard they stared, they could not break through the restriction by just staring at it.

Wang Sheng and Yaoyun used every method they could think of. They poked at the area with their sword, then deployed spatial arrays in an attempt to interfere with the restriction's operation. After a long stretch of effort, they still failed to cause even the slightest reaction from the hidden realm.

They could pinpoint the exact location of that "speck of dust," yet they had no way to enter it, leaving them in a rather awkward position. They had reached the edge of a treasure mountain, yet they lacked the fated opportunity to step inside.

Having spent several years on this endeavor already, they found it difficult to give up. More importantly, this concerned Mu Wanxuan's future. Wang Sheng could not afford to treat it lightly.

"Let's go to Qiling," he suggested. "If this place is under the control of that Golden Immortal, then we will have to deal with them sooner or later."

Yaoyun hesitated slightly. "If we head there casually and they deliberately make things difficult for us, what then?"

"Let's figure out what kind of reputation this Golden Immortal has first. There is no obvious bloody or baleful aura on Qiling, and as long as we keep a low profile, we should be fine."

"Did you bring the jade disk Chun Yangzi gave you? If we fail to reason with the Golden Immortal, we can find a nearby expert to come help us. This place is already far from the thirteen qi stars. Even if our connection to the Heavenly Court is exposed, we can simply leave afterward. It should not bring trouble to Earth's cultivation world."

"Of course I brought it..." Wang Sheng took out the jade disk, studied the information recorded within for a while, then put it away again. "Most of the experts listed in it are hiding in very remote places that are far from here.

"They fled to avoid disaster. Dragging them back into trouble for our sake would not be very proper. Let's try to solve this ourselves first. If we fail, then we can invite a senior or two to assist us."

"Alright."

Mu Wanxuan, who had been quietly watching from the side, remarked, "No need..."

Wang Sheng smiled gently. "It's fine, Senior Sister. As the saying goes, 'when there's a will, there's a way.' Only when we have the resolve to succeed do we have a chance to make it happen."

Mu Wanxuan nodded softly. "Alright then."

She did not want her junior brother and Yaoyun to take risks for her sake, but since Wang Sheng had made up his mind, she stopped opposing him.

To avoid attracting attention, Wang Sheng put considerable effort into disguising himself.

When facing a Golden Immortal, one's powerful treasures became the most dangerous factor, especially those that were eye-catching. If they could remain hidden, then they absolutely should.

He stored Spiritless, the Dragon Sword, and his immortal armor inside the Qiankun Ring. Afterward, he placed the ring into the sword core of Flying Haze and used the profound mysteries of the Sword-Nurturing Technique to merge the sword core with his own flesh and blood, perfectly concealing the ring's presence.

Mu Wanxuan also changed out of her spiritual treasure garment, and the little green bird temporarily returned to its nest. Wang Sheng stood to the side with his hands behind his back, watching her change without much thought. Mu Wanxuan herself did not really mind, either. Nevertheless, Yaoyun transformed into human form, tiptoed in front of Mu Wanxuan, and let her fluttering immortal robes block Wang Sheng's view.

Wang Sheng frowned, muttered a few complaints in his heart, and silently turned away.

She's my senior sister. What is there that I'm not allowed to see?

Wang Sheng also prepared two additional storage artifacts. One was filled with large quantities of Spirit Stones, serving as a purse for everyday expenses. The other contained valuable materials, mainly for artifact crafting.

With money, one could travel the world. Without it, everything would become difficult. This principle was true even across the endless space. One could never go wrong with preparing more Spirit Stones and valuable crafting materials.

After flying for half a day, they once again arrived at the planet that a Golden Immortal guarded.

From afar, when viewed from space, Qiling appeared mostly earthy yellow, with faint streaks of dark green mixed in. However, the planet was not a barren desert. On the contrary, vegetation covered it, though most of the plants had pale yellow leaves.

Green symbolized vitality, but that was merely common knowledge on Earth, not an absolute truth.

Half of the entire planet was land. Mountains, plains, and rolling hills could be seen everywhere. Among the never-ending mountain ranges lay scattered cities where cultivators gathered, while numerous celestial islands dotted the seas.

Wang Sheng led Mu Wanxuan out of the Shadowless Shuttle and slowly approached Qiling.

There were also vast numbers of unaffiliated practitioners on this planet, but few ventured into space daily. Most cultivated in seclusion, and when they had to travel, they used primal qi passages.

This planet contained many mineral veins and produced several types of precious materials used for artifact crafting. The Qiling Immortal Sect, the celestial sect that the Golden Immortal ruled over, controlled half of these veins and materials.

Wang Sheng had once been curious why the Golden Immortal had not taken complete control of the Qiling Immortal Sect.

This planet had vast lands and produced large amounts of primal qi, far surpassing that of Earth or any of the thirteen celestial bodies near the ancient battlefield. With primal qi passages maintaining the flow of primal qi between planets, the overall amount of it here remained consistently high.

This place could truly be considered a blessed land for cultivation within the endless space.

Curious about the city, Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan arrived at a prominent large city. Wang Sheng was in a blue Daoist robe and a flowing cloud headscarf, making him look unusually refined and scholarly. Meanwhile, Mu Wanxuan had changed into a loose long dress and put on a veil. She stayed close to Wang Sheng the entire time, making it obvious at a glance that they were a pair of Daoist partners.

