World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 488: The Battle to Annihilate Immortals (I)
To strike a powerful opponent when they were vulnerable, one had to catch them by surprise. It would be no different from suicide for those already at a disadvantage to show all their cards from the start. If their opponent overcame their techniques too quickly, they'd be left with nothing but a futile struggle.
From the moment Wang Sheng made a move, he understood that he would have to make a desperate gamble. He had to rely on Lightning Flash to find an opening and then commit all his strength into merging with Yaoyun.
With such a huge difference in cultivation, he could not afford even the smallest mistake.
Still, standing on the Moon with the Earth behind him, he couldn't allow himself to lose this battle. If he did, or if Ziyun escaped, everything that had happened since the resurgence of Earth's primal qi, the Daoist sects, the unaffiliated cultivators, and the Hua Republic would all be ruined.
She's got to have an opening.
Each time he unleashed Lightning Flash, his mind tensed like a pulled bowstring. He pushed his spiritual perception to its limit, scouring every inch of the female immortal's presence for the slightest flaw. Although he had been managing to avoid Ziyun's treasured artifact, the pressure was still immense, testing his Dao Heart unlike any previous challenge.
Even after several intense exchanges, Wang Sheng remained incredibly elusive with his lightning escape technique. Ziyun couldn't pin him down, no matter what methods she used.
Enraged, she summoned a glowing orb, which then cracked open. A green torrent of light burst forth and spread across the land like a spider's web.
Wang Sheng fell from a lightning bolt. The eerie green light wrapped around him, freezing him in midair and locking him in place.
This time, Ziyun didn't say a word. Her expression was as cold as ice, and a feverish look flashed in her eyes. She raised her hands and sent dozens of streaks of light at Wang Sheng, filling her gaze with twisted delight.
Bound by the green light, Wang Sheng's immortal power surged again and again, but it was like being plunged into the deep sea. Though he could gradually break free, it would take time.
He didn't panic despite the streaks of light flying toward him. Instead, he made Spiritless, which was in his right hand, emit brilliant light, forcibly breaking his right arm free from the cryostasis. He then swung it forward and used a technique from the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Art to unleash sword phantasms in the pattern of the Big Dipper.
Within the sword radiance flowed not only Wang Sheng's immortal power but also Yaoyun's spiritual power. From afar, it was a breathtaking sight.
A mass of green light hung frozen above the lunar crater. Below it, Wang Sheng was locked in the air, swinging the sword in his right hand relentlessly.
The sword radiance he shot out intertwined into a wall of starlight, breaking apart every incoming beam. Since there was no air on the Moon, the explosions were only silent flashes.
Seeing that he could still fight back, Ziyun was slightly surprised by his endurance. Nevertheless, her eyes remained cold. She chanted in a hushed tone, and the old fan in her hand fired countless blade-like arcs of light at him.
Struggling free inch by inch, Wang Sheng swung his sword, which was imbued with starlight. He moved so fast that he left layers of afterimages in his trail.
The crescent blades grew denser, while Wang Sheng's sword grew faster and faster. When the arcs gathered before him like a river, he cast aside the rigid form of the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Art. He freely broke down its every sword technique just to deflect the oncoming attacks, entering a contest of speed. He essentially defended by attacking.
Wang Sheng didn't dare take his opponent's attacks head-on. His Dao Body was considered tough among cultivators of his level—comparable even to some of the cultivators who focused on their physique. Still, he couldn't afford any injury in this battle. Any wound he'd sustain now would turn into an irreversible disadvantage that could cause his defeat.
Gradually, sword phantasms filled Wang Sheng's vision. Spiritless seemed to split into seven copies, forming seven layers of defensive phantasms and afterimages before him.
Though Ziyun's expression was as cold as ever, Wang Sheng's sword technique shocked her deep down. The thought of the Daoist heritage she could gain stirred envy and urgency in her heart.
Still unable to defeat her opponent, she trembled. With her wooden sword in hand, she turned into a streak of light and charged straight at him.
The peak Primordial Immortal's vast immortal power gathered wildly. Seeking to overwhelm him with sheer force, she threw everything into the attack.
"Yaoyun!" Wang Sheng telepathically called out.
