Chapter 72: The Venerable Master Unming

A month passed in a blur. Since Elder Yun’s conversation with Wang Changsheng a month prior, he hadn’t sought him out again. Instead, it was Chen Shangyi who came by several times for idle chatter, hoping to glean some information about the Divine Realm of Shen in advance, but Wang Changsheng always deflected his inquiries.

The main issue was that Wang Changsheng himself knew nothing—what if he made something up and got caught?

Dong!

As the sound of a bell echoed in Wang Changsheng’s ears, he awoke from his cultivation.

“Hoo...” Exhaling slowly, he shook his head and showed a helpless expression. “Still no breakthrough... What’s the matter with me?”

Despite his cultivation efforts, Wang Changsheng’s true qi had yet to condense into true essence; no matter how he compressed it, it remained true qi. Fortunately, his true qi was still growing, so he surmised that his accumulation was simply insufficient.

With the bell ringing, Wang Changsheng left his room and knocked on Old Mou’s door.

Soon after, Old Mou answered, looking puzzled at Wang Changsheng.

“Old Wang, what’s going on?” Old Mou inquired.

Wang Changsheng gazed at him, a hint of bittersweet emotion in his eyes. “Old Mou, thank you for taking care of me these past days.”

“No need to be so formal—we’re neighbors, after all,” Old Mou replied with a wave.

Wang Changsheng hesitated, many words on the tip of his tongue left unsaid. In the end, he simply said, “Until fate brings us together again.”

With that, he bowed deeply to Old Mou.

Old Mou was rather confused and said in a stern voice, “If you keep being so polite, I’ll get angry!”

Wang Changsheng merely smiled, said nothing further, and after bidding farewell to Old Mou, walked out of the courtyard.

“Old Mou, thank you,” he murmured, leaving nothing but his back to Old Mou. In his heart, he felt helpless. “I fear I’ll never have the chance to repay your lifesaving kindness.”

This time, the tasks Wang Changsheng faced for his training were far from simple, especially the journey to the Wild God Shrine. Even with the sect master’s avatar accompanying him, Wang Changsheng still felt it might well be a one-way trip.

The years of Old Mou’s care and protection had been crucial for Wang Changsheng; otherwise, he would have died in the Corpse Refining Sect long ago.

Of course, Wang Changsheng hadn’t told Old Mou where he was headed. From his understanding, even if he did tell him, Old Mou would likely forget as soon as he turned around. That was why Wang Changsheng let many things go unsaid—Old Mou simply wouldn’t remember.

When Wang Changsheng arrived at the main hall of the Corpse Refining Sect, he saw numerous disciples and elders gathered inside.

Seeing Wang Changsheng arrive, Chen Shangyi immediately stepped forward and clasped his hands. “Deacon Wang, I entrust this training journey to you!”

“You’re too kind!” Wang Changsheng replied with a smile. “It’s my duty.”

He then looked up, seeing many elders present, including Elder Yun and Elder Zhang. Elder Zhang’s half-smiling, half-mocking expression made Wang Changsheng bristle with anger.

He shot Elder Zhang a fierce glare.

“Boy, you won’t be jumping around for much longer!” came a faint voice in Wang Changsheng’s mind, clearly Elder Zhang’s.

Wang Changsheng hadn’t learned sound transmission, so he simply said aloud, “You won’t be jumping around for much longer either!”

Everyone in the hall stared at him in surprise, unable to fathom why he’d suddenly blurt out such a statement.

But as they followed his gaze to Elder Zhang’s ambiguous smile, they immediately understood.

The feud between Wang Changsheng and Elder Zhang was not new in the Corpse Refining Sect. Last time things got so heated that Wang Changsheng nearly died at Elder Zhang’s hands—had Old Mou not arrived in time, it would have ended very differently, with Elder Zhang’s corpse and coffin smashed to pieces.

Everyone knew their enmity was irreconcilable.

Elder Zhang didn’t bother to hide his expression, instead looking at Wang Changsheng with open mockery.

“Deacon Wang, as a deacon, why do you speak to me in such a tone?” Elder Zhang asked in an interrogative manner.

An elder’s status was certainly above that of a deacon—not only because of rank but also strength. The elders of the Corpse Refining Sect were all at least at the Core Formation Stage, and Elder Zhang could rightfully look down on Wang Changsheng, who had no power to resist him.

Now, Elder Zhang pressed his advantage, using status to oppress Wang Changsheng.

Was Wang Changsheng afraid? Of course not!

“Soon enough, the Corpse Refining Sect will be short another elder,” Wang Changsheng said calmly.

“You—” Elder Zhang’s face twisted in anger, though his complexion was already dark enough that it barely showed.

