World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 479: The One Who Broke the Seal

Had Yaoyun not reminded him, Wang Sheng would have likely overlooked this subtle detail amid his racing thoughts.

A Buddhist master had likely created the massive statue before him to conceal the entrance to the Realm of Exiled Immortals. In this vast "dark forest," where countless strange phenomena appeared, a floating Buddha statue wasn't particularly noticeable.

To get out, Wang Sheng had pried the statue open from the inside. He then carefully sealed it again. In a place without gravity, such a maneuver took little effort. However, using too much force would have easily sent the hundreds-of-meter-long colossus spinning away.

The handprint was at the center of the Buddhist swastika mark on the statue's chest. From it, cracks had spread in every direction.

Wang Sheng's expression subtly darkened. What does that handprint mean?

He initially thought that the statue had cracked from the impact of the bronze box, but it was now clear that the area around the box's four-sided hole was unblemished.

A palm strike had certainly shattered the statue.

Yaoyun said softly, "I know an immortal art that can show us past events, but I'll have to borrow your immortal power to cast it."

Wang Sheng nodded slowly. He grasped Spiritless's hilt and channeled his immortal power into it.

Yaoyun's faintly translucent body began to emit a milky glow. She swiftly wove hand signs and chanted under her breath, causing ripples to spread across the statue's surface.

Soon, faint images appeared around them, flickering and shifting in rapid succession.

The Rewinding Light Art wasn't just rare; it was also difficult to master and required a medium to function. Its principle lay in reading the residual energy and memory imprinted on the chosen medium.

Yaoyun had chosen the Buddha statue as her medium. The visions that appeared were fragments of its last moments—the statue's slow descent through the "dark forest" after it had broken apart.

Wang Sheng's immortal power was being drained so quickly that he struggled to keep up. The images quivered, ending up unstable and incomplete.

He swallowed a celestial pill to replenish his strength. The light wavered and shifted. Finally, the broken pieces merged into a complete Buddha statue.

The images stopped. Wang Sheng focused, his expression growing grimmer.

"A little further," he said.

Yaoyun nodded lightly and resumed casting. The illusory scene rewound further, showing the statue hovering quietly until a beam of light flared from its abdomen. A bronze box floated out slowly, then shot away with blinding brilliance, streaking into the distant stars. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

It vanished instantly, leaving the range of the illusory projection.

Barely ten minutes later, a beam of golden light approached and followed the bronze box's trail. It stopped near the statue, revealing a large golden-feathered roc. Judging by the three human-sized beings standing on its back, the creature seemed to have a wingspan of over thirty meters.

The three dismounted and began searching around the statue.

Wang Sheng took another alchemical pill and stared intently at the illusion.

The three had distinct appearances. One was in a short tunic and carried two long sabers across his back. Another donned a robe and a round hat.

The third was a woman in a Daoist robe, her hair tied with a headband. A lotus lantern floated at her side, and she held a sheet of paper marked with faint patterns, as if she were comparing it to the statue. She looked like a cultivator as well.

Soon, the trio found the anomaly that the bronze box's exit point had left.

The woman struck the statue with her palm, breaking it apart. The three then carefully pried away the shattered fragments until they exposed the entrance of the "wormhole" within.

After a brief discussion, the golden roc shrank to two-thirds of its size and slipped inside. Moments later, it returned and seemingly spoke. The three exchanged glances, then followed it into the wormhole.

Yaoyun dismissed the illusion and exhaled softly as though a heavy burden had been lifted.

Even though Wang Sheng's Pure Yang immortal power was exceptionally pure and he had taken two celestial pills, the immortal art still drained seventy percent of his immortal power.

"How long ago was this?" he asked.

Yaoyun pondered for a moment. "I went about ten thousand years back. Given the flow of time within the Realm of Exiled Immortals, that would mean more than a decade has passed there, which is about the same time you spent in the Small Immortal Realm. Considering we didn't encounter them when we came out, they likely never discovered the illusion array."

Wang Sheng spent some time in thought. Instead of rushing back, he asked, "Could you sense how strong they were?"

"The immortal art only shows past events, and it only worked because the Buddha statue still retained its imprint. Maybe they didn't find anything inside and left long ago."

"I doubt it. If a cultivator realizes they've entered a space protected by barriers, they'd immediately assume it's a blessed ground. I also noticed that the woman was holding something like a map. Anyway, there's no point guessing too much. If fortune favors us, we'll find out soon enough. If not, well, we can't hide from it anyway."

"What do you plan to do?"

"Restore everything to how it was."

Wang Sheng glanced up at the cracked statue, slipped through a fissure, and began his work from within. The repair was simple enough. He just had to take out a few celestial arrows, press them along the cracks like staples, and fuse them into the stone with Pure Yang Immortal Power. Once done, he used chunks of rock to seal the hole that the bronze box had created.

"Should we set up an array?" Yaoyun asked softly.

Wang Sheng shook his head. "The arrays we can create now aren't strong enough to stop Primordial Immortals or True Immortals. The slightest ripple of primal qi or array energy will be no different from a clear trail for other passing cultivators to follow."

