World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 655: Evil Ghost Heart Vine

Medicinal herbs were essences of plants. In principle, the boundary between such spirits and fiends should have been blurry. Herb spirits were born from grasses and roots. By all logic, the Fiend-Controlling Incantation should have restrained them.

Yet even after Wang Sheng and his sword spirit's repeated attempts, the five herb spirits weren't the least bit affected. The old and young members of their little family even gazed at Wang Sheng with puzzled expressions, unsure what he was trying to do.

They looked like rustic earth deities, simple and somewhat endearing. However, their true forms were all Linhun Grass, which primarily strengthened an immortal physically and enhanced their recovery. It had vanished almost entirely in the Ancient Era. For those who cultivated to improve their physique, it was a priceless treasure.

Unfortunately, practitioners who focused on the body were rare these days. It would be a waste for a Primordial-Spirit-oriented cultivator to use it.

The eldest among them was more than two hundred thousand years old. Two of the younger ones appeared to have split off at some point, yet they were still over a hundred thousand years old each. To boil, fry, roast, or otherwise consume them directly would have been an outrageous waste.

Wang Sheng was no heartless villain. Faced with this rather simple-looking herb family, he truly could not bring himself to swallow them.

Ah, forget it. I'll just take them out and let Senior Zhuge Lin do as he pleases with them.

After discussing matters with Yaoyun for a while, she soon returned to the Qiankun Ring to make preparations. Wang Sheng remained behind to chat with the oldest of the five herb spirits, who resembled an elderly man.

These herb spirits had developed spiritual intelligence. Their speech followed an ancient dialect of the Ancient Era, yet communication with Wang Sheng posed no difficulty. It felt much like listening to a regional dialect.

"Did Emperor Qinghua plant you here?" he asked.

"Yes, Esteemed Immortal." The old spirit sighed. "We know we should not hope to continue living. After all, we were planted by another and ought to accept being harvested. Still, all living beings wish to live. We are unwilling to perish just like this."

Wang Sheng nodded. "Do not worry. I do not know how to refine pills. You will live longer with me."

The five herb spirits didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

At that moment, Yaoyun flew out from the side. With a graceful gesture, she removed a large section of soil out of thin air, then hurried back into the Qiankun Ring.

Wang Sheng sat cross-legged and continued, "You have been here for a long time. Tell me, among the herbs in this place, who's the oldest, and who's strong enough to fight?"

The spirit smiled placatingly. "Esteemed Immortal, we each keep to ourselves and rarely wander. As you know, we are herbs. We prefer to stay in one place rather than travel. To remain rooted in the soil and quietly absorb spiritual power is already a great joy.

"However, I do recall that in the northern part of the garden is a tea tree. The spiritual power he absorbs surpasses ours, and he often stirs up various disturbances. If you seek assistance in battle, perhaps he will offer some gain."

Wang Sheng nodded slightly and committed the words to memory.

A tea tree?

He truly had not noticed one before.

A streak of light flew out from the Qiankun Ring. Yaoyun emerged, looking somewhat fatigued.

"It's ready. I have turned the third and fourth levels into herb gardens. I have set up more than thirty restrictions, and I'll create more later."

Wang Sheng smiled. "Thank you for your hard work."

He casually pointed at the five herb spirits before him, drawing them into the Qiankun Ring. They dared not resist.

The third and fourth levels of the Qiankun Ring had been cleared out. In a corner of the third level, Yaoyun had spread a thick layer of soil and arranged a spirit-gathering formation with top-tier Spirit Stones to ensure an abundance of primal qi.

She had also established many hexagonal restricting arrays, putting them close together to maximize the use of space.

The five herb spirits were placed in the most remote restricting array. They visibly relaxed, then revealed their true forms and obediently rooted themselves in the soil.

Wang Sheng laughed softly. "From the looks of it, Your Highness, you intend to empty this place entirely?"

"If they can be taken, why leave them for others?" Yaoyun snorted lightly. "A lot of future occasions will require precious spiritual herbs. It is better to prepare in advance. Anyway, go frighten more herbs and bring in additional spiritual soil. I'll set up more restricting arrays here."

"Don't overwork yourself."

"Mm."

It was rare to see his sword spirit so diligent.

Wang Sheng headed to another restriction, within which three flower spirits huddled together. Their true forms resembled orchids. Their eyes widened and filled with fear as they stared at Wang Sheng. For a brief moment, a wicked impulse rose in his heart.

"Are you coming out on your own, or would you rather we do this the hard way?"

The three orchid-like spirits shrank into a tight cluster. Wang Sheng waved his sleeve, and a mass of tribulation clouds gathered above the restriction.

Soon after, the three flowers reluctantly uprooted themselves. With grieving expressions, they were drawn into the Qiankun Ring, becoming the neighbors of the previous herb family.

After consecutive successes, Wang Sheng's spirits were lifted. He picked up the pace, dragging a patch of tribulation cloud along as he wandered from restriction to restriction.

One after another, medicinal herbs that were one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand years old were forced out. Faced with the might of heavenly tribulation, none of them dared resist. Wang Sheng drew them all into the Qiankun Ring and kept them there.

