Xing Tian opened his eyes and found himself lying on a large bed. His hands and feet were not bound, but his body was simply immobile.

His Primordial Spirit had been sealed.

His gaze fell upon somewhat narrow cave walls. Blue curtains hung from the ceiling, giving the space the appearance of an ordinary bedroom within a cave dwelling.

Suddenly, the grating sound of knife sharpening started from the side. Each scrape felt like it grated on Xing Tian's raw nerves, making the hairs on his body stand on end.

Xing Tian's eyes bulged. The strongest part of his body—his neck—trembled slightly, barely regaining the ability to move. He turned his head toward the source of the noise.

The child had rolled up his sleeves and was pressing down on a dagger, straddling a sharpening stone and sliding the dagger back and forth methodically.

Seemingly sensing Xing Tian's gaze, Dongfang Mumu looked up at him. That innocent, adorable face revealed a somewhat sinister smile.

"GULP—"

Xing Tian's Adam's apple bobbed erratically. Feeling as if he could finally speak, he croaked out, "What—what are you going to do!"

"HUMPH HUMPH~"

"Mumu, once the knife is sharpened, come over and slaughter the fish."

Lin Suqing's gentle voice came from outside the cave, which somewhat eased Xing Tian's tension.

He then heard Lin Suqing complain, "The Young Master always says that only a fish belly sliced open with a blade has *that* particular taste. One washed with mana is too clean. Isn't being a bit clean a good thing?"

"Heehee, why does the Young Master make such a fuss about these things? You should just let him do it himself."

"We'd better not bother him with this kind of thing. After all, he is the Hall Master and must consider the great affairs of the Human Domain. What we should do is take good care of our Hall Master, allowing him to concentrate wholeheartedly."

"Tch, the Young Master is probably just thinking about how to slack off all day!"

"Hey, you can't talk about the Young Master like that. He has already done many great things."

Xing Tian lay on the stone bed in a daze for a while, then shouted, "Brother! Let me up!"

The conversation outside instantly ceased, and a soundproofing formation was slapped onto the cave entrance.

"Over here!"

Xing Tian roared, "Teacher! Save me!"

On the stone path in front of the Annihilation Sect's Treasure Hall, the Grand Elder and the transcendent Body Cultivator who had escorted Xing Tian here were talking and laughing as they walked toward a nearby stone table set with hot tea.

His throat nearly raw from shouting, Xing Tian yelled again a moment later, "Brother! Teacher! I'm getting angry!" Still, there was no response.

When had he, Xing Tian of the Great Waves, ever been treated this way?

Lying on the stone bed, the more Xing Tian thought, the angrier and more annoyed he became. Finally, he tilted his head back, yawned, and lay there, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Humph! I'll regain my strength and then settle the score with them!

「In the main hall of the cave dwelling, on the round platform in the middle of the water pool.」

Wu Wang, Ji Mo, Lin Qi, Le Yao, and Elder Miao, whom Wu Wang had invited to serve as a strategist, watched Xing Tian's sleeping face through the Cloud Mirror she had activated.

Ji Mo laughed and said, "His mental fortitude is truly robust, to fall asleep just like that."

Wu Wang reclined on a soft cushion, his hands resting behind his head, and said leisurely, "In terms of mentality, aside from Brother Xing Tian, I haven't admired anyone else's."

Lin Qi's face showed delight. "I will surely learn a thing or two from this hero of the Northern Wilderness later."

Elder Miao picked up a Spirit Fruit Seed. Her vermilion lips parted slightly, her pearly teeth lightly snapping the Spirit Fruit Seed, producing a crisp sound. She then elegantly placed the seed's husk to one side.

She said, "Where were we? The sister of this person is on her way here to marry you. You don't want to harm the relations between the two families, yet you want to decisively reject this woman without making her feel too upset?"

"Exactly," Wu Wang smiled and said, "Does Elder Miao have a clever plan?"

"Speaking face-to-face is the best approach," Elder Miao said indifferently. "So many of the world's unresolved emotions and tangled affairs are simply the result of indecision and failing to speak plainly face-to-face. Take me, for example. When faced with men showing excessive attention, usually a single glance and a cold laugh are all it takes."

Ji Mo laughed and said, "Elder, why not give Brother Lin a demonstration?"

"Husband!" Le Yao chided from the side. "You'll make Sister Miao uncomfortable speaking like that."

The friendship between women is truly strange. Hadn't they just met? Wu Wang glanced at the two women on either side of the low table.