Yaoyun hesitated. "What if those three who went in don't find Earth and decide to turn back? If they spot our array arrangement here, wouldn't that mean—"

"That's why we shouldn't let them come back out," Wang Sheng interrupted calmly. Though he spoke casually, his decision was firm. "We don't know how strong they are, though. If they're True Immortals or Heavenly Immortals, we can only hope they don't notice the illusion array. If they're open to negotiations and mean no harm, we'll simply have to keep them on Earth for a while. Otherwise, we'll strike first. We can't afford any future trouble."

"That golden roc was incredibly fast. Its kind isn't rare, but it does feed on living beings. The one we saw hadn't reached its peak yet, yet it already had pure golden feathers. Who knows how many creatures it had already devoured."

"Am I fast enough to catch up to one?"

"That depends on how strong it is."

Wang Sheng muttered, "We still don't have enough information."

He reached into his robes and took out a foot-long shuttle, which then rapidly expanded.

Upon entering the Shadowless Shuttle, he unlocked every restriction within it. Now was not the time to be frugal with Spirit Stones. Stealth mattered more than anything.

Moments later, he piloted the near-invisible shuttle into the wormhole but returned not long after. He circled halfway around the Buddha statue's abdomen, lifted his sword, and carved a line of glowing ancient script into a prominent spot.

I, a humble Daoist, cultivate in this place in seclusion. I'll spare you just this once. If you trespass again, you will be shown no mercy.

Imbued with the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Intent, the line emitted a faint yet natural pressure. Wang Sheng made sure he didn't leave any trace of his immortal power behind, only pure sword intent.

If the illusion array managed to deceive the three and the golden roc into exiting the Realm of Exiled Immortals, they would immediately see this warning and perhaps decide to retreat. Such an outcome was better than letting them notice someone had mysteriously repaired the Buddha statue, which would make them realize just how extraordinary this place was.

After carving, Wang Sheng dared not linger. Fearing they had already discovered the cultivation world on Earth, he immediately piloted the Shadowless Shuttle back into the wormhole.

When he re-entered the Realm of Exiled Immortals, he carefully sensed his surroundings but found no change in the flow of time. The mystery of it left him puzzled, but he had to set it aside for now.

A golden roc and three cultivators had entered the Realm of Exiled Immortals. He estimated each one to be at least an Ascended Immortal or Primordial Immortal.

The Shadowless Shuttle flew swiftly toward Earth. Every now and then, he glanced at his senior sister's soul lamp, finally realizing just how precious it was. As long as its flame burned steadily, he could breathe with a little peace of mind.

On the way back, Wang Sheng searched for any sign of intruders.

Compared to Earth or the sun, the Realm of Exiled Immortals was vast. In ancient times, even the immortals of the Heavenly Court had used it to fight and evade pursuit. Its sheer size was unimaginable. However, it only had one star: the Sun. Anyone who explored in every direction and hit a barrier would naturally turn their focus toward the solar system.

If the illusion array managed to fool those people and leave after circling Saturn or Jupiter, then it wouldn't matter. But if one of them grew curious, tried to light a fire near the illusion, and stumbled into it, they would truly discover a "blessed ground."

The situation seemed to be growing increasingly tense. After all, Earth barely had any true experts left. Even he and Xi Lian, its most prominent cultivators, were only Ascended Immortals. Although cultivators at their realm were still immortals, they amounted to nothing in the endless space.

For nearly three hundred days, Wang Sheng stayed on edge. Once he was certain no one was following him, he steered the Shadowless Shuttle back through the inner side of the illusion array and hurried straight to Earth.

Half a month later, he confirmed from afar that the Earth and Moon were safe, showing no trace or aura of intruders. He then conferred briefly with Yaoyun.

Wang Sheng decided to return to the outer edge of the illusion array, hiding himself within the Shadowless Shuttle while searching for any sign of trespassers. Meanwhile, Yaoyun was tasked to ride Spiritless back toward the Moon Palace and Earth to notify their main combatants of the intruders and mobilize all available power to create defensive arrays and traps as a safeguard.

Before leaving for Earth, she furrowed her delicate brow and warned, "Be careful. If you find their trail and you're not sure you can win, don't fight them head-on."

Wang Sheng grinned. "Don't worry."

Using his Sword-Controlling Art, he pointed Spiritless at the slowly rotating blue planet and sent it flying at full force. Though Earth was only half a day's journey, he didn't follow her back. Instead, he immediately returned to the illusion's boundary.

The Shadowless Shuttle, a treasured artifact originally crafted for heavenly soldiers to scout enemy territory, was finally serving its true purpose. With Wang Sheng inside, it drifted along the edge of the illusion array.

Rather than flying aimlessly, he followed Jupiter's orbit. If the intruders intended to explore the solar system, they would not overlook the massive planet outside the illusion.

Wang Sheng could end up having to keep watch for ten or even a hundred years, but he had no choice. Behind him was his home. He could not abandon it.

Fortunately, the intruders didn't seem too reckless. Despite having wandered in the Realm of Exiled Immortals for more than a decade, they still hadn't approached the solar system.

On the ninety-sixth day of his patrol near Jupiter, golden light flashed across the stars, entering Wang Sheng's field of vision.