World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 609: Wind and Clouds Stir

Holding the letter within the jade slip, Wang Sheng hurriedly left the small pavilion. The grand array opened and closed once more as he rushed straight to Yao Xingzi's neighboring residence.

After sending a message, Mu Wanxuan returned to her closed cultivation. Wang Sheng told her not to worry about anything and to focus on cultivating.

Lishang, Linyuan, and several elders arrived at the sect master's residence almost one after another. Yao Xingzi casually pulled over several stone chairs, gesturing for them to sit in the courtyard to discuss what was written in the letter of the Fengli Sect's sect master.

The matter it disclosed was quite straightforward: five Heavenly Immortals from the North-River Sword Sect would soon arrive at Tianfeng to reinforce the Celestial Wind Sect. Among them was Li Tianyao's master, a powerful expert said to be only half a step away from becoming a Golden Immortal.

Upon receiving the news, the Fengli Sect swiftly withdrew its forces. To concentrate its elites back onto its two celestial bodies, it even abandoned the large tracts of territory that it had desperately fought its opponent for.

The jade slip was the Fengli Sect's plea for aid. They urgently needed Lishang, Yao Xingzi, and Wang Sheng's combined strength to balance the pressure that the Celestial Wind Sect exuded.

Linyuan said vehemently, "So now they've come begging? They were still scheming against us until just recently. In my opinion, we should ignore them and let them fend for themselves!"

An elder sighed. "If the Fengli Sect falls, we'll also find ourselves in an extremely tough situation. It seems we're now facing the worst-case scenario: the North-River Sword Sect has made its move."

"To think they'd send so many Heavenly Immortals at once... It truly lives up to its reputation as one of the Eastern Sky Region's top ten sects."

Wang Sheng restrained the Myriad-Slaying Sword Intent in his heart. "Does it have any sworn enemies?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Yao Xingzi said. "Even if they did, there would hardly be time to seek them out.

"The Celestial Wind Sect once spent a huge amount of Immortal Stones to construct a grand teleportation array that linked them to a distant celestial body. Once the array is activated, its reinforcements would be able to head straight to their planet."

"If it comes down to it, we can just move back to our original qi star," an elder said. "With Lishang holding the line, we should be able to secure a foothold for ourselves there."

Wang Sheng couldn't help but feel a little helpless, but he didn't say anything.

He had spent so long building up the Xinghai Sect and could finally use its influence to shelter Earth's cultivators. If it moved away now, all those years of effort would be wasted.

Fortunately, Linyuan countered, "A Golden Immortal lives on our original qi star now. I was acquainted with him, but our circumstances back then were so dire that he didn't even spare us a glance. Going back now would be extremely difficult. We would be better off continuing to build ourselves up properly here on Fengmo.

"No matter how many Heavenly Immortals the Celestial Wind Sect has, it still has to abide by reason! It hasn't even compensated us properly yet for ambushing Lishang. Can they really just come knocking on our door without a word?"

Yao Xingzi, several elders, Wang Sheng, and Lishang all nodded almost simultaneously. Linyuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Wang Sheng smiled. "They really can. After all, the endless space values reason the least."

A trace of cold killing intent flickered in Lishang's phoenix eyes. "How about we launch a surprise attack on the Celestial Wind Sect right now? By the time the North-River Sword Sect's experts arrive, we'll have reduced their subsidiary sect to ruins. Let's see what they can do then!"

Several elders sharply breathed in cold air and hurriedly tried to dissuade her.

Wang Sheng actually didn't think it was such a bad idea, though. Striking when the enemy least expected it was very much in line with tactical thinking. Hence, he asked, "How do we break their grand defensive array?"

Lishang didn't know what to say.

A sect's grand defensive array was its foundation and its cultivators' primary source of security. Case in point, the Xinghai Sect's array could withstand several days and nights of external bombardment even from three to five Long Aotians. After all, it fully utilized the massive quantity of Immortal Stones piled under the Xinghai Sect's mountain gate and Fengmo's qi meridian power.

Naturally, a Golden Immortal who could destroy Fengmo with one palm strike could still obliterate the Xinghai Sect in an instant.

The small courtyard fell silent for a moment.

When in doubt, throw a jade disk.

Yao Xingzi took out a turtle shell and several jade pieces, making him look like a street-corner fortune teller who couldn't care less about making a living. He placed the jade pieces into the turtle shell and gently shook the shell a few times. Afterward, he examined the faces of the pieces while calculating with his fingers.

Linyuan couldn't help but ask, "Sect Master, is it ominous or auspicious?"

"Neither," Yao Xingzi said. Lightly stroking his beard, he studied the trigram further. "I looked at our sect's fate, and it seems this matter doesn't have any effect on it. If my calculations are correct, the five Heavenly Immortals' arrival likely won't change the thirteen qi stars' situation."

Lishang frowned. "Do we have to work with those venomous women after all?"

Wang Sheng covered his face and coughed twice. Considering she was half human and half serpent, hearing her call others "venomous women" was quite... strange.

Yao Xingzi asked, "What do you think, Elder Pi?"

"Alliances and shifting loyalties are just part of survival. Sometimes, all we can do is grit our teeth and endure it," Wang Sheng replied. "Although the Fengli Sect once tried to scheme against us, it was ultimately just an act put on for our benefit, and we were the ones who mocked them for it.

"I'm not fond of sects that treat their disciples as tools. However, if we find ourselves in a desperate enough situation, we'll have no choice but to stand with the Fengli Sect."

