Chapter 705: Infiltrating the Mountain Gate, The Perfect Assist

The forces of heaven and earth were never constant, and even celestial sects rose and fell.

Wang Sheng had waited far too long for this day. The obsession had taken root back in the blood mine. Afterward, when Qinglin died, he swore a heavy oath. Now, that vow had brought him all the way to this moment.

On his back rested the Dragon Sword. He wore his immortal armor, gripped Spiritless, and held the Great Dao sword case against his chest.

He appeared to be traveling alone, racing across the ancient battlefield using Soaring Red Feathers. In truth, not far behind him, Lin Yun was secretly following with Lishang and the others.

He felt neither tense nor excited. His heart was utterly calm.

Wang Sheng examined this subtle state of mind and concluded that, deep down, he believed the destruction of the Celestial Wind Sect was inevitable, especially with Ling Sheng as his hidden trump card.

According to the intelligence that Huai Jing had gathered, the North-River Sword Sect, one of the Eastern Sky Region's ten great sects, also pulled out its support for the Celestial Wind Sect when it expelled Li Tianyao. However, the Celestial Wind Sect soon found another major sect to rely on.

Its new patron, the East-Sea Sword Sect, was also a sword sect devoted to the Dao of the Sword. Its name seemed to have been deliberately chosen to oppose the North-River Sword Sect.

Rumor had it that the founder of the East-Sea Sword Sect had once been an elder expelled from the North-River Sword Sect. The crime that the elder had committed was no longer known. However, when the East-Sea Sword Sect grew to a certain size, friction between the two became constant. They had never gone to war openly, but their disciples inevitably clashed openly or covertly in every encounter.

The East-Sea Sword Sect was far smaller than the North-River Sword Sect, but it had several Golden Immortals. Though cautious by nature, the North-River Sword Sect never considered the East-Sea Sword Sect a true threat and had not bothered to suppress it.

An elderly couple led the East-Sea Sword Sect experts currently stationed within the Celestial Wind Sect. Both were at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, only half a step away from becoming Golden Immortals. Unfortunately, that remained an insurmountable barrier for them. One day, they would still grow old and die like mortals.

Their daughter was the Daoist partner of a Golden Immortal from the East-Sea Sword Sect, and Iron Hammer—

ahem

, Lingqiao was their niece. She was a Heavenly Immortal who had just married Li Tianyao. That woman was also the one whom Wang Sheng had seen exchanging affectionate glances with Li Tianyao in the divine tree's array.

All the East-Sea Sword Sect experts stationed in the Celestial Wind Sect took orders from Lingqiao. Not only did the elderly couple dote on her greatly, but she was also deeply devoted to Li Tianyao.

Taking all of that into consideration, Wang Sheng considered them all his unforgivable enemies. Still, he had to acknowledge that Li Tianyao had truly exhausted himself for the sake of the Celestial Wind Sect.

To prevent the East-Sea Sword Sect from sending in reinforcements during the coming battle, Wang Sheng assigned himself the additional mission of destroying the grand long-distance teleportation array that the Celestial Wind Sect had painstakingly constructed. Long Liekong had already told him all the details about the array and even revealed the flaws in the enemy sect's grand defensive array.

Though Wang Sheng planned to adapt to the situation, he would still attempt to sabotage the Celestial Wind Sect's defenses. He would then intercept and kill its Heavenly Immortals while luring the East-Sea Sword Sect's strongest fighters away from the Celestial Wind Sect's main planet. That would create the perfect opening for his group to strike.

A divine bird spread its wings and cried sharply as it filled the sky with flames, seemingly warming the frigid ancient battlefield slightly as Wang Sheng passed through. Enemy scouts searching for the Xinghai Sect's immortals soon picked up his trail.

Soaring Red Feathers had gradually become one of Wang Sheng's signature techniques.

The news quickly reached the Celestial Wind Sect's mountain gate. Already aware that Wang Sheng had returned, the sect immediately went on high alert, recalling experts from every corner and preparing a vast trap to face his revenge head-on.

Unfortunately for them, Wang Sheng had no intention of charging straight in.

Half a day away from the Celestial Wind Sect's solar system, he concealed the flames around him and slipped into the Shadowless Shuttle. Piloting the spacecraft, he vanished completely and easily shook off the trackers.

The Celestial Wind Sect found itself divided into two opinions. Most of the True Immortals knew just how terrifying Wang Sheng was with a sword. Furious, they demanded an early mobilization to search for his whereabouts and deny him any chance of a sneak attack.

The dozen or so East-Sea Sword Sect experts who held real authority remained perfectly calm, however. In their eyes, a mere early-stage Heavenly Immortal could not possibly cause real trouble.

Their arrogance spared Wang Sheng a great deal of effort.

After secretly infiltrating Tianfeng, he made minor alterations to his appearance, concealed his aura, and assumed the guise of a middle-aged scholar. He then headed toward the sect's mountain gate.

Relying on his powerful immortal perception and keen senses, he evaded patrol after patrol of celestial soldiers along the way. Eventually, he reached the gate's grand defensive array.