Lin Qi also said, "Teacher, it's better to make things clear in person regarding this matter."

Ji Mo said, "I think asking Fairy Ling to come later to help this young lady give up on the idea wouldn't be a bad option either."

Miao Cuijiao countered, "Wouldn't that needlessly make an enemy for Saintess Ling out of this young lady?"

"Indeed," Wu Wang said slowly. "Upon reflection, any complications could lead to unnecessary trouble."

"Teacher," Lin Qi pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly, "When this young lady arrives, she'll likely be without companions. I'll have One Two Three Four keep her company, so you won't have to divert your energy."

Wu Wang and Ji Mo both turned their heads to look at Lin Qi, their gazes quite complex.

Le Yao asked, "Who are One Two Three Four?"

Ji Mo whispered, "Brother Lin's maidens, four identical sisters... How could you name them One Two Three Four? That's just—!"

"Isn't it easy to differentiate?" Lin Qi countered. "What, should I have called them Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, or Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum?"

Wu Wang laughed. "Quite unique, very distinctive. However, you should also consider the four sisters' feelings. They're young women, after all."

Lin Qi laughed, "They were so excited they cried when they received these names! Teacher, you don't need to worry, they love them!"

"Are you sure that was—"

"Sect Master!"

Suddenly, Mao Aowu's shout came from outside the cave dwelling, "Guess who I brought!"

Wu Wang's Spiritual Sense scanned the outside. He saw Xiao Jian Daoist and more than a dozen officials from the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion. He initially thought it was a team of experts from the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion escorting Lang Guduo. But after looking carefully several times, he couldn't find Lang Guduo's figure anywhere.

Wu Wang signaled the others to rise and welcome them. Barefoot, he hopped to the cave's entrance and casually pushed open the two thick doors.

Mao Aowu, full of eagerness, stepped forward with a clasped-hand salute. This silver-haired Demonic Cultivator had made considerable progress in his cultivation recently. He looked younger than before, his silver hair now past his shoulders.

He exclaimed joyfully, "Sect Master! The officials have rushed here to replace the previous supervisory team and will be staying to cultivate in our sect from now on! I took the initiative and brought them straight here. Sect Master, this is Xiao Jian Daoist, one of the great masters of our Benevolent Emperor Pavilion!"

Wu Wang was left speechless.

Xiao Jian Daoist, with his hands clasped behind his back and a smile, gave Wu Wang a slight nod from the side.

The dozen or so officials seemed to have coordinated. With a simultaneous flourish of their hands, a dozen trays appeared, laden with Jade Talismans, the kind commonly used for Benevolent Emperor Pavilion case files.

What did the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion mean by this? Wherever I am, is the Punishment Hall there too? Liu Baiyi definitely did this on purpose! The Punishment Hall can operate just fine without me! Three days! It's only been three days!

"Big Brother Mao."

Wu Wang revealed a warm smile, stepped forward, and took hold of Mao Aowu's arm, speaking in a gentle voice, "Your Benevolent Emperor Pavilion salary and your sect allowance are gone for the next twenty years."

"What?" Mao Aowu's face showed shock. "Sect Master, do you also manage the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion's salaries?"

"Not directly, but I'm well acquainted with the Hall Master of the Mortal and Immortal Hall."

Wu Wang huffed, turned his back, and walked back into the cave dwelling, not bothering to close the door.

"Suqing, add a dozen more pairs of chopsticks and slaughter a few more Spirit Fish! We have guests!"

Lin Suqing poked her head out from an inner cave and acknowledged the order.

Mao Aowu's mouth fell open. He hurriedly followed Wu Wang, muttering continually, "Sect Master, you can't do this to me! Sect Master, I already promised the girls at Drunken Fragrance Tower I would help them buy their freedom! Sect Master, this is unreasonable! How can you deduct it just like that? My Spirit Stones are already scarce! Sect Master, please don't!"

Xiao Jian Daoist watched this scene with a smile and signaled the officials to enter together.

This group of experts from the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, who usually ran errands for Wu Wang, entered the cave dwelling casually, chatting and laughing, full of praise for their Hall Master's residence.

Their arrival here was not just to give Wu Wang something to do; they truly had important matters to report.

After Lin Qi and Ji Mo made some arrangements, covering the pool with stone slabs and setting up tables and chairs, Wu Wang invited the Grand Elder and Xing Tian's master to join them. Then, Xiao Jian Daoist stated the main purpose of their visit.

