World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 659: The Sword Slays Prodigies, Familiar Figure Appears

Chapter 659: The Sword Slays Prodigies, Familiar Figure Appears

With his sword, Wang Sheng slaughtered the immortals. Ghosts and fiends lost their worth; specters and wraiths found no place to exist.

In one moment, spiritual power was drawn, intoxicating the eastern region of the grand array. He then controlled the four poles and soothed the purple wind.

Clad in dark robes and withered wood, he fought relentlessly. Spiritless shone, and heavenly tribulation stirred. No matter how fearsome one's Dao name could be, they still ended up dying and becoming a heroic ghost.

Two days after the middle array was breached, cultivators started barging into the central ring.

Wang Sheng took out as many as he could while there were still only a few intruders. From south to north and east to west, he fought over forty fierce battles, slaying more than fifty of the Heavenly Immortals who had charged in first.

Most of the cultivators that Spiritless had cut down had reached the peak of their realm but couldn't break through to the Golden Immortal Realm. Aside from rare fated opportunities, they had little remaining hope of advancing. Hence, they came here to gamble everything.

A few also came solely for the Daoist heritage. They hoped to ascend in a single leap, seize the Great Dao of Life, obtain supreme treasures for protection, and overturn an unsatisfactory immortal life.

Still, the ones who left the deepest impression on Wang Sheng were the major celestial sects' outstanding disciples. They possessed exceptional aptitude, and powerful sects backed them. Moreover, each one was an elite talent on the path to immortality. They had genuine potential to become Golden Immortals, much like the martial sisters who had cultivated in the Great Dao of Fire Control. Losing even one such disciple would make a major sect bleed.

Yet in just two days, more than a dozen of those prodigies had fallen by Wang Sheng's hand.

Fortunately, two layers of arrays separated the inner and outer regions, preventing the Golden Immortals and Taiyi Golden Immortals outside from perceiving what was happening within. Wang Sheng also always hit them swiftly and left no traces behind. Otherwise, he would already have formed irreconcilable enmity with more than a dozen major immortal factions.

The past two days of endless ambushes, repositioning, and combat against unpredictable opponents with different divine abilities brought Wang Sheng immense benefit. Not only did his understanding of the Dao of the Sword deepen nonstop, but his cultivation also rapidly stabilized, allowing him to consolidate all his comprehension in mere days when it would have usually taken several years.

For cultivators, intense combat was a high-risk, high-reward method of cultivation. The benefits were even greater for a sword cultivator like Wang Sheng. With the constant pressure of facing formidable opponents forcing him to ensure that his every attack was flawless, even his mental fortitude was silently tempered.

Wang Sheng initially struggled to adapt to killing the intruders since he felt as though he had become a slaughterer. However, as more and more souls fell to his sword, he gradually grew accustomed to this environment, and his combat strength rose accordingly. His swordsmanship became sharper, and his attacks became noticeably more deadly.

Becoming a Heavenly Immortal significantly improved the fusion between his Sword-Controlling Art and his other sword arts. Wang Sheng could now use the sword art instinctively, allowing him to focus completely on circulating sword intent and wielding his sword. Hence, his six flying swords coordinated seamlessly with his sword techniques.

Wang Sheng had also begun preparations to forge three additional flying swords. After all, he could now control nine swords at once. Yet despite his relentless efforts, he could not truly stem the tide of incoming cultivators.

More and more cultivators entered the central ring as time passed. Wang Sheng no longer dared to challenge the groups alone, especially since he had to keep his identity hidden. Forced to reduce his jurisdiction, he returned to his earlier strategy: carefully choosing who he would execute.

Fortunately, the dense network of killing arrays and trapping arrays within the central region formed several natural barriers, making it difficult for intruders to progress. They also gave Wang Sheng more opportunities to isolate and eliminate individuals.

Because of his continued nonstop movements, his reputation as a guardian spirit grew increasingly fearsome within the grand array. A few major sects had even reached an agreement with the other factions they had good relations with. If their disciples encountered the guardian spirit in the middle region, they would immediately come to each other's aid and act in mutual defense.

By the sixth day after the middle array was breached, the number of cultivators within the central ring had risen to several hundred. They deliberately scattered, avoiding early large-scale conflict, and remained constantly vigilant against the drifting black clouds overhead.

The number of peak Heavenly Immortals whom Wang Sheng had killed climbed past sixty, but his operational space continued to shrink. In the following days, opportunities to strike became increasingly scarce. He only managed to take out a little over a dozen more.

Though he had achieved remarkable results, his purpose was never to compete for dominance or seize treasures. He sought only to prevent anyone from approaching the divine tree and to safeguard his senior sister's fated opportunity.

The situation is becoming difficult to control.

Standing within the canopy, Wang Sheng gazed at several figures below, his expression tinged with helplessness. They were cautiously dismantling trapping arrays amid the mountainous terrain.

Human strength always had its limits. Alone, he could not confidently and swiftly kill four Heavenly Immortals, especially not those already on guard. If they were to lock him down, escaping would be rather difficult.

Spiritless shimmered with immortal radiance, and Yaoyun appeared. "If you're uncertain, then retreat for now. You have not rested properly for several days, and even your immortal power is becoming difficult to keep at full capacity."

"Mm."

A trace of resignation showed in his eyes as he withdrew. With a thought, he made the bronze mirror show the immortal palace.

Mu Wanxuan lay within the treasured pool, seemingly fast asleep. Her dark hair slowly fanned out across the water's surface, while the frills on her sleeves and the hem of her skirt swayed gently with the faint ripples.

Wang Sheng could sense that she had reached a critical part of her seclusion. The divine tree's spiritual essence around her showed no sign of weakening.

He could not determine her realm or how far she had progressed through the mirror alone, but a conservative estimate suggested that she had likely already reached the Ascended Immortal Realm.

