Chapter 483: The Trap Is Set, Time to Jump

Since the enemy already believed that a Grand Dao Golden Immortal had hidden his Daoist heritage here, Wang Sheng decided to use Shi Qianzhang to reinforce their theory.

At the same time, he prepared to lead them toward the closest trap array.

Shi Qianzhang pulled his head down and stammered in a small, fearful tone, "O-our cultivation technique h-has been passed down from our ancestors. The legend says an old immortal once p-protected our ancestors for many years and t-taught them how to cultivate, but h-he never passed down the method to become an immortal..."

Ziyun and the other two began to ponder. They quickly concluded that the "old immortal" had intentionally left behind fragments of the Dao in hopes of finding a worthy successor after his death.

Everything they saw supported this belief. The region seemed entirely cut off from the outside world. The immense size of its cities and the sheer number of mortals all suggested this was the secret dwelling place of a Grand Dao Golden Immortal.

The three immortals generally ignored ordinary mortals, but the local tales strangely fascinated them.

The golden roc landed near a lake on a plateau. Shi Qianzhang, trembling, began to ramble about several seemingly disjointed and meaningless "legends." Yet, to the three immortals, every single detail sounded like a valuable clue.

In all of his stories, two places kept coming up repeatedly: the Moon and the Shu Mountains, which were locations of the trap arrays.

Wang Sheng's only concern was that once Ziyun and her companions finished questioning Shi Qianzhang, they would kill him without hesitation. Hence, he kept his hand on their "prisoner" and never let him stray too far, preventing the three immortals from crushing him like an insect.

Shi Qianzhang had also recognized this danger. His fear was no longer an act; it was now absolutely real.

Ziyun and the others questioned him closely, their spiritual perception constantly scanning the Hua Republic.

By now, Wang Sheng had noticed that most local cultivators had already gone into hiding. The few who still showed traces of their aura, those at the Rebirth Realm and Nascent Soul Realm, were all gathered near the trap arrays.

Though he could not contact them directly, all signs pointed to one thing: the Hua Republic's three special departments were working at full capacity. The Daoist sects and the many unaffiliated practitioners were now working together under the departments' coordination, ready to fight the invading immortals from beyond the stars.

Shi Qianzhang's decision to "surrender" was a truly brilliant move. Though the man lacked strength, he was quick-witted, shameless, and naturally sneaky.

He was the perfect person to play the part of a "native traitor."

"Brother Pi, we should discuss our next step," Ziyun said calmly as she gave him a look that suggested that Wang Sheng should kill Shi Qianzhang to ensure his silence.

Wang Sheng pretended not to notice. With a quick movement of his hand, he used his enchanted power to tie up Shi Qianzhang, then walked toward the three.

The man with twin sabers grunted, "Why keep him alive?"

"He might still be useful," Wang Sheng reasoned, then smoothly changed the subject. "Daoist Friend Ziyun, what do you think we should do next?"

Ziyun frowned slightly. She replied seriously, "Although we discovered this place first, the others searching the ancient battlefield might have also noticed the light from the treasure. We have to act now. Time is of the essence."

Wang Sheng cupped his hands. "I will follow your lead."

Ziyun smiled gently. "Good. The most suspicious places are the core under this great qi-gathering array and the yin star orbiting nearby. There are no powerful cultivators here. How about Brother Feng and Elder Lin investigate the core, while Brother Pi and I explore the yin star?"

"Yin star" probably referred to the planet's moon.

Wang Sheng unhesitatingly nodded. "Very well. In that case, I'll send this man away first."

Wang Sheng suddenly hit Shi Qianzhang with a palm strike. The talisman expert spat out blood as he was blasted backward, turning into a streak of light and vanishing into the sky.

The man with twin sabers frowned but remained silent.

Wang Sheng had not truly harmed Shi Qianzhang. His attack was imbued with a subtle force that wrapped around Shi Qianzhang, protecting him as he was launched into outer space.

Shi Qianzhang acted along, pretending to be dead while his heart beat wildly. He didn't dare move at all. One mistake and all their effort would be wasted.

"

Be careful,

" Yaoyun telepathically said.

Wang Sheng's mind became sharper, but he kept his expression calm.

Ziyun watched him closely, yet he just quietly took to the skies first. She glanced back at the other two; her sleeves flowed gracefully as they bowed at her.

Everything seemed perfectly normal. Just as Ziyun had suggested, the four split into two groups.

This arrangement suited Wang Sheng well enough. Within the Hua Republic, Xi Lian, the immortal of the Small Nether Realm, and the old sword spirit of the Shu Mountains had all united. With the arrays that Yaoyun had set up and the combined strength of Earth's cultivators, dealing with the two immortals and the golden roc should not be too difficult.

The real challenge was his own fight. Ziyun was a sly and careful Primordial Immortal who was just half a step away from the True Immortal Realm. She was nearly two major realms above him.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Wang Sheng wasn't confident he could win.

He could only try to stall for time. If he could trap Ziyun inside the array, then Xi Lian and the others could easily join forces to defeat Ziyun once they had taken down their opponents.

Two streaks of light shot toward the Moon Palace, one ahead and one behind.

After the two left, the golden roc and the remaining immortals stayed in silence for a while. Finally, they climbed onto the roc's back and soared high above the Hua Republic.

The old man in the round hat took out a compass-like device and played with it, while the man with twin sabers scanned the land with his spiritual perception. Riding on the roc's incredible speed, they circled above the Hua Republic for over ten minutes.

