World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 484: Ferocity Revealed

A little over ten minutes before the golden roc began its descent, two streaks of light shot to the Moon Palace from a distance. Wang Sheng, who was in a Daoist robe and carrying a celestial sword, landed on a ring-shaped crater.

Ziyun touched down over ten meters behind him. She gazed at the barren lunar surface and quickly found a spot where primal qi appeared to be leaking—a bait that they had set up earlier.

Just like the three traps that the Hua Republic had arranged, each one had obvious flaws meant to draw the attention of these extraterrestrial immortals.

The restricting arrays across the lunar surface also created the illusion of primal qi seeping out from cracks in the Moon's crust.

These arrangements had been made under Yaoyun's guidance. The experts of all Daoist sects worked together, spending a vast amount of resources in the shortest time to create four restricting formations.

The four traps were located at the mountain gate of the Shu Sword Sect, the mountain gate of the Celestial Master Sect at the Longhu Mountains, the back of the Zhongnan Mountains, and at the ring-shaped crater where the female corpse and six celestial tablets were found long ago.

"Brother Pi, it's faint, but there seems to be an unusual fluctuation of primal qi over there."

Wang Sheng replied, "I sense it too. Let's go and take a look."

"Mm." Ziyun nodded gently. She then stepped closer to Wang Sheng. She softly and gently said, "We don't have to rush. While we're alone, there are a few things I'd like to discuss with you in private."

Wang Sheng mentally grumbled. He had no idea what trick Ziyun was playing now, or what she was truly planning.

He suspected she was planning to knock him out.

By now, Wang Sheng had already prepared for the worst outcome—that he had already been exposed. Ziyun could be testing his allegiance one last time, having deliberately drawn him to the Moon to separate him from the cultivation world's forces and end him here. Worse, she could use the golden roc to call her other two companions for quick support.

It was tricks within tricks. Wang Sheng would not believe one word from her charming little mouth. As the old saying went, sweet fragrance never lasted, but tricks always won hearts. In more modern terms, the more beautiful the woman, the more she lied.

Mu Wanxuan was naturally an exception.

The two flew side by side, just three to four meters apart from each other. Ziyun had released a light that served as a tether, ensuring they maintained a moderate speed and distance as they headed toward the crater.

Ziyun smiled with a hint of allure. In a soft tone, she asked, "Brother Pi, what do you think of me?"

"Uh, why do you ask?"

"I've had a bitter life. At three or four, I was taken into a corrupted sect and taught incomplete immortal arts all so they could use me once my cultivation had matured.

"Fortunately, when I was eleven or twelve, several immortals destroyed that sect as practice, allowing me to escape. I've been wandering and cultivating since. Before I knew it, over six thousand years had passed. Whenever I recall the hardships, I cannot help but remember how difficult the Dao is and how lonely I've been."

Wang Sheng frowned. "If you have something to say, just say it."

Ziyun's cheeks slightly reddened. "We've only just met, Brother Pi, yet for reasons I cannot explain, I can no longer restrain myself."

Wang Sheng mentally rolled his eyes.

Yaoyun telepathically remarked, "Shameless!"

"What do you think of me, Brother Pi? This is making me feel embarrassed."

Holding his sword, Wang Sheng cupped his hands politely. "You've got to be joking, Daoist Friend Ziyun. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but my senior sister and I share mutual affection. Forgive me, but I have to turn you down."

Ziyun smiled gently. "You mean Bao Kemon? How could a man like you have only one Daoist partner?"

Wang Sheng instinctively twirled Spiritless and laughed awkwardly. "Considering I have ordinary aptitude, I'm not worthy of such a compliment. Is this test of yours meant to insult me?"

Ziyun gave him a delicate and pitiful look. "Insult? Why would you think that? I truly..."

Wang Sheng avoided her eyes. At that moment, Ziyun's left hand, which she had hidden on the other side, flashed dark red. It took only an instant for her to shed her mien.

Wang Sheng trembled slightly. Twelve short, pale-red needles had been embedded into his shoulder, spine, and neck.

Ziyun stopped right after. Seemingly caught off guard, Wang Sheng staggered several times in midair before plummeting straight down, barely managing to reach the edge of the crater. With a shocked expression, he raised his head and glared at Ziyun, who hovered quietly in space.