"Hall Master—"

"Ah, don't call me Hall Master," Wu Wang said indifferently. "I've resigned from my official post and returned to the sect. You should call me Sect Master Wuwang."

"Then, Wuwang!" Xiao Jian Daoist tossed back the hair ribbon that fell across his chest. The streaks of white at his temples gave the middle-aged literary man an indescribable flair. He spoke earnestly, "Wuwang, there's something my master asked me to consult with you about."

"What is it?"

Xiao Jian Daoist said, "Those five Divine Children want to ask the Human Domain to dispatch troops."

"Dispatch troops? To the north?" Wu Wang's brows furrowed slightly, and he quickly slipped into 'Punishment Hall Master mode.' "How did they put it?"

Xiao Jian Daoist continued calmly, "It was one of the women whose Dao Heart collapsed first. The fiends from the Fourth General Hall, all those whose hands were stained with blood, were publicly beheaded.

"As per your instructions, Wuwang, on the eve of the execution, we detained them in cells adjacent to where the five Divine Children were held, so that the Divine Children could see them, but they couldn't see the Divine Children.

"Later that night, the five Divine Children began to break down. Two attempted suicide but were stopped. One woman tearfully begged us to send troops to rescue the humans being reared on the southern border of Central Mountain."

"They can't be rescued," Wu Wang said immediately. "Absolutely not. Even if the five Divine Children's Dao Hearts truly shattered, those people cannot be saved under the current circumstances. Perhaps in a thousand years, they could be rescued as a secondary objective."

Xiao Jian Daoist pondered for a moment, his expression somewhat bitter.

Wu Wang wondered, "What? Has some expert in the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion become overzealous with 'benevolence'?"

Xiao Jian Daoist sighed. "It's two Vice Pavilion Masters. They believe that as fellow members of the Human race, we should go to their rescue. Doing so could also demonstrate the strength of our Human Domain to the various human clans of the Nine Wildernesses of the Great Wilderness and attract various clans to come and join us."

The Human Domain's upper echelons are, as expected, still endlessly arguing about 'uniting the power of the humans in the Great Wilderness.'

Ji Mo snorted. "Then let those two go."

Wu Wang threw down his chopsticks in bewilderment. "It's such an obvious trap! Don't they have brains? Or do they really think the Heaven Palace is so easily dealt with?"

Lin Qi said, "If we dispatch troops northward for this reason, my Lin Family will be the first to oppose."

Xiao Jian Daoist hurriedly said, "The Pavilion Master also quashed this matter and reprimanded those two Vice Pavilion Masters. Anyone can see it's a trap. Even if those five Divine Children weren't plotting anything, the Heaven Palace would surely respond the moment we dispatch troops. But Wuwang, regarding this matter, there's another voice within the Pavilion..."

Wu Wang picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of the sour and numbing fish, and said indifferently, "They're probably saying that the Heaven Palace intends to feign weakness to exacerbate our internal conflicts, and if we dispatch troops, Tiangong will readily hand over a victory to us, right?"

"Exactly."

"Strategies are fixed, but people are adaptable!" Wu Wang's eyes were full of contemplation. Cultivation realm and strategic acumen truly have no correlation.

"The Heaven Palace has painstakingly schemed, and that Qiong Qi has been plotting for a long time. They just want the Human Domain to exhaust its strength internally, so they'll suffer fewer losses when they launch their decisive battle. If we send a detachment to the Northern Region—not even our entire army advancing north—and they manage to annihilate this force, wouldn't that also achieve their goal of weakening the Human Domain? The Heaven Palace won't pass up such a juicy target. The effectiveness of their subversive plots is still unknown. But if they manage to take down the army dispatched by the Human Domain, it's a definite accomplishment for them. The Head Manager is responsible to the Heavenly Emperor and must also pursue achievements."

Xiao Jian Daoist nodded thoughtfully, saying, "I'll convey these words back."

"No rush, let's eat." Wu Wang said solemnly, "Later, tell Pavilion Master Liu this: in my opinion, we can first dispatch some experts skilled in stealth to Central Mountain to find the hometowns of these fiends. At the same time, they can survey the terrain of Central Mountain and its military deployments, in preparation for His Majesty's northern campaign in a thousand years. This way, it's a win-win, and it will also silence those voices."

Wu Wang paused, glanced at the Grand Elder, and chuckled, "Pavilion Master Liu is well aware of this. It's just that there are some things the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion cannot say openly. In the future, my Punishment Hall must not have such individuals—those whose compassion is misplaced and who enjoy being generous at others' expense."