The city walls stood twenty to thirty meters tall, giving off a sense of solid weight without feeling overly oppressive. Moreover, the defensive array surrounding the city operated only at its minimum level, which indirectly showed that this place was usually peaceful.

A short line had formed before the city gate. Several streaks of light flew straight into the city from above, and the celestial soldiers guarding the gate barely spared them a glance.

When it was their turn to enter, one of the soldiers asked politely, "May I ask what business you two have in this city?"

Wang Sheng smiled. "We are here to exchange for some alchemical pills."

"May I have your Daoist names and cultivation realms?"

"My Daoist name is Fei Yu, and this is my Daoist partner, Bu Yu. I am at the True Immortal Realm, and my partner is about to reach the Ascended Immortal Realm."

"Please wait a moment, Senior," the soldier said. Instantly becoming more respectful, he lowered his head and infused immortal power into a jade pendant, recording several lines of information. Soon after, he looked up again. "Is this your first time on Qiling?"

Wang Sheng nodded. "That is correct. We came here because of its reputation."

The soldier handed over a wooden plaque. "You are about to enter Lingji City, ranked sixth among the cities of Qiling. The rules of the city are written on this plaque. Please make sure to read them carefully and carry the plaque with you at all times."

Wang Sheng clasped his hands in thanks. "Much obliged."

The soldier stepped aside and gestured for them to enter. He did not collect even a single Spirit Stone as a toll—a clear indication of a great immortal sect.

Once inside the city, immortal light could be seen swirling everywhere. Floating pavilions hovered in the air, and there were even entire streets drifting among the clouds, lined with shops.

When Wang Sheng swept the area with his immortal perception, he found that the streets and buildings on the ground were laid out with remarkable precision. The dense rows of houses faintly formed a massive qi-gathering formation.

Could this Golden Immortal possibly be... a Virgo?

Wang Sheng found a quiet shop and bought two pieces of jewelry for his senior sister. He also took the chance to ask the shopkeeper a few questions.

The shopkeeper was quite talkative—

ahem,

he enjoyed idle conversations. Besides, everything Wang Sheng asked about was common knowledge on Qiling. Only someone visiting for the first time would find such things novel.

The more the shopkeeper revealed, the more the Golden Immortal impressed Wang Sheng.

If they wanted to, the Qiling Immortal Sect could claim all the mineral veins and primal qi of Qiling for themselves. However, their sect master's true brilliance lay in their rule that they would only take half and allow unaffiliated practitioners to mine the other half freely. This preserved the population of unaffiliated practitioners on Qiling and also earned the sect immense prestige.

With unaffiliated practitioners gathering here and time stretching on endlessly, the planet gained far greater numbers of mortals whose aptitudes were insufficient for cultivation. They spread across the various towns, earning their living through labor and constantly giving birth to new generations of humans with decent cultivation potential.

In the world of cultivators, the Qiling Immortal Sect used city regulations and auction houses to influence large numbers of unaffiliated practitioners. It also firmly controlled two major industries: alchemical pills and treasured artifacts. In the mortal world, the sect dominated the smelting, medicinal herb, and food industries.

All of Qinglin kept generating wealth. Moreover, no matter how that wealth circulated, it ultimately flowed back into the sect's hands. Through this cycle, the planet maintained its prosperity, allowing the sect to grow steadily and without interruption.

Beyond its refined governance, the Qiling Immortal Sect was also famed for the high quality and wide variety of celestial pills that it exported to dozens or even hundreds of surrounding planets. The three large teleportation arrays on Qiling had all been built mainly to facilitate the transport of these celestial pills.

No one knew for sure how long the sect had been around. Some claimed it had endured for over a hundred thousand years, while others said it was founded several hundred thousand years ago. Regardless, its accumulated wealth likely surpassed even that of the Celestial Wind Sect, which controlled three entire planets.

Wang Sheng murmured, "That's impressive."

After leaving the shop, he led Mu Wanxuan toward the floating pavilions overhead and soon found the Lingdan Pavilion, which the Qiling Immortal Sect operated. Its interior was arranged much like a library. Instead of books, however, the shelves were filled with bottles of alchemical pills, each clearly labeled with its effects and the price per pill.

The selection was astonishingly broad, ranging from life-saving pills capable of healing the dying to elixirs used to nourish and stabilize pregnancies. Anything Wang Sheng could think of was within the range of his immortal perception.

Judging by their quality, they were all high-grade pills. More importantly, the prices were fair, with no outrageous inflation.

Seeing Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan standing still, a middle-aged female immortal in palace attire approached them and gently asked, "May I ask what alchemical pills the two of you require?"

Wang Sheng clasped his hands and smiled. "I encountered some obstacles in my cultivation. My Daoist realm cannot keep up with my cultivation realm, so I came here by reputation. I was wondering if you have any pills that can help with this issue."

"Oh?" The woman looked Wang Sheng over carefully before smiling. "Our pavilion holds tens of thousands of pills and thousands of different elixirs. Naturally, we have what you seek. However, pills of this type are difficult to refine and quite expensive. If your Daoist realm is lacking, you can simply cultivate in peace. With enough time, it will naturally catch up. There is no absolute need to rely on pills.

"You should know that any pill meant to increase cultivation or deepen enlightenment will leave some aftereffects, no matter how small. You should consider this carefully."

Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan now had an even better impression of the Qiling Immortal Sect. Only a sect that truly lacked nothing would speak in such a manner.