A slight cold smile tugged at her lips as she opened her slender hand, immortal light flowing through her fingers. Two long, pale-green ropes drifted over and wrapped Wang Sheng completely, binding him like a rice dumpling. They seemed refined from tree vines. The tiny barbs covering them easily pierced through Wang Sheng's Immortal Body, immediately making him feel... itchy and numb.

With a hint of concern, Yaoyun telepathically asked, "How is it?"

Wang Sheng maintained his angry expression as he calmly replied, "Still manageable. Let's see what she's planning. We act when the time comes."

He had expected Ziyun to strike first, but he had not expected her to use poison needles and a poisoned-rope treasured artifact instead of attacking him with full force.

Before becoming an immortal, Wang Sheng had already bathed in heavenly tribulation lightning for years and had even experienced an eighteen-strike heavenly tribulation. If his Dao Body and Primordial Spirit couldn't even withstand poison this deadly, then all that lightning would have been wasted.

A longsword, seemingly made of wood, appeared in Ziyun's hand as she slowly drifted closer. With a hint of amusement in her eyes, she turned her seductive smile into mockery.

"Why do you belittle yourself, Brother Pi? You're brave enough to infiltrate our group even though you're only at the early stage of the Ascended Immortal Realm. How could such a man not be called remarkable?"

My cultivation has long been exposed, huh? Does that mean the cultivation-concealing immortal arts that I got from the Pool of Immortal Arts were useless?

A hint of realization passed through Wang Sheng's eyes as he looked at Ziyun. His lips curved into a faint, bitter smile.

Ziyun descended more than ten meters away from him, holding the longsword as she slowly landed. "Don't you plan on arguing even a little, Brother Pi? Aren't you the successor of this realm's powerful and profound master?"

Wang Sheng blinked. Immediately grasping the storyline that she had created in her mind, he decided to play along.

Still seated, regret flickered in his eyes as he weakly questioned, "Huh? You found a flaw in my disguise? At least tell me my mistake before you kill me!"

"Kill? Who said I intend to kill you?"

Ziyun narrowed the distance between them to three meters. Sword in hand, her gaze tinged faintly with emotion. "If I'm not mistaken, you have been cultivating in this realm all your life. You ascended to immortality using the many treasures and the inheritance that your great master has left."

Wang Sheng answered solemnly, "More or less."

Ziyun's gaze showed a touch of admiration. "Throughout our entire journey, I never doubted you. I must admit, you're incredibly sharp, and you have impressive courage. However, even though I'm only an unaffiliated practitioner who lacks broad experience, I'm still a woman. I pay attention to details a male cultivator would not care about.

"I noticed that your Daoist robe looks like an ordinary Daoist robe, but its collar, cuffs, and cut are subtly different. Its style is rare among the dozen qi stars around the ancient battlefield. I initially didn't think too much of it until you captured the local cultivator. You two had identical robes. Moreover, you didn't just spare him; you struck him to send him away, which also revealed your realm. Is that not obvious enough?"

Daoist robe?

Wang Sheng lowered his head and glanced at his outfit. He then nodded gravely. "I see my mistake now."

"The sword in your hand isn't just any ordinary-grade artifact either. It has to be a rare treasure. This world itself is quite peculiar, too. You have already ascended, yet aside from you, no one here exudes Tribulation or Grand Immortal-Ascension Realm aura. That's your disguise's greatest flaw. If our captive earlier was telling the truth, then you have used your master's Daoist heritage to ascend. Did I get any part wrong?"

Wang Sheng's expression darkened with every sentence she spoke, as though confirming all she said. The imagination of these extraterrestrial immortals surpassed Earth's cultivators by more than a level.

He had learned long ago that everyone preferred events to follow their own assumptions. Instead of battling each other, though, the situation took an unexpected turn.

Ziyun's smile turned slightly seductive, confusing Wang Sheng. She then slowly knelt before him and deliberately loosened the lapel of her Daoist robe until it was half open, revealing a gauzy, celestial-grade dress. Faint immortal light coiled around her, giving her a touch of devilish allure.

