World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 416: Countdown to the Immortal Dao Conference

Inside the Special Investigation Unit's top-floor office, Qin Yishen was buried in a mountain of paperwork.

"Captain, here's the new emergency evacuation plan for the towns around the main venues. Please approve it."

"Captain, the Special Warfare Unit's conference preparation team is waiting for you at Line Three for a meeting."

The workload of both the Special Investigation Unit and the Special Affairs Unit had fallen right on his shoulders. Still, he showed no hint of exhaustion, only a sharp and tireless focus as he reviewed each document in detail.

Soon, Zhang Jiuqian burst through the door and strode briskly to his desk. She slammed her hands onto the tabletop.

"Captain, those old-timers in the Special Investigation Unit keep pulling tricks on me. It's making my job impossible!"

Qin Yishen paused mid-signature, then looked up at his trusted aide. Several men and women from the Special Affairs Unit who had been temporarily transferred to assist him exchanged knowing smiles.

Calmly, Qin Yishen questioned, "Jiuqian, since when have you become so impatient? You already complained to me once. The Special Investigation Unit's senior officers have their opinions, and that's to be expected. But remember this, we're working for the people and the nation, not for anyone's approval. That's what truly matters."

Zhang Jiuqian lowered her voice. "But Captain, you assigned me to track down Sword Cultivator Fei Yu's younger sister. It's been over sixty hours, yet the Special Investigation Unit still has no leads. For all we know, they've already done something to Xiaomiao..."

"Jiuqian." Qin Yishen's gaze grew more thoughtful. "Resistance is inevitable. After all, Chief Chi Ling has been with that unit for years, and her old subordinates are bound to have loyalties."

He sighed.

"The investigation into Chief Chi Ling isn't finished yet, and her reassignment is still under review. For now, just get through the next two days. Our top priority is to safeguard the Immortal Dao Conference. After all, it'll mark a turning point for reforming the current mortal-immortal system.

"Everything else can wait until it's done. Finding Xiaomiao is important, but if we can't locate her now, we'll just have to postpone the search until after the conference is ov—"

Before he could finish, a shout came through the intercom clipped to Zhang Jiuqian's collar.

—Team Zhang, Team Zhang! The Wudang Mountains have just announced that they have found Wang Xiaomiao!

Qin Yishen smiled and waved for her to go. She quickly apologized for her tone earlier, then turned and hurried out.

Moments after she left, Qin Yishen stared at his desk, lost in thought.

"Project a countdown clock here for the opening of the Immortal Dao Conference. Down to the second."

"Yes, Captain. One moment."

Within half a minute, a small holographic clock appeared above the desk, displaying 41:34:25. It steadily ticked down.

"Now this feels more urgent," Qin Yishen murmured.

Rhythmically tapping on the tabletop, he wondered, What could possibly stop me at this stage?

Thinking it over, he found the plan had gone almost exactly as expected. He then smiled faintly and muttered under his breath, "Shu Sword Sect."

He then fell into deep contemplation.

***

Finding the place that Liu Yunzhi had described proved quite difficult. Daring not to fly openly, the three had to search covertly for the hidden valley.

After half a day's effort, they reached the southern coastline, then followed it westward for over ten hours before finally reaching their destination.

The valley was shrouded in toxic mist, the poison so potent that nothing could approach within fifty li.

They were now in a desolate region between two small nations, over a thousand kilometers away from the Hua Republic's southern border.

The Hua Republic had long expelled its corrupt cultivators to the south, turning the area into a wasteland of poisonous miasma. There were other valleys overrun with venomous creatures and shrouded in toxic mist like this. The local military and police forces dared not interfere in them.

The three stopped before the valley's entrance.

"Xiaomiao, your cultivation isn't deep enough," Liu Yunzhi said. "Stay outside. We'll go in and record everything."

Shi Qianzhang snorted. "Forget it. What if she gets attacked? The toxins here aren't that bad anyway. I've got talismans to block the poison."

He tossed two talismans to Liu Yunzhi and handed two more to Xiaomiao.

"I don't need it," Liu Yunzhi replied, but Shi Qianzhang rolled his eyes.

"Quit pretending. How much enchanted power have you recovered? Remember, Little Liu, you're earning redemption through service. If you die here, we lose a key witness!"

Liu Yunzhi smiled bitterly. He then took the talismans and stuck them onto his chest. "I'll lead the way. Be prepared, it's gruesome inside."

With that, he conjured a mahogany sword and stepped into the mist.

Xiaomiao yawned. She was visibly drained and barely keeping her focus, but she still followed Shi Qianzhang into the white fog.

A few minutes later, a sharp scream echoed through the valley. Two of the trio rushed out of the poisonous mist.

Xiaomiao steadied herself against a large rock, retching dryly. Shi Qianzhang rushed to pat her back, though he had gone pale as well from what he had seen.

"Those damned old devils! Even if they were corrupt cultivators, this is beyond cruel!" he cursed through clenched teeth.

"They were refining poison here, including the one that harmed the Daoist sects," Liu Yunzhi explained as he emerged from the mist with his phone up. "I've recorded the scene. With my testimony, it should be enough to convince the authorities. Let's head back."

