World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 133: Yinglong Seriously Injured

No... Still no...

Wang Sheng made his way along the undulating treetops of the mountain forest, constantly chasing after the figures who had rushed out of the Daoist canon repository. Maximizing his late-stage Seed Formation Realm, he pushed his Seven-Star Footwork to its utmost limit as he pursued two groups in succession, yet he failed to detect anything unusual.

Several Daoist masters almost pinned him down as well, mistaking him for an infiltrator.

When he heard the long whistle from Gao Shixing summoning him, Wang Sheng barely managed to catch up with the third group. After confirming that their aura matched the techniques of the sect, he immediately turned and rushed toward where Gao Shixing's whistle had come from.

Intense fluctuations of primal qi filled the area, and flames within the forest soared toward the sky. Unfortunately, Wudang's Daoist arts were not particularly adept at controlling fire.

A powerful pressure suddenly enveloped the vicinity. Yuan Pu Zhenren shot into the sky above the battlefield like a sharp sword suspended between heaven and earth.

Figures darted out from the surrounding bushes. When they saw the Daoist arts that the three attackers were using against Gao Shixing, they immediately launched a coordinated assault.

"Keep them alive! Find out which sect they belong to!" Yuan Pu Zhenren coldly exclaimed from the air. "How dare you burn down Wudang's Daoist canon repository and kill the disciples guarding it! Wudang! Do not rest until those infiltrators are destroyed! "

"Yes, Grandmaster!" dozens of Daoist masters answered in unison.

Half drew their swords, half cast spells, and a few others charged forward with bare hands. Using Wudang Hand-Deflecting Tai Chi, they instantly suppressed the three mid-to-late Seed Formation Realm cultivators.

However, before the Wudang members could question them, the three captured men let out low growls, and flames suddenly surged from their chests. In response, Yuan Pu Zhenren immediately unleashed a powerful palm strike from the air, pushing all the surrounding Daoist masters back and the three captives to the ground. In the next instant, however, the three abruptly exploded.

When Wang Sheng arrived, all he found were three columns of fire erupting in the forest.

The retreating Daoist masters quickly stepped forward but found no trace of the stolen texts. All that remained were three half-burned ordinary Daoist scriptures.

Fortunately, Wudang had been meticulous about safeguarding their scriptures. The outer layers of their Daoist scriptures were somewhat fire-resistant. Otherwise, they would have been reduced to indistinguishable ash.

As for the three important stolen texts, they had originally been sealed beneath the floor of the Daoist canon repository. Though the fire was fierce, it had not reached underground. Still, when a Daoist master had rushed in to rescue the texts earlier, he discovered the three scrolls were already missing, prompting the alarm that the texts had been stolen. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"Shixing, form a team and block the mountain forest passages. Shiqin, guard the Daoist canon repository and assess the losses," Yuan Pu Zhenren commanded. "Summon all elders who are not in seclusion to the Purple Cloud Temple for a meeting. Do everything possible to treat the injured disciples!"

The elderly man, who had broken through to the Golden Core realm half a year ago, was clearly furious. Turning toward the Daoist canon repository, he roared, "Our scriptures are stolen, our disciples killed. If the culprit is not found today, you can step down as sect master!"

He then stepped onto a longsword and took to the skies, beginning a sweeping search for suspicious individuals. A Golden Core Realm expert covering the area from the air and scanning with spiritual consciousness was far more efficient than dozens of Daoist masters combing the forests on foot.

The Wudang sect master, who was busy rescuing people at the Daoist canon repository, could not even respond. Among the disciples on guard duty, three had died, two of whom were second-generation Daoist masters, and one was gravely wounded.

A Daoist master clutched two of the corpses and howled in anguish. Both were his disciples.

The sect master's personal disciple was the one who was critically injured. He had sword wounds all over, and his white robes were soaked in blood.

The disciple's life was hanging by a thread, sustained only by the sect master's continuous infusion of true essence. Unfortunately, the fire poison had invaded his heart, and his external injuries were too severe.

