Chapter 671: Gathering of Powers On Qiling

The space trembled for nine whole days.

Wang Sheng hid on a desolate planet[1] in Qiling's solar system and endured that time in quiet torment. Eventually, he sensed the complete calm that settled across heaven and earth. Only then did he return Mu Wanxuan's soul lamp, which he had been holding the entire time, back into his Qiankun Ring.

He took out the bronze mirror and waited in silence for a while. A faint layer of mist slowly spread across it, and within the mist, he vaguely made out Mu Wanxuan sitting quietly at the center of the pool. The flame of a cyan lamp swayed gently beside her, while Lin Feiyao remained nearby, keeping her company.

The bronze mirror that the Apricot-Yellow Banner had given still retained a faint trace of its power, which eased Wang Sheng's heart slightly.

From the mirror's response, he could tell that Qinghua had already departed safely. The wooden coffin that carried the palace had also gone off to an extremely distant place.

Space was vast beyond measure. Many Heavenly Immortals exhausted their entire lives without ever traversing the main regions of the four great domains, let alone the distant boundaries that continued to expand outward.

Standing on the magma-covered surface of the desolate planet, Wang Sheng fell into thought for a short while before steadying his spirit. He then carefully stored away the bronze mirror, which would be the key to finding his senior sister in the future. Although it also had life-saving abilities, escaping would likely be exceedingly difficult anyway in a situation where he had no other option but to rely on it.

He quickly adjusted his mindset and lowered his head to think.

What should I do next?

Wang Sheng had long considered returning to the thirteen qi planets, destroying the Celestial Wind Sect, stabilizing those planets' environment, using the Xinghai Sect as cover to bring cultivators from Earth over, and establishing his own forces. He had even made preliminary progress on those matters.

Though he had accompanied his senior sister in her search for the divine tree, he never expected to become involved in Qinghua's great undertaking to reverse life and death. Even more shocking, the emperor had taken his senior sister away for focused nurturing.

In the long term, this would benefit Earth's cultivators, his senior sister, and their future life together. The only drawback was that he and his senior sister would have to be separated for a time.

Raising his head and gazing at the dim gray sky above, he sighed and muttered, "We just got married, yet we're already stuck in a long-distance relationship across the stars."

With a light tap of his foot, Wang Sheng shot up into the air, transforming into a streak of flames as he burst free from the atmosphere of the desolate planet and sped toward Qiling. Before leaving, he planned to visit the Qiling Immortal Sect to bid farewell to Zhuge Lin and leave behind a few more spiritual herbs that he had collected for them.

The Qiling Immortal Sect was a major sect that focused on pill refinement. It could be considered Qinghua's hidden force. Their paths would inevitably cross again in the future.

Wang Sheng also had to ask them for another batch of Three-Essence Enlightenment Pills and Six-Aperture Dao Comprehension Pellets. Moreover, he wanted to inquire about the great battle, which he had not been able to witness.

Did Emperor Qinghua win? Did he slay any powerful enemies? Was he unscathed or injured?

These matters were of critical importance to his senior sister's safety.

Aboard the Shadowless Shuttle, Wang Sheng soon arrived at Qiling. He had intended to head straight for the Qiling Immortal Sect, but he quickly sensed the unusual atmosphere above the sect.

The first time he came to Qiling, he sensed the aura of a Golden Immortal. Hence, even though he had just emerged from the primal qi passage, he was forced to immediately retreat. He visited again when he was at a loss about how to enter the mustard-seed realm. Bringing his senior sister with him, they searched for a way inside.

He only ever sensed the aura of one Golden Immortal on both occasions. Although Qiling was bustling, and it was common to see people flying in its skies, few traveled in and out of its atmosphere.

Now, however, he could feel pressure coming from dozens of Golden Immortals all over Qiling. Two obscure yet terrifying auras even lingered on the planet itself. Moreover, there were far too many streams of light passing in and out of its atmosphere.

Without hesitation, Wang Sheng withdrew his Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent and Heavenly Ziwei Sword Intent, which he had previously revealed within the great array. He then released his Dual-Polarity Dao Rhythm as he descended toward the familiar city below.

The scattered distribution of these Golden Immortal Realm pressures suggested that these experts did not belong to a single faction.

At the Qiling Immortal Sect's mountain gate, sixteen Golden Immortal Realm pressures gathered, an indication that the sect had invited reinforcements.

Dressed in a cyan robe and standing on Flying Haze, Wang Sheng landed before the gates of the city. He drifted slowly along the ground and joined the long queue at the entrance. Slightly extending his immortal perception, he soon caught fragments of several immortals' conversations, giving him the gist of the situation.

According to them, some celestial sects were unwilling to accept their losses. Having suffered heavy casualties in the great array with nothing to show for it, they now intended to seize an opportunity to extort the Qiling Immortal Sect.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Wang Sheng just smiled faintly. Once inside the city, he found an inn to stay in, set up a qi-gathering formation, and cultivated in seclusion. This was not the right time to visit the Qiling Immortal Sect. Observing the situation first would allow him to decide whether his involvement would later be required.

With silence now surrounding him and his senior sister no longer at his side, he felt hollow and empty. Memories of their nine days together constantly replayed in his mind, especially her initial confusion and nervousness. His heart overflowed with longing for her.

Spring blossoms and autumn moon carried half a trace of tenderness. A single shared dream left no mark behind.

Soon, his mind began to wander into idle and scattered musings. A sudden thought then struck him.

