World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 437: The Vast World

Wang Sheng and his group didn't leave Mount Hua; they just went down the mountain to find a comfortable hotel and booked two rooms so Xi Lian could rest.

Watching Xi Lian sink into deep sleep, Wang Sheng felt a twinge of guilt.

Santong's remnant soul had entrusted Xi Lian to his care. Though he had managed to find a celestial pill to purge her devilish nature, his lapse in caution had made her suffer heavily.

Beside him, Xiaomiao asked softly, "Brother, since you returned that medal to Aunt Mou Yue, does that mean you won't get involved in official affairs anymore?"

With a straight face, Wang Sheng scolded, "Children shouldn't meddle in adult matters."

Xiaomiao obediently nodded, her lips curving into a rather silly smile.

With wary expressions, Shi Qianzhang and Liu Yunzhi exchanged a glance. They both looked as though they couldn't dare raise questions or comment.

Wang Sheng sighed. "Xiaomiao, you're still too young to understand everything that's happening behind the scenes. I know Mistress quite well. What she values most is her duty and her sacred sense of responsibility to protect the people.

"She probably orchestrated this situation all by herself. Her goal was probably to force those ancient cultivators into the open, then use Lady Meng and the Hidden Earth Sect to send them back to the Eighteen Levels of Hell."

Xiaomiao blinked, then puffed her cheeks and grumbled, "Captain Chi Ling is really annoying!"

In a serious tone, Wang Sheng replied, "Don't say that. She's still my mistress. Besides, she was just fulfilling her duty, and what she did wasn't exactly wrong. She only stood by her ideals, and they just so happened to clash with ours.

"She has her principles, and I have mine. I decided long ago that when our principles collide, I'll stop helping the authorities. I'd gladly fight foreign enemies, but I don't want to draw my sword against the Hua Republic's cultivators."

Shi Qianzhang sighed. "That's true. No one wants to be made a fool of."

Wang Sheng shook his head. "Let's stop talking about the Special Investigation Unit. All that matters is that those ancient cultivators have fallen to my sword. You should rest too, Xiaomiao. You look tired."

"I'm sleeping with Big Sister!" Xiaomiao exclaimed. She kicked off her shoes and leaped onto Xi Lian's bed. Slipping under the blanket, she snuggled against her.

Wang Sheng set Spiritless beside the bed and gestured to the other two men. Together, they headed to the next room. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Shi Qianzhang's eyes widened. "You're already at the Rebirth Realm, Brother Sheng??"

Wang Sheng just smiled.

Once in the room, the three ordered some tea and snacks through room service. Wang Sheng then started asking about what had happened earlier and why Liu Yunzhi had given Xi Lian such a sincere apology.

Shi Qianzhang sighed and took a deep breath. He was just about to speak when Wang Sheng raised his hand.

"Senior Sister and Huai Jing are back. I'll go pick them up."

He opened the window and leaped out. Shi Qianzhang could only roll his eyes.

High above, two fireballs streaked toward Mount Hua. A long whistle rang out midway, and the fireballs swerved, crashing down at the mountain's foot.

Huai Jing and Mu Wanxuan checked in on the next suite. Afterward, they joined the others, marking the full reunion of their small squad.

Mu Wanxuan, dressed in her white gown, looked as graceful and outstanding as ever. She sat beside Wang Sheng on the bed, the faint distance between them speaking volumes about their relationship.

Their arms were touching.

Having hurried all the way back, Mu Wanxuan had exhausted herself and her enchanted power. Now, she couldn't help but show signs of weariness.

Meanwhile, Huai Jing simply collapsed face-first onto the other bed, yawning nonstop. "So Fei Yu wiped out all the ancient cultivators?"

Shi Qianzhang clapped his hands. "Hey!"

Eyes gleaming, he started excitedly telling how Wang Sheng had unleashed his might, become one with his sword, and taken down fifteen ancient cultivators. He threw in plenty of exaggeration, too. With his storytelling skill, if he ever tried performing for a living, he'd... probably starve under a bridge.

Liu Yunzhi's expression twisted with discomfort again. He covered his face and fell silent, unable to face the others.

"Little Liu really had it rough." Shi Qianzhang sighed. Finally, he explained how Liu Yunzhi had been mind-controlled.

Liu Yunzhi bitterly confessed, "I was the one who gave them most of their information on Big Sister. I truly don't know how to face her or Xiaomiao now."

"Well, you were being controlled," Shi Qianzhang consoled.

Wang Sheng thought for a moment. "Alright. I'll give you a way to make it up to Big Sister and ease your guilt a little."

"I'll do anything, Fei Yu," Liu Yunzhi replied. "I deserve to pay for my crimes a hundred times over."

"The Immortal Dao Conference should last several days. Since I gave Big Sister a celestial pill that'll purify her devilish seed, she's in a pretty complicated condition right now. She'll have to fully cleanse it before she can begin healing. Senior Sister and I will stay here with her for a few days. While we're here, I want you to buy her a new set of her old gaming equipment. If you don't know what to get, ask Huai Jing."

Huai Jing perked up. "Amitabha. Her setup is quite expensive."