Softly, she said, "The reason I purposely sent the other two away is that I want to offer you a chance to live. I admire your courage and character. If you agree to three conditions, I am willing to devote myself to you in this life and the next. We could form an excellent bond and continue to cultivate freely in this realm. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Smiling coldly, Wang Sheng countered, "You want me to acknowledge you as my master, hand over all my treasures, and share my inherited Daoist heritage with you, correct?"

She smiled gently. "You truly are a clever man, but there's no need to call me master. You only have to consume a Gu bug. Once you have, we'll be a respectful and harmonious immortal couple for the rest of our lives."

"Get lost."

Ziyun's smile disappeared, and her gaze turned cold. "Are you refusing my goodwill?"

Coldly, Wang Sheng replied, "I suspected you weren't a good person, but I didn't expect your ambition to be this profound. You want to use me to seize control of this entire realm, which would allow you to act however you please, regardless of the laws here. I can't believe you'd even think of doing such a thing. If you want to kill me, then kill me. If I die, you'll never get your hands on our Daoist heritage!"

Ziyun snorted sharply and stood up, the Daoist robe completely falling away. Clad only in the thin gauze, she advanced and unleashed the full power of her peak Primordial Immortal Realm cultivation.

Now that she had taken off her robe, Wang Sheng noticed a faint devilish qi curling around her. Red threads of light slowly spread from her cloth shoes, and her aura became increasingly cold.

Hum—!

The wooden sword in her hand shimmered with immortal light. She pointed its tip at Wang Sheng's Dantian, then gripped an ink-green wooden cauldron with her left hand.

"I have mastered the arts of Gu bugs, Brother Pi. My toxin has already paralyzed your Primordial Spirit. If I destroy your Immortal Body and extract your Primordial Spirit, I can learn everything I wish to know about you."

Wang Sheng snorted coldly, defiance written across his face. Deep down, he was ready to spring into action.

Ziyun narrowed her eyes and thrust her wooden sword, stabbing Wang Sheng in the chest and causing the soul lamp in Mu Wanxuan's hand to flicker slightly. His eyes shone with starlight as he prepared to be blown backward, but she stopped once the blade was two inches in.

Wang Sheng looked up at Ziyun, a corner of his mouth curving in mockery. "Have you genuinely taken a liking to me, Daoist Friend?"

"In all my years, countless people have fallen into my hands. You're the first to refuse to beg even in this situation." Ziyun chuckled softly as she put away her cauldron. "But you are still too weak. Were our cultivation realms equal, I might have been the one to yield."

She then took out a jade slip and spoke commands into it. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Capture forty-nine of the strongest local cultivators you can find and send them to the yin star. Daoist Master Pi seems to care quite a lot about the cultivators here, and I happen to need material to raise new bugs."

The jade slip quickly relayed the reply of the old man in a round hat.

—Yes, Senior Ziyun.

Its light then slowly dimmed.

Ziyun toyed with the jade slip as she bent down to meet Wang Sheng's eyes up close. "Everyone has a weakness, and you're no exception, Brother Pi. Are you going to consider my proposal now?"

Wang Sheng simply lowered his head, making it seem as though this was all he could do for now. Once the golden roc descended and entered the trap array...

Ziyun smiled lightly. Just as she was about to speak, he abruptly raised his head, their gazes meeting for an instant. She saw her own surprise reflected in his gaze, while hers reflected the burst of dazzling starlight finally erupting from his eyes.

Wang Sheng swiftly snapped forward and smashed his forehead against hers, sending Ziyun flying backward. A streak of sword radiance also swept past behind him. Flying Haze cried sharply as it pierced the jade slip in her hand and stabbed through her palm.

Despite sustaining two attacks, Ziyun was still quick to make immortal light surge around her, flinging Flying Haze away. She then glared at Wang Sheng. The wound in her palm began to close at once.

"You are courting death!"

A gray cloud wrapped around Wang Sheng. Tiny lightning arcs shattered the poisonous ropes and sent the silver needles flying from his back. Afterward, he rose slowly to his feet and lifted Spiritless, slowly pointing it straight at Ziyun's face.

With one of his sword intents unleashed and lightning coiled around him from head to toe, he looked like a god of thunder descending into the world.