World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 470: Engagement Tokens

Wang Sheng had reached the Grand Immortal-Ascension Realm, but the breakthrough felt so unreal that it seemed to have slipped past him in a haze. According to his senior sister, a celestial cocoon had enveloped him while unconscious, rapidly absorbing primal qi.

He pondered for a long while, but he could only attribute it to his Pure Yang Immortal Mantra finally revealing its deep accumulation of progress. His stabilized Primordial Spirit could have also guided the process.

He hadn't been conscious enough to perceive what truly happened, leaving him no way to analyze it. If he could understand what caused the celestial cocoon to form or the conditions that allowed it, then he could attempt to recreate that chance for rapid breakthrough in the future.

With a refined, advanced form of Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent now in his arsenal, Wang Sheng began to contemplate the essence of cultivation itself. His realm was still too low to reach any answers, but he believed that as he walked further down the immortal path, this way of thinking and observing would benefit him greatly. To him, it held significant value.

From a certain perspective, the greatest treasure of Earth's cultivators was not the heritages that the Heavenly Court had left behind, but rather the scientific worldview that humanity had developed over the thousand years without primal qi. After all, it allowed Earth's cultivators to step outside old immortal frameworks, expand their vision, and combine reasoning with the understanding of Dao and the universe.

His summoned heavenly tribulation, its refinement, and the two heavenly mights that he had faced were the clearest proof of the knowledge that Wang Sheng had pursued for years.

Assuming heavenly might was the will of the Three Pure Ones, Wang Sheng's exploration of heavenly tribulation had touched upon a forbidden boundary. It was taboo and should not be pursued. In a deeper sense, such exploration could threaten the stability of the Great Dao, the balance of the universe, perhaps even the presence of the Three Pure Ones themselves.

He wasn't enough of a threat to be outright destroyed, unlike what had happened to Yaoyun's father. Therefore, heavenly might merely issued warnings.

Feeling a bit dejected, Wang Sheng sighed softly. He had already used two of his three warnings, and only after the third warning would a fourth violation cause the Great Dao to abandon him.

He now only had one chance left to further evolve his Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent. Next time, he would have to accumulate enough understanding to raise it to a truly great height. Otherwise, the risk he had taken would be meaningless.

To be abandoned by the Great Dao was a fate more miserable than exile. There was no place in existence left for such a cultivator.

Heavenly tribulation...

Wang Sheng raised his right hand, and gray clouds gathered above his palm. Streaks of cyan lightning intertwined, forming a solid-looking longsword that was three chi long. Feeling the astonishing destructive power within and the destructive intent radiating from the lightning, he frowned slightly.

Is my realm even high enough for me to control this destructive power freely?

In terms of sheer destructive capability, his Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent now surpassed all of his sword intents, even the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Intent. It could also be superimposed into his sword techniques, allowing him to unleash it alongside other sword intents. Moreover, he faintly sensed that it could now summon more than just lightning tribulation.

Unfortunately, he hadn't found the time to test it since he woke up.

"Junior Brother."

Mu Wanxuan leaped lightly into the palace, her mood bright and lively. She tapped Wang Sheng's left shoulder from behind and then spun gracefully to his right side, her skirt fluttering.

Wang Sheng turned his head to the left, which made her laugh softly.

"Here." Mu Wanxuan handed him a jade pendant inscribed with a cultivation technique.

Wang Sheng injected a thread of enchanted power, and ancient characters glimmered into view, revealing a Daoist art based on the Dao of Balanced Yin and Yang. He read it quietly.

Mu Wanxuan was a little confused. Thinking her junior brother intended to switch from the Pure Yang Immortal Mantra to the Great Dao of Yin and Yang, she wanted to warn him of how difficult it was to cultivate the Dao of Balanced Yin and Yang.

Her phone had long since run out of power, though, blocking her from the memes she used to assist her in communication. Left with no expressive tools, all she could do was reach out, tug Wang Sheng's sleeve, and blink at him several times.