Spiritless's spiritual power immediately flooded into him, ready to become one with him, but the green light behind him suddenly dimmed. Wang Sheng immediately stopped his attack. Gray clouds wrapped around him, and a pillar of lightning burst forth, instantly piercing through the fading green glow.
Ziyun, who was still in her flowing light form, shot straight through the lightning pillar like an arrow. However, her opponent had already appeared at the top of the pillar. Before she could turn to pursue or use another technique, he lifted Spiritless high and discharged Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent, spreading over ten lightning bolts in all directions. He then vanished within the lightning.
The female intruder frowned. The orb that she had just unleashed had been useless, making her even angrier.
He just became an immortal! Why is he so difficult to deal with? How come others can get Daoist heritage, teachings, fortune, and opportunity effortlessly, while I have to risk everything and struggle bitterly to seize them?
"Die!" Ziyun shouted coldly.
Wang Sheng just kept toying with her using Lightning Flash. Unless Ziyun used another orb that could seal heaven and earth, it would be difficult for her to break his technique.
Naturally refusing to stay on the defensive, she stopped and made several celestial treasures float around her. Her immortal perception locked onto Wang Sheng as he constantly moved through the lightning. Each time he attacked, she countered with a flurry of immortal arts.
Both combatants waited for the other's flaws. Ziyun still believed she held the upper hand due to one simple factor: immortal power.
Wang Sheng was using up large amounts of it, even though his reserves were nothing to Ziyun's. It was like comparing a lake to an ocean. Her immortal power would remain vast and deep long after his had dried up.
However, she failed to notice that to make up for his insufficient immortal power, Wang Sheng occasionally stuffed a few celestial pills into his mouth while moving through the lightning. Had she caught him in the act, she would have realized her overconfidence in time.
Backed by the Small Immortal Realm, Wang Sheng immediately swallowed a celestial pill to fully replenish his immortal power whenever he used up two-tenths of it. Perhaps this was the true definition of luxury and extravagance.
Reality was not a game. There was no such thing as a cooldown. As long as he did not overfill himself and explode, he would be fine. The celestial pills were also essentially condensed with vast amounts of pure spiritual power and primal qi. Even if one were to take many, they wouldn't experience any side effects. The only downside to his tactic was that he was burning through his supplies.
Should Ziyun fail to find Wang Sheng's weakness, she planned to switch to a half-offense, half-defense strategy. However, he had the same idea. They both went all out. Even if they could not wound the other, they aimed to use up more of the opponent's immortal power.
The early-stage Ascended Immortal had forced the peak Primordial Immortal into a stalemate. Ziyun cared little for appearances and used any means necessary, but she still felt provoked. This battle was no different from a heavy slap to her face. Deep down, a voice seemed to be telling her that the Dao she had pursued for six thousand years was far inferior to her opponent's.
In stalemates like this, the state of mind of those with deeper cultivation would always be shaken, making them start doubting themselves.
Wang Sheng just kept attacking. Each Lightning Flash unleashed several lightning bolts in different directions, preventing Ziyun from locating him.
As Ziyun neutralized each of Wang Sheng's attacks, she gradually started diving toward the edges of the lightning to crash onto him. However, this only gave him an idea.
"Yaoyun, guide me to the immortal-trapping array."
"What are you planning to do?" Yaoyun asked. "The array needs time to activate, which means you'll have to lure her to the very center to trap her. If you're still in there when it closes, you'll also be trapped inside."
"Mm."
Wang Sheng burst out from a lightning bolt and unleashed several sword phantasms at Ziyun, each more than ten meters long. When she counterattacked, he used Lightning Flash again.
Yaoyun stayed silent for half a minute. When Wang Sheng released his Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent again and made lightning burst forth, she finally started telling him which lightning bolt to enter.
This made things much simpler for Wang Sheng. While following Yaoyun's directions, he focused on searching for Ziyun's flaws.
Yaoyun didn't lead them straight to the array, preventing Ziyun from noticing anything unusual or detecting a pattern in Wang Sheng's movements. Instead, she made them follow an irregular, looping path.
Lightning and sword phantasms kept flaring on the desolate, barren lunar surface. From time to time, dense streams of light exploded across the sky.
The only one who noticed that Wang Sheng was leading the female immortal toward the prearranged trapping array was Xiaomiao, who was near the trap array in the Shu Mountains, tens of thousands of kilometers away.
