World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 416: The Stainless Goddess, Return of Two Souls

Why do I keep feeling this faint unease?

For days, Wang Sheng had felt something shifting in the air.

Beside the mist-wreathed jade pool of the Moon Palace, clouds drifted lazily over the still waters.

The Heavenly Court had created this place—the Pool of Transcendence—long ago for cultivators whom it had recruited early as heavenly soldiers. It was designed to help those at the Rebirth Realm, Tribulation Realm, and Grand Immortal-Ascension Realm reach the Ascended Immortal Realm faster.

Now, only his senior sister sat within the pool, not far from the edge.

Wang Sheng sat cross-legged at the edge of the pool, staring blankly into the rippling mist. The restless feeling in his chest faded almost as soon as it had appeared, as though it never existed at all.

"Yaoyun, can you reach Senior Sister Shen?" he asked softly.

"What's wrong?" Yaoyun telepathically asked. "Give me a moment. Through the heart mark I left back then, I can sense her state of mind, but the restrictions around the Moon Palace are too strong for direct contact."

"How is she?"

"Calm and peaceful."

Wang Sheng nodded slightly. As long as nothing had gone wrong in the Hua Republic, there was nothing to fear.

Thinking it over, he realized he might have been worrying for nothing. The cultivation world of the Hua Republic was thriving and stronger than ever, with both the Shu Sword Sect's venerable sword spirit and the immortal from the Small Nether Realm watching over it. Even if the ancient cultivators stirred up trouble, a single command from either of them would be enough to end it.

"Forget it. No point in overthinking," Wang Sheng telepathically murmured.

Yaoyun's gentle acknowledgment faded from his mind.

He turned his focus inward again, meditating on the Soaring Red Feathers and the Pure Yang Sword Song. Insights flickered at the edge of his awareness, but after more than a year of rapid advancement, he had grown weary. His progress had been too fast; even he could feel the fatigue. For once, he simply wanted to let his thoughts drift.

From the pendant around his neck, Wang Sheng drew out a small cloth bundle and carefully unfolded several parchment-thin sheets.

His gaze softened. They were pages from a hand-drawn comic.

Wang Sheng wasn't cultivating in the Pool of Transcendence because he was waiting for his senior sister to reach immortality. He strongly believed in the principle of "the strong guiding the weak."

The truth was simpler, though: the pool's benefits did not outweigh its costs.

Despite its reputation, the Pool of Transcendence was not an earth-shattering paradise. It was quite ordinary compared to the Platform of Immortal Dreams.

Without pills or external force, a cultivator's progress depended mainly on three things: aptitude, insight, and the surrounding density of primal qi. The Pool of Transcendence offered boundless primal qi, and its waters had traces of enlightenment that countless immortals had left.

Since Earth's cultivators practiced techniques passed down from the Heavenly Court, these imprints were compatible with nearly all of them, saving them the hardship of discovering enlightenment alone. That was why cultivating inside it allowed such rapid progress.

However, every boon carried a price. Though the pool did not cripple one's immortal path like forced advancement through pills, it still left subtle marks on a cultivator's Dao.

Every cultivator's Dao was their own.

A hundred people could all cultivate the Pure Yang Immortal Mantra, yet each would walk a different path. Similar in principle, but never the same.

Wang Sheng blended the Pure Yang Immortal Mantra with the Heavenly Ziwei Heavenly Sword Intent, forming his own Dao of the Sword.

If he entered the pool, the enlightenment of Chun Yangzi would seep into his soul, and his Dao of the Sword could bend toward that of the old grandmaster. His understanding of Pure Yang would become "corrected."

In the short term, that wasn't necessarily bad. Following the path of a predecessor saved time and risk. However, upon reaching the Heavenly Immortal Realm and seeking the fruit of immortality, that inherited imprint would become a shackle.

Wang Sheng would have likely used the pool for a time had he not visited the Pure Yang Immortal Palace and obtained Chun Yangzi's cultivation manuals. Now that he had experienced a thousand-year dream in the Platform of Immortal Dreams and the complete Pure Yang teachings in his hands, he no longer had any need for shortcuts. Sitting at the edge of the pool and absorbing the primal qi was enough.

Mu Wanxuan's situation was different. Though she had mastered countless Dao of Yin and Yang techniques, none were truly complete. Any trace of enlightenment she could absorb would deepen her Yin-Yang Grand Formation.

Before entering the pool, she had gathered every scene and memory from her past life and turned them into a comic. She then entrusted it solemnly to Wang Sheng as her first step toward letting go of the past.

It deeply moved Wang Sheng. To him, it felt like another sign of the bond they shared. In truth, the way they interacted now was already that of true Daoist partners.

He had read the comic once before. Now, after his recent seclusion, he opened it again to study it more closely.

Hua Qing's origins dated way back before the founding of the Heavenly Court, when the Three Realms had not yet been established. The Immortal Realm was still called the Immortal Saint Realm, a place of endless wars between countless races and powers.

After the Heavenly Court rose and the realms were divided, the Immortal Saint Realm became the Immortal Realm. Vast regions still lay beyond the court's control, though.

In one such distant land, a small tribe of a few hundred people guarded a divine tree. Hua Qing was the spirit of that sacred tree, cultivating for countless years without ever taking human form.

