Upon his return, Wei Yuan did not pause for a single moment, going straightaway to see Zhang Sheng.
Zhang Sheng had originally been absorbed in reading Daoist scriptures in her room. When she saw Wei Yuan push the door open and step inside, there was no surprise on her face, as though this were merely their daily routine meeting—yet the book in her hands suddenly dropped.
Touched to the heart, Wei Yuan had long seen through the deep concern veiled beneath Zhang Sheng's aloof exterior. He took a step forward, wanting to say something, but felt words eluding him. At a moment like this, nothing seemed quite right to say.
The two stood facing each other in silence. After a moment, Zhang Sheng finally rose, retrieved a set of robes from the wardrobe, and handed them to Wei Yuan. "Put these on first to cover your shame?"
Taken aback, Wei Yuan looked down, only then realizing he was stark naked from head to toe, exposing a body brimming with five-colored radiance.
Only then did he recall that after fleeing through Ronglong's portal and drifting in the void for over a month, how could any of his robes or Dharma artifacts have survived? Only [Mercy] could be drawn into his body, thereby remaining intact.
Yet reunited after so long an absence, Wei Yuan did not put on the clothes. Instead, he stepped forward and pulled Zhang Sheng tightly into his embrace!
Swept up in the emotion of the moment, Wei Yuan naturally exerted strength and leaned forward. Immediately, he felt Zhang Sheng yield like a soft stalk of straw, completely unable to bear the force, and she was pressed directly to the ground beneath him.
Then, with a resounding crash, the floorboards shattered. The two plunged right through the floor into the basement. The basement floor could not offer the slightest resistance before being smashed through as well, sending them falling into the formation chamber on the next level. Amid dust and thunderous rumbles, they plunged down yet another floor, embedding themselves directly into the bedrock floor of the lowest level before finally coming to a halt.
For a moment, earth and stone flew, and dust filled the air.
Fortunately, Wei Yuan had reacted the instant they smashed through the first floor, flaring his elbows outward to shield Zhang Sheng's soft, fragile body with his arms.
Wei Yuan looked up at the human-shaped holes pierced one above the other and exclaimed in shock, "How many years have passed here? How have the buildings rotted into this state? Your... your cultivation?!"
Zhang Sheng shot Wei Yuan a glare. Channeling strength to her fingertips, she reached out and pinched him hard under the ribs. But it felt as though she had pinched a piece of smooth, slippery jade; she could not budge it at all, and Wei Yuan did not even feel it.
Helpless, she let a thread of sword qi seep from her fingertip and gave him a gentle prick, but it only left a white mark on his skin. Zhang Sheng switched to a higher-order sword qi. Only this time did it manage to pierce in, prompting Wei Yuan to yelp, "What bit me?"
"I bit you with sword qi," Zhang Sheng snapped in exasperation. Then she gave him another poke. "Let me up!"
Wei Yuan rose and carefully helped Zhang Sheng up, preparing to leap back to the surface. But the moment he exerted the slightest force, his feet sank directly into the ground; instead of rising upward, he sank another notch deeper.
Wei Yuan glanced at the deep cyan stone under his feet and wondered aloud, "How can even the bedrock of the realm be rotten?" He bent down and grabbed a handful; sure enough, it was like scooping up mush, crumbling into rock powder between his fingers and drifting down.
Just then, feeling another mosquito-bite sensation, he saw Zhang Sheng channeling sword qi from her fingertips, poking and prodding him here and there. Watching most of the sword qi leave nothing but faint scratches on his body, Wei Yuan finally realized that the problem seemed to lie with himself.
Until now, Wei Yuan had not realized that his physical body had undergone a massive change compared to when he left. Previously, he had constantly mingled with Power Shamans in the Desolate Realm, and later on, he spent every day in the company of beings like Ronglong whose flesh was near-indestructible, causing Wei Yuan to completely overlook the transformation of his own physique. In truth, the changes had been very subtle—nothing more than moving from avoiding the sun at first, to basking in the sunlight for a while every day later on.
Zhang Sheng patted Wei Yuan and said, "There seems to be an issue with your divine sense. Don't move for now. I'll take you up. We'll talk once we're up there."
Holding Wei Yuan, she leaped upward and finally returned to the first floor. But for that single leap, she had exerted at least seventy to eighty percent of her strength, as if lifting a weight of ten thousand jin.
Wei Yuan, on the other hand, felt that Zhang Sheng was extraordinarily soft now, like a delicate blade of grass that would collapse at the slightest touch, easily crushed if he used just a bit too much force.
Zhang Sheng looked at the gaping hole in the floor and led Wei Yuan to the main hall, which had no underground space beneath it. Only now did she find the leisure to ask about Wei Yuan's experiences during this period.
Wei Yuan gave a concise account of what had happened over the past few months, then said, "...In the end, I finally brought the Dao Sword back, ensuring your Dao path will be complete."
Wei Yuan pointed his finger, and Ronglong appeared in the room, standing quietly with the Dao Sword in hand.
At this moment, Ronglong looked like an imposing, ruggedly ancient man of striking yet austere features, with nothing extraordinary about him otherwise. The Dao Sword was unremarkable, and the shaman was equally unremarkable.
Seeing Ronglong like this, Wei Yuan felt a momentary daze. He remembered that when they entered the void together, Ronglong had not looked like this—hadn't he possessed a dragon's head back then?
