CHAPTER 156: SPOT ON THE PARTY

"You're not hurt, are you? You really dared take on a Golden Core Realm expert head-on?" Zhang Zikuang asked teasingly as he walked over with his hands behind his back.

He plopped down beside Wang Sheng and glanced at Mu Wanxuan, who was sitting next to him. Recalling what he had seen from the air earlier, the instructor immediately understood something, then gave Wang Sheng a thumbs-up. "If I had your guts, Kid, I would've found a girlfriend ages ago!"

Since his senior sister didn't understand what Zhang Zikuang meant, Wang Sheng just smiled calmly. He then breathed out slowly to show that he was no longer in serious condition and that his senior sister didn't have to keep channeling her true essence into him.

"Did the Longhu Mountains suffer heavy losses?" Wang Sheng asked.

"We lost over a dozen young disciples. Two Daoist masters I grew up with were also killed. Not a single one came out unscathed." Zhang Zikuang answered in a hoarse tone as he looked ahead, where the Special Warfare Unit was cleaning up the battlefield. Under his breath, he muttered, "Corrupt cultivators deserve to die..."

Wang Sheng didn't know how to respond. He could only nod slowly before asking, "Did the corrupt cultivators get away?"

"Two Special Warfare Unit teams are in pursuit, but the enemy retreated using the Earth-Escape Technique before our men arrived," Zhang Zikuang replied through gritted teeth, spitting out a few curses.

Jingyun, who was meditating nearby, furrowed her brow slightly.

Wang Sheng wasn't surprised. Given how cautious the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect was, they would never have acted so recklessly if sufficient defenses had been set up in multiple locations.

To lure out the corrupt cultivators successfully, the Special Investigation Unit had formed a wide encirclement beyond the area. Unfortunately, by the time the net closed in, the corrupt cultivators at the Longhu Mountains had already vanished. Pursuing them was bound to be troublesome.

"While I was still on the plane, the Special Investigation Unit discovered that the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect has deep ties with major criminal organizations in Sakura Island. Before the primal qi recovered, they had already taken control of a third of the corrupt sects there. Damn it! The authorities over there are soft as hell. No crackdowns, no action against crime. They raised a tiger, and now it has run over to our country to wreak havoc!"

Wang Sheng raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning to deal with them directly?"

Zhang Zikuang shook his head. "Not right now. We have to consider the international situation, and this matter is for the higher-ups to decide. As for me, I've already made up my mind. The Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect will pay for this! Once things settle down over there and I reach the Golden Core Realm, I'll gather the men and swim across the sea to teach them a lesson!"

"Your way of thinking is highly dangerous," Fei Lianzi commented as he walked over with his hands behind his back. With a solemn expression, he sat down beside Zhang Zikuang. "I've decided to watch over you. Let me know when you're swimming across."

"Amitabha," Huai Jing, whose face had turned a bit pale, scratched his head and smiled. "The Buddha is merciful. I will gladly help save our neighboring country's people from the clutches of corrupt cultivators."

Wang Sheng was rendered somewhat speechless. Why are they all so eager to stir up global chaos?

Mu Wanxuan nudged Wang Sheng's arm and handed over her phone, on the screen of which was a world map. She pointed at Sakura Island and blinked.

"Mhm. That's where the corrupt cultivators are based..." Wang Sheng said.

"Oh!" Mu Wanxuan's eyes lit up. She walked around Wang Sheng. Joining the conversation, she excitedly presented a photo of a magical female warrior.

The meme was captioned, "Protect world peace!"

Wang Sheng didn’t know what to say. How could he forget his senior sister's love for manga?

After chatting for a while, Zhang Zikuang, the first to suggest swimming across the Eastern Sea for a raid, ended up looking the most deflated. As a Special Warfare Unit instructor, it was one thing to vent through words, but such unsanctioned actions would never be permitted.

Meanwhile, while chatting with Wang Sheng, Huai Jing hesitated. He seemed to have a question in his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. Wang Sheng noticed, but he was too busy recovering to pay it any heed.

If Huai Jing really needed help, and it was within Wang Sheng’s capabilities, Wang Sheng naturally wouldn't refuse. Such was the kind of bond forged through blood and combat.

With the battle done, the celestial tablet was handed over to the Special Warfare Unit. After spending a moment to heal, the Daoist masters mourned their fallen, who had been organized in a line. Their cries of grief echoed across the battlefield—some of them had lost close friends or martial brothers.

The corpses would be returned to their respective sects and buried with full rites. Besides offering some compensation and recognition, there was little else the authorities could do.

Half an hour later, Mu Wanxuan helped Wang Sheng onto a transport truck that was set to head back in time for the Immortal Dao Conference’s afternoon program. Fei Lianzi, Gao Shixing, Huai Jing, and Jingyun also hopped in along with seven to eight other wounded Daoist masters to issue a post-combat report.

