World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 480: The Bloodshed Triggered by a Gold Record

The golden roc spread its wings, its feathers gleaming like molten gold. On its back stood three cultivators: a woman and two men.

It was the group that had broken into the Realm of Exiled Immortals.

Wang Sheng considered himself rather fortunate. The wait had been neither too long nor too short, and his quarry had flown straight into his net, heading for Jupiter.

Relying on the stealthy Shadowless Shuttle, Wang Sheng slipped near the giant planet and cautiously extended his spiritual perception.

Since this was his first encounter with cultivators who weren't members or descendants of the Heavenly Court, he inevitably felt a little nervous. He had no idea whether the outsiders possessed ways to detect such probing.

Lying hidden inside the shuttle, Wang Sheng soon quietly exhaled. Four hundred days and nights had passed since he'd first discovered signs of the intruders. Now, the taut string in his chest could finally loosen slightly.

Without immortal arts, a cultivator could normally only perceive the cultivation level of those weaker or equal to them.

Wang Sheng sensed that the thin old man in a long robe and round hat was at the early stage of the Ascended Immortal Realm. His aura was faint and uneven, indicating that he had just reached immortality. The golden roc was of the same level. It was fierce and faintly wreathed in blood light.

The other two were harder to read. The short-sleeved man, who had two long sabers across his back, seemed to be at the middle or late stage of the Ascended Immortal Realm, but certainly not beyond it.

Wang Sheng could not see through the female cultivator's realm at all, but she emitted little pressure, and his spiritual intuition issued no warning. At most, she was probably a Primordial Immortal.

Wang Sheng calculated silently. If he and Yaoyun combined forces and achieved the unity of man and sword again, they'd likely stand a chance against the woman. It made him realize that he had been overly cautious.

The great battle outside the Realm of Exiled Immortals' entrance had ended hundreds of thousands of years ago. Anyone still searching for treasures in this ancient battlefield was unlikely to be a True Immortal or Heavenly Immortal.

Earth had roughly four immortal-level beings: Wang Sheng, Xi Lian, Nameless, and Lady Meng. If he and Spiritless could take out the female intruder, their side would have a higher chance of winning. After all, the greatest threat among the four was clearly the woman, followed by the golden roc with its blinding speed.

Wang Sheng stopped worrying. He hid in the Shadowless Shuttle and observed quietly. His only regret was that he wasn't the Monkey King of legends, who was capable of seventy-two transformations. Otherwise, he could have crept closer for a clearer look.

The golden roc flew the three immortals around Jupiter twice. To the naked eye, it would have appeared only as a golden beam sweeping past the planet.

The massive gas giant was more than 1,300 times Earth's volume and over 300 times Earth's mass. It was still tens of millions of kilometers from the illusion array's boundary. Moreover, the universe was vast and empty. Even the celestial bodies in solar systems were extremely far apart.

Due to the Heavenly Court's illusion array, Jupiter appeared as the nearest planet orbiting the fake Sun. There was nothing but empty space between the two. Unless these three suddenly decided to fly into a star for warmth, they would have little reason to probe further inward.

As Wang Sheng expected, the trio guided the golden roc straight toward Jupiter, stayed on it for half a day, and then flew back out empty-handed.

Jupiter was ninety-nine percent hydrogen and helium, with traces of methane, water vapor, and ammonia. It didn't have a hint of primal qi or treasures useful to cultivators. To any cultivator's eyes, it was no more than a worthless planet—just like the fake Sun in the distance. It was unremarkable, and there were many others like it all over the endless space.

The trio clearly hesitated, but after lingering near Jupiter for two more days, they finally flew to the outer reaches of the solar system. The Heavenly Court's illusion array had done its job perfectly.

Wang Sheng followed their trail, which his spiritual perception had detected. Unfortunately, the golden roc was far too fast for him to keep up with.

Eventually, he lost sight of them, making him decide to return to the illusion array. He then telepathically called out to Yaoyun and flew toward Earth. Ten days later, he successfully reunited with Spiritless.

Wang Sheng relayed everything he had discovered to Yaoyun. In turn, she reported about the arrays and traps that their forces had set on Earth and the Moon. She also told him about the preparations of the cultivators who had surpassed the Rebirth Realm.

The two then started forming plans.

"If they can't perceive the illusion," Yaoyun said softly, "then just let them believe this place is empty. It'll spare us a lot of trouble if they leave on their own."

Wang Sheng frowned slightly. "But if they leave and start spreading tales of a forbidden realm out here, wouldn't that invite more intruders?"

The sword spirit chuckled. "Didn't you already carve a warning outside the exit? If several waves of cultivators come here, leave empty-handed, and realize that time here flows far more slowly than out there, most will stay far away. Those three don't know it yet, but since they came here, ten thousand years have already passed outside. They'll definitely never come back after losing so many years with nothing to show for it."

Though still in deep thought, her sword master nodded. "Good point."

He still believed capturing or outright killing the trio was the safest choice, but the female immortal among them made victory far from certain.

Gently, Yaoyun added, "The choice is ultimately up to you."

"I'll look for them again. If I can find their trail, I'll have the advantage."

Yaoyun nodded. She dissolved into immortal light and returned to Spiritless. Wang Sheng slung the sword over his back, entered the Shadowless Shuttle, and sped once more beyond the illusion's boundary.

***

Over two months later, near the edge of the solar system in a cluster of asteroids, Wang Sheng finally spotted the female immortal again.

She had separated from her companions and now sat cross-legged on a small asteroid that was barely two kilometers wide. Around her were several Immortal Stones that glowed softly with immortal light, replenishing the immortal power she had spent. In this space devoid of primal qi, only Immortal Stones, Spirit Stones, and celestial pills could sustain one's immortal power.

