World's Sword Tomb

So close yet worlds apart—Wei Yuan finally understood the true meaning of the phrase. The celestial city was not large, and the distance between Zhang Sheng's residence and his own was merely a single step. Locking his divine sense onto his courtyard, Wei Yuan took a step forward, only to find himself appearing inside an unfamiliar room. The room was brightly lit and decorated with rustic charm. Under the lamp, Old Daoist Chuhe was counting grains of rice one by one. Every grain of pearl rice was the size of a fist. Whenever he found the slightest flaw, he tossed it into a sack beside him; only those plump with spiritual vitality and completely flawless were reverently placed into a jade basin. Startled by the roaring crash, Perfected Chuhe looked at Wei Yuan falling from the sky, then glanced up at the gaping hole in his ceiling, momentarily rendered speechless. "Pardon the intrusion," Wei Yuan muttered sheepishly. With a flicker of his silhouette, he vanished once more. This time, Wei Yuan materialized directly beside a large bed. Feng Tingyu was sprawled across it spread-eagled, half-revealing her alluring charms, sound asleep. Before Wei Yuan could even react, Feng Tingyu's long hair suddenly stood on end. With a delighted cheer, a shroud of darkness descended straight toward Wei Yuan's head! Where the darkness fell, Wei Yuan was already gone. Yet Feng Tingyu's foot had been swift, her toes pinching Wei Yuan's trousers; a pity that she had missed pinning him down by a mere hair's breadth. Wei Yuan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, glad he had fled fast enough. But this time the location was still not right. He was surrounded by warm water carrying a subtle fragrance. Amid the rippling water, the scenery felt somewhat familiar. With a shift of his thought, Wei Yuan floated upward and breached the surface, only to realize he had sprouted right out of a bathtub. Ji Liuli was seated inside the tub. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes, followed by a faint, amused smirk as spiritual energy rapidly converged toward her fingertips! "A sneak attack the moment you get back? What's the rush—" Before Ji Liuli could finish her sentence, a claw capable of blotting out the sky crashed downward! Yet though she scooped through the water several times, she failed to catch Wei Yuan, who slipped away through the bottom of the tub. Ji Liuli was not annoyed in the least. Since there had been a first ambush, there would be a second, and a third... At this thought, her lips curved into a smile, and she began meticulously filing her nails. That night, chaos reigned in the celestial city. Early the next morning, Wei Yuan stepped out of his courtyard, his expression normal and his movements natural. Cultivators flying past in the sky and walking on the ground stole glances at him, only to quickly avert their eyes, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Wei Yuan walked slowly into the council hall, silently cursing Ronglong: *Didn't I adapt in just a single night? Who needs to do math problems?! That fellow is truly sinister—turns out he holds a grudge too. I almost got fooled by him!* Back when Wei Yuan first began teaching Ronglong arithmetic, he had lost his temper several times and spoken without thinking, hurling all kinds of remarks: "You're an absolute blockhead," "How can you not even get something this simple?" "What is even stuffed inside your skull?" Not until seven or eight days later, when he found himself unable to answer the questions Ronglong posed, did Wei Yuan's eyes turn clear and bright, his attitude growing gentler by the day. And that was still several days before Wei Yuan humbled himself to ask for instruction. Fortunately, Ronglong was broad-minded and did not hold it against Wei Yuan later on. He merely kept devising problem sets, using sheet after sheet of jade paper filled with numbers and formulas to make Wei Yuan reflect on just what material his own brain was made of. Only now did Wei Yuan feel he truly understood the sinister motive behind Ronglong producing that jade paper right in front of Zhang Sheng. Inside the hall, aside from Zhang Sheng, the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning gradually gathered. At this moment, everyone wore natural expressions without dramatic surprise, though most appeared visibly invigorated. Taking in the expressions of the cultivators, Wei Yuan let out a hearty laugh, the Power Shaman tongue almost slipping out. Luckily, his reflexes were swift, and he reined himself in just in time at the cliff's edge, speaking slowly: "During my absence, Qingming must have endured a difficult time. But it doesn't matter. We haven't lost much time. If we work together, we can win back all that was lost..." The cultivators all kept composed