CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55: SAVING THE IMMORTAL

There’s a problem, a glaring problem.

Amidst the slurping sounds, Wu Wang continued to wolf down his bowl of noodles, pretending not to see the muscular man lying in a pool of blood and vegetable soup.

First off, Wu Wang had been drifting at sea for half a day, during which time he had spread his Spiritual Sense to its maximum range. After the ordeal with the Spirit Fruit last time, Wu Wang’s Divine Thought had significantly increased. Consequently, his ability to probe with Spiritual Sense was comparable to someone in the Jumping God Realm. Even without using the Praying Star Technique, he could easily monitor the slightest movements within hundreds of li.

Of course, actively probing was too mentally taxing, so the Spiritual Sense Wu Wang released was rather ’thin,’ just vaguely sensing whether there was something unusual or a threat within this range.

Coming from the Northern Wilderness and bearing the Star God’s bloodline, having this level of alertness isn’t excessive, is it?

Not to mention the past half-day, even at this very moment, Wu Wang’s range of Spiritual Sense detection had not picked up the slightest trace of a Beast Horde.

Not a single hair!

More importantly, this muscular man had appeared directly within Wu Wang’s range of Spiritual Sense detection, not having intruded from the edge of that range.

While eating his noodles, Wu Wang carefully monitored the fluctuations of Spiritual Energy and finally confirmed without a doubt—

This muscular man in the Golden Core Realm had initially appeared within his Spiritual Sense detection range in the shallow sea area not far from the shore, and then he had flown rapidly, skimming the sea surface.

In summary: these seafood noodles are too bland.

The muscular man, with blood gushing from his chest, glared at Wu Wang and said again, "Go and alert the guards! Fellow Daoist, in the southeast direction... the Beast Horde is coming!"

Wu Wang put down his large bowl, glared at the muscular man, waggled a hand by his ear, and said, "Ah? Ah ah ah."

The muscular man asked urgently, "Can’t you hear me talking?"

Wu Wang took out a stone slab from his sleeve, waved his hand over it, and two lines of large characters immediately appeared on it:

[I practice the Art of Deafness; I must trouble you, fellow Daoist, to write down what you need on this slab.]

There was also a simple smiley face at the end.

With that, Wu Wang wrapped the stone slab with Mana and tossed it in front of the muscular man. His eyes held a mix of anticipation and caution as he stood several zhang away from the man.

The muscular man caught the stone slab in a daze. He was just about to use an engraving tool to write a few words when he suddenly came to his senses. He slapped the slab against his forehead, shattering it, and then looked up to roar, "Is there anyone outside who can hear me? The Beast Horde! The Beast Horde is coming! Hurry and inform the guards! Activate the Formations!"

Chaos immediately erupted outside the tavern. A Cultivator responded at once, channeling Mana and dashing towards the forest behind the town.

A hint of suspicion arose in Wu Wang’s heart. The muscular man’s wound looked gruesome, but it was merely superficial. There was no fatal injury. Why would he spread false messages? This raised too many possibilities, and it wasn’t a good time to make a judgment. Moreover, I don’t feel I have the strength to do anything significant right now, and I don’t want to meddle in this. With so many Immortals in the Human Domain, when would it be the turn of a minor Condensation Establishment Realm Cultivator like me to play hero?

Time to slip away.

Wu Wang took two steps back and turned to walk towards the nearest window.

"Stop right there!"

The muscular man let out a pitiful scream and called out again, "My injuries are too severe! Fellow Daoist, could you please help me get to the rear for treatment?"

Wu Wang acted oblivious, as if he hadn’t heard a thing. The muscular man’s facial muscles twitched. To Wu Wang’s surprise, the man actually got up, grabbed his Giant Sword, and closed in on Wu Wang’s side.

Playing rough, are we?

Wu Wang turned his head to look at the muscular man who had risen, took out another stone slab, and scribbled a line of words on it:

[Fellow Daoist, I have the best Elixir from our village here.]

He even managed a somewhat nervous smile.

The muscular man glanced at the figures at the tavern entrance, his face contorted in pain. He had just taken a couple of steps when his body pitched forward, lunging towards Wu Wang as he fell. He gasped, "Please assist me, fellow Daoist. I will be sure to... repay you handsomely..."

Wu Wang was just about to step back when he suddenly felt a chilling aura assault his neck, originating from the Giant Sword held in the muscular man’s hand.

Clearly, this was some mind-control technique.