If the Heavenly Immortals whom Wang Sheng had killed with Spiritless ever learned the truth, their Dao Hearts could end up breaking even further.

Wang Sheng quietly returned to the inner array, but instead of heading for the tree, he went straight to the area near the immortal palace, found a brightly lit corner, and sat down in silent meditation. From his position, he could faintly sense his senior sister's condition. Everything was still in order; she even seemed to be in rather good spirits.

After meditating for a while, Wang Sheng opened his eyes. He let his immortal power recover on its own, lowered his gaze, and studied the bronze mirror in his hand.

He still couldn't put his mind at ease.

The intruders have already breached the middle array. How long can the inner array truly hold?

The more cultivators entered the central ring, the more the previous rumors about the middle array collapsed on their own. Rumors no longer held up, not even those about only twenty-eight people being allowed entry or the selection depending on sheer luck.

Even Wang Sheng had figured out the pattern behind breaking through the middle array. It was actually quite simple. One just had to locate the Seven Abodes of the Eastern Azure Dragon.

Above the middle array, the seals of the twenty-eight constellations rotated endlessly, yet only the seven belonging to the Eastern Azure Dragon marked the gates of life. The other three groups of seven were all death gates. Anyone who charged in recklessly would either reach a dead end or have their ethereal soul fragmented and their corporeal soul dissolved. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The seals themselves remained hidden, with only twenty-eight points of starlight slowly circling in motion.

After determining the position of the Seven Abodes, the intruders also had to figure out which entrance matched their Dao attribute. With their Dao as the catalyst, they could open the gate briefly.

Each of the seven corresponded to the five elements and yin and yang, covering nearly every possible attribute a cultivator could possess. However, whether the entrance could be opened also depended on strict requirements regarding one's cultivation realm and the depth of their Dao comprehension.

Judging by this arrangement, it truly did seem as though the array was selecting a suitable inheritor.

Wang Sheng gazed at the outer region, which was littered with bones. A faint unease still lingered in his heart.

Forget it. Both Senior Sister and I are beneficiaries of this place, and overthinking will not change anything. For now, I should focus on cultivating.

Yaoyun telepathically remarked, "Don't worry. Even if Emperor Qinghua truly had plans for the cultivators of the Eastern Sky Region, he would never harm his own disciples. He does not have many to begin with, and Hua Qing is originally the spirit of the divine tree. If she were in any danger, the divine tree itself would protect her."

Wang Sheng sighed softly. "I hope so."

He set the bronze mirror aside and closed his eyes once more, steadying his thoughts. Meanwhile, Yaoyun transformed into her human form, taking over the task of monitoring their surroundings.

She hadn't been heavily consuming her spiritual power the past few days. Hence, there was no need for her to recover in seclusion. Moreover, now that Wang Sheng was the dominant force in their unity, he had been feeding her his own immortal power to replenish her spiritual power. She had even grown slightly stronger as a result.

Wang Sheng had barely cultivated for half a day when Yaoyun awakened him. He had not even fully entered deep meditation yet.

"What is it?"

The grave look on his sword spirit's face made him tense up. He assumed someone had begun probing the inner array.

"Here, take a look." Yaoyun handed him the bronze mirror. "One of your old acquaintances has shown up."

An old acquaintance?

Wang Sheng blinked and lowered his head to peer into the mirror. A corner of his mouth twitched.

Why is he joining in on the chaos here?

At the southern entrance of the outer array, a group of six people were cautiously making their way inside. Among them was a True Immortal, flanked by several Heavenly Immortals who guarded him closely. They appeared to be aiming for a few restricted zones containing treasures and medicinal herbs, not Qinghua's Daoist heritage itself.

At present, those with the greatest chance of obtaining Qinghua's inheritance had already gathered at the edge of the middle array and within the central ring. Still, the outer array was crowded with cultivators. If Wang Sheng revealed himself rashly, they would likely team up against him.

Nevertheless, he was genuinely tempted to take the risk just to kill the man before him—Li Tianyao, an expelled disciple of the North-River Sword Sect and the heir of the Celestial Wind Sect.

Wang Sheng muttered, "How did he end up here?"

"Only one of the people with him is an elder of the Celestial Wind Sect," Yaoyun replied. "I have been watching them for a while. It seems Li Tianyao has a somewhat suspicious relationship with the female cultivator next to him."

"Mm?"

Wang Sheng took a closer look at the female Heavenly Immortal in flowing, multicolored immortal robes beside Li Tianyao. She was strikingly beautiful, and she had a graceful figure. Moreover, she wielded a short sword. Judging from the formation of their group, only one Heavenly Immortal was with Li Tianyao. The other three guarded the woman.

Appearing attentive and eager, Li Tianyao kept smiling and leaning toward her to say something.

The woman did not reject his advances. On the contrary, her gaze even carried a hint of tenderness, as though she truly had taken a liking to him.

Wang Sheng muttered, "Is he trying to use this opportunity to secure another powerful backer for the Celestial Wind Sect?"

Yaoyun nodded slowly. "Most likely, but he's only a True Immortal, and judging from the situation, she's probably an important member of some major faction. How could he possibly win the favor of that female Heavenly Immortal?"

"Cultivation alone isn't enough to measure matters of the heart. Pretty faces have their own strange advantages." Wang Sheng pondered for a moment, then added, "We can't just let him go that easily now that we've run into him. Still, judging by their position, they don't seem inclined to venture too deep. That makes eliminating him rather troublesome."

He lifted the bronze mirror. While carefully observing the central ring, he thought about how he could conceal himself, approach Li Tianyao, and get rid of him.

The key was not to expose his identity. Unfortunately, his target was too close to the outer array, making it easy for powerful figures to notice him and set their sights on him.