Yuan Pu Zhenren soon rushed over as well. Upon seeing the four corpses and the dying disciple, the elder trembled with rage. He shoved aside the sect master and channeled streams of pure true essence into the injured.

Unfortunately, it had little effect. The wounded disciple's aura grew ever weaker.

The sect master trembled all over, gritting his teeth and shouting, "Hold on, Yinglong! Master will save you! Bring healing pills! Now!"

"We had only been developing pills to help disciples improve their cultivation, Senior Brother! The healing elixirs are still ineffective! We must get Yinglong to a hospital!"

"Then call an ambulance! Now! What are you all standing around for?!"

People immediately scrambled to contact the hospital. The Wudang Mountains had suffered serious casualties. They had to notify the Special Investigation Unit as well.

A female disciple choked up. "Senior Brother Zhou is dying!"

A Daoist master stomped his foot. "I'll ask the hospital if there's any way to save him! We cannot bring back the dead, but we'll do whatever we can to save the wounded!"

In truth, no one could blame the Wudang Daoists for losing their composure over a few young disciples' deaths and injuries. After all, it had only been five or six years since the world's primal qi had recovered. Having spent over a decade or even several decades cultivating in the mountains, they had never before witnessed such a horrific incident.

In this era, life was indispensable.

Soon, shouts from the Daoist masters echoed throughout the Wudang Mountains.

"One of our disciples is critically injured and on the verge of death. Whoever has a way to save a life, hurry to the Daoist canon repository to help!"

Wang Sheng, who had been examining the three charred corpses in the forest, immediately looked up. Without thinking further, he took out the Reprieve Pill that the Medicine God Valley had given him from the Crane-Spirit Treasure Pouch.

Raising the porcelain bottle high, he shouted, "Grandmaster! I have a Reprieve Pill from the Medicine God Valley! It can sustain life for an hour!"

"Quick, send it over!" Gao Shixing shouted back.

"Wouldn't it be faster if Grandmaster just flew over?"

Wang Sheng had barely finished speaking when a figure appeared in the sky and descended. Yuan Pu Zhenren grabbed Wang Sheng, stepped onto a longsword, and soared swiftly toward the Daoist canon repository.

Wang Sheng didn't expect Zhou Yinglong to be the critically wounded disciple.

After feeding him the Reprieve Pill, Zhou Yinglong's aura immediately stabilized. Strands of medicinal power turned into white mist and wrapped around him to treat his burns.

The Daoist masters in the area sighed in relief. Yuan Pu Zhenren quietly patted Wang Sheng on the shoulder, then once again controlled his sword and soared into the sky, personally sweeping through all corners of the Wudang Mountains in search.

Soon after, Zhou Yinglong was lifted onto a pickup truck used for supplies. They then drove to meet the ambulance that was rushing over. Several of Wudang's second-generation elders personally accompanied him even though there was no need to worry that Zhou Yinglong would face another attack.

With Zhou Yinglong now out of harm's way, a more troublesome issue was placed before the Daoist masters of Wudang: their Daoist heritage's cultivation technique texts had been stolen!

With the Daoist elders present, creating new copies of the three volumes would not be a problem. However, the leakage of the texts would pose a huge hidden danger for the sect.

Although it was the middle of the night, apart from a few Daoist elders who were in seclusion, all generations of the sect—old, middle-aged, and young—gathered in the Purple Cloud Temple. Four corpses, already covered with white cloth, were laid out in the brightly lit temple.

Many female disciples who had only recently started cultivating had reddened eyes, and some male disciples who had unstable Dao Hearts also looked uneasy. Whispers filled every corner.

In the meantime, Wang Sheng sent a message to Mou Yue. The Special Investigation Unit had already dispatched nearby team members to his location.

Several Daoist masters cursed in rage, while others stood up to calmly analyze the situation.

The Daoist canon repository was one of the sect's most important locations. It housed the Wudang lineage's Daoist canon texts and stored many alchemy pills and treasures. On ordinary days, twelve elders of the sect took turns guarding it, and four disciples were stationed at the entrance daily on rotating shifts.