Is Senior Sister pregnant?

The higher one's cultivation was, the more difficult it was to conceive. However, since they had been in a vitality-rich environment when they had done it, he couldn't be completely certain.

It was probably unlikely, though.

Female immortals, even those who had yet to ascend, could immediately sense if they were pregnant for as long as they could see their inner selves. Mu Wanxuan didn't show any unusual signs.

For no clear reason, Wang Sheng found himself reddening and feeling warmer.

What nonsense am I thinking? Senior Sister has only just married me, yet I already want children. Pregnancy and childbirth greatly deplete a female cultivator's primal qi. In severe cases, it can even hinder cultivation and delay breakthroughs.

Wang Sheng scratched his head and sighed quietly.

We have tens of thousands of years to spend together as a couple. There's no need to rush our decision on whether to expand into a family of three.

Images appeared in his mind. His senior sister's every expression, even her eyebrows' faint tension and gentle ease, all appeared intoxicating. For a time, he found it difficult to calm himself down.

He had no idea what sort of fortune he had accumulated over countless lifetimes to be able to form such a bond with his senior sister. Even if it meant staking his life, he would ensure that she lived in peace, joy, and carefree immortality.

Feeling invigorated, he forced himself into meditation and cultivated for a while.

***

Three days later, Wang Sheng emerged from the small courtyard that he had rented. He wandered through the city market, casually purchased a few alchemical pills, and gathered some news.

Just as he had suspected, many celestial gates were seeking to pressure the Qiling Immortal Sect and extract benefits from them.

On the day Qinghua battled seven mighty figures from the Immortal Saint Realm, most of the celestial sects' forces took advantage of the chaos to flee. Fearing his reckoning, the experts and factions connected to the destruction of the Heavenly Court fled with even more desperation.

However, quite a lot also treated Qiling as a transfer station. Among them, a small group targeted the Qiling Immortal Sect. They claimed that the great array was a trap that Qinghua had created, then questioned how the Qiling Immortal Sect had entered and exited it for over one hundred thousand years without incident and how they managed to use it as a medicinal herb garden.

During previous explorations, the sect also suffered only minimal casualties. Meanwhile, the celestial sects insisted that they had suffered heavy losses because a lot of their members and disciples had fallen to the grand array and the dangers it hid.

They had publicly declared that if the Qiling Immortal Sect failed to provide a satisfactory explanation in one year, they would unite and demand accountability. Hence, panic spread across Qiling. Unwilling to get caught in their conflict, many unaffiliated practitioners withdrew from the area.

How could Wang Sheng fail to understand what they truly meant? In truth, they just wanted the sect to bleed and hand over sufficient benefits.

The celestial sects accusing the Qiling Immortal Sect of having ties to Qinghua were likely the ones who believed it the least. Otherwise, they wouldn't have dared threaten it so openly.

The Qiling Immortal Sect responded with firm resolve. Wensheng personally stepped forward several times to clarify that they had only stumbled upon the array by chance and had no connection to Qinghua. Otherwise, why had they not taken the many spiritual herbs that were over a hundred thousand or even two hundred thousand years old within the array?

The argument was reasonable.

After returning to his rented courtyard, Wang Sheng summoned Yaoyun and discussed matters with her for a time. Perhaps because he was now a married immortal, he behaved more properly before Yaoyun, and his tone became noticeably gentler.

"One year isn't that long," Yaoyun said. "I doubt anything will happen in the thirteen qi planets in that time, and we also have to repay the kindness the Qiling Immortal Sect has shown us. We can wait here for now."

Wang Sheng nodded. After analyzing their next steps, they decided that after fifteen days, he would visit the familiar pavilion again and see whether he could contact Cha Yue.

***

Half a month later.

Wang Sheng withdrew his spiritual perception. With Qiling in such chaos, he reasoned that no one would pay special attention to a mere early-stage Heavenly Immortal like himself.

He changed into a deep blue Daoist robe, tied his hair with drifting-cloud ribbons, and strapped the decorative immortal sword he had purchased earlier to his back. He then unleashed his Dual-Polarity Sword Intent, left the courtyard, and flew straight to the street above the clouds. While strolling through it, he deliberately visited several shops before entering the Lingdan Pavilion.

The Lingdan Pavilion was bustling with activity. When Wang Sheng arrived, seven or eight customers were already inside seeking celestial pills and precious medicines.

He was prepared for Cha Yue not to be around. However, to his surprise, he immediately saw her as soon as he stepped inside. Her eyes lit up, and she hurried over.

Cha Yue blinked subtly at him, as if offering a quiet reminder, then said, "It's been a while, Immortal Master Wang. Though you rarely visit, I'm pleased that you have come to support our sect's business once again."

Wang Sheng immediately understood what she meant. Smiling, he nodded. "The last batch of alchemical pills proved insufficient; I had no choice but to make another trip."

Cha Yue bowed slightly and said softly, "Please follow me, Immortal Master. We can discuss matters in a private room."

The Qiling Immortal Sect seemed to have already anticipated that he would seek her out here.

Wang Sheng calmly nodded again and followed behind her, his sword resting against his back. However, after taking only two steps, he heard a rough shout from behind him.

"You, young man with the sword! Please hold on a moment!"

Wang Sheng glanced to the side and frowned slightly. A tall, burly man strode toward him from the street like a moving iron tower.

Why does it have to be him?

1. For accuracy, "waste star" has been changed to "desolate star," or "desolate planet" from an Earthling's POV. ☜