“What do you mean?” Elder Zhang squinted at Wang Changsheng.

“When I left, I told Old Mou that if I don’t return within a year, he should take care of you first,” Wang Changsheng replied with a grin.

“Heh...” Elder Zhang exhaled in relief. “You mean that fool? You think he’ll remember?”

“How do you know he won’t?” Wang Changsheng retorted, still smiling. “He remembers me, doesn’t he? Why wouldn’t he remember what I said?”

Elder Zhang’s expression darkened as he stared at Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng smiled right back.

Had he really told Old Mou? Of course not. As Elder Zhang suggested, even if he had, Old Mou likely wouldn’t remember. But Elder Zhang was only guessing—he couldn’t be certain.

Trash talk? Wang Changsheng had never backed down from anyone.

“By the way, just in case Old Mou forgets, I left a pile of jade slips in his room,” Wang Changsheng said, smiling. “Each one says only one thing: find an opportunity to deal with you.”

“You—!” Elder Zhang stood up abruptly, his aura pressing down on Wang Changsheng.

“Enough!”

Just as Wang Changsheng was about to be crushed by the aura, a voice rang out from above.

A far more majestic pressure swept through, dispersing Elder Zhang’s aura.

Elder Zhang had meant to explode in anger, thinking another elder was intervening. But as soon as he felt the new aura, his eyes widened and he shrank back into his seat, silent.

Wang Changsheng looked toward the source of the voice and saw that the highest seat, previously empty, now held a figure.

The figure wore a gray robe, with no mask, but no matter how Wang Changsheng looked, he couldn’t discern his features.

“Who is this...” Wang Changsheng muttered, puzzled.

He had a vague guess about the man’s identity—seeing Elder Zhang’s sudden meekness, he could almost confirm it, but didn’t dare be sure.

Wang Changsheng had spent several years in the Corpse Refining Sect and had met nearly every disciple, along with the six deacons (of which four remained unseen), and all eleven elders. Yet he had only ever heard of, never seen, one person in the sect's headquarters.

The Sect Master of the Corpse Refining Sect.

Master Weiming.

“Paying respects to the Sect Master!”

All the cultivators in the hall bowed to the figure.

Only Wang Changsheng stood still, staring at the Sect Master without moving.

“Deacon Wang...” Chen Shangyi, beside him, tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to bow.

Wang Changsheng imitated the others and saluted the Sect Master.

“Rise,” came the voice of Master Weiming. “You are going out for training. Do not disgrace the name of the Corpse Refining Sect.”

“Deacon Wang,” Master Weiming called, naming Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng clasped his hands in salute.

“This training is to be led by Deacon Wang, with Shangyi assisting him,” Master Weiming said.

“Yes!” “Yes!” Wang Changsheng and Chen Shangyi replied promptly.

Although he sensed no aura from Master Weiming, a true cultivator who had attained the Golden Core Dao was entirely different from ordinary cultivators. A single word from him was enough to make Wang Changsheng feel as if resistance was impossible.

After speaking, the figure vanished.

“Wait...” Seeing Master Weiming disappear, Wang Changsheng’s face was puzzled. “What about the promised avatar?”

Elder Yun had said earlier that when he headed to the Wild God Shrine, Master Weiming’s avatar would accompany him. Otherwise, with only Wang Changsheng going, how could he intimidate anyone?

Yet now, Master Weiming had spoken a single sentence and left, as if merely offering encouragement before departure.

“Couldn’t he give us something more tangible?” Wang Changsheng thought, showing a helpless expression.

“Deacon Wang, rest assured—when you head to the Wild God Shrine, I will accompany you,” a faint voice sounded in Wang Changsheng’s mind. Judging by the address, it could only be Master Weiming.

“Deacon Wang, are you alright?” Chen Shangyi asked, seeing Wang Changsheng dazed. “The elders have already left; we can set out now.”

Receiving the Sect Master’s voice and snapping out of his daze, Wang Changsheng saw the elders had indeed disappeared. He shook his head and said solemnly, “Shangyi, do you think we should head to Cloud Palace Peak first or to the Shangyang Li Clan?”

“I think the Shangyang Li Clan is better,” Wang Changsheng said, not waiting for Chen Shangyi to answer. “If we can form an alliance with them, when we go to Cloud Palace Peak, we’ll have more leverage when we speak.”

“Uh... about that...” Chen Shangyi said awkwardly, “Deacon Wang, Elder Yun gave instructions...”

“What did he say this time?” Wang Changsheng wondered aloud.

Were even such details subject to instructions?

“Elder Yun said... we should go to Cloud Palace Peak first...” Chen Shangyi replied.