Chapter 432: Unscathed by Heavenly Lightning!

After all that fuss, Mount Mao's forefather master could no longer stay behind the crowd. Now that his call for a group attack had failed, he had no choice but to face Wang Sheng and his longsword alone.

The old Daoist descended only a few meters before snorting coldly. "If we battle here, innocents will be caught in the crossfire. Do you dare fight me in the skies?"

Without waiting for an answer, he soared hundreds of meters into the air. As he rose, he scattered several talismans, which then connected and formed an array before Wang Sheng could even respond.

Many of the modern cultivators cursed under their breath, calling the ancient cultivator too cunning. On the other hand, he was quite sharp.

When Xiaomiao and Liu Yunzhi appeared, he immediately diverted the tension straight into a contest of strength between ancient and modern cultivators, giving Liu Yunzhi no chance to expose the Grand Heavenly Net Technique. After Wang Sheng had easily slain his "old friend" using Sword-Controlling Art, he branded the swordsman a fiendish devil, giving the ancient cultivators an excuse to gang up on him.

The immortal of the Small Nether Realm and the Shu Sword Sect's sword spirit then appeared. With two immortal beings standing behind Wang Sheng, the idea of a group attack collapsed instantly. The ancient Mount Mao cultivator had no choice but to fight on his own, though he still tried to gain an advantage.

He seized the terrain first, setting up a talisman array strong enough to level the entire venue. He then prepared to counter Wang Sheng's Sword-Controlling Art.

Though shameless, the mid-stage Tribulation Realm cultivator was undeniably powerful. His mastery of talismans rivaled the three Talisman Sects combined. Now, his countless talismans shone with lightning, devouring the primal qi within hundreds of

li

at a terrifying rate.

The ancient Mount Mao cultivator hovered above the array, holding a mahogany sword that was chipped and cracked all over. His beard and hair floated in the storm, making him look like an immortal deity standing proudly before thousands of cultivators.

On the ground, Wang Sheng formed a sword finger with his left hand, and Flying Haze shimmered faintly before disappearing into thin air. Right after, he looked up at the countless lightning talismans shining above. Cyan wisps gathered around and enveloped him.

In his left eye, lightning converged into the shape of an ancient sword. The sword then quivered, causing threads of lightning to arc around him and collide with each other. When one of them surged upward, Wang Sheng vanished and reappeared at the end of the lightning strike.

Heavenly Tribulation Lightning Flash!

His technique summoned swift lightning. Though it was still slower than natural lightning from the clouds, it moved nearly as fast as true tribulation lightning despite being born of entirely different principles.

The ancient cultivators hovering above the clouds turned pale, while the tens of thousands of cultivators below failed to catch even a glimpse of Wang Sheng. Even Qing Yanzi and the Celestial Master, who were at the Nascent Soul Realm, could barely keep track of him through their spiritual perception.

Lightning exploded across the sky, and several bolts converged toward the talisman array. Wang Sheng vanished within one of them again.

The ancient Mount Mao cultivator's expression turned solemn. Although he could sense something odd about the lightning below, he had no time to ponder. He pointed his mahogany sword downward.

His Lightning-Summoning Talismans unleashed their full power, causing the array to unleash dazzling light. Sixteen bolts struck downward. Afterward, thirty-six merged into a blazing silver electric dragon and descended to the earth.

Blinding lightning instantly filled the sky. They rumbled with divine might as though the end of days had come. Such was the effect of a Daoist art that only high-ranking cultivators could wield.

As the dragon flew down, hundreds more bolts cascaded together, sealing off every possible path that Wang Sheng could take. The storm swallowed up Wang Sheng's attack, the dragon's claw tearing apart his Heavenly Tribulation Lightning Flash in midair.

Wang Sheng reappeared only seventy to eighty meters away from the array, but hundreds of thunderbolts immediately targeted him. He looked up as his long hair and Daoist robe billowed wildly, the sword radiance in his left eye glowing brilliantly.

The Lightning-Summoning Talismans borrowed the power of heaven and earth, while the Heavenly Tribulation Lightning Flash consumed Wang Sheng's enchanted power. Moreover, his opponent was a whole cultivation realm stronger. Hence, the ancient cultivator easily blocked his attack and prevented him from getting any closer.

Wang Sheng didn't even have half a chance of winning. Even so, he charged forward with his sword in hand. Lightning clouds gathered and wrapped around him as he forced his way through the sea of electricity.

Soaring Red Feathers offered incredible speed, but since it took time to unleash, it was more suitable for escaping than for close combat. All he could do now was trust in his durability and break through head-on.

The electric dragon roared, covering Wang Sheng with a flood of lightning.

Sensing that Wang Sheng had been hit, the ancient Mount Mao cultivator quickly swung his mahogany sword again. Hundreds of Lightning-Summoning Talismans simultaneously erupted, pouring down waves of relentless heavenly lightning on the sword cultivator like a raging waterfall.

The ancient cultivator smiled faintly, but before he could relax, his brow furrowed.

Something's not right. Why hasn't his aura changed at all? Is he a clone? An illusion?

Alarmed, he swept his senses across the skies and compressed his spiritual perception to guard the area within a thousand meters, wary of a sneak attack. However, his vigilance was wasted. There was no anomaly. Wang Sheng continued to soar through the Lightning-Summoning Talismans, his aura utterly unaffected.

The ancient cultivator stared in disbelief.

Th-that's Impossible!

Wang Sheng now looked somewhat disheveled. Still, although his Daoist robe was torn, he remained unscathed. The glow of lightning made the skin under his tattered robe shine like polished jade.