Xiao Jian Daoist also laughed. "Hall Master, didn't you say you were resigning? 'My Punishment Hall' rolls off your tongue quite smoothly."

"Did I say that?" Wu Wang yawned. "How come I'm drunk after just a few bites of Drunken Fish today?"

The table full of male and female cultivators burst into laughter.

...

Xiao Jian Daoist and his party truly settled down in the Annihilation Sect without any reservation.

The cultivators of the Annihilation Sect soon discovered that those closest to their Sect Master's dwelling were all 'outsiders,' which left many female disciples of the Black Desire Door quite disgruntled.

When Xiao Jian Daoist first arrived, he had only used those case file Jade Talismans to scare Wu Wang and hadn't actually brought the numerous affairs of the Punishment Hall to the Annihilation Sect. Otherwise, the expense for message Jade Talismans alone would have been tremendous.

Xiao Jian Daoist's trip was solely to act as Wu Wang's escort.

The Benevolent Emperor Pavilion worried that Qiong Qi might seek revenge on Wu Wang. They felt that the Grand Elder, as a newly minted Transcendent, might not be up to the task, so they moved Xiao Jian Daoist, this 'brick,' here.

But one shouldn't underestimate this 'brick' that could be moved wherever needed.

It was basically confirmed within the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion that Xiao Jian Daoist, following his major breakthrough in the Sword Dao, would become the next Pavilion Master. In another ten or twenty thousand years, once Liu Baiyi's lifespan was exhausted, Xiao Jian Daoist could take office.

As for the Punishment Hall's affairs... just as Wu Wang had said, the Human Domain had plenty of capable individuals; it wouldn't cease to function just because Wu Wang and Xiao Jian Daoist weren't there.

Before Lang Guduo arrived in the Human Domain, Wu Wang enjoyed a rare half-month of peace.

He spent his days pursuing Enlightenment, cultivating, and continuously absorbing Divine Power. He would stroll around the sect in the early morning or evening, admiring the passing female disciples of the Black Desire Door.

The leisurely life of the Young Master of the Northern Wilderness was just like this.

Lin Suqing's hands became increasingly skillful. She continued to excel in the domestic arts of cooking, brewing tea, making beds, and sewing clothes, which made Wu Wang somewhat embarrassed, so much so that he proactively offered her a raise.

Xing Tian was still locked in that inner cave, waiting to reunite with Lang Guduo.

Worried that Lang Guduo might encounter danger on her journey, Wu Wang had Mao Aowu lead some experts from the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion to meet her en route.

During this period, Wu Wang also took the initiative to contact his mother, inquiring about the Heaven Palace's investigation into the Star God Cult.

Lady Cang Xue... had almost forgotten such a thing even happened.

Heaven Palace's suspicion towards the Northern Wilderness was what Wu Wang currently feared most. His mother had also mentioned that her true divine body was in the Outer Sky and had yet to return.

Wu Wang was deeply concerned about the safety of his mother and his clan.

What can I do for them? Wu Wang asked himself this question every day.

Finally, a message Jade Talisman returned to Wu Wang's hand; it was a personal letter from Fairy Ling.

It stated that she would soon arrive to stay long-term at the Annihilation Sect and requested Wu Wang to help arrange a few clean residences, as several experts from her sect would be staying for some time.

Wu Wang naturally took this very seriously; after all, it concerned the critical matter of advancing his cultivation and Dao Realm.

He had people construct several suspended pavilions on the cliff's edge, within the Mountain Protection Formation, to minimize the turbid qi's impact on the Xuan Nu Sect's party.

After a few more days, the pavilions were completed in a rush. Only then did Wu Wang reply to Ling Xiaolan, informing her that everything was ready.

He had barely sent his message Jade Talisman when two more returned to him simultaneously.

One was from Ling Xiaolan, and the other from Mao Aowu.

Ling Xiaolan's Jade Talisman read:

[I happened to encounter some members of the Annihilation Sect en route and will be arriving with them. The elders from my sect are somewhat displeased. If they say anything offensive later, please bear with them, Brother Wuwang. They are merely worried about me and there are some misunderstandings.]

Mao Aowu's Jade Talisman was much simpler:

[Sect Master! Come quickly! Your first wife and second wife are about to start fighting!]

CRACK!

Wu Wang crushed the Jade Talisman in his hand. His entire being was engulfed by dark lines as he stood motionless before the cave entrance for a long time.

The newly placed statues of sparrows and swans before the door seemed to come alive, cackling with laughter.

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