He then followed Long Liekong's instructions, circling along the edge of the array until he found a comparatively weaker spot. Breaking open a passage through it was no easy task, yet he did not hesitate. He immediately merged with Yaoyun, pinched the small wooden sword between the fingers of his left hand, and hit the weak point with his strongest attack: the Green Lotus Ultimate.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The blossoming green lotus swiftly tore open a gap in the array, and Wang Sheng slipped through in a flash. With Ling Sheng ready to act at any moment in his Qiankun Ring, he confidently forced his way in.

The attack shook the Celestial Wind Sect's mountain gate violently and scattered immortal light in all directions. In response, streaks of radiance flared from every corner of the mountain gate and rushed toward the site of the attack.

Amid the chaos, Wang Sheng plunged into a nearby lake, sank to the bottom, and concealed himself, waiting quietly for calm to return. His immortal perception captured the auras of experts gathering outside.

Hmm... Should I just have Ling Sheng wipe out the Celestial Wind Sect in one go? With the grand defensive array now fully activated, this is the perfect chance to eliminate the sect's elite all at once.

After some thought, Wang Sheng decided against it.

He could not rely too heavily on Ling Sheng. If he could accomplish it on his own, he had to at least give it a try. Otherwise, over time, Ling Sheng could fall into the devilish path, and he himself would lose his edge.

After half a day of lying low, the mountain gate gradually quieted down, though waves of immortal perception still swept back and forth in search of intruders.

Moving along the lakebed like a fish, Wang Sheng advanced silently. He couldn't care less that he was advancing slowly; he prioritized keeping himself hidden. Hence, it took him a full two hours to reach the vicinity of the sect's teleportation array.

If he could destroy it, they'd have already won sixty percent of the battle.

The Celestial Wind Sect clearly understood its importance. Three Heavenly Immortals and dozens of True Immortals guarded the array, all seated cross-legged before it in meditation. They looked difficult to deal with.

After careful consideration, Wang Sheng decided on a plan of attack. He swallowed two alchemical pills underwater to refill his immortal power. His eyes gleamed with cold focus. With Spiritless in his grip, he prepared to charge out and strike with explosive force.

Before he could, however, a woman emerged from the nearby grove. Looking dejected, she slowly approached the edge of the water and stared at the lake.

Wang Sheng stopped at once and observed her closely. He recognized her—she was the traitor who had caused considerable trouble for the Fengli Sect.

Lan Huilin.

What is she doing here? Judging by her expression, her life doesn't seem to be going so well.

Sighing softly, Lan Huilin sat beside the lake. She removed her embroidered shoes, rolled up her gauze trousers, and lowered her jade-like feet into the water.

Nearby, two True Immortals opened their eyes and glanced at her. However, they did not attempt to stop her, as if this were nothing unusual.

That in itself was strange.

Security here was extremely tight. After all, the teleportation array was situated here. It was odd for them to let an "unrelated" person like Lan Huilin linger around.

It doesn't look like it's her first visit either.

At that moment, Wang Sheng heard her murmur, as though she were confiding to the water.

"

Haaaa.

The Fengli Sect vanished. Where am I supposed to go now? I sought refuge with the Celestial Wind Sect to make my master and the others pay for their crimes. I felt regret in my heart, yet in the end, it all came to nothing. Why am I even still alive?"

Wang Sheng sighed inwardly. Lan Huilin truly was a pitiful pawn.

If I get the chance, I'm going to lend her a hand and help her start her cultivation life anew.

Wang Sheng decided to wait until she left before making his move. A short delay would not matter. However, her murmuring soon took on a different tone.

"Did my master truly consider me her disciple, or was I just a fake meant to draw attention? I suppose I will never know. She vanished without a trace." She pressed her lips together and gazed toward the center of the lake. "Water, o' water, if you can understand me, can you dissolve my worries as well?"

A flash of spiritual light suddenly sparked in Wang Sheng's Heavenly Abode. He stared at Lan Huilin in astonishment.

Wait, does she know I'm here?

"Are you lonely too?" she added. "Flowing only within this grand defensive array, confined to a single river and lake."

At the bottom of the lake, Wang Sheng's mouth twitched.

Lan Huilin seemed to have guessed that he had struck the array and infiltrated this place. Moreover, she appeared to have deduced that he intended to attack the teleportation array. If so, her monologue likely had a hidden meaning.

She was most likely trying to tell him, "This array here is a fake that they set up to lure intruders."

Wang Sheng steadied himself and extended his immortal perception forward, allowing him to see faint imprints—traces of space itself—throughout heaven and earth. He had gained this ability some time ago. By aligning his sword with spatial trajectories, he could greatly amplify the power of his techniques.

It did not take long for him to notice that something was wrong: the spatial imprints around the array were far too orderly.

A teleportation array was an application of great spatial arts. Even when inactive, it still disturbed the surrounding space. This particular array was not meant to be temporary either. It was a stable structure that could use a one-way, long-distance Heaven-Earth Displacement Technique.

Lan Huilin is quite perceptive. For someone like her to die here would be a terrible waste.

Wang Sheng silently consulted with Yaoyun for a moment, then withdrew without alerting anyone.

Lan Huilin remained seated in a daze, her feet swaying gently in the water.

When she noticed a small fish float to the surface belly up, she finally relaxed a little. Rising barefoot, she stepped onto a cloud and departed along the path she had come from.

A year and a half earlier, after hearing the news that Wang Sheng had returned to the ancient battlefield, she had formed the habit of coming here to sit every day.