Her experience in the cultivation world was far from shallow. Around the asteroid, she had hidden arrays that would instantly alert her if anyone approached.

The other two and the golden roc had likely gone off to explore elsewhere.

Wang Sheng gripped the hilt of Spiritless, a faint killing intent stirring in his heart.

Before he could act, Yaoyun telepathically warned, "Be careful. She's at the peak of the Primordial Immortal Realm, only half a step from becoming a True Immortal. We might not be able to defeat her."

She's that close to the True Immortal Realm?

Wang Sheng immediately loosened his grip on the hilt and lay quietly within the Shadowless Shuttle, wisely choosing caution. The gap between them was nearly two great post-ascension realms. No amount of sword intent or treasure could bridge that kind of gap.

He had both Spiritless and the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Art, but there was no guarantee his opponent lacked powerful treasures or formidable arts of her own.

"To deal with her, we'd have to lure her into a trapping array," Yaoyun reminded him. "It would be impossible to defeat her head-on."

"Let's observe for now." Wang Sheng sighed, steering the Shadowless Shuttle and hiding several hundred kilometers away.

That was already dangerously close. In the emptiness of space, an immortal's spiritual perception could easily detect even the faintest leak of aura.

After waiting about half a month, the man with twin sabers flew over from a distance and landed on the asteroid. The female immortal immediately stopped cultivating and rose to greet him.

Wang Sheng whispered, "Can we—"

Spiritless glimmered faintly, interrupting him. Yaoyun used the Auditory Wind Technique, one of the Heavenly Court's secret techniques, to make the intruders' conversation flow straight into Wang Sheng's mind.

The two spoke in an ancient tongue. Rather than air, their immortal power carried their voices' sound waves.

"Still nothing?" the woman asked.

The man with twin sabers sighed. "Yes. We've been stuck here for over ten years, Senior Zi. It might be better to leave and search the ancient battlefield again. Perhaps we'll find something there."

"This place has a world of its own, and the entrance is so well hidden. There have to be treasures here. We all saw that beam of divine light shooting from the Buddha statue before, didn't we? It clearly came from this realm."

The man bowed his head. "As you command, Senior. Since you saved my life, it's only right that I serve faithfully."

The female immortal smiled faintly. "Let's wait for Daoist Huo to return and see what he's found."

"I doubt he'll find much. This area is close to the Celestial Wind Sect's territory. They've likely already stripped it clean."

"The Celestial Wind Sect is powerful, but they're arrogant and cruel. Once we leave, we'll have to carefully think about our next steps."

Inside the Shadowless Shuttle, Wang Sheng slightly raised an eyebrow. "They're already thinking about leaving."

"Yeah," Yaoyun replied. "That woman may be unwilling to give up, but if they can't find any treasure, she won't stay long. Should we attack them?"

"We'll act according to the situation," Wang Sheng answered. He then continued observing in silence.

***

Several days later, a streak of golden light shot down from the upper reaches of space. The golden roc returned swiftly with the old Ascended Immortal on its back.

Yaoyun again unleashed the Auditory Wind Technique.

The roc landed heavily on the asteroid, sending it drifting downward. The old man leaped off the beast's back.

"Spit it out!" he shouted excitedly, then unleashed a burst of immortal power. "Senior Zi, come look!"

The golden roc opened its hooked iron beak and spat out a lump of twisted metal. It then proudly preened its golden feathers.

The three immortals gathered around, staring at the mangled object.

"What is that?"

"What could it be?"

None of them could make sense of it. The object had no trace of primal qi and resembled no known artifact.

Inside the Shadowless Shuttle, Wang Sheng's eyes widened. Through his spiritual perception, he recognized it immediately.

That's a Voyager probe, but is it Voyager 1 or 2?

Yaoyun asked curiously, "What is that?"

"A probe," Wang Sheng muttered, rubbing his forehead. "It was sent to explore the planets of the solar system. After completing its mission, it was supposed to search for signs of intelligent life beyond Earth and transmit messages of goodwill."

In a bewildered tone, Yaoyun questioned, "What purpose does that serve?"

"No idea. The Dami Empire launched it about eighty years ago. Maybe they were feeling a bit too proud of themselves. It has a lot of information about Earth."

Wang Sheng shook his head. Deep down, he couldn't help but grumble, I knew it. That's definitely the probe that the Dami Empire launched a century ago. After all these years, it still hasn't left the solar system. On the other hand, even if primal qi hadn't returned, humanity would have likely started building interstellar ships in another twenty years. Maybe humans would turn this place into a tourist attraction.

Through his perception, Wang Sheng saw the female immortal attack it with a subtly powerful palm strike, smashing it into a drifting heap of parts.

"Hm?"

The man with sabers reached into the debris and pulled out a golden disk. Examining it closely, his expression brightened. "Senior, look! There seems to be a star map engraved here!"

The three immortals immediately gathered and fixed their eyes on the golden disk.

Inside the Shadowless Shuttle, Wang Sheng's expression darkened.

"What is that?" Yaoyun asked.

"A gold record that contains a lot of data." Wang Sheng gripped Spiritless tightly, his eyes flickering. "I studied it in school. The position of the Sun relative to fourteen nearby pulsars is engraved on the back of it. It's essentially a coordinate system identifying the location of the solar system."

Yaoyun was completely lost. "And what are pulsars?"

"Doesn't matter. I'm worried they'll realize it's a map pointing straight to the solar—"

Suddenly looking enlightened, the old man exclaimed, "I understand it now! This central point represents that sun-like star, and the surrounding fourteen are the large 'stars' near it! Considering we've only found four or five so far, many more are probably hidden from our sight!"

The female immortal looked at the illusory orange-red star and declared firmly, "Let's investigate the area around that star first."

Wang Sheng's fear had come true.