***

Near Ziyan Temple, a temporary command center had been built under layers of arrays. Inside, several hundred Daoist masters at the Heavenly Abode Realm and above fixed their gaze on the large screen before them.

The screen was split into two sections. One showed a satellite image with three green dots clustered together, flashing rhythmically. The other displayed a composite feed stitched together through various means to show the blurred silhouette of the golden roc.

Nearly a third of the cultivation world's top experts had gathered and stationed outside one of the trap arrays. The moment the array surrounding the Shu Mountains was activated, they would charge out to reinforce it. Against enemies of immortal power, this was all they could do.

In the command room, Xi Lian sat in a corner beside Fei Lianzi, who held an ancient sword across his lap. Wang Xiaomiao, dressed in a tracksuit and hair tied in a ponytail, stood with several Daoist elders and military officers around the holographic sand table.

The room was silent.

Qing Long, the sect master of the Shu Sword Sect, stroked his beard. "What are they doing?"

An elder replied in a deep tone, "They're being cautious. They're probably wary about an immortal hiding in the area that the qi meridians have enveloped."

Another frowned. "Something's off. Fei Yu had already gone off with that female immortal to investigate the Moon Palace. Those two and the golden roc should have landed by now."

"They've probably seen through our setup," Wang Xiaomiao remarked, "which means my brother's cover has also been blown."

The command room tensed at once.

Xi Lian stood up sharply. "Then we should take down those two now and rush to support Fei Yu."

Xiaomiao firmly countered, "No. The biggest problem now is that golden roc. Based on the data we gathered earlier, it's just way too fast.

"You know my brother's temperament, Big Sister. He'd never rely entirely on an illusion array. He'd want stability above all else. If the illusion array hadn't been exposed, he would've handled things from outside it to defuse the crisis.

"Considering our situation now, those immortals have most likely somehow discovered the outer layer of the illusion. My brother must have had no choice but to reveal himself, take on the name Pi Kachew, and follow them to Earth."

Pi...

Everyone in the command room raised a hand to their foreheads. Shi Qianzhang had been carrying a transmitter that sent their every conversation to the command center.

Frowning slightly, Xiaomiao whispered, "That female immortal named Ziyun is likely heading to the Moon to deal with my brother. Our next move depends on whether he can turn the situation around. If the two immortals and the golden roc fly toward the Moon Palace, that means my brother and Ziyun are already fighting, and they're rushing over to provide support. But if they come down here—"

Qing Long interjected, "Then Fei Yu lost?"

The Daoist masters and officers all tensed up.

"Not necessarily," Liu Yunzhi said from a corner.

"

Mm,

not necessarily," Xiaomiao echoed, biting her lip. Her expression wavered, but she quickly regained her composure. "There are two possibilities. One is that Ziyun has defeated my brother, but that's unlikely."

Xi Lian worriedly reminded, "That woman's cultivation is much higher than mine and Little Fei Yu's."

"Think about it, Big Sister. What was my brother's realm when he slew those ancient cultivators?"

Xi Lian paused, then exhaled in relief.

"Cultivation level doesn't determine true combat power, especially not for my brother," Xiaomiao added, as if convincing herself. "Besides, my master is with him right now, and the Moon Palace houses the Small Immortal Realm. The chances of something happening to him are slim. Also, my brother isn't stupid."

A military officer asked, "What's the second possibility?"

"Well... This one's the better scenario," Wang Xiaomiao said softly. "Perhaps my brother anticipated all this and deliberately showed a flaw to mislead the female immortal, making her misjudge the situation and send those two immortals down as a test. It's not easy to pull off, and while my brother isn't stupid, he's not exactly the type to think that far ahead either."

Those around her nodded gravely, accepting her reasoning.

Unsatisfied, Xi Lian questioned, "What can we do right now, then?"

"The threat isn't just the immortals themselves, but the fact that they can spread information about our world to the endless space out there, which would bring us countless troubles. Now that they've found us, we absolutely can't let them leave. However, the only thing that can restrain the golden roc is the arrays that my master set up.

"Those immortals are clever. As long as they don't make a move, they'll have the upper hand. If they come down, that means they aren't afraid of what we might have waiting for them. When that happens, all we can do is fight and eliminate them as quickly as possible."

She stared at the glowing points rotating on the sand table.

Soon, she murmured, "Let's hope they found a flaw in my brother or Brother Qianzhang, not in our arrays."

"They probably haven't discovered our setup," whispered an officer from the Special Warfare Unit. "Look at their flight path. There's no sign of anything unusual above any of our three traps."

Xiaomiao clenched her fists and forced herself to stay calm. She had to keep her mind clear and trust her brother. There was nothing else she could do.

Finally, after more than an hour, the golden roc began descending toward the Shu Mountains. It was slow and cautious, with the two immortals probing the area carefully.

Their destination was one of the weak points that the cultivation world had deliberately exposed: Mount Dajian, the mountain gate of the Shu Sword Sect.

"Prepare to move!"

The worry in Xiaomiao's eyes instantly vanished. She forced herself to focus solely on the changing situation.

***

Two minutes before the golden roc began its descent.

Mu Wanxuan, who had been hiding in a corner, stood up. She was stationed at the mountain gate of the Longhu Mountains, where another trap array was concealed.

The flame of the soul lamp in her hand flickered weakly, as if it were about to go out. Fortunately, after a few flickers, it steadied once more.