Chapter 654: Scaring the Herbs

What a pity.

Wang Sheng listened to the last traces of furious shouting fade into the wind. He lightly flicked Spiritless, shaking the blood from its blade.

He felt a surge of regret at failing to kill the sword cultivator from the North-River Sword Sect. Even so, he did not pursue him. Instead, he rose and plunged into the dark clouds, concealing himself within the storm of lightning bolts.

The man managed to escape not because Green Lotus Ultimate wasn't strong enough even when unleashed through Spiritless. On the contrary, it had been more than enough to annihilate him.

However, just as Spiritless was about to take his life, a talismanic seal surrounding his Primordial Spirit activated, and he vanished in the blink of an eye. Since Wang Sheng had not prepared a heaven and earth grand array beforehand, he couldn't prevent him from fleeing.

Song Tongpu likely used some form of random-teleportation talisman. At a critical moment, it had saved his life.

It was hardly strange for a disciple of such standing to have a few life-saving treasures, though. There was no need to make much of it.

Wang Sheng appeared right under the center of the dark clouds. He glanced at the broken umbrella artifact and the two completely charred corpses. He merely shook his head, said nothing, and turned to fly off.

The lightning of the heavenly tribulation seemed to restrain the restrictions in this place. Three restrictions had already been deactivated, and the spiritual herbs hidden within them had also been reduced to ash. Only a pair of faintly glowing embroidered shoes remained suspended in the air. Much of their spirituality had been cleaved away.

When the power of the heavenly tribulation erupted earlier, it had been far more violent than Wang Sheng had anticipated.

After a moment of thought, he realized that the spiritual herbs had long been hidden within the restrictions that Qinghua had set. Sheltered by the divine tree, they had escaped many calamities and survived to such a rare age. However, they were never meant to exist this long.

The heavenly tribulation that Wang Sheng had summoned had been formed from immortal power to imitate tribulation clouds. Even so, it still followed the Great Dao of Heavenly Tribulation. Upon sensing the presence of spiritual herbs that had avoided the disasters that they were meant to endure, it grew violently furious.

This pair of embroidered shoes... Were they once part of Emperor Qinghua's collection? Might as well bring them back and give them to Vice Sect Master Lishang. Whenever she took human form, she always walked barefoot and rarely wore shoes.

Arcs of lightning flickered around him as his six flying swords gathered close. Afterward, he fired a burst of lightning up into the dark clouds and vanished with it.

The strange black cloud gradually dispersed, though lightning still raged inside it.

The cultivators who had witnessed the scene through immortal perception sighed at the dangers of the place. Soon after, they began to speculate whether the mysterious figure who had appeared out of nowhere was another cultivator who had entered the arrays like them or a guardian of the realm.

Most leaned toward the latter. After all, Wang Sheng had descended from the sky alongside the black clouds, and the other drifting clouds had shown no reaction to him.

"He is likely the manifested spirit of some treasure," said an old man at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal Realm. His guess quickly spread across the northern region.

Meanwhile, using the tribulation clouds as cover, Wang Sheng had already slipped back into the tree canopy and returned unseen to the inner array.

His battle with the sword cultivator from the North-River Sword Sect had given him a clear sense of his strength. With Spiritless; the Dragon Sword; the unity of man and sword; and his Sword-Controlling Art, which was now even more powerful, he could swiftly defeat cultivators at the late stage of the Heavenly Immortal Realm.

He wouldn't even have to use his wooden sword. If he were to summon it, his Green Lotus Ultimate could very well threaten even an early-stage Golden Immortal!

Even so, Wang Sheng remained calm. He knew that he still relied too heavily on external aids. There was no reason to grow complacent.

Holding the bronze mirror, he surveyed the surroundings and soon locked onto the North-River Sword Sect cultivator once more.

The man was near the northern exit, covered in blood. He clutched a treasured sword riddled with cracks as he struggled toward the array's northern gateway. A middle-aged man and woman stayed at his side, guarding him. His two colleagues had been competing for treasures in the outer array.

Song Tongpu had been fortunate. The jade talisman had teleported him straight into the path of his sect's members. Otherwise, his extraordinary immortal sword would have drawn countless ambushes.

Yaoyun sighed. "If we had managed to kill him and seize that immortal sword, the North-River Sword Sect would have suffered a severe blow. I failed to take into consideration the fact that he could be carrying a life-saving artifact."

Wang Sheng smiled. "It's fine. Judging from his injuries, he won't be returning anytime soon. Our priority is to guard my senior sister. If we can hold off the intruders, then we've already done our job. We are not here simply to kill and steal. I will enter seclusion for half a day after we return. Feel free to look for our next target."

"Alright."

Perhaps because Wang Sheng's cultivation had improved, the sword spirit seemed far more "obedient" than before.

Upon returning to the area near the trunk of the divine tree, he reviewed the insights that he had gained from his brief but intense battle. He also resumed eyeing the medicinal herbs.

***

Song Tongpu was escorted back to the North-River Sword Sect's camp outside. His condition immediately enraged the sect's experts stationed there.

They could hardly believe that within a forbidden land that the Golden Immortals could not enter, Song Tongpu would return in such a miserable state even with an outer map in hand and a spiritual-treasure grade immortal sword for protection.

