Chapter 908: Body infiltrates the Yixin Sect

This Sword Grotto-Heaven is different from ordinary evolved grotto-heavens. It contains no mountains, rivers, or lakes; only scenes remarkably similar to those within the Sword Mound itself. Thousands of swords are haphazardly plunged into the ground everywhere. Sword energy crisscrosses and flows, forming gusts of howling gales. The entire grotto-heaven is a world purely of swords, unable to accommodate any other living creatures.

Outside the Sword Grotto-Heaven, within the Sword Mound, Li Qing's clone, which had been utterly pulverized, slowly reappeared as flesh and blood writhed.

“Early Nascent Soul stage,” he murmured, sensing his cultivation level and nodding slightly.

His cultivation realm was slightly weaker than his main body's. While his actual combat power still couldn't compare, having built his foundation with Heaven's Wonder meant that crushing ordinary Soul Transformation cultivators was not an issue.

However, upon entering the Nascent Soul realm, Li Qing felt a subtle resistance to his progress.

When the clone bid farewell to Heaven's Wonder of the Wood Sword and returned to the Xuanhuang Realm, that faint malice became even more pronounced.

A passage involuntarily appeared in Li Qing's mind: “The Heavenly Venerable’s new methods truly go against the heavens. The more favor one receives from heaven and earth, the harder it will be to defy the principles of heaven and earth in the future.”

“Even when sacrificing to the soul of heaven and earth, one will suffer a magnified backlash from the will of heaven and earth. No matter how high one’s talent, they will generally be limited to the Soul Transformation stage.”

Perhaps because Li Qing had played a part in the birth of this black sword, he didn't feel excessive resistance when he devoured it and transformed it into a grotto-heaven.

However, he had a premonition that this was already the limit of what heaven and earth could tolerate. When he sought to advance further, to the Soul Transformation or even Dao Integration stage, he would have to fully confront the malice of heaven and earth.

Nevertheless, Li Qing wasn't overly concerned. After all, as a clone, his mission wasn't cultivation, but to go to the Council of Five Elders, seek out Heavenly Venerable Yi Xin, and retrieve the lost cultivation methods of the Xuantian Sect.

After reviewing the information sent by his main body, Li Qing noted that due to a previous unidentifiable spatial fluctuation, the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Council of Five Elders were currently in a rare ceasefire.

Li Qing quickly discerned the direction, then transformed into a streak of black light and rapidly sped towards his destination.

As he soared, Li Qing immediately noticed a difference compared to before.

When his main body traveled through the air, it had to overcome resistance from heaven and earth, as well as the gales that rushed at him. But as Li Qing transformed into sword light, he moved like a fish in water, perfectly merging with the surrounding environment.

Not only was the resistance almost negligible, but the energy consumption for flight was astonishingly low!

“Heaven's Wonder originally belonged to the Xuanhuang Dao of Heaven, hence its special treatment,” he mused.

Flying was no longer a chore; instead, it had become an enjoyment. Li Qing felt utterly comfortable within his heart. If he hadn't been afraid of attracting the attention of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, he would have let out a long howl to vent his feelings.

The black sword light moved faster and faster, flashing across the sky. Even if someone inadvertently glimpsed it, they would only think it was their imagination.

After only seven days, Jiwei Prefecture, belonging to the Council of Five Elders, was already visible in the distance.

Before the massive white mist barrier that spanned heaven and earth, a team of cultivators from the Myriad Immortals Alliance's Martial Arts Hall was stationed. Li Qing didn't alarm them; using the information transmitted by his main body, he easily evaded the Immortal Alliance's defensive array's detection and entered the white mist.

Jiwei Prefecture, serving as a buffer zone between the Council of Five Elders and the Myriad Immortals Alliance, had no other Heavenly Venerable's power involved, apart from Heavenly Venerable Wuyou.