He was not worried about being unable to rear them. The top-tier Spirit Stones that he had in his storage were more than enough to nourish the herbs for several thousand years, even tens of thousands.

Wang Sheng could only imagine the expressions of those who would arrive later only to find the inner layer was composed of empty restrictions. Still, he knew where to stop; he had no intention of harvesting the herbs from the middle array. Clearing out the more than six hundred restrictions in the inner array and taking all the medicinal herbs and treasures was already an astonishing gain.

In less than half a day, he had completed a third of the work, filling the third level of the Qiankun Ring with a thick scent of medicine. Anyone who would step inside and breathe in would not merely feel refreshed. They could also end up feeling overwhelmed enough to drive them into devilish deviation.

At last, Wang Sheng located the tea tree that the old herb spirit had mentioned. He stood there watching it for a while, and the longer he looked, the deeper his frown grew.

There was something truly strange about it.

The tree was only a little over six meters tall, yet the trunk rising from its roots measured a full three meters in diameter, a far cry from the ones that Wang Sheng remembered. It looked sturdy enough to be cut down and fashioned into a solid wooden table.

More than a dozen branches extended from its dark-brown trunk, yet each branch was only as thick as an arm, completely disproportionate to the massive trunk. Sparse leaves hung here and there, with no visible inner core. It appeared as though it could wither at any moment.

The cause of its twisted growth was visible at a glance: a vine coiled tightly around its trunk and branches, covering it almost entirely. The vine was covered in round leaves, each about the size of a palm. On every leaf, faint human faces seemingly drifted and shifted. The sight was deeply unsettling.

Wang Sheng stared at it for some time, a chill creeping from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. The vibrant, green vine felt ominous.

The tea tree drew primal qi from the ground, yet all of it flowed into the vine. The tree itself had become little more than a puppet.

Wang Sheng glanced at the surrounding restrictions, yet none of them was empty. He could not tell where the vine had come from.

Yaoyun telepathically commented, "A Human-Faced Ghost Heart Vine?"

Having just finished arranging the fourth level of the Qiankun Ring, the princess hurried out. The surprise on her face dispelled her fatigue.

Wang Sheng frowned. "Even the name sounds... unpleasant."

In a serious tone, Yaoyun warned, "Do not approach it; it would be best to just destroy it with heavenly tribulation. That is an extremely dangerous plant. It feeds on death auras, and it emits a certain aura that throws living beings into confusion. Those it had clung to end up dying.

"I once heard an elder sister of mine speak of one that appeared in the Northern Sky Region. It slaughtered an entire planet and absorbed an immense amount of death aura. To eliminate it, the Heavenly Court had to dispatch two Taiyi Golden Immortals. Even then, they still ended up having to destroy the entire planet.

"That's strange... Such vines are supposed to exist only in places thick with death aura. This is beneath the divine tree, where vitality is abundant. Why would something so evil be here? Judging from the number of its leaves, it may have been growing for more than a hundred thousand years already."

Wang Sheng hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded and accepted his sword spirit's advice. If the vine was truly so formidable, he could have moved it to the middle layer of the array and turned it into an excellent guardian.

He raised his hand. Streams of immortal power were drawn forth, forming layers of tribulation clouds that quickly gathered above the restriction.

The vine swayed gently. The tea tree's branches also trembled, making it impossible to tell whether the movement came from the tree or the vine.

"Look." Yaoyun pointed at the pale-green light inside the restriction. "That's what the vine is releasing."

Wang Sheng nodded. "Will the restriction be able to hold it?"

"It would be safer to retreat."

He immediately rose into the air. After a short while, the pale-green light seeped beyond the restriction and spread outward, infiltrating two nearby restriction arrays.

Soon, he witnessed a strange sight.

Within those two restrictions, the herb spirits that had once lived peacefully together clawed and attacked each other. Their eyes turned green with frenzy as they tried to tear apart the other's roots.

It's evil alright.

Wang Sheng felt a tremor in his heart. His divine soul grew heavy and clouded.

Before Yaoyun could even warn him, white flames burst around him. They burned away the pale-green light that had somehow coiled around him. Moreover, the green tint in his eyes vanished instantly.

He muttered, "That was close."

His gaze at the vine below became even more guarded.

The tribulation cloud overhead had already taken shape. Wang Sheng spread his right hand, and Yaoyun transformed into Spiritless, returning to his palm. At his will, he unleashed the unity of man and sword.

Keeping his left hand raised to further thicken the tribulation cloud, he breathed in slowly and sent sword energy slashing toward the restriction below. Meanwhile, the green light grew denser and stopped spreading. Instead, the vine made it gather and surge up.

Wang Sheng snorted coldly. "Hmph!"

His sword energy pushed onward. White Pure Yang flames condensed into lotus blossoms that drifted around him, guarding a radius of ten zhang. Moments later, a deafening crack of thunder reverberated. Wang Sheng swung a thousand-meter arc of sword energy, shattering the restriction below like glass.

However, the vine refused to submit. It swiftly produced hundreds of tendrils that lashed upward like serpents, rushing furiously toward Wang Sheng.

The sword cultivator brought his raised left hand down in a fierce chop. Countless bolts of divine lightning struck, casting him in a blaze of light like a deity wielding heavenly punishment!