World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 491: The Battle to Annihilate Immortals (IV)

In the command room, Xiaomiao, who had been staring at the screens the entire time, was at a loss for words.

She had more or less watched Wang Sheng methodically lure his powerful opponent into the immortal-trapping array and then slip out with uncanny finesse. Moreover, she could even picture the perilous moments when her brother had blocked the enemy's escape.

Upon confirming that her brother had escaped, she shifted her attention to the large display that showed the battle at Mount Dajian and started worrying once more for Xi Lian. However, not long after, the nearby officers opened a discussion among themselves.

She glanced back at the screen that tracked energy signatures on the lunar surface, discovering that her brother had entered the array.

An officer asked in confusion, "Why did Daoist Master Wang charge back in?"

"To stop her from breaking the array, probably." Xiaomiao sighed. Just like earlier, she couldn't worry about anyone else right now but her brother.

***

Though hundreds of thousands of kilometers apart, Wang Sheng and Wang Xiaomiao were thinking about the same thing. The only difference was that Xiaomiao was working it out on her own, while Wang Sheng asked Yaoyun about it.

"Other than fighting her head-on, is there any other way to finish her?"

"Array," Yaoyun answered as Xiaomiao almost simultaneously reached the same conclusion.

Buried under the grand array were thousands of celestial crystals that had been taken from near the Earth Qi Immortal Spring, a massive source of spiritual power.

Yaoyun explained briefly that if Wang Sheng could buy her enough time without merging with her, she could borrow the trap array's force to create a killing array inside the dome. It would cover the entire battlefield.

However, this plan had two flaws: First, setting up a killing array right under the opponent's nose obviously came with plenty of technical hurdles. Second, it would drain the spiritual power stored in the trapping array, making it easier for the enemy to break free.

Risk and opportunity came hand in hand, and it was up to Wang Sheng to choose. However, what very few people knew was that, although he always appeared calm and composed, "could" and "couldn't" had never been in his dictionary. It only contained the question of whether he dared or not.

And right now, he dared.

"How do we do it? I'll help you."

Yaoyun didn't expect Wang Sheng to agree so readily, but she still quickly shared her plan. Every time he used Lightning Flash or fired bolts of lightning, she guided him along specific paths.

When he paused in front of Ziyun to unleash a sword strike, the light inside the Qiankun Ring flickered repeatedly as celestial crystals flew out, each one wrapped in immortal power. Hidden by sword radiance, he sent them into various points under the crater floor.

Getting trapped had made Ziyun lose her composure. She attacked Wang Sheng with the frenzy of a devil, ignoring everything else.

Taking advantage of that moment, Flying Haze slipped out in a distant corner and began carving simple array runes.

***

Above the ruins of the Shu Sword Sect's great palace, Mount Dajian.

"Hahaha! A treasured sword with a sword spirit, and a fox fiend that just ascended! You two dare show off before me?"

Devilish qi raged around Feng as he brandished his twin sabers. Using a domineering saber technique, he made his sabers weave up and down in relentless assault. Currently, with rolling devilish qi bolstering him, he was undoubtedly as strong as a Primordial Immortal.

The claims Ziyun had made to shake Wang Sheng's Dao Heart before getting trapped were all true. Feng and the golden roc really were powerful. In a battle to the death, it was almost impossible to lie so convincingly that they couldn't be seen through.

Wang Sheng's claim that they had been in here for over ten thousand years came from his poor math. However, he had been so confidently wrong that it sounded flawless, making Ziyun's Dao Heart waver.

If they really had wasted ten thousand years in this realm, they'd have likely fallen far behind the many enemies that were hunting them. Once they escaped, they would face annihilation.

This was also why the Heavenly Court had been desperate to launch a counterattack back then. Time on Earth moved far too slowly.

Throughout the battle at Mount Dajian, no one had resorted to any form of psychological attack.

Empowered by devilish arts, Feng forced Xi Lian and Nameless onto the defensive. However, the same arts he used now had already twisted and warped his Dao Heart.

He sought to capture and refine the ancient sword, force Nameless to serve him, and turn the newly ascended snow fox into his plaything. Hence, although his attacks were fierce, he had only been overpowering them instead of going for the kill already. He didn't even pay attention to Lin and the golden roc, whom Shen Qianlin was hunting.

His eyes blazed with excitement as if the treasured sword and the fox immortal had already fallen into his hands.

In truth, Xi Lian and the old sword spirit covered each other's defenses. They kept retreating, but they weren't completely overwhelmed.

Earlier in the fight, Xi Lian had tried gripping the hilt of the ancient sword that the Wenqu Star had left behind, but she soon realized that the sword techniques Qinglin had taught her back then couldn't draw out the sword's true power at all. Worse, the effort drained most of her focus.

In the end, the two couldn't overpower the twin-saber immortal.

After a few hurried attempts, Xi Lian threw the ancient sword like a concealed weapon and relied on the two Buddhist artifacts she had obtained from the Small Immortal Realm to defend herself. Nameless, who had been discarded, nearly turned on her right there and then.

The three immortals rapidly exchanged blows. Immortal light scattered, Buddhist light wove, and devilish qi surged.

Limited by his vessel's material, Nameless was barely as strong as an immortal. The only reason he managed to suppress Feng at the start was his deep and profound Dao of the Sword mastery. However, because of his sword's material, he had poor innate endurance. Moreover, his spiritual power only dwindled as the battle dragged on.

Noticing that, Feng grew increasingly brazen.

Wang Sheng and Yaoyun could become one because their souls had merged almost perfectly when they sealed the Earth Qi Immortal Spring. They had been inseparable ever since they had been trapped in it for thirteen years.