A sword had pierced through his chest. His Primordial Spirit had barely avoided being extinguished. Blood flowed from his seven orifices, and his aura had grown faint and unstable. Upon seeing them, he vomited a mouthful of blood.

"

Pwah!

"

Still, as long as his Primordial Spirit remained intact, he could be saved from even the gravest of injuries.

An elder from the same lineage as Song Tongpu immediately stepped forward. He took out two precious life-saving alchemical pills and shoved them into the disciple's mouth without hesitation.

An elderly woman skilled in healing arts followed. With several silver needles, she stabilized his Primordial Spirit.

After a flurry of effort, his condition finally steadied. Several elders of the North-River Sword Sect came forward at once. They expressed their concern before turning straight to the matter at hand.

"Junior Brother Song, who injured you so badly? I will never spare his sect!"

Song Tongpu's face was ashen. He forced a bleak smile and muttered, "I do not know. He never gave his name. Still, he didn't want to merely wound me; he was actually trying to take my life!" He coughed a couple of times before adding, "Fortunately, the talisman from Master saved me."

"What divine ability did he use?"

"The Dao of the Sword. He is extremely skilled with the sword." Song Tongpu's eyes narrowed slightly. "We crossed blades with full strength twice. The first time, he shattered my sword radiance with ease. The second time, we attacked with everything we had, only for my Endless Heaven Sword to nearly break.

"He emerged from a mass of black clouds. Those clouds were no illusion array. They were formed of lightning.

"He probably wasn't..." He coughed profusely once more. "... a cultivator. He's probably a treasure that has transformed and is now guarding the array! Otherwise, a sword cultivator at the same realm couldn't have defeated me so quickly!"

The elders around him exchanged glances. For a moment, they found themselves at a loss for how to judge the matter.

One elder gently instructed, "Junior Brother Song, focus on resting and recovering. Do not trouble yourself with this for now."

Song Tongpu smiled bitterly. "This is all because of my incompetence. Not only did I fail to bring back one of the Four Heavenly Ministers' Daoist heritage, but I was also driven out of the array."

The elders could only offer more words of comfort. Once Song Tongpu was sent back to the North-River Sword Sect to recuperate, they discussed who should attempt the trial next.

As news spread from within the array, rumors of a transformed treasure and a "spirit guarding the pass" traveled quickly, drawing attention from all sides.

Just as the cultivators inside had concluded, the various factions also assumed that the tribulation cloud that Wang Sheng had created was part of the array. They repeatedly warned their own challengers.

"The black cloud does not contain only an illusion array. There is also a lightning array. If you see it, keep your distance. Do not enter rashly."

***

Beneath the divine tree, Wang Sheng held the bronze mirror and continued observing the surroundings. Instead of bothering with the outer region, he focused on the restrictions nearby, studying the medicinal herbs sealed within.

There were more than six hundred restrictions in the inner layer. Most contained medicinal herbs, and each was a rare spiritual herb seldom found in the world.

Even Yaoyun could not name them all or explain their effects. Still, she felt that digging up a few wouldn't hurt. Wang Sheng clearly wasn't on the same page, however.

"Are there any primordial spiritual roots among these medicinal herbs?" he asked.

Spiritless flew to one side as Yaoyun scolded from within it, "What do you think primordial spiritual roots are? Radishes growing in a field? Even for Emperor Qinghua, finding this divine tree was a tremendous stroke of fortune. Primordial spiritual roots were already rare in the Primal Era.

"After so many years, they have either been destroyed, or they have cultivated to great heights, becoming mighty beings capable of protecting themselves. "That said, even if the spiritual herbs here are not primordial spiritual roots, they have grown under the divine tree for countless years. They are still priceless treasures."

Wang Sheng nodded. "Do these herb spirits have any fighting capabilities?"

Yaoyun was caught off guard. Spiritless tilted slightly in midair.

She soon understood what he meant. Taking human form, she asked for the bronze mirror and observed carefully for a moment.

Softly, she answered, "There should be a few troublesome ones here, but I don't know whether the fiend-controlling art will work on herb spirits. What do you intend to do?"

"Let's test it on one and find out." Wang Sheng rose to his feet. His eyes gleamed faintly as he smiled. "If it doesn't work, we will persuade the herbs with virtue."

Yaoyun rolled her eyes. She had no idea what crooked idea he had come up with now.

To start with, they headed to the restriction that had been triggered earlier. Inside, a small family of herb spirits huddled together in the soil. Wang Sheng raised his hand and began forming a heavenly tribulation cloud.

The moment it appeared, the medicinal herbs transformed into half-meter-tall humanoids and kowtowed toward Wang Sheng, begging him to show mercy. It was as though they had encountered their natural predator.

For medicinal herbs of such extreme age, nothing was more terrifying than the descent of heavenly tribulation.

Seeing this, Wang Sheng nodded slowly. "If you want to live, come out on your own. If I act, I will use heavenly tribulation to blast open this restriction."

Yaoyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The five small herb spirits hesitated at once. With a sweep of his sleeve, Wang Sheng summoned waves of gray tribulation clouds before him. They gathered overhead as streaks of lightning flickered within.

The five spirits panicked and kowtowed again. Dejected, they finally left the place they had called home and walked out of the restriction.

Wang Sheng snapped his fingers. "Recite the fiend-controlling incantation for me. I will see whether it works."

What happened to persuading the herbs with virtue?

Yaoyun wondered.