World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 557: Celestial Wind War Slaves

Upon reaching Jinhua's vicinity, Wang Sheng finally had the rare chance to witness a battle between celestial sects up close.

There were six to seven hundred immortals on the battlefield. Most were mid-stage Ascended Immortal Realm to mid-stage Primordial Immortal Realm celestial soldiers clad in bicolored armor.

They formed simple battle formations. About half kept a distance of roughly ten li between them while firing streams of radiant light at one another. The other half had drawn their weapons, fighting in a tangled melee near the primal qi passage.

After watching for a while, Wang Sheng noticed that amid the chaos, celestial soldiers were occasionally wounded and forced to retreat, but the battle itself was not especially brutal. Neither side had lost control yet. Whenever someone was injured, nearby soldiers immediately covered their withdrawal.

Twenty True Immortal Realm overseers also battled across space. Fighting in pairs, they traded blows back and forth, yet none truly fought with murderous intent. Self-preservation clearly took priority.

This kind of combat felt entirely just for show.

Celestial sects like these always came from the world of unaffiliated practitioners. Unless deep hatred or extremely high profits were driving them, celestial soldiers and True Immortal Realm administrators found it hard to fight to the death against one another.

This was completely different from the battles that Wang Sheng had fought when he sought revenge against the Celestial Wind Sect.

The Shadowless Shuttle hovered outside the battlefield. Wang Sheng and Lishang observed the fight using their immortal perception.

"Vice Sect Master, let's wait for them to finish before we continue."

Lishang nodded slightly. "Mm."

The cloak wrapped around her hair and the veil covering her face added a touch of exotic charm to her beauty.

The conflict between the Celestial Wind Sect and the Fengli Sect only lasted for a short while. When a Heavenly Immortal from each side charged into the battlefield, the True Immortals and celestial soldiers withdrew, reformed into two distinct groups, and glared at one another.

This was the usual ritual before the average conflict ended, most of which consisted of staring contests.

Half of the Fengli Sect soldiers and administrators were women, while most of the Celestial Wind Sect's combatants were men.

The two Heavenly Immortals merely snorted coldly and exchanged a few perfunctory remarks. Both sides yelled retreat and withdrew, returning to their respective cities under Jinhua's primal qi passage.

Wang Sheng helplessly remarked, "The way they fight will hardly kill anyone. I've always heard unaffiliated practitioners say that conflicts between celestial sects are extremely brutal. It seems those stories are rather exaggerated."

Lishang explained, "They're either only probing each other today or restraining themselves because neither faction wants to continue the war. If one side truly decides to seize territory, once the fighting begins, sixty to seventy percent of the celestial soldiers would fall, and even True Immortals would die from time to time."

Confused, Wang Sheng asked, "I drew away a lot of the Celestial Wind Sect's combat power back then. Why didn't the Fengli Sect make a move?"

Lishang smiled faintly, making her eyes curve. "You'll have to kill at least two of the Celestial Wind Sect's Heavenly Immortals first if you want to create an opportunity that even the Fengli Sect can't pass up on. The Celestial Wind Sect has deep foundations, and no one knows how many True Immortals they have."

She was certainly the vice sect master of the Xinghai Sect. While Yao Xingzi was in seclusion, she managed both the internal and external affairs of the sect. Hence, she knew the thirteen qi planets' celestial sects quite well.

Wang Sheng sighed softly. "Becoming a Heavenly Immortal is already exceedingly difficult. Slaying one is even more so."

Lishang didn't share his sentiment. After all, she was strong enough to fight a Heavenly Immortal Realm human head-on. Though killing one would be difficult, she still had a fair chance thanks to her racial advantages and innate divine abilities.

Shortly after, the area around the primal qi passage became completely quiet. Several streaks of light shot into it.

Lishang took out an ice-blue celestial rope, tied one end around her wrist, and handed the other to Wang Sheng. "This is to prevent us from being separated in there."

Wang Sheng smiled, nodded, and tied the celestial rope around his wrist as well. The two then flew out of the Shadowless Shuttle together.

Once he had put away the shuttle, Lishang placed her left hand on his shoulder and rode an ice-blue arc of light, rapidly approaching the passage. With their auras concealed, they appeared no different from other unaffiliated practitioners seeking to pass through the passage.

By the time they reached the boundary, Lishang had already wrapped Wang Sheng and herself in a thin primal qi bubble.

The bubble drifted into the passage without obstruction. The boundary rippled like water, yet Wang Sheng briefly felt as if he had leaped out of it instead. Some invisible restraints within him disappeared as he entered a world of dazzling colors and bizarre sights.

The two drifted about like dandelion seeds.

Wang Sheng looked back, finding the exit right behind them. The scenery past it was completely twisted into rippling distortions.

The surrounding primal qi seemingly solidified into glass walls. When Wang Sheng raised his hand to touch them, he felt that the primal qi was almost frozen in place, a sensation he found truly spectacular.

Lishang pointed ahead, and their bubble drifted slowly forward. Before long, they saw two rivers of seven-colored primal qi flowing in opposite directions. One flowed toward Jinhua, while the other stretched into the distance and disappeared around a bend.

Their bubble slowly settled into the river flowing away. Soon after, the two felt the surrounding force push them along. They rose and sank within the current as they drifted farther and farther away.

"So slow," Wang Sheng commented, to which Lishang nodded in agreement.

In these circumstances, he dearly wished to verify some of his conjectures about primal qi passages, but he feared that he'd cause accidents.

This place was a wondrous existence that could span the time and space they knew. It was better for him to be cautious and avoid being reckless. After all, he and the vice sect master were in the same "boat."