Unlike them, Xi Lian's immortal power and Nameless's spiritual power clashed with each other. If they forced a union, Xi Lian would be gravely injured.

The battle in the trap array made for quite a strange sight.

Having manifested the phantasm of a blood-saber Asura using a secret art, Shen Qianlin hacked furiously at the roc, covering it in wounds. Unable to break out of the array, the roc could only cling to the barrier and spiral around to survive.

Meanwhile, Feng, who was wrapped in devilish qi, fought Xi Lian and Nameless without losing ground. He chased the two without even sparing his companions a glance, almost leveling the entire sword sect.

All combatants had essentially fallen into a bizarre stalemate.

Shen Qianlin's secret art seemed to cloud her judgment. Instead of supporting Xi Lian and Nameless, she kept chasing after the roc.

Everyone else who had charged into the array full of fervor, along with those who had originally served as bait, could only keep dodging the stray blasts. Many of them wouldn't hesitate to charge straight into their deaths if it meant making even the smallest difference in the fight.

Dying right now would be pointless, though. They couldn't even approach the battle. Surviving and waiting for an opening for their immortal allies was the wiser choice.

Someone had to break the stalemate. It could be Shen Qianlin abandoning the roc and diving down to find an opening to kill Feng. It could also be Nameless suddenly unleashing a flawless sword art. Perhaps Huai Jing, whom Xiaomiao placed so much hope on, would finally arrive and turn the tide of the battle. After all, he was already quite close.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, the one who stepped up to the task hadn't even ascended yet—they were just as strong as Qing Long or the Celestial Master.

Xi Lian and Nameless were struggling to hold on at the time, and the devilish qi around Feng was growing thicker.

At that moment, Mu Wanxuan arrived ahead of everyone else, riding a rainbow light!

She didn't waste time waiting outside. Rather, she flew straight into the array, stopped, and raised her slender hand, forming a Tai Chi diagram in front of her. With her long hair flowing forward and her gown fluttering lightly, she swiftly assessed the situation inside the array.

The roc flying wildly along the barrier needed no attention since Shen Qianlin was already slicing it apart. On the other hand, Xi Lian and Nameless were in immediate danger.

Mu Wanxuan drew a quiet breath, and a Tai Chi diagram rose behind her. She turned into rainbow light again. Instead of charging toward the two, she landed in a valley at the center, which was far from all battles.

Upon landing, Mu Wanxuan immediately sat cross-legged under the trees and circulated her enchanted power. A slowly rotating, black and white Tai Chi diagram formed under her. In the blink of an eye, it covered an area of three hundred meters, then spread into the earth.

The aura she unleashed at that moment made it difficult for any of the immortals to notice her. Those who were locked in battle didn't even realize that Mu Wanxuan had arrived.

A few minutes later, Xi Lian and Nameless began to move with far more ease. Primal qi around them also began converging at a faster rate. The old sword spirit could not instantly absorb primal qi, but the fox quickly noticed that she recovered her immortal power slightly faster.

Meanwhile, a faint resistance suddenly burdened Feng, slowing him down. Though it wasn't a dramatic change, it was enough to turn each of his attacks sluggish.

With their side empowered and the enemy weakened, Xi Lian and Nameless relaxed greatly and handled Feng's attacks with far less difficulty. Sensing the cause of this advantage, Xi Lian deliberately drew Feng away from the valley while keeping her expression straight.

Gradually, even a few of the Rebirth Realm cultivators hiding in the corners dared rush out. Wrapped in primal qi, they unleashed long-ranged attacks from afar. Though meager, it still had an effect.

Only Mu Wanxuan's renowned Yin-Yang Grand Formation could have done something like this. She had improved it even further after reshaping her Great Dao. If she could set it up quietly, she could spread this unique influence as far as her spiritual perception could cover.

However, Mu Wanxuan clearly wasn't satisfied with just this. She split off a sliver of focus and continued deducing the changes in the yin and yang within the valley, calmly interfering with and guiding the changes in primal qi inside the array.

She couldn't bind her yin-yang qi around the roc since it kept racing along the barrier, preventing her from locking her spiritual perception onto it. However, only a few minutes later, faint black and white clouds drifted out from her position.

Swelling with the wind, they slipped out of her control as soon as they left the valley, but they still followed the trajectories she calculated, rising higher and expanding. Each cloud grew to several hundred meters wide, spinning as though they were yin and yang koi chasing each other.

More and more Tai Chi clouds appeared, rising along the path ahead of the roc. The roc and the old man tried their best to dodge, but they still eventually crashed through one.

The roc seemed to slam into viscous, liquid primal qi. Two completely different forces tugged at it from both sides, causing its speed to drop sharply.

Shen Qianlin, who had been pursuing them relentlessly, naturally wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by. Flickering, she rushed above the golden roc, the blood saber in her hand releasing blazing blood light. As she swung down, the condensed blood saber radiance grew rapidly and swept out.

Golden feathers scattered, and blood light filled the sky. The roc shrieked miserably.

One of its wings had been completely severed.

Unable to maintain balance, it slammed into the array wall and plummeted. The old man on its back unleashed secret arts and spat blood onto it, instantly healing its horrific wound at the cost of the old man's aura weakening further. A terrifying wound also split his left arm, nearly severing the limb.

He seemed to have absorbed his beast's injuries.

The roc shot up again, but Shen Qianlin only frowned slightly.

Noticing the burst of golden light outside the array, she immediately abandoned her target. She turned into blood light and rushed straight at Feng.

None of the combatants could have ever imagined what would happen in the next ten seconds of the fight.