Tonight, by unfortunate coincidence, the elder on duty was the one with the lowest cultivation among the twelve elders. Moreover, the perpetrators had killed, stolen the texts, and set fire to the Daoist canon repository in a very short period.

Had it not been for Wang Sheng's quick reaction and his earlier suspicions that the Yin-Yang Cult—which was notorious for manufacturing human-skin masks—would make a move, the three perpetrators could have fled during the chaos. After all, the sect members would not have immediately suspected that the perpetrators would disguise themselves and hide among the sect members to escape.

Although the fire on the Wudang Mountains seemed to have started out of nowhere, the enemy had clearly been planning it for a long time. They had a detailed scheme and, once exposed, immediately self-immolated.

Right now, it was still unclear whether the three had self-immolated willingly or someone had acted against them in secret. However, from the fact that the three Daoist texts were not found on them, it could be inferred that someone else on the Wudang Mountains was assisting them.

In the end, the Daoist masters reached a unanimous conclusion: there was a mole among them. The three who had stolen the texts must have had an accomplice among Wudang's ranks. They could have just been just decoys as well, tasked to divert everyone's attention.

One Daoist master, with a hot temper and bristling hair and beard, furiously roared, "Whoever it is, step forward now! I will turn you into a corpse!"

Inside and outside the Purple Cloud Temple, everyone who had gathered remained silent. If a traitor could be frightened into confessing with just one sentence, it would have been a miracle.

Wang Sheng stood silently in a corner instead of stepping forward to avoid drawing attention to himself. Perhaps only the now-turned-ash Wood Yin God knew that the seemingly indifferent expression on his face concealed the faint stirrings of killing intent.

He was a cultivator of the Wudang Mountains and shared deep ties with its Daoist heritage. With one of his close friends critically wounded and corpses lying in front of him, how could he not feel murderous?

He and the Yin-Yang Cult had now formed an unresolvable blood feud.

The Daoist masters of Wudang began questioning the disciples, asking if they had noticed anything unusual. Before long, Wang Sheng was also asked if he had noticed any suspicious people that night.

Wang Sheng shook his head. "Before the flames rose into the sky, I was cultivating in our courtyard. Two months ago, a similar incident already occurred. I believe the Special Investigation Unit had informed us about it. The theft of the texts tonight is likely related to that incident.

"If I may ask, besides the immortal mantra of the True Martial Great Emperor, were there cultivation techniques related to Yin-Yang and Dual Polarity among the three volumes that were stolen?"

A Daoist elder with white hair nodded. "That is correct. Fei Yu, do you know anything about this?"

Wang Sheng shook his head. Naturally, he could not reveal that the Special Investigation Unit was preparing to move against the Yin-Yang Cult.

Instead, he simply reasoned, "I have had several direct and indirect encounters with the Yin-Yang Cult. They use the red-eyed Yin-Yang Koi as their emblem, which made me think perhaps their cultivation methods are related to Yin-Yang."

A few Daoist elders immediately paid Wang Sheng sufficient attention.

"Fei Yu, come forward. From today onward, Wudang and the Yin-Yang Cult are mortal enemies. They are irreconcilable! You have close ties with the Special Investigation Unit and have clashed with the Yin-Yang Cult several times. How do you suggest we proceed with the investigation?"

Wang Sheng cupped his hands. In a clear voice, he said, "Please don't worry. The alchemy pill I gave to Senior Brother Zhou was bestowed upon me by a senior from the Medicine God Valley when I went to confront the corrupt cultivators of the Five Gods Cult. Its sole purpose is to save lives.

"Moreover, the Special Investigation Unit and nearby Special Warfare Unit members have already rushed to aid Senior Brother Zhou. They have the most advanced modern medical theories. Combined with the strength of cultivators, I am confident that he will regain consciousness.

"Once he does, he will naturally know who the traitor is. Rather than scattering in confusion, it would be better for everyone to wait here. A call from him will be enough for the traitor to reveal themselves."

Many Daoist masters and elders nodded in agreement.

From the sky, Yuan Pu Zhenren commanded, "All sect members and disciples are to remain here and wait."

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