Wu Wang raised an eyebrow, readying to counter-attack, when the Yan Emperor’s Command on his Spirit Platform flashed faintly. A warmth spread across the back of his neck, and the chilling aura vanished without a trace.

The Yan Emperor’s Command, upgraded by that senior, has this benefit too?

Looking again at the muscular man, he seemed unaware that his technique had been neutralized. He lifted a large hand toward Wu Wang’s neck, and a whisper drilled into Wu Wang’s ear:

"Yin and Yang revolve, obey my command! From this moment, you are my junior brother. Quickly, get me out of here!"

Wu Wang pursed his lips slightly. A silver-white light burst forth from his eyes as his Divine Thought coalesced into an invisible hammer, striking directly at the muscular man’s glabella.

The man’s body stiffened, about to fall flat, but Wu Wang caught him with a raised hand, enveloped him in Mana, and deftly flipped out of the tavern window.

He had just landed when he heard a piercing screech from the forest outside the town.

Wu Wang’s Spiritual Sense captured intense Spiritual Energy fluctuations. Without even turning his head, he could see a Crystal Ball rocketing into the sky, exploding high above with layers of Immortal Light.

A flare to pierce the clouds, and a thousand soldiers appear?

Wu Wang suddenly understood. The purpose of this muscular man’s false message was likely to make the local garrison send out a call for aid.

Wu Wang had just arrived in the Human Domain and hadn’t yet had a chance to learn about its border defense system. However, from a practical standpoint, it was impossible for the Human Domain to deploy a large army or establish Formations along such a vast border. A more ideal setup would involve stationing a small number of troops in the outermost towns, establishing outposts at regular intervals, and setting up a rear barracks with many high-ranking Cultivators. This barracks would then cover a certain range of the border area. Wherever a crisis appeared, that barracks would dispatch reinforcements.

Could this muscular man’s purpose simply be to waste one of their distress signals?

No, if other towns also received such false intelligence and quickly sent out calls for aid, it would be enough to make the rear reinforcements misjudge the situation, thereby concealing the true location under attack.

Brilliant! Such an outlandish feint—it would take a mind addled for a decade to devise it!

Are there no Immortals on the Human Domain’s borders? Surely, Immortals can survey much farther; couldn’t they see through such a scheme?

If the purpose was merely to buy a little time, this was indeed a viable stratagem. No wonder this Golden Core Realm Cultivator was in such a hurry to flee.

"Senior Brother, hold on for a moment!" Wu Wang called out firmly, hoisting the man and heading toward the barracks in the woods.

「A moment later, in the forest.」

Wu Wang hid in the dense canopy, watching as the muscular man was carried into the camp by a group of Cultivators in Battle Armor, a content smile playing on his lips.

Help a person all the way, like sending the Buddha to the Western Paradise. Do good deeds without seeking fame, and once done, depart without a trace.

Weighing the few low-quality Storage magic treasures in his hand, Wu Wang inventoried their contents while discerning his path. He then found a secluded spot to hide and meditate.

About half an hour later, two Giant Swords descended from the sky, with figures clad in silver armor flying from atop them.

The leading elder, wielding a sword, looked towards the tranquil sea, his expression gradually turning grave.

The Nascent Soul Realm General of the local garrison, having just returned from the East Sea, hurried forward to report, confirming that within hundreds of li, and even farther out in the East Sea, there were no traces of fierce beasts.

Wu Wang faintly overheard some of the conversation between these two high-ranking Cultivators.

A total of more than thirty coastal towns had simultaneously called for aid. To ensure the border’s absolute security, the main military camp had dispatched dozens of reinforcement contingents...

Upon hearing this, Wu Wang felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest. If the enemy’s goal wasn’t to attack the remote border towns but the main military camp itself, then this wasn’t a feint—it was a diversion to lure the tiger from the mountain!

No sooner had the thought occurred to him than a second sun seemed to rise in the western sky.

"Disaster! The main camp is under attack!"

The Jumping God Realm elder roared. Two Giant Swords reappeared in the sky. Figures hastily leaped onto them, and the reinforcement contingent immediately sped back the way they had come.

Meanwhile, a series of terms flashed through Wu Wang’s mind: ’Lure the tiger from the mountain, encircle a position to annihilate reinforcements, feign attacks with real and fake troops, then launch a sudden, violent assault.’ A chain of stratagems!

Do factions in the Human Domain all play such insidious games?

My first day in the Human Domain has truly been an eye-opener.