"I was trying to research it for you." Wang Sheng put the jade pendant away. "I realized that some scientific principles can help inspire new insights in cultivation. They offer a different perspective.

"I can't tell you how I summon heavenly tribulations. Otherwise, I'd invoke my third heavenly might warning. What I can tell you, though, is that I learned about it from the theoretical knowledge I gained during my nine years of compulsory education."

Mu Wanxuan frowned, pursed her lips, and then waved dismissively. She had never attended school. Raised by their master since her childhood, she spent her youth being soaked in medicinal pots every day until she grew up and met Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng smiled. "Don't worry. I'll research it for you. When I find useful knowledge points, I'll be sure to tell you."

"Mm!" Mu Wanxuan huffed, feeling somewhat proud. Having a capable junior brother saved her much worry in cultivation.

Wang Sheng's tone then grew much gentler. "This is for you."

He took out an emerald-green lamp from the pendant and handed it to Mu Wanxuan. "This is a soul lamp. For as long as the lamp is on, it means I'm all right. No matter how far apart or how many barriers are between us, it can sense my condition."

Mu Wanxuan blinked. She accepted the soul lamp and worriedly looked at Wang Sheng, seemingly asking if Wang Sheng was planning to travel far.

Softly, Wang Sheng answered, "When I reach the Ascended Immortal Realm, which would make my strength grow by leaps and bounds, I'll be checking the entrance and exit of the Realm of Exiled Immortals. The round trip will take some time.

"Besides, of the three qi seals, we still have the Human Qi Seal. If I get locked in it for a few hundred years, you'll at least be able to know if I'm still alive."

With a slightly stern expression, Mu Wanxuan frowned a little. "Nonsense."

"Just kidding. You can put that away for now," Wang Sheng urged.

Mu Wanxuan carefully placed the lamp into her storage artifact.

Wang Sheng then took out an unlit soul lamp. The lamps that their forefather had left weren't useless, after all.

In a serious tone, he said, "An engagement usually comes with rings, but I don't really have any on me right now. If it's okay with you, let's use these two as our tokens of engagement. Light it, and I'll always be by your side. If one day we're ever apart, we'll always know the other is safe."

Mu Wanxuan turned slightly red. "Alright..."

She bit her lip, took the soul lamp, and lit it under Wang Sheng's guidance. When she handed it back, she stepped forward, rose on her toes, and planted her lips against his cheek as lightly as a dragonfly skimming water. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Wang Sheng reached out instinctively to pull her close. It would be rude not to return the courtesy. Moreover, a man had to take the initiative at such moments.

However, she used subtle and strange footwork. Before he could move, she had floated away like mist, widening the distance between them. To take advantage and flee afterward certainly brought quite a thrill.

Wang Sheng carefully tucked the soul lamp into a corner of his pendant. He would never wish for a time when he would have to rely on it to know her condition, but now that he was close to ascension, a faint unease lingered in his heart.

Wang Sheng left the palace and wandered through the Small Immortal Realm. With the help of a few familiar palace spirits, he found an immortal palace where spiritual entities could recover and cultivate. In a corner of it lay a celestial pool that nourished the spirituality of artifacts.

Wang Sheng bowed before the palace and took out Spiritless. Before he could say a word, the palace spirit appeared and urged him to enter.

He submerged Spiritless into the pool and stayed with it for a while, watching wisps of profound spiritual power bathe it. Finally, his heart relaxed. With the palace spirit watching over the palace and Yaoyun's condition visibly improving, he saw no need to wait here.

Wang Sheng stepped out and visited the Daoist elders and Daoist masters, explaining that they'd have to wait for Yaoyun to recover enough to lift the restrictions before they could leave. The elders understood at once.

Later, he found Huai Jing under the moon laurel tree. Wang Sheng's expression darkened as he rolled up his sleeves.

"Buddhist Master, I've gained quite a few new insights lately. Why don't we spar a little, test our understanding?"