The ancient cultivator's eyes widened. He now felt as though his Dao Heart, once calm and unmoved, had just taken a heavy blow.

The heavenly lightning I used my full force to summon with my talismans only managed to tear his Daoist robe? Why doesn't it affect him?!

His beard and hair bristled as the mahogany sword in his hand surged with electricity. Hundreds of Lightning-Summoning Talismans under his feet glowed, and primal qi flooded toward them. Bolts of lightning crashed down one after another, all converging upon Wang Sheng.

Nevertheless, Wang Sheng just kept flying toward the ancient cultivator.

If not for the overwhelmingly powerful bolts holding him back and dispersing the cyan clouds around him, he would've already broken through the array and struck his target down.

Below, cultivators had craned their necks to look up, occasionally glimpsing Wang Sheng's silhouette within the sea of lightning. Their mouths dried up, and their minds were shaken, unable to find words for what they were seeing.

He's immune to lightning? Do Mount Mao's Daoist arts focus only on illusions?

Unbeknownst to them, one of the core parts of Wang Sheng's cultivation training in the Moon Palace involved bathing in the Palace of Heavenly Punishment for several months.

As the lightning raged the fiercest and Wang Sheng continued his slow ascent, a streak of sword radiance burst forth, piercing the sky and rushing into the talisman array. It emitted a bright haze and then left slashes across the sky.

Still reeling from the shock of witnessing Wang Sheng take heavenly lightning head-on, Mount Mao's ancient cultivator reacted a fraction of a second too late. By the time he flung out a dozen talismans to stop Flying Haze, the sword radiance had already torn open a gap in the array below. No matter how powerful talismanic arts were, the talismans themselves remained fragile.

The lightning across the sky suddenly faded, and the lightning dragon exploded.

Despite sustaining a thousand bolts, Wang Sheng raised his head sharply. His long hair hung loose, and only tattered strips remained of his Daoist robe, yet his aura had grown many times stronger than before.

Cyan mist surrounded him. Another bolt of lightning then condensed at his feet and flew toward the sky, stopping just below the ancient cultivator.

Fully unleashing Heavenly Tribulation Lightning Flash, Wang Sheng flickered.

His opponent immediately darted forward. Using his mahogany sword, he guided yellow talismans out of his sleeve and formed a simple array disc that hovered around him.

When his attack missed, Wang Sheng stepped forward. Another lightning bolt cleaved sideways through the sky, chasing after his target.

The ancient cultivator frowned slightly. In the face of Wang Sheng's Heavenly Tribulation Lightning Flash, even he felt a faint sense of helplessness. Still, he was a Tribulation Realm cultivator who had trained under Mount Mao. He had naturally already prepared countermeasures.

Talismans around him flashed repeatedly, weaving into a net of lightning that enclosed him.

Wang Sheng burst out from the end of a lightning bolt, and Spiritless released a

zhang

-long sword radiance. He swung it forward, unleashing seven swift Seven-Star sword phantasms that flashed through the air. However, the net stopped them all, making them burst into sparks.

"

Hmph!

"

The ancient cultivator steadied his mind. The talismans around him shifted positions constantly as more flew from his sleeves, repeatedly reinforcing his defense.

Wang Sheng continuously used Heavenly Tribulation Lightning Flash to press his attack. Spiritless also blazed with fierce radiance.

Before long, the battle in the sky reached a deadlock.

Glittering like stars, sword radiance fell and formed a sea of light. It hit the net repeatedly, sending waves of sparks across the sky.

Wang Sheng was relentless. Using his Heavenly Tribulation Lightning Flash, he changed positions and sought flaws in his opponent's Daoist arts. Meanwhile, the ancient Mount Mao cultivator focused completely on defending, constantly adjusting the talismans around him. He devoted everything he had to predicting Wang Sheng's sword momentum and intercepting each strike.

Though pressed into a corner and unable to find a chance to counterattack, he remained calm. At the end of the day, he was still a Tribulation Realm cultivator; he far surpassed Wang Sheng in both enchanted power and Nascent Soul strength. There was theoretically only one way their battle could end: Wang Sheng running out of strength first, and him naturally claiming victory.

What the ancient cultivator wasn't aware of was that while he wasn't in a rush, Wang Sheng was even less so. With hundreds of celestial pills in his pouch to replenish his strength, he didn't have to worry about running out of enchanted power. All he had to do was attack relentlessly, watch for a flaw in the array, and seize the instant when life and death would be decided.

"

That cultivator hasn't faced his heavenly tribulation yet,

" Yaoyun telepathically said.

Instead of responding, Wang Sheng just pressed his assault harder. However, a realization soon dawned on him.

Heavenly tribulation...?

Wang Sheng's assault slowed slightly.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Relieved, his opponent was just about to retaliate when he vanished again. He merged with his lightning, appeared to the left of the ancient cultivator, and unleashed a barrage of sword phantasms.

The ancient cultivator cursed inwardly, but all he could do was resume reinforcing his lightning net. Soon, he noticed that faint cyan clouds strangely lingered at the places where Wang Sheng had paused. As Wang Sheng continued to shift positions and press his attack, more cyan clouds appeared across the sky.

The ancient cultivator frowned slightly, a vague unease and even a trace of fear creeping into his senses.

What are those?

Unfortunately, he had no time to dwell on it. Wang Sheng's assault kept growing fiercer. Starlight illuminated the sky as he unleashed the full power of his Heavenly Ziwei Sword Intent.

The cyan clouds began to merge into one giant mass.