That did not prevent him from observing and drawing conclusions, though.

First, Wang Sheng discovered that although he was in a river of primal qi and surrounded by nearly liquid pure primal qi, he could not absorb even the slightest trace of it. When he attempted to unleash his own immortal power, it behaved sluggishly and refused to respond. It only circulated on its own within him according to the basic patterns of the Pure Yang Immortal Mantra.

More shockingly, he could no longer sense his Dao. The sword intents within him became so faint and elusive that they became impossible to grasp.

Is the Great Dao associated with primal qi passages isolating the existence of other Daos within it? Or has the primal qi passage gone beyond the dimensional scope of my original universe, causing its rules to differ so greatly that the Dao I've mastered temporarily lost its effect?

If that were the case, then cultivators wouldn't be able to start a fight in the passages unless they had reached the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm or the Grand Dao Realm. Should he find himself unable to flee from a powerful enemy, entering one of the passages could allow him to escape.

What would happen to a cultivator's Dao Body and Primordial Spirit if they entered without a primal qi bubble to protect them, though? 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

At that moment, a warning surged from deep within Wang Sheng's spiritual perception. Standing in the bubble, he unconsciously fell into contemplation.

Lishang, meanwhile, looked around with a hint of curiosity.

***

Jinhua, beneath the primal qi passage's opening.

The Heavenly Immortal elder whom the Celestial Wind Sect has stationed near the passage didn't even bat an eye when Wang Sheng and Lishang entered it. He simply crushed a transmission talisman in his hand.

At the same time, on the main planet of the Celestial Wind Sect, a jade talisman shattered with a sharp crack in a secluded room, which was on the mountains behind the sect gate.

The four inside the room opened their eyes simultaneously. They seemed to have been waiting for this news.

The sect master was seated under the "Dao" character, and directly opposite him was a female Heavenly Immortal. To the left of the low table was Long Aotian, and to the right sat a rather imposing figure clad in green battle armor. His facial features couldn't be seen properly.

The sect master had summoned the three elders to discuss important matters related to the jade talisman that had just shattered, as well as the pale-white orb resting on the table.

The old woman whispered, "Lishang and Pi Kachew have already entered the primal qi passage. Sect Master, if you don't make a decision soon, it'll become difficult to stop them."

"No need to be anxious, Elder Lin. Now that we already know where they're going, we can just use our teleportation array to reach it ahead of them," the sect master replied. He then stroked his beard and pondered for a moment. "One could end up getting injured if they hit a snake but miss its vital point. We have to carefully consider this."

The old woman warned, "Lishang becoming a Heavenly Immortal will sooner or later make the Xinghai Sect untouchable. If they join forces with the Fengli Sect, we will be in grave danger."

Long Aotian urged, "Tan Lang and I will go, Sect Master."

"We can't deploy you recklessly, Elder Long. We still need you to deal with the Fengli Sect. After all, the divine abilities of Empress Nuwa's descendants are no small matter," the sect master replied. "Moreover, Tianyao's two martial uncles are still searching everywhere for the nameless sword immortal. We shouldn't expect them to actually work hard for us."

The imposing figure suggested, "I will take five war slaves. That will be enough."

The sect master considered it briefly. "Very well. Our sect is no longer what it once was. We have to keep the war slaves a secret from the world anyway, and their individual lifespans are already nearing their limits. Once you've taken care of Lishang and the other person, I want you to destroy the war slaves as well, Elder Tan Lang."

Long Aotian reasoned, "The young master is quite fond of the war slaves."

"It's fine. Tianyao knows what to do," the sect master replied.

The old woman frowned. "Sect Master, do we only have five war slaves left?"

The sect master slowly nodded and sighed. "Mm. Since they were refined through secret methods, they cannot deepen their cultivation. They'll naturally pass away one by one.

"Back when our sect was first established, only Elder Long, Elder Tan Lang, and I were at the Heavenly Immortal Realm. Back then, the great battle of the ancient battlefield had only just ended, causing many powerful unaffiliated practitioners to gather there.

"Thanks to Elder Tan Lang's secret method and Elder Long's exploration, we found twelve badly injured ancient immortals of extraordinary capability in the ancient battlefield. They were refined into war slaves, which allowed our sect to establish its foundation. It's such a pity, though. If the cultivation of the war slaves could also advance, our sect would have long since conquered the thirteen qi planets."

With an emotional look, Long Aotian replied, "Now we no longer have to rely on them to wage war. It is time to let them rest."

The old woman suddenly said, "Elder Tan Lang, if you can capture Lishang alive, then bring her to me. There is an ancient recipe for a spiritual medicine that can improve talent, but it requires the blood of Empress Nuwa's descendant to work. It would bring the young master's talent to another level."

"Oh?" The sect master's eyes lit up. "In that case, I want you two to deal with her and her companion, Elder Lin and Elder Tan Lang. Watch each other's backs. Your task is to stop those two and retrieve Empress Nuwa's life essence!"

The old woman and the imposing figure rose at the same time and lowered their heads to accept the order.

Fearing any delay, the old woman immediately started planning their route and calculating where the teleportation array would land among the stars. Meanwhile, Tan Lang turned and left the quiet room. He headed to a cliff in the back mountains. A large array had sealed it.

Before long, iron chains sliding faintly echoed throughout the Celestial Wind Sect.

Across the mountain gate, many immortals with aged faces opened their eyes. Most of them looked puzzled, as they were unaware of what powerful enemy the sect had encountered that required them to be awakened again after so many years.