The handsome monk immediately leaped back, laughing nervously. "Amitabha. Fei Yu, don't bully me. I am no match for you now. I really wasn't trying to provoke you into facing your tribulation back then!"

"Is that so?"

Wang Sheng remained still. With a step, he appeared right before Huai Jing, leaving six afterimages behind him.

"Imitating the Great Dao, learning the Great Dao, opposing the Great Dao, becoming the Great Dao... that was quite a profound statement you made."

Huai Jing's mouth twitched. "I was just bluffing! I only repeated some vague nonsense the old monks of our Buddhist sect used to say."

He then looked down, finding a swirl of cyan-gray mist around his feet.

"Fei Yu? What are you doing? Don't be rash. I might be a tank, but I'm definitely not a bottom!"

Wang Sheng snapped his fingers and drifted back.

Huai Jing's eyes widened as he roared, "Indestructible Vajra!"

Tiny bolts of lightning enveloped him.

A few minutes later, the monk sat charred beneath the moon laurel tree, sighing toward the sky as the sword cultivator curiously examined the branches above.

Wang Sheng naturally didn't harm him. Their exchanges were mostly playful, though Huai Jing did suffer a little for it.

Without his golden body, the monk's cultivation wasn't particularly deep. He couldn't possibly defend against Wang Sheng, who had already entered the Grand Immortal-Ascension Realm.

Huai Jing muttered, "It's only been a few years. How is he already this strong? Even with heavenly fate on his side, this is still too abnormal. Does the late-stage Tribulation Realm mean nothing now? He just skipped right past it and fully ascended! If we were in the endless space, a deranged old devil would have already killed someone so monstrous before they had the chance to grow up. Amitabha..."

In the tree above, Wang Sheng shrugged slightly. He thought deeply about the celestial cocoon, but he couldn't get any answers.

He cultivated in the Small Immortal Realm for another six months, steadily breaking through to the mid-stage of the Grand Immortality-Ascension Realm. His progress put some pressure on Xi Lian, who had been spending her days studying the way of Ascended Immortals.

Mu Wanxuan had lost her position as the top among them, and now even Xi Lian was starting to worry that Wang Sheng would one day surpass her, too. She had been cultivating for so many years, yet she still couldn't help but doubt she could ascend before him.

Perhaps spurred by his progress, the Daoist masters and elders all broke through as well. Mu Wanxuan immersed herself in the Pool of Transcendence, refusing to leave. Xi Lian remained in seclusion as well.

To Wang Sheng's relief, Spiritless had fully recovered.

The celestial pool had replenished Yaoyun's spiritual power. Having endured the heavenly tribulation, her spiritual realm had advanced even further. Though Spiritless's blade now had a faint scratch, its quality had actually improved.

Eventually, the Daoist masters and elders returned to Earth. The Platform of Immortal Dreams' power had faded, and since they had no desire to enter the Pool of Transcendence, staying in the Small Immortal Realm barely differed from going into seclusion on Earth. The immortal palaces provided protection against devilish deviation, but as heads of their respective Daoist heritages, they could not remain away for long.

Yaoyun opened the great gate of the Small Immortal Realm, and Wang Sheng escorted them back.

Mu Wanxuan and Xi Lian stayed behind to continue cultivating, while Huai Jing returned to the Heavenly Dragon Temple. Instead of staying, Jingyun decided to return to the Pure Yang Sword Faction and trade places with Qing Yanzi.

The Small Immortal Realm brought great advancement in cultivation. Wang Sheng himself didn't really have to return to Earth. He could just let his master decide who would visit the Moon Palace next, allowing him to remain on the Moon to keep the gate open.

However, he wanted to help his senior sister study the Dao of Balanced Yin and Yang through more "scientific" means. Hence, he joined the trip back.

Yin and Yang...

On the way, Wang Sheng telepathically asked, "Yaoyun, can you tell me what the immortals know of the universe's origin? Be as specific as you can."

"Are you trying to understand your Dual-Polarity Sword Intent?" Yaoyun asked in return. Instead of waiting for his reply, she began her little lecture.