Wu Wang did not act recklessly. He sat cross-legged right where he was, doing his utmost to hide his aura. He had also already identified the best escape route to the East Sea, should he need it. He extended his Spiritual Sense as far as possible, kept the necklace given by his mother close to his body, and held onto the Storage Bag filled with a large batch of Crystal Balls.

Until deep into the night, the outside was bustling with activity, with groups of Cultivators flying back and forth now and then. His Spiritual Sense could detect intense Spiritual Energy fluctuations, as if Immortals were engaged in a fierce Duel, the affected area being extremely wide.

The muscular man whom Wu Wang had delivered to the local garrison earlier was hung up and subjected to harsh torture. The enraged guards squeezed the man’s Golden Core, forcing much useful information out of him.

「Three days later, the situation had become completely clear.」

This was an assault on a Dome, launched by the Ten Gods Sect.

The "Dome" is a common geographical feature where the Human Domain deploys troops. It is created by Immortals who moved mountains to forge it, generally with a tall mountain as its foundation and a mushroom-shaped plateau on top, upon which fortifications and market towns are built.

In relatively stable areas like the East Sea coast, each Dome covers a border territory extending 3,000 li. In the northern and western borders, there are one to three Domes within every 1,000 li.

—These are just the standard garrison forces at the Human Domain’s border.

The Dome on the East Sea coast that was attacked normally hosted over a dozen Immortals, hundreds of high-level Cultivators, and thousands of mid-level Cultivators. However, they fell into a trap, had their forces scattered, and foolishly opened their defensive Formation themselves, quickly suffering a devastating blow.

A true annihilation, right from the top.

The entire Dome was blown apart. Several Immortals were dead or injured, and two True Immortals went missing during the great battle.

However, the Ten Gods Sect’s scheme wasn’t as complex as Wu Wang had imagined. Aside from luring the tiger from the mountain, none of the subsequent ploys Wu Wang had anticipated actually occurred. These heretics and deviants had a very clear goal: cause a huge commotion, topple the Dome, and then immediately retreat.

Subsequently, the Ten Gods Sect released messages everywhere, claiming responsibility for the incident.

Wu Wang was left speechless.

The threat of the Ten Gods Sect was far more severe than I had imagined. First, there were Wang Lin and Grandma Yin, proving the Ten Gods Sect had already infiltrated the Human Domain’s Sects and ruling authorities. Now, having just arrived in the Human Domain, I’ve witnessed their attack on a border garrison. It’s clear this organization possesses considerable destructive power.

I can only say it was fortunate that I met Sister Jingwei and obtained that unnamed Spirit Fruit. After a series of events, Senior Shen Nong favored me, placed high hopes in me, and even canceled my mission to eradicate the Ten Gods Sect. Otherwise, it would truly be uncertain who would be eradicating whom!

Can’t afford to provoke them, definitely can’t. They’re far too ruthless.

Wu Wang silently counted his blessings and stayed in the forest for a few more days. Once he was certain that the surroundings had returned to tranquility, he prepared to continue his journey towards the more central regions of the Human Domain.

However, just as Wu Wang stepped out from the concealment of the tree canopy, his Spiritual Sense detected something amiss in the shallow sea.

At the edge of his Spiritual Sense’s reach, a strangely shaped large fish floated in with the waves and beached itself in the shallow waters, promptly flipping over to expose its white belly. It had obviously been dead for some time.

Suddenly, a blade emerged from the fish’s belly, slicing it open. A blood-soaked male Cultivator crawled out from within.

Looking towards the land, he staggered forward, leaning on a Giant Sword covered in cracks. He took a few steps before collapsing into the seawater. After struggling for a moment, the man tried to stand up again, only to fall back into the seawater with a SPLASH.

He looked toward the town, continuously attempting to move forward.

His Immortal Light was dim, his Primordial Spirit damaged, his breath faint; he was nearly lifeless.

At the same time, on the outskirts of the town, a figure soared into the sky, diving toward the severely injured Immortal in the shallows. The figure couldn’t wait to draw a blade in midair as its aura kept climbing.

This shadow... its aura feels quite similar to Wang Lin’s when he transformed. Clearly a spy from the Ten Gods Sect.

Should I help, or not?

Wu Wang frowned slightly, but he didn’t have much time to hesitate.

This gravely injured male Cultivator appeared to be of the True Immortal Realm. If he were to fall, it would be a loss to the Human race’s combat strength. On the other hand, the dark figure rushing over, despite several power surges, currently only possessed the strength of the Jumping God Realm.