Liu Yunzhi nodded quickly. He then waited for Wang Sheng to continue.

"And... our home was destroyed. I didn't get a good look at how bad it was."

"I'll go check," Shi Qianzhang offered. "Maybe I can recover something. Last time I saw it, your villa had been totally wrecked and completely sunk in. All the treasures that Big Sister took from those vampires, gone just like that."

Huai Jing smiled. "All that matters is that everyone's safe. Where do you plan to settle down now, though, Fei Yu?"

Wang Sheng thought for a moment, then glanced at his senior sister. "I haven't decided yet. I'll ask for my master's opinion later. If possible, I'd like to find a small peak in the Zhongnan Mountains, build a few huts, and cultivate with Big Sister and Senior Sister there."

Huai Jing muttered, "I wonder how the internet is over there. The games Big Sister plays require a good connection."

"Town!" Mu Wanxuan blurted out.

Wang Sheng smiled. "That's not a bad idea. We can look for a small town near the mountains. That should allow us to live comfortably and still find places nearby to cultivate."

"If it's just cultivation, why not go back to the Small Immortal Realm?" Huai Jing asked.

Shi Qianzhang scratched his head awkwardly.

"We'll be spending two to three years here before we head back to that place," Wang Sheng answered. "Honestly, the concentration of primal qi there isn't even as dense as near a qi meridian node. What makes that place so great is the legacies that the Heavenly Court immortals left behind, which can help Nascent Soul Realm cultivators break through quickly."

As he spoke, Wang Sheng took out two porcelain bottles and handed out thirty celestial pills for healing to the three men. He also gave Huai Jing a separate batch of celestial pills that restored enchanted power, though he could barely handle them now without the energy making him explode.

"The Small Immortal Realm shouldn't be used recklessly. The things inside are too important. The nearly endless supply of celestial pills up there alone is enough to drive cultivators mad."

Everyone nodded solemnly.

Huai Jing said, "Let's plan for the worst. If, in a few years, the existence of the Small Immortal Realm becomes public and cultivators gather demanding resource sharing, what then?"

Wang Sheng shrugged. "Let them try. If they can get in, I won't stop them."

Unable to find a counterargument, Huai Jing just rolled his eyes.

Wang Sheng added, "Besides, though the Small Immortal Realm is full of treasures, palace spirits guard every building in it. We don't have to worry about its treasures flooding into the cultivation world.

"I also noticed that many Daoist sects sided with the ancient cultivators. They are now blacklisted in my book. If their experts try to take resources from the Small Immortal Realm, I'll be the first to stop them."

Shi Qianzhang gave him a thumbs-up. "That's the spirit, Brother Sheng."

Liu Yunzhi looked a little embarrassed but still nodded, finding Wang Sheng's approach reasonable.

They then turned to a more serious topic: the Grand Heavenly Net Technique.

Liu Yunzhi took a jade disk from his storage artifact and handed it over. It contained the Grand Heavenly Net Technique, though only the secondary part.

After reading through it carefully, Mu Wanxuan softly said, "Devilish art."

"That's right." Huai Jing intoned Buddha's name. "I've heard of it before. An immortal created it to help cultivators advance quickly and train soldiers for the Heavenly Court. It has two parts: main and secondary. Practicing the secondary text rapidly increases one's cultivation, but it generates a heart devil, which the immortal who practices the main text suppresses.

"The idea initially seemed fine, but it was later discovered that those who practiced the main text could freely control the heart devils and control those who practiced the secondary one. Hence, the Heavenly Court banned it and labeled it as a devilish art. As I recall, the incident caused quite a stir in the Small Immortal Realm. Several Taiyi Golden Immortals even showed up."

Wang Sheng raised an eyebrow. "You sure know a lot about it, Buddhist Master Huai Jing. I almost forgot to ask you about something."

Huai Jing pressed his palms together and intoned Buddha's name. "Don't ask. The Buddha told me in a dream."

Wang Sheng couldn't help but laugh. He let go of his curiosity and stopped pressing Huai Jing about his background.

Everyone had their secrets and the right to keep them. Being friends didn't mean they had to unearth every hidden part of one another.

Wang Sheng returned to the matter at hand. "The problem now is how to deal with the cultivators who have practiced the Grand Heavenly Net Technique. They should be at the Immortal Dao Conference right now, which makes them a hidden threat."

"Sarira..." Liu Yunzhi said. "When Xiaomiao saved me, I remember her using a sarira."

"That was Buddhist Master Santong's sarira," Huai Jing explained. "When Big Sister and Xiaomiao failed to break out of the ancient cultivators' encirclement, Big Sister grew desperate. She reversed the Buddhist power inside her, which had been suppressing her devilish nature, and infused it into the sarira that had turned to dust, restoring Buddhist Master Santong's artifact. She then used it to seal Xiaomiao under the lake."

Wang Sheng could almost see how Xi Lian and Xiaomiao hopelessly and desperately tried to escape that night. Another pang of guilt rose in his heart, making him ponder quietly.

No matter how strong I am, I can't be everywhere at once. How do I prevent something like this from happening again?