faces and nodded in agreement. Just as Wei Yuan was about to inquire into the details of Qingming's progress on all fronts, his heart stirred, and he looked up toward the heavens. Clouds formed out of thin air in the vault of heaven, countless purple tribulation clouds rapidly gathering and expanding into a thousand li of cloud cover in the blink of an eye. Wei Yuan said, "The heavenly tribulation has arrived. We'll stop here for now; I will go protect Master during her tribulation." The cultivators chimed in, "We shall go as well." And so everyone departed the celestial city and rushed to the tribulation base. They were all eager to know what kind of dharma idol Zhang Sheng would ultimately cultivate after enduring so many trials and tribulations. Moreover, none of them had ever seen such purple tribulation clouds before. The expanse of the tribulation clouds in the sky was not particularly vast, nor was its aura especially oppressive—far less exaggerated than when Wei Yuan underwent his tribulation. Yet for some reason, the cultivators who had already attained the dharma idol realm felt uneasy in their hearts, faintly sensing that if such a tribulation were to fall upon their own heads, things might go very poorly for them. In the blink of an eye, the appointed hour arrived, and the heavenly tribulation descended. The world suddenly fell dead silent. A slender beam of light dropped from the tribulation clouds—there was no thunder, no grandiose fanfare, merely a single beam of light falling soundlessly. The cultivators abruptly felt a chunk of their divine sense vanish; all the divine sense they had extended into the tribulation base disappeared out of thin air, without them even knowing how it had vanished. Then, an astral gale swept toward them, scattering the cultivators in every direction! At the center of the tribulation base, an intensely brilliant speck of light flashed, then faded into silence. By now, the vast tribulation base had been leveled flat, all man-made structures added later completely vanishing into nothingness, restoring the land to its original state. In Song Cui New City, a gorgeous woman in palace attire sat high in the main hall, her expression solemn as she spoke: "Draft a letter: The appointed day for battle has arrived. Three days from now, the decisive battle will take place midway between the two realms. Have Zhang Sheng come forth to meet her death!" The attendant quickly finished drafting the battle gauntlet, then asked cautiously, "Is there any other message for this humble one to convey? For instance, what terms they must agree to if she wishes to be spared?" A ruthless glint flashed in the woman's eyes as she said, "There are no conditions. I want nothing less than Zhang Sheng's death!" "Wanyi..." Cui Chengxiao called out, but hesitated. The woman in palace attire acted as if she had not heard, merely twirling a nine-layered concentric jade puzzle ball in her hands. Cui Chengxiao hesitated a moment, yet still said, "Wanyi, one must always leave a way out. Let us set terms for ransoming her life! We can make them harsh; that way we gain tangible benefits without ruining relations between our two families." The beauty in palace attire gritted her teeth. "Impossible! I've endured for months just waiting for this day! There are no terms to negotiate—Zhang Sheng must die!" Cui Chengxiao sighed inwardly and urged her no further. Compared to this woman in palace attire, Cui Wanyi, he was merely of the bloodline left behind by the Immortal Ancestor's uncle's branch, and in his entire branch, he was the only one with high cultivation achievements. His standing in the Cui family was entirely incomparable to hers. Whether in matters small or great, once she had made up her mind, he had no say whatsoever. Three days later. At the midpoint between the two realms, heaven and earth were solemn and still as both armies assembled, facing off from a distance. With her hands tucked inside her sleeves, the woman in palace attire flew between the two armies, hovering in midair, and declared loudly, "Where is Zhang Sheng? Come out and meet your death!" Dressed in her usual azure robe, Zhang Sheng walked out step by step and stood on the ground with her hands behind her back, gazing up toward the sky. Yet she was looking not at the woman in palace attire, but toward a certain spot in the heavens, saying, "Since Immortal Monarch has already arrived, why not reveal yourself for a meeting?" "You are quite perceptive, little girl." Accompanying that clear, bright voice, a landscape materialized in midair. Beside a pool of Mirror Lake stood several ancient pines blanketed in white snow. The blue lake, verdant pines, and white snow complemented each other with picturesque charm. Beneath a pine sat a dark-robed cultivator. Beside him rested a small