Troublesome.

Wu Wang spread open his left hand and softly shouted, "Daoist Sanxian’s Qingmu Thunder Technique!"

In reality, a Crystal Ball within his sleeve rapidly shattered, releasing potent Star Power that condensed, tens of li away, into a pristine bolt of lightning. It struck the dark shadow out of nowhere.

A piercing shriek echoed as the shadowy figure, trailing black smoke, plummeted straight into the sea.

Having done this, Wu Wang calmly smiled, then suddenly sensed an intermittent Spiritual Sense permeating his surroundings.

The person lying by the seashore was now looking up at him, their nearly closed eyes revealing a touch of gratitude...

Wu Wang touched the mask on his face, gave a slight nod to the person, then took a few steps back, blending into the darkness. Without turning his head, he sprinted away, close to the ground.

The local garrison had been alerted; an old Nascent Soul Realm General was already rushing towards the shallows.

Could this count, perhaps, as a tiny part of the bride price?

A thousand li from that place, Wu Wang changed his mask and adjusted his build to appear more slender. He attuned his aura to the late stage of the Returning Origin Realm and, while traveling, only used Divine Movement Talismans and Light Body Talismans.

He believed he had left no flaws; every conceivable detail had been meticulously addressed.

「However, three days later.」

In a bustling city several thousand li from the East Sea coast, Wu Wang sat inside a teahouse, sipping refreshing Immortal tea and nibbling on Immortal melon seeds. He was enjoying the melodious voice of a Qi-gathering realm female Cultivator singing on stage, feeling utterly relaxed and carefree.

Suddenly, he heard a greeting from behind:

"Fellow Daoist."

His fingers, tapping on the table, stiffened. His Divine Thought instantly enveloped hundreds of Crystal Balls.

This was because his Spiritual Sense hadn’t detected anyone behind him, yet this person was now standing brazenly right there.

"No need to be nervous, it is I," said the newcomer with a smile, deliberately moving in front of Wu Wang, which attracted the attention of everyone in the teahouse.

He wore a black robe, his handsome, cold face distinguished by star-like eyebrows that exuded a sharp aura. Though appearing to be in his early thirties, he possessed a flamboyant mane of silver-white long hair. The Giant Sword on his back emanated a faint scent of blood.

The man’s expression was serious as he gave Wu Wang a deep Daoist salute.

A wisp of pale white energy signature appeared around Wu Wang, then dissipated into smoke.

The man conveyed through voice transmission, "Thank you, fellow Daoist, for saving my life. Using such a tracking method was somewhat contemptible, but in my desperation, I had no other choice. Please do not take offense."

Wu Wang tried to sense the man’s aura again but could only vaguely perceive swirling mists.

I previously misjudged him due to his severe injuries. This man is actually a Heavenly Immortal, definitely a top-tier master in the Human Domain.

"Fellow Daoist, what impressive methods," Wu Wang sighed inwardly. I’ve underestimated the masters of the Human Domain.

But what’s done is done; no point regretting it. If this guy turns out to be unreasonable and repays kindness with malice, I’ll just lay my cards on the table and go seek refuge with Senior Shen Nong to continue my cultivation.

Noticing Wu Wang’s slight displeasure, the Heavenly Immortal bowed again with a smile and said, "Fellow Daoist, may I have the honor of inviting you for a few drinks? I, Mao Aowu, never like to owe favors. You saved my life, and I wish to repay you with all my treasures."

"It was merely a helping hand. There’s no need for such gestures."

"Fellow Daoist," Mao Aowu pleaded earnestly, "If I remain indebted, it will create a flaw in my Daoist heart, and I will have no hope of making further progress in this lifetime. Please, fellow Daoist, you must grant me this."

After a brief consideration, Wu Wang replied calmly, "Let’s go to the tavern next door."

"Thank you, fellow Daoist! Thank you!"

Hmm? What was this expert’s name again? Mao...

"For some reason," the Heavenly Immortal said gently, "seeing you, fellow Daoist, makes me feel a particular affinity. Might I know your Daoist name?"

"That’s not important," Wu Wang waved his hand dismissively and said softly, "I only hope this is our last meeting."

"Why so?"

Wu Wang chuckled, "Our names clash. They’re a terrible match."

Mao Aowu was completely baffled, looking at the masked young man before him. For a moment, he found himself utterly unable to see through him...