The reason for choosing this entry point into the Council of Five Elders was to bypass the Realm of Truth and, after passing through the Human Dao Heaven Realm, proceed directly to the Yi Xin Immortal Sect. In the Realm of Truth, no lie could be hidden. It was clearly not a suitable place for infiltration, so it was best to avoid it if possible.

In contrast, the Human Dao Heaven Realm was much safer.

Compared to the Myriad Immortals Alliance, which was busy preparing for war, the territory of the Council of Five Elders seemed considerably more peaceful. Apart from the border and buffer prefectures where heavy troops were deployed, other prefectures appeared entirely untouched by war. Along his journey, Li Qing observed that the cultivators and mortals he encountered were very relaxed, even somewhat indolent.

This made Li Qing click his tongue in wonder, admiring the Council of Five Elders' art of governance over their subordinates.

Without encountering any danger, Li Qing finally arrived at the territory of the Yi Xin Immortal Sect after passing through the Human Dao Heaven Realm.

Of course, this smooth journey was not only due to Li Qing establishing his Dao foundation with Heaven's Wonder and his extreme stealth, but also perhaps because he was not affiliated with the Myriad Immortals Alliance. If he were a Myriad Immortals Alliance cultivator, such easy infiltration would likely have been difficult.

This place was called Yilü Prefecture.

As its name suggested, as far as the eye could see were continuous fertile plains. Even mortal merchant caravans could be seen traveling between cities. Unlike the Myriad Immortals Alliance, where cultivators and mortals lived separately, every city in the Council of Five Elders had both mortals and cultivators residing together. However, there was a distinction between outer and inner cities: mortals lived in the outer city, while cultivators resided in the inner city.

Sensing the somewhat familiar scenery around him, Li Qing fell into contemplation. “I seem to have been here before…”

He quickly suppressed these stray thoughts and began searching for his target. According to the information from his main body, the key to entering the true Yi Xin Immortal Sect was to attract the attention of Heavenly Venerable Yi Xin. The erotic storybooks secretly circulated within the Council of Five Elders were the quickest and most effective method.

Unfortunately, this mission didn't seem to be going smoothly. Li Qing had wandered around Yilü Prefecture for several days but couldn't find any of those audacious vendors.

However, this was understandable; after all, openly circulating such materials under the nose of a Heavenly Venerable could genuinely lead to execution.

Just as Li Qing was about to try his luck in another prefecture, the usually peaceful city suddenly burst into an uproar.

Li Qing's heart stirred, and he followed the crowd to the center of the commotion.

“You are Wan Zailai?!” Several cultivators surrounded a graceful young man in white, their expressions unfriendly.

“So you found me. Well, it’s fine; after a few days of rest, it’s time to get back to work,” Wan Zailai said, glancing disdainfully at the surrounding crowd. Under the pressure of his gaze, the cultivators around him instinctively took half a step back.

At this, the cultivators of Yilü Prefecture could no longer hold their composure. One of them, enraged, burst out, “A mere Golden Core cultivator dares to speak such arrogant words! Claiming that our Yilü Prefecture is full of good-for-nothings!”

“Today, I will teach you a good lesson!”

“Brother Pei, you are already in the Nascent Soul realm. Isn’t it unfair to bully someone weaker?” someone else couldn't help but advise.

Before the cultivator surnamed Pei could speak, Wan Zailai chuckled softly, “What if he’s a Nascent Soul cultivator? In my eyes, he’s nothing but trash!”

At this, all the cultivators from Yilü Prefecture present showed anger. “Good! Good!”

“Pei Qingshan of Yilü Prefecture requests your guidance!”

As Pei Qingshan spoke, a transparent, circular structure suddenly appeared in the sky. Amidst the exclamations of the crowd, the arena-like structure cast down two beams of light, drawing the two combatants into it.

“It’s Heavenly Venerable’s trial ground!”

“It seems the rumors were true! That Wan Zailai intends to challenge a Nascent Soul cultivator with his Golden Core realm cultivation to gain entry into the Yi Xin Immortal Sect!”