"Not yet." Xiaomiao coughed a few times. "The evidence isn't complete. Brother Yunzhi, collect samples of that floating toxin mist from the corpses. We'll also need to go to the battlefield in the southern borderlands, where the corrupt cultivators ambushed the Daoists. If we can match the poison, it'll confirm everything. Be careful, and keep recording the whole time."

"Understood. Wait here," Liu Yunzhi replied and grabbed a porcelain vial. Wasting no time, he disappeared once more into the valley.

Shi Qianzhang and Xiaomiao could both tell that Liu Yunzhi had deep regrets. He wanted to do more, to make up for his past mistakes.

Once Liu Yunzhi entered the valley, Shi Qianzhang lowered his voice. "Xiaomiao, do you really plan to have Little Liu expose those ancient cultivators? Isn't that too dangerous for him?"

"If we get the timing right, we'll be able to minimize the danger," Xiaomiao whispered back. "Someone has to stand up. Even if Master Qing Yanzi and the others have their own plans, the evidence we hold and Brother Yunzhi are still crucial.

"At the Immortal Dao Conference, we have to be the arrow that pierces their mask of righteousness. Otherwise, Master Qing Yanzi and the Shu Sword Sect will be forced into a corner. I'm still young, and I may not think as carefully or as deeply as that cunning Qin Yishen, but we aren't fighting alone. If we play our part properly at the right moment, we might just become the key to changing everything."

Shi Qianzhang thought about it for a moment before muttering, "Where did you learn to talk like that? Don't tell me there's an old grandma in her seventies living inside you?"

"Ugh, please." Xiaomiao rolled her eyes. "If you had grown up with a brother who was treated like a national hero while you had poor cultivation talent, you'd find other ways to improve yourself, too."

"No way. Being Fei Yu's little sister comes with that much pressure?"

"The pressure disappeared after I met him." Xiaomiao sighed. "He wasn't as perfect as I imagined. My brother is just good at cultivation, that's all. Honestly, that kept me happy for a long time.

"Since I was about five or six, I always imagined he was immeasurably brave, incomparably clever, and incredibly handsome. I'd then wonder how I could become a sister worthy of such a brother. If danger came, could I stand beside him, become a hero like him? Then we finally met, and all those fantasies vanished instantly."

Shi Qianzhang couldn't help but laugh. He then glanced at the misty valley and thought of the horrors inside, causing his laughter to gradually stop.

"But after that," Xiaomiao added softly, "I realized for the first time that I really had a brother, a real person, not some fantasy. If you tell me now that my brother is a hero, I'd say it's the times that made him one.

"Back in the Small Nether Realm disaster, he probably sacrificed himself out of helplessness, not with some grand speech about the everlasting glory of the Daoist sects before leaping into the Earth Qi Seal. So yes, he's my idol. He's someone I can learn from and someone who pushes me to keep growing."

Shi Qianzhang nodded softly. He felt as though the young girl before him had just lectured him. Remembering his own age, he suddenly felt he'd wasted decades of life.

"I got it," Liu Yunzhi announced from the mist. He stepped out quickly, handing Shi Qianzhang a porcelain vial and his phone, then swallowed two alchemical pills before sitting down. "Give me a moment to recover my enchanted power."

Xiaomiao nodded. Shi Qianzhang sighed quietly, wanting to say something, but he just stayed silent.

***

Forty-two hours left before the Immortal Dao Conference.

At the foot of the Wudang Mountains, a Harrier aircraft descended slowly. Zhang Jiuqian, who had already swapped her heels for flats since they'd have to climb, hurriedly led a group of people toward the mountain gate.

When they reached the gate, more than ten disciples blocked their path to check their IDs and explain their purpose. It then took over ten more minutes before the Special Affairs Unit members were finally allowed inside and directed to a nearby Daoist temple to wait.

Zhang Jiuqian paced restlessly, unable to calm down. Time kept slipping away without any trace of Xiaomiao, the one person they had to find. Before long, an elderly Daoist descended from the sky with two younger cultivators. They landed in the temple courtyard.

The elder stepped forward and bowed apologetically. "Captain Zhang, I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding."

"Mm?" Zhang Jiuqian's refined expression darkened. "Didn't you publicly announce that you found Wang Xiaomiao?"

"Well..." The elder smiled bitterly and gestured to Zhou Yinglong and Hao Ling, who were behind him.

Smiling calmly, Zhou Yinglong stepped forward. "To tell you the truth, Captain Zhang, the announcement referred to my third martial uncle's sixth disciple, who lost her pet.

"That junior sister's surname is Wang, and she's rather mischievous. She adores her spirit magpie. It can mimic a cat's 'meow,' so she named it Wang Xiaomeow. Whenever we played with the bird, we'd call it 'Wang Xiaomeow, Wang Xiaomeow.' Three days ago, it ran off—"

With an enraged expression, Zhang Jiuqian shouted, "Enough!"

She then quickly forced herself to breathe deeply and regain her composure.

"I apologize. It seems we misunderstood. Let's go."

Zhou Yinglong smiled. "Junior Sister, shall we see Captain Zhang off?"

"No need," Zhang Jiuqian replied coolly. "I've seen enough of the Wudang Mountains' charm for one day."