After sending back the severely wounded for treatment, the Special Warfare Unit withdrew with the celestial tablet. The Special Investigation Unit would handle the rest of the post-operation procedures.

That day, the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect became the mortal enemy of the righteous sects.

After five or six years of relative peace in the cultivation world, the battle on that nameless slope had begun the first war between righteousness and corruption.

On the way back, Wang Sheng received a text from Mou Yue. They had urgently interrogated the corrupt cultivators that they had captured and confirmed the identities of those killed in the battle.

Through the intel that they had gained, they learned that the Golden Core Realm brute that they had slain was Azure Dragon, one of the Four Symbols and an elder of the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect. His death dealt a heavy blow to their enemies. They had also killed thirty-four of the seventy-two Corrupt Yin-Yang Gods, nine Primal Immortals, and a number of elites.

The two Golden Core Realm cultivators who showed up on the Longhu Mountains had also been confirmed as Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise of the Four Symbols. Now, only the Yin-Yang Envoys, who were under the yin sect master, and the Five Elements were yet to appear.

In that tense battle, did we really sever just one arm of the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect?

Wang Sheng frowned slightly. He then looked up at his senior sister, who was resting with her eyes closed. Determination flickered in his eyes.

Even if they could only cut off one limb at a time, they just had to keep fighting until that corrupt sect had been fully eliminated.

***

Just as Zhang Zikuang had said, the group of corrupt cultivators that had ambushed the Celestial Master Sect had already vanished without a trace before Qing Yanzi, Yuan Pu Zhenren, and the Celestial Master reached the Longhu Mountains. Even the team that the Special Warfare Unit had sent failed to arrive in time.

The corrupt cultivators' goal all along had been to draw attention from the righteous sects and the authorities, ensuring that Azure Dragon’s team could seize the celestial tablet and retreat safely. They never intended to waste time trying to breach the defensive formations protecting the main palace of the Longhu Mountains.

Although they hadn't managed to wipe out all the cultivators that the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect had deployed, the enemy had taken a heavy blow. The righteous sects had also accomplished their main objective; they had dragged the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect out of the cultivation world’s shadows and into the light.

The Special Investigation Unit had also made progress. In the town below Mount Sanqing, they had captured thirty to forty Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect members. Most of them were low-tier corrupt cultivators responsible for gathering intelligence.

The moment the celestial tablet’s convoy was ambushed, the well-prepared Special Warfare Unit also quietly subdued the two who had infiltrated the top sixteen rankings. The two failed to find a chance to flee or even stir up chaos.

During their interrogation, they revealed that a high-ranking target was still hiding near Mount Sanqing—most likely the heir of the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect. Hence, the area surrounding the mountain was placed under full lockdown. The Special Warfare Unit also dispatched a large force to conduct a carpet search. However, they had yet to come up with anything.

News quickly spread among the cultivators attending the Immortal Dao Conference: the Longhu Mountains had been attacked, a thousand-year-old Daoist heritage had been burned, and nearly all the righteous cultivators escorting the celestial tablet had either been gravely injured or killed.

One corrupt sect had shown enough force to wipe out the Celestial Master Sect—a major righteous sect—with ease.

Shock rippled through all the righteous Daoist sects.

The Daoist elders and masters went from disbelief that made them wonder how it was even possible, to unease, then to rage and urgency.

"We can't just sit here and wait for death. We need a way to bring them down."

By the afternoon, the atmosphere of the Immortal Dao Conference had shifted from tea-sipping and Dao-related debates to a collective outcry against the corrupt cultivators. The major sacred mountains pledged that once they returned to their sects, they would immediately send disciples into the world to assist the Special Investigation Unit in hunting down the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect.

However, the existence of the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect’s branch in the Eastern Lands was deliberately kept from the public.

The Daoist sects still bore deep resentment from the blood feud eighty years ago. Just the mention of Sakura Island sparked many elders’ fury. If word got out that the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect had roots there, it wouldn't be surprising if hundreds of Daoist elders crossed the Eastern Sea to assert dominance over the island.

Meanwhile, in the referees' meeting room, Wang Sheng sat on a chair to recover from his injuries. He did not attend the Daoist symposium. Mu Wanxuan also stayed close by, seemingly afraid that some corrupt cultivator would suddenly attack her junior brother.

With no one else around, she stared absentmindedly at Ice Crystal, which was still in her hands. She kept recalling the moment Wang Sheng and Fei Lianzi unleashed their sword techniques together—and couldn't help imagining herself in Fei Lianzi's place. The scene she imagined looked incredibly cool.

Light knocks soon came from the door. Wang Sheng opened his eyes, and Mu Wanxuan immediately sat up straight. The two turned their heads just in time to see a bald man poke his head into the room.

The young, delicate-looking Huai Jing licked his lips nervously. Though clearly embarrassed, he still managed to voice what had been weighing on his mind.

"Um... do you guys have a spot open on your party?"