red-clay teapot over a roaring fire, the melted snow inside having just come to a boil. He lifted the small red-clay pot, poured hot water into a cup, and took a gentle sip. In that instant, it felt as though the entire Western Regions was filled with the fragrance of tea. In the Qingming ranks, Wei Yuan was deeply awed and hurriedly committed the scenery, color palette, gestures, and expressions to memory for future use. As he diligently memorized them, he hurriedly rummaged around and retrieved a bizarre object, rubbed it twice to alter its shape, and fitted it onto Compassion to form a new spearhead. Then, he set it brazenly beside him without the slightest attempt at concealment. The dark-robed immortal shifted his gaze, glancing at the spear beside Wei Yuan, and only then spoke: "The Yin Bomb that is rumored to shave ten thousand years off one's lifespan... to think it truly exists. Wasn't it said to have been lost?" "When I was sweeping my courtyard a couple of days ago, I found it again," Wei Yuan said, unblushing and unfazed. Cui Chengxiao's face darkened. "Presumptuous! How dare you speak to the Immortal Ancestor in such a manner?" Wei Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "I have always spoken to immortals this way. How am I supposed to talk? Why don't you come teach me later?" Cui Chengxiao's expression darkened further, not expecting Wei Yuan to be so completely discourteous. He said coldly, "Young people know neither the height of the heavens nor the depth of the earth. It seems I must discipline you on behalf of your elders!" Wei Yuan said, "You want to discipline me? No problem at all! Then let me just ask you one question: you tell me, with your old bones, can you take a beating?" Cui Chengxiao's face turned livid. Just then, the immortal in the air said, "Enough." The Cui family Immortal Ancestor, Cui Zhengxing, took a gentle sip of immortal tea and said slowly, "I naturally would not stoop to bullying the weak as an elder. I came here merely to see the rising stars, and also to ensure our ancestral immortal artifact is not lost. Let me give fair warning first: what Wanyi holds is an immortal artifact left behind by my family's founding ancestor. Its divine powers are immense and difficult to control. If you wish to take a step back and let the matter rest here, it is not too late, and neither side needs to ruin good relations." With the Immortal Ancestor present, the woman in palace attire did not dare speak recklessly. Her eyes darted, and she said, "Since the Immortal Ancestor has spoken, we juniors naturally dare not disobey. How about this: here before everyone, say 'I was wrong' three times, and this matter ends here. How does that sound?" Wei Yuan's expression changed furiously, his hand already reaching for Compassion. The cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning also seethed with soaring killing intent! Zhang Sheng smiled faintly, looked toward the Cui family Immortal Ancestor, and said, "Immortal Monarch worries too much. Three months ago, I was merely unwilling to bully the weak, which is why I gave her three months to prepare. After all, she is merely at the dharma idol perfection stage without any hope of reaching Scenery Command—both brittle and soft. Without a formidable immortal treasure to protect herself, it would be all too easy to damage her foundation. "Yet I did not expect that during these three months, my fortune would suddenly arrive, and with a careless slip I cultivated a dharma idol. So please rest assured, Immortal Monarch, I will naturally hold back later and try not to strike too hard. Even so, a minor punishment to serve as a cautionary lesson cannot be avoided." No matter how good Cui Zhengxing's temper was or how deep his shrewdness, the smile on his face vanished at this moment. He said coolly, "If that is so, let us begin. I would also like to broaden my horizons and see just what marvelous dharma idol you have cultivated." A speck of sword light shot from between Zhang Sheng's brows, streaking straight into the celestial vault in an instant. In the sky, a boundless expanse of ancient palaces slowly emerged. Upon the palace roofs, walls, and courtyard floors, immortal swords were thrust everywhere. Countless immortal swords each carried different sword intents—some still brand new, others completely decayed in the passage of time. The grand entrance to the palace complex was assembled from countless immortal swords, the patterns across their blades naturally coming together to form four massive characters: World's Sword Tomb. At the summit of the mountain at the center of the Sword Tomb rested three chairs, upon which sat three Daoists: an elder, a middle-aged man, and a youth. *Crack.* The tea cup in Cui Zhengxing's hand shattered, and he declared instantly, "We concede!"