"Their sect master is already on the way," Yao Xingzi said. "According to their letter, we're free to name our conditions for as long as we agree to form an alliance and accept their two demands.

"First, a teleportation array has to be built near our sect, connecting us to their mountain gate. Second, I am to swear a Great Dao oath with the Fengli Sect's sect master. If either side is in trouble, the other has to come to their aid."

Wang Sheng shook his head. "Oaths are full of loopholes and cannot be trusted. Besides, we're not desperate enough to accept those terms yet."

He hesitated to say everything that was on his mind, though.

Was I wrong? Does the Fengli Sect truly not have a major force backing it? Was all that talk about "someone supporting them" merely a false front that the Fengli Sect deliberately created, or is it doing this to hide something?

"If only you could break through right now, Kachew." Linyuan sighed at the side. "You're in the same situation as Lishang before she advanced in her cultivation. If you can become a Heavenly Immortal now, then with your sword technique, we'll be unstoppable! Hahaha!"

Wang Sheng smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Cultivation couldn't be rushed. Even Haotian took every necessary step to climb to the peak. Unfortunately, upon reaching it, the Three Pure Ones glared at him, killing him where he stood.

After some discussion, they ultimately decided to meet with the Fengli Sect's group, which was only half a day away now. Since their sect master was allegedly coming in person, Yao Xingzi was naturally responsible for receiving them.

Wang Sheng also truly wanted to meet the rumored decision maker of the Fengli Sect to see just what kind of person would treat a whole sect of female disciples as tools to win others over.

***

While several elders bustled about to finish all arrangements and preparations, Wang Sheng returned to his small pavilion. Outside the quiet room where his senior sister had secluded herself in, he started analyzing the sword intent that he had just obtained.

It was like a fragment of a longsword—a solid piece of a puzzle. He couldn't extend it even just a little further.

Like a seed, sword intent gained through normal comprehension gradually sprouted, grew, matured, and upgraded until it was complete. His Dual-Polarity Sword Intent was a typical example.

The Myriad-Slaying Sword Intent was different. What he had received was a fragment of a complete sword intent. Hence, it was already extremely refined.

Wang Sheng didn't have to comprehend or ponder it. Rather, he simply had to accept and master it, then gather more of its fragments. Once the sword intent was whole again, it would push open the gate to the Great Dao of Slaughter.

He would have to ask the Sword-Forging Tower's spirit about how to collect the rest of the sword intent's fragments.

Taking out the silver scabbard, Wang Sheng muttered, "Forefather really did give me something incredible."

The Great Dao sword case, the Sword-Forging Tower, the Emperor's Benevolence, Myriad Slayer, Yuan Tu, Ah Bi...

Yaoyun telepathically said, "Ancestor Minghe, the powerful ruler of the Six-Path Asura, probably left behind that scabbard in the Primal Era."

"Did that great being die?"

"Mm," Yaoyun replied. In her three-cun form, she flew out of the Qiankun Ring and landed on Wang Sheng's shoulder. "Back then, he used the Great Dao of Slaughter to block the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Many of the Daoist sects' experts ultimately attacked and killed him."

Wang Sheng asked in confusion, "Does the Dao of Slaughter conflict with the Dao of Reincarnation?"

Yaoyun replied softly, "How could one Dao conflict with another? What I am about to say may be disrespectful, but from the Primal Era to the Ancient Era, the Immortal Saint Realm experienced many upheavals.

"Back then, to make the Daoist sects flourish, the Three Pure Ones required merit and heavenly fate. Establishing the Six Paths of Reincarnation became their highest priority to solve that problem.

"However, they chose to build it in the Blood Sea. Not only did vengeful spirits gather there, but it was also the territory of Ancestor Minghe and the Asuras. The two factions eventually engaged in a great battle, and you already know how that ended." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Wang Sheng slowly nodded while staring at the scabbard in his hand. "Did the great beings of the Immortal Saint Realm's Daoist sects consider Ancestor Minghe a devil?"

"No one dared judge him that way. His lineage could be traced back to the era of heaven's opening. The temperament of such a great individual is impossible to fathom, especially for ordinary people."

Yaoyun thought for a moment.

She then continued, "Individuals like him are closest to the Great Dao, which consequently means the Great Dao influences them far more easily. Describing them based on our definition of good, evil, righteous, and corrupted would be disrespectful."

Wang Sheng nodded and slowly put away the scabbard.

He wasn't in a hurry. While the Dao of Slaughter was tempting, he knew he couldn't hope to comprehend it yet. Just comprehending the faint, elusive threads of the Myriad-Slaying Sword Intent was daunting enough, demanding long and focused contemplation.

It felt as though his "sword path" had broadened quite a bit once more.

Yaoyun floated before Wang Sheng with her hands behind her back. Wang Sheng focused on her... and promptly went cross-eyed.

Somewhat puzzled, she asked, "Why did you choose Myriad Slayer instead of Emperor's Benevolence?"

"I don't want to become an Immortal Emperor." Wang Sheng laughed and shook his head. A trace of emotion showed in his eyes. "At the time, I had a moment of enlightenment. A sword is ultimately a weapon, which means—"

A shout from outside the small pavilion interrupted him.

Though it seemed to be coming from an extremely distant place, it sounded exceptionally clear. Upon carefully detecting it, Wang Sheng realized that its source was shouting into the grand defensive array from outside the mountain gate.

"Is the Xinghai Sect's Elder Pi Kachew on the mountain?"

The visitor had to be a Heavenly Immortal, at the very least.

Wang Sheng stood up and frowned slightly. It was certainly rare for him to get called out by name like this.