Yet Wei Yuan found his memory somewhat hazy; he could hardly recall what Ronglong had originally looked like. His heart tightened in realization: this was perhaps because the original Ronglong's karma was dissipating across the myriad heavens and realms.
Zhang Sheng gazed at Ronglong, her expression gradually turning grave.
Wei Yuan cleared his throat and said, "This is Boss Ronglong. In life, he was once a Heavenly Shaman of the Desolate Realm. In a single battle, he drove off three Heavenly Shamans, slaughtered eight or nine Heavenly Shaman-level adversaries, and thoroughly undermined the Ancestral Shaman—he is now the sword-wielding immortal of the Dao Sword."
Zhang Sheng merely pointed a finger, and another woven doll appeared in the room, holding a small sword in its hand. The moment the doll emerged, a foul, rotting, fishy stench reached Wei Yuan's nose, and his skin began to prickle with an itch.
However, once the woven doll materialized, it spun itself around to turn its back to Ronglong. No matter how Zhang Sheng urged it, it stubbornly refused to face Ronglong.
Ronglong finally showed a reaction, casting a glance at the woven doll before paying it no further mind.
Wei Yuan took a closer look at the woven doll. First stunned, his expression then grew solemn. "How is there another Dao Sword?"
Originally, Zhang Sheng had been missing one Dao Sword, which Wei Yuan had risked his life to retrieve. Who would have thought she had actually refined the woven doll into a Dao Sword? As a result, there were now five hundred and thirteen immortal swords—one extra. If one was missing, it could be recovered; what was to be done with a surplus?
Yet after a moment's thought, Zhang Sheng's brows smoothed out, and she said, "No matter. I shall simply keep them all."
"Won't that make one too many?"
Zhang Sheng said, "Two represents the dual polarities, while three gives birth to all things. My previous thinking was somewhat astray. In truth, using base two as a foundation is inferior to using base three. Only thus can one descend from the Dao into the mortal realm."
Wei Yuan was dumbfounded and said, "Base three doesn't work either—you're still short by several hundred."
Zhang Sheng said, "Even the Heavenly Dao waxes and wanes; how could we mortals ever be flawless? As long as I have the Beginning Sword and two Dao Swords, it is enough to form the dharma idol I desire. As for the rest of the immortal swords, having a few more or a few less matters not at all now."
These words sounded as though they contained profound truths of the Great Dao, yet Wei Yuan could not help feeling something was amiss. Changing to base two whenever she felt like it, then switching to base three on a whim? Could one really be so casual about this?
Now that Zhang Sheng had resolved the conundrum of her Dao path, her entire person began to emanate light. Sword qi drifted faintly within the radiance, her Dao Foundation vibrant and active, already showing portents of advancing to the dharma idol realm.
Faint rumblings of thunder echoed across the clear sky; the heavenly tribulation was already gathering.
Zhang Sheng glanced toward the sky and said, "You broke through the realm boundary to return, and your divine sense seems not yet properly recovered. Go and adjust yourself first."
Wei Yuan had also realized by now that he could hardly control his body. His judgment of time, distance, and strength was completely skewed, as he was still subconsciously viewing the Native Realm through the sensibilities reshaped during his time in the void.
At this moment, Ronglong finally made a move. A sheet of jade paper appeared in his hand, and he said, "According to the method recorded in this text, his divine sense can immediately be recalibrated in accordance with the Great Dao of the Native Realm. However, with his comprehension, learning this text will likely take—well, half a year to a year. And I mean years in the Desolate Realm. Since you are his teacher, it would be best for you to instruct him."
With a flick of Ronglong's hand, the sheet of jade paper drifted slowly toward Zhang Sheng.
Zhang Sheng felt a jolt of awe. While the gesture seemed unremarkable, Ronglong was merely spirituality, yet he could still create objects out of nothingness—this was incontrovertibly an immortal's technique!
She caught the jade paper and took a close look. Seeing that it was densely packed with numbers and bizarre symbols, she inwardly cried out in dismay.
After studying it intently for a moment, Zhang Sheng slowly lowered the jade paper and said, "This text is exceptionally profound. Even I must ponder it carefully for some time before I can fully comprehend it. How about this, Yuan'er: go back and rest for now. I have some words to speak with Fellow Daoist Ronglong."
Wei Yuan nodded and rose to leave. Taking a single step, he smashed straight through several walls, and with another flicker, he vanished to who knew where.
Once Wei Yuan was gone, Zhang Sheng's expression turned solemn. She stood up and bowed to Ronglong, saying, "First, I thank Fellow Daoist for saving and guiding my disciple! Second, my dharma idol is within reach, and I ask Fellow Daoist to assist me."
"I take it I will lose consciousness?"
Zhang Sheng said candidly, "I intend to fuse all the sword-wielding immortals into a single crucible to forge my dharma idol. Once forged, you will merge into the dharma idol and lose your consciousness and independent spirituality. Yet Fellow Daoist has rendered great service to my disciple and to the world at large; the day will surely come when your spirituality will be rekindled. If Fellow Daoist aids me today, then when you awaken, I shall certainly stand near the summit of all mountains under heaven, where I can overlook the splendid vistas of the world together with you."
Ronglong asked, "Do you hold a grand aspiration in your heart, Fellow Daoist?"
Zhang Sheng said placidly, "To stand above the heavens, overlooking the splendor of myriad realms."
Chapter 936