CHAPTER 158: TRAVELLING TO THE ZHONGNAN MOUNTAINS

Three days after the Immortal Dao Conference, a pickup truck sped along a highway heading northwest from Mount Sanqing. In the back seat, Wang Sheng was playing a game of Go[1] with his senior sister. The Go board floated in front of them, controlled by his senior sister's qi. It was steady and unmoving, immune to the jostling of the vehicle.

As if finding the game effortless, the two played move after move seemingly without thinking. The two young members of the Special Investigation Unit in front of the vehicle had been sneaking glances for some time before they realized that the two Daoist experts weren't playing Go at all but rather a refined version of Five-in-a-Row, simply with a much more exquisite board.

Right now, half the cultivators had yet to leave Mount Sanqing. Just as they had expected before the conference, most of those who remained were unaffiliated practitioners from various sects. Finding Mount Sanqing to their liking, some had even casually joined nearby Daoist temples, considerably strengthening several of the sects based on Mount Sanqing.

Reflecting on his own experience at the Immortal Dao Conference, Wang Sheng was reminded of a joke that he had seen online. It was about opening a food delivery app while hungry, struggling to register for two hours, only to end up... becoming a delivery driver himself.

Serving as a referee offered no real tournament experience. Still, the next Immortal Dao Conference, which would be held on the Longhu Mountains five years from now, could be worth looking forward to.

With the publicity and preparation from the first conference, the second Immortal Dao Conference was expected to be an unprecedented grand event in the righteous cultivation world. Since Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan were still young, they would be eligible to participate.

Their goal would be to earn a few artifacts. Even if they couldn't use the artifacts themselves, they could at least contribute to their sect's cultivation resources.

In the back of the pickup, the Sword-Pressing Stone lay wrapped in a piece of black cloth.

The stone was quite unique. If sent to the research institute, Ma Zibin and his team could even start a new project and name it along the lines of "Molecular-Structure Analysis of a Strange Stone That Absorbs True Essence to Increase Its Weight."

Along the way, Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan had changed vehicles four times. The Special Investigation Unit also provided full anti-surveillance protection throughout the journey.

Over the past two years, Mu Wanxuan's popularity within the unit had far surpassed that of a certain Golden Core Realm Daoist who constantly monopolized their captain's break time. Now, she was a key figure under the protection of the Special Investigation Unit. Although the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect would undoubtedly go into hiding after what happened a few days ago, caution was still paramount.

Wang Sheng passed the time playing board games with his senior sister, chatting, and meditating. Though the journey was long, it never felt dull.

They reached Lantian around midnight and reunited with Jingyun, who had only recently returned. Wang Sheng carried the Sword-Pressing Stone on his back, while his senior sister carried his sword case and cradled two longswords in her arms. The three headed up the mountain together.

A small squad from the Special Investigation Unit would remain stationed at Lantian to investigate any nearby traces of corrupt cultivators and monitor the area for potential threats. Clearly, the Special Investigation Unit truly valued Bu Yu. By comparison, Wang Sheng, the so-called "first consultant," seemed far less well-known now.

Starlight glittered above as they climbed the mountain. The night wind had turned chilly. Fallen leaves were piled throughout the forest, conveniently concealing their movements. Northern geese flew south, night crows vanished, the moon rose, and white mist coated the forests of Qinglin.

Noticing that Wang Sheng was struggling a bit, Jingyun offered, "Let me carry the stone for you. Why are you hauling that for no reason anyway?"

"The sect master of the Shu Sword Sect lent it to me, Martial Aunt," Wang Sheng replied, slightly short of breath. "I'm supposed to use it for cultivation. I'll carry it myself."

Jingyun frowned slightly. "Cultivation should follow one's heart and nature. Forcing yourself like this is an inferior path."

"Mm!" Mu Wanxuan nodded solemnly, as if agreeing completely with her martial aunt.

Wang Sheng didn't dare argue with the two. He could only keep his head down and continue climbing. By the time they reached the small courtyard near the mountaintop, he had already spent most of his true essence.

If he poured all his remaining true essence into the stone, he would fail to even lift it a little.

"Master? Is that you?" someone softly called out from a nearby bend in the path.

"Yes, it's me. Look who's here, Little Wen," Jingyun replied gently.

"Senior Sister! And Senior Brother?!"

After her joyful cry, Chi Wen dashed lightly along the path toward them. She had changed quite a bit over the past two years. When she had first returned to the Wudang Mountains, she had seemed delicate and fragile. Now, as Jingyun's formal disciple, she exuded a sense of purity and transcendence.

At the very least, her eyes were much brighter than before.

Perhaps because she had been cultivating using the Mystical Jade Maiden Arts of Jingyun's lineage, her aura now had a faintly ethereal quality. Her skin was luminous and fair. Moreover, with her figure having grown a bit more, she now appeared slender and graceful. Dressed in glossy training attire and with her long hair tied back in a ponytail, she looked neat and resolute.

She hurried forward and greeted Jingyun with a short sword in her arms, then gave Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan a joyful bow. Her face then quickly flushed red. She immediately scurried to Mu Wanxuan's side and took one of the longswords from her, clearly avoiding Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng was a bit puzzled. After so long apart, why had his junior sister become even more shy than before? Was he really that unlikable as a senior brother?

When they arrived at the small courtyard, Wang Sheng immediately understood her behavior. Chi Wen quietly said that she was going to change clothes and then darted into her side room without even turning on the light.

He clicked his tongue. She must have grown used to being alone with her master on this mountain, where hardly anyone ever visited. She probably preferred to train without restrictions...

When Chi Wen came out again, she had returned to her usual self. Cheerfully, she greeted, "Senior Brother."

Noticing Wang Sheng studying what looked like a tombstone in the corner of the courtyard, Chi Wen curiously walked over. With her hands behind her back, she watched for a while before asking, "Senior Brother, what is that thing for?"

"Look at its shape," Wang Sheng replied.

"A sword?"

"Exactly," he said seriously. "This is a sword embryo. I'm going to spend days and nights refining it with my blood and essence, slowly tempering it into a true treasured sword. That's what sword cultivators mean when they say it takes a hundred years to forge a single blade."

Although she didn't quite understand, Chi Wen was amazed. She reached out and touched the Sword-Pressing Stone, her eyes full of admiration. "Is it like the old tale about grinding an iron rod into a needle?"

Wang Sheng chuckled and gave her a proper explanation of the stone's purpose. In response, Chi Wen rolled her eyes at him.

"Your cultivation is coming along nicely," Wang Sheng complimented.

Chi Wen just sighed softly, looking a bit dejected. After two years of cultivation, she had finally reached the early stage of the Spirit Convergence Realm. Although her constitution wasn't suited for cultivation, having Jingyun guiding her step by step allowed her to steadily progress.

"If Master had been personally teaching someone else, they'd probably be much stronger than me by now," she muttered. Her lack of confidence clearly hadn't changed.

Wang Sheng didn't lecture her. After all, she was now the disciple of his martial aunt. If anyone was going to give her advice, it shouldn't be him.

Jingyun and Mu Wanxuan, who had already settled their luggage, walked over gracefully.

"Fei Yu, there are only three rooms here..." Jingyun revealed.

"It's fine, I'll stay outside," Wang Sheng quickly replied. He was going to be cultivating the whole time anyway; having a bed didn't matter.

Jingyun smiled. "That works. I was going to ask if you could share a room with your senior sister."

Wang Sheng only smiled, while Mu Wanxuan blinked but didn't seem to think much of it.

Still recovering from her internal injuries, Jingyun planned to take Mu Wanxuan up the mountain to gather medicinal herbs. They told Wang Sheng to rest in the courtyard and then left Chi Wen in charge of taking care of her wounded senior brother.

After the two powerful women left, Wang Sheng fetched a basin of water and carefully began to clean the Sword-Pressing Stone.

Chi Wen brought over a plate of cherries, eating as she watched him. In a hushed tone, she asked, "Haven't sealed the deal yet?"

"What deal? What are you talking about?" After feigning ignorance, Wang Sheng calmly added, "This is a grown-up matter. It's not something kids should be guessing about."

"Pfft! Liar!" Chi Wen made a face at him. "Everyone can see there's something between you and Senior Sister. Yet here you are, acting all shy even though you're Fei Yu, the young and famous sword immortal."

"Sword immortal is fine. Why add 'young'?" Wang Sheng huffed, then smiled wryly. "First of all, our senior sister and I are focused on the Dao and the pursuit of longevity. Secondly, she doesn't understand these kinds of things, and I don't want to trouble her with them.

"Thirdly, don't you think our relationship doesn't have to go any further? Daoist partners, after all, are meant to cultivate together, sharing the same path and aspirations. Why complicate things between us with romance? When our eyes meet, we understand each other. When we look at one another, we know what the other needs. Isn't that enough?"

Wang Sheng then chuckled softly, while Chi Wen frowned.

"Your Daoist realm could still use some improvements. Keep training," Wang Sheng said. "Now, move aside. I want to test this out."

"Oh." Chi Wen moved over to the doorway with her plate.

Wang Sheng took a deep breath and strapped the shoulder harness, which he had removed earlier from his sword case, to it. He then turned and hoisted the heavy Sword-Pressing Stone onto his back.

From now on, he would carry it while training with his sword.

With a flick of his hand, his nameless treasured sword flew into his grasp. Wang Sheng stood tall, straightened his back, and used the Seven-Star Footwork.

So heavy...

Even the simplest movements felt exhausting. Nevertheless, he was too stubborn to yield. Gritting his teeth, he breathed out and forced more true essence into his limbs. He then took two more steps and resumed practicing his sword techniques.

Although the Sword-Pressing Stone rapidly drained his true essence, making sweat drip down from his forehead, Wang Sheng continued to push forward, determined to finish the entire sword routine. Finally, on the twenty-fifth move, his flow of true essence abruptly faltered, making him slip and lose balance. With a loud crash, he was slammed to the ground, and the Sword-Pressing Stone weighed down on him.

Stunned, Chi Wen took a moment before she gasped. She then rushed over in a panic when she saw Wang Sheng sprawled face-down in the dirt, completely motionless.

1. a Chinese board game where one tries to fence off more territory than the opponent with either black or white pieces. ☜