When several experts from the Heavenly Court discovered the tribe, they sought to conquer it. The tribe dared not resist. After all, the Heavenly Court ruled all under heaven.

The experts sought merit; the tribe sought protection. Both hoped to benefit.

Yet pride ran deep. Though small, the tribe had several Heavenly Immortals and even a Golden Immortal—a modest power in their own right. The elders and chieftain declared that they would only surrender under one condition.

Their demand was simple: help their divine tree take human form.

The one who answered that request was Yunxiao, a Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm cultivator.

What the tribe didn't expect was that the Heavenly Court's powerhouses gave all the benefits to the spirit of the Divine Tree. Their chieftain not only did not become an official deity of the Heavenly Court, but didn't even make it onto the Immortal Record as an unaffiliated immortal.

Upon gaining a human form, Hua Qing left the tribe and entered the Heavenly Court. She then formed a deep bond with Yunxiao.

In just a few strokes, Mu Wanxuan had captured the image of the famed Lady Yunxiao, first of the Three Immortal Sisters. She was a woman of quiet dignity and breathtaking grace, just like Mu Wanxuan herself. After all, once a woman reached the Heavenly Immortal Realm, beauty was almost inevitable unless she was twisted.

Originally, Mu Wanxuan had wanted to turn the story of her past life into a passionate, action-filled comic—something full of ups and downs. In the end, though, the finished work turned out to be a laid-back slice-of-life series instead. Many pages were filled with lighthearted stories from her time as an official deity in the Heavenly Court, living a peaceful life of cultivation.

Most of the time, she secluded herself in her own residence to cultivate, and when she had some leisure, she would visit the Three Immortal Sisters for tea, conversation, and discussions on spellcraft.

The later events took a darker turn.

The Immortal Emperor stirred up chaos, the Heavenly Court suffered calamity, and during its final war of destruction, Yunxiao fought countless powerful beings from other races. In the end, she failed to escape with Ziwei, though it was still unclear if she died.

Hua Qing grieved deeply and grew to hate the foreign races. During the counteroffensive, she disregarded her own safety, choosing to keep fighting even after being gravely wounded. Hence, she ultimately became one of the first to fall.

That was Mu Wanxuan's past life.

She died near the exit of the Realm of Exiled Immortals, where Earth was located. The Reincarnation Stone drew in a trace of her remnant soul, where it rested and recovered before being reborn into the mortal world.

There seemed to be some inconsistencies in her account of reincarnation. Wang Sheng faintly noticed them but did not look deeper into it.

"Tsk." Looking at the scenes that his senior sister had drawn, Wang Sheng failed to suppress a small murmur in his heart.

Charging ahead so recklessly and ending up dying so soon... Her title as a true deity of the Heavenly Court seems a bit exaggerated.

Wang Sheng gazed toward the pool, where a graceful figure drifted faintly within the mist. He sat in silence for a while, then began to consider when he should return to the cultivation world.

It did not feel right for him and his senior sister to enjoy the blessings of this Small Immortal Realm alone. After discussing it with Yaoyun, he decided to bring ten trustworthy cultivators here—those with good character and at least at the Nascent Soul Realm. Cultivators with too low a realm would gain little from this place.

His master would naturally be one of them. Once her devilish seed was removed, Xi Lian could ascend straight to immortality here.

He could also invite Fei Lianzi and Gao Shixing, two "friends from another generation" who had greatly helped him refine his Dao of the Sword, to benefit from the place. They were likely close to reaching the Nascent Soul Realm.

As for the rest of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators...

The Grand Celestial Master, role model of the righteous cultivators, was a definite choice. Qing Long and Yuan Pu Zhenren should also be included. After all, they had shown him kindness and were within the same circle as his master and the Grand Celestial Master.

He did feel as though he was turning the Small Immortal Realm into his own home.

The remaining few spots could be left for his mistress to decide.

He was now at the late stage of the Rebirth Realm—a mere step away from completion. All he needed now was time and steady cultivation. Once Mu Wanxuan woke up, she could remain here to cultivate. He would return to the cultivation world for a while.

She'd likely still be thinking about building a generator back home, though.

Forget it. When she wakes up, we can talk it over. I shouldn't decide on my own; everything between us should be discussed together.

Wang Sheng chuckled softly and closed his eyes. The restlessness in his heart had completely disappeared.

***

In a high-end hotel room at the foot of the Heavenly Dragon Temple, the air conditioning ran cold and steady.

On the bed, an unconscious young girl was wrapped tightly in a blanket. Faint rings of Buddhist light surrounded her.

Through a gap in the curtains, a sliver of sunlight fell upon her eyelids, making her slowly open her eyes.

"Huh? Where am I?" Xiaomiao blinked in confusion, then sat up slowly. She instinctively glanced at her sleepwear, then began to think.

Xi Lian had been sealed, the fifteen ancient cultivators had escaped, and she had fainted right after the crisis ended. She had no idea what had become of Xi Lian.

On the nightstand beside the bed was an old-fashioned smartphone and a neat stack of cash.

Xiaomiao froze for a moment, then quickly examined herself. After a brief check, she breathed a deep sigh of relief.

What is Buddhist Master Huai Jing doing, leaving money here like this? Scared the heck out of me.