Chapter 679: The Golden Immortal Encirclement Grand Array, Taiyi Locks the Desolate Planet

Do not see it as suffering...

Outside Qiling, Wang Shan had once again assumed his dark-robed, gaunt-faced appearance. He stood silently in space for a long while, eyebrows slightly knit as he stared ahead in a daze.

"All living beings suffer. How can anyone be free from suffering?"

Streaks of aura soon flew from Qiling, and several shouts rang through the clouds.

Instead of employing the same hit-and-run tactic, he fought openly this time, seizing dozens of Heavenly Immortals and locking them inside a pagoda artifact in an extremely short span. When the experts of Qiling rushed toward him, he withdrew calmly and relaxedly.

His cultivation was deep enough for him to have no difficulty dealing with Golden Immortals and Taiyi Golden Immortals. Still, he released no oppressive aura. He even slowed down on purpose, leaving a trail of radiant light behind him as he headed toward the desolate planet in the same solar system.

Inside a hollow cavern filled with magma deep under the desolate planet, Yaoyun and Huai Jing sat in separate pockets of space that had rocks dividing them. The two looked troubled.

Yaoyun hugged her knees and curled into a ball. She lay quietly, lost in thought. Meanwhile, Huai Jing repeatedly pondered how Wang Sheng and the Immortal Emperor were connected, and why it could shake the very foundations of the Heavenly Court. Unfortunately, he couldn't piece together a complete line of reasoning.

Huai Jing smiled crookedly, then said with a trace of resentment, "Yaoyun, when Divine Guardian Wang returns later, why not soften your tone and try to persuade him?"

He then sighed wryly.

"This stalemate isn't helping anyone; it's probably better for both sides to step back a little. Judging by how conflicted he seems now, he likely thinks Fei Yu could revive the Heavenly Court. Based on what you two talked about, though, that's exactly what makes him wary of our friend."

Yaoyun shook her head. "I doubt it will help. Never could I have imagined that someone else would know about this matter, especially not the divine guardian who served my father with absolute loyalty. Aside from threatening to kill myself, I truly cannot think of any way to make him change his mind. I can only hope that because I am his emperor's daughter, he's merely tempering my sword master for a time, not truly letting..."

Her voice faltered, making her sigh in defeat. Irritation showed on her expression as she brushed her long hair lightly with her fingers.

"So what exactly is this matter?" Huai Jing asked.

"Nothing more than a scheme from countless ages ago," Yaoyun replied with a bitter smile. Instead of elaborating, she changed the topic. "Enough. It's useless to talk about this now. Buddhist Master, do you still have your golden body?"

Huai Jing shook his head helplessly. "Wang Shan took it."

"And how did he manage to capture you?"

"

Ah.

" Huai Jing scratched his bald head with a rueful expression. "That story leaves even me speechless. It all started when I, after spending a great deal of effort, finally found a large temple willing to let me borrow one of their Buddha statues.

"I ended up exhausting its accumulated prayer power to teleport to the temple closest to Qiling. Unfortunately, I had barely set out again when a giant hand descended and grabbed me out of nowhere."

"I never expected Divine Guardian Wang to be so powerful."

"I have heard rumors about it. When he served in the Heavenly Court, he always kept his true strength hidden. He apparently often handled matters that the Heavenly Court could not deal with openly."

Yaoyun frowned. "Stories like that exist?"

"Of course." Huai Jing chuckled. "It isn't that strange. The Immortal Emperor has to govern the Three Realms, which is no easy task. Someone has to face the darker side of the immortals and gods."

"

Mm.

" She sighed softly. "The more I learn, the more I realize that I was actually the most distant from my father."

The monk simply smiled in response. After a moment of silence, he urged, "We should focus on how to escape and aid Fei Yu. Your minds are linked. Can you sense his condition or location?"

"

Mm.

" Yaoyun lowered her voice. "He is hiding in a ground fissure right now, though he is probably trapped inside the grand array that Divine Guardian Wang set up. What worries me the most is that the divine guardian may decide to summon Golden Immortals and Taiyi Golden Immortals."

"In that case, it would almost be kinder to give Fei Yu a swift end."

"Not necessarily." As though recalling something, Yaoyun blinked, then laughed softly for no clear reason. "Perhaps Divine Guardian Wang has overlooked something."

"What is it?"

Yaoyun's eyes glimmered anew, confusing Huai Jing even more.

***

Within the fissure, Wang Sheng, who had been refining immortal swords, suddenly opened his eyes and looked up toward the gray mist above.

So many powerful auras!

He could sense waves of Golden Immortal Realm pressure appearing beyond the restricting array that trapped him in this place. They were rapidly approaching the desolate planet.

They're already here?

Wang Sheng glanced down at the three immortal swords he had just finished forging. Deciding not to act yet, he continued forging in silence. He sharply shaped the remaining materials into sