World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 555: Abducting Empress Nuwas Descendant!

Wang Sheng agreed so quickly partly because Lishang had said before that if she went back to her homeland, the round trip would take six to nine years. Currently, he didn't really expect her to become the Xinghai Sect's main support. He also didn't think she could protect Earth's cultivators once they had gone out.

However, he had given Yao Xingzi his word. As long as he could come back just in time to arrange a welcoming party for his senior sister, helping Lishang get to her homeland was not a problem for him.

Even after leaving the sect master's pavilion, Wang Sheng still felt uneasy and had mixed feelings. His master once said that people weren't just black or white. There was always a middle ground between being good and being bad.

As it turned out, Linyuan was one such example. Wang Sheng used to think that the elder was a good man. He was humble and kind to his students, like a nice old man in the sect. Hence, Wang Sheng never expected Linyuan and Lishang's bond to have such a secret.

He wanted to ask Linyuan what really happened, but based on what Yao Xingzi had said, it seemed the sect master wanted the elder to stay away from the matter.

With his mind racing, Wang Sheng landed on the cliff of Lishang's pavilion. When layers of light barriers stopped his fall, he used a jade disk to open a gap. He then landed by the lotus pond.

How should I address this?

Wang Sheng pondered for a moment. Refusing to tell Lishang about her past, he decided to take a different approach.

By the pond, he called out, "Vice Sect Master Lishang?"

A wooden window on the building's second floor opened.

"Over here."

Wang Sheng smiled embarrassedly. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice where she was.

Lishang asked softly, "What is it?"

Wang Sheng waved for her to come down. He was trying to think of ways to make her want to return to her homeland.

He made tea with spirit spring water and set out two cups. This wasn't his first time making tea for someone. After all, he used to do this often for Xi Lian and his senior sister.

Before long, Lishang slowly made her way down in a light, thin robe. Perhaps wishing to be more at ease around him, she took the initiative to transform into her human form and acted very relaxed in front of him.

Sitting at an angle by the low table with her slender legs together and her feet crossed, she exuded a naturally captivating charm. Her delicate, faintly glowing skin seemed soft enough for a breath to break it. Such benefits seemed unique to female immortals.

"Vice Sect Master..."

"How did the discussion with your friends go?"

Wang Sheng thought for a few seconds, then murmured, "Mm. It went pretty well, and I've also visited the sect master already. We have set the direction for the Xinghai Sect's development moving forward."

He then briefly told Lishang what he had discussed with Yao Xingzi.

Lishang nodded slightly. "Your three friends are quite smart. It might be better to bring them all into the sect and establish mutual support."

"Their cultivation is still shallow. Joining the sect would be more dangerous than staying outside."

Lishang pondered briefly. "Elder Pi, are you saying there are still spies within the sect?"

"I believe so. The Celestial Wind Sect's young master challenged me with such perfect timing that it couldn't be a mere coincidence. Maybe he just happened to come across Elder Meng and joined him in seeking a divination from the sect master, but a spy mentioning me or secretly sending them my location would explain a lot about the events that followed."

Lishang nodded lightly. "When you put it that way, it does make sense."

Wang Sheng purposely changed the topic. "The Celestial Wind Sect's informants aren't necessarily actual traitors. The Celestial Wind and Fengli Sects are powerful enough to conquer us at any time. It's only natural that some elders are preparing contingencies for their future."

"Ah," Lishang's gaze turned somewhat sad. A trace of disappointment appeared on her beautiful face. "If I could break through sooner, the Xinghai Sect would not have to struggle so much."

Wang Sheng picked up the teacup and drank it in one go. Supporting his right sleeve with his left hand, he slowly set the cup back on the table. "Your problem doesn't stem from difficulties in cultivation, does it?"

Lishang softly replied, "Mm. I have inherited some ancestral memories through my bloodline. Albeit barely, my kin can be considered primordial beings. Our powers are born with us and grow naturally.

"Even those with impure bloodlines in my race can become True Immortals or Heavenly Immortals. As long as our bloodline isn't flawed and we work hard enough, most of us can achieve immortality. We have some sort of shackle limiting us, though. Breaking through to become a Golden Immortal is thousands of times harder for us than it is for the human race."

The descendants of Empress Nuwa were born as Golden Immortals!

Wang Sheng was slightly surprised, but his heart remained calm. The human race's standards naturally couldn't be used to measure Nuwa's descendants.

"I can faintly sense that if I return to my homeland, I'll undoubtedly break through. The land seems to be calling to me." Lishang then showed a hint of dissatisfaction. "Unfortunately, my master always says the place is too dangerous. Every time the sect master performs a divination, the sign points to a great disaster."

Wang Sheng muttered, "Think about the obstacles that a new cultivator has to face. They form a Golden Core, create a Nascent Soul, overcome a heavenly tribulation, and form a Primordial Spirit. Even after becoming an immortal, they still face layer after layer of trouble. In cultivation and in all matters under heaven, how many things are truly guaranteed? As my master used to say back then, what is there that carries no risk?"

Somewhere on Earth, Qing Yanzi sneezed.

Lishang strongly agreed. She even responded a bit capriciously, "Exactly!"

At that moment, she looked just like a young girl showing her true feelings.

Roughly speaking, although she had cultivated for ten thousand years, she wasn't dark or calculating. She simply had some depth to her.

With that in mind, Wang Sheng went along with her. "How about we sneak over there?"

Lishang frowned slightly. "Why do I have to sneak? What's there to hide about me returning to my homeland? Even if I go right now, who could stop me?"

Wang Sheng earnestly reasoned, "Well, wouldn't leaving openly be like slapping the sect master and Elder Linyuan in the face? Most elders value their face greatly. If we insist on leaving through the front door, we'll be denying them dignity before the entire sect.

"Not all of our members and disciples can be trusted, either. If we're exposed, it would be easy for others to scheme against us. The moment you reach the Heavenly Immortal Realm, your talent and divine ability will rewrite the balance of the thirteen qi planets. I'm sure some people wish to interfere with the breakthrough."

Lishang lowered her head in thought.

Wang Sheng secretly broke into a cold sweat. Without realizing it, he had used "we" instead of "you."

He suddenly felt as though he were abducting an underage descendant of Empress Nuwa.

"That's a good point." Lishang raised her head, and her narrow phoenix eyes were filled with resolve. "We... You're coming with me, Elder Pi?"

Wang Sheng smiled. "Do you have ways to conceal yourself and hide your trail?"

Remembering how he had once toyed with the Celestial Wind Sect for three years, she slowly nodded. With a solemn expression, she replied, "I'll have to trouble you to accompany me, then."

Wang Sheng waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. On the contrary, I'm grateful that you trust me enough to bring me to your homeland, which would certainly broaden my horizons. When do you want to leave?"

"Naturally, the sooner the better."

"Very well." Wang Sheng thought for a moment. "Will this journey really take just six to nine years?"

"That's right. My homeland is quite far from us now, but it has been stationary for a long time, as though it's waiting for me. We can just determine a route that makes use of primal qi passages. I have estimated before that it would actually only take three to five years for a round trip, but I said six to nine years just to be safe."

Wang Sheng nodded repeatedly. The two then looked at each other and almost simultaneously asked a similar question.

"How does one travel through a primal qi passage?"

"Have you used a primal qi passage before, Vice Sect Master?"

They laughed at the same time. Despite both lacking a sense of direction, they were now about to embark on an interstellar journey.

***

Once decided, they immediately prepared to depart. Lishang had become even more eager than Wang Sheng, who was supposed to persuade her.

They stocked up on everything that they would need for the journey. Wang Sheng also checked the Immortal Stones and treasures in his Qiankun Ring.

His immortal armor, which the Eastern Kang Star Deity had given him, greatly put his mind at ease. Multiple battles had already proven its extremely powerful defensive capabilities.

Planning to forge a set of flying swords along the way, Wang Sheng also went to the Xinghai Sect's treasury and took many crafting materials with him.

Now that he had become a True Immortal, his Sword-Controlling Art had also grown considerably stronger. However, he now required new flying swords that could withstand it. Only then could he maximize its power.

Although the Sword-Controlling Art was still weaker than the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Art, it was... still the coolest sword art.

Finally, Wang Sheng examined the strange, small wooden sword in his immortal body. It rose, fell, and drifted unpredictably.

Though only three cun long, one shouldn't let its size fool them. It was made out of the root that he had bitten off from the Chaos Green Lotus. Its origin and foundation were enough to frighten the Ancient Era's great figures and turn the Primal Era's mighty beings green with envy.

The immensely powerful Green Lotus Ultimate required the small sword to be unleashed. Not only did it serve as his trump card, but it was also the only weapon in his arsenal that had a shot at severely injuring a Heavenly Immortal.

However, he couldn't use it lightly. It consumed too much immortal power, which could put him in a passive condition in dangerous situations.

Lishang's preparations were much simpler. She packed many bottles of alchemical pills, several pieces of Immortal Stones, forty-nine array banners, and seven thin, serpent-marked swords that she had forged herself. That was all she needed.

Next, the two decided the route for this journey.

They required a detailed star map. Fortunately, on the sixth floor of the scripture repository was a star map of the Eastern Sky Region that also marked the network of primal qi passage routes within it. The Old Man of Xinghai had drawn it himself.

Methods of traversing primal qi passages were not particularly difficult to obtain. Even cultivators who had not yet become immortals could fly back and forth through it. Since they were already True Immortals, it would be even easier for them.

The two headed to the scripture repository together. In front of the Xinghai Sect's many immortals, they behaved as if they were inseparable while ascending to the sixth floor.

Lishang requested, "Elder Wen, may I have some private time here with Elder Pi?"

The elder in charge of guarding the sixth floor smiled faintly, turned, and drifted away. Afterward, the two consulted the few texts stored on the floor and found the star map engraved within jade.

When they opened it, an incomparably complex diagram of qi planets appeared before them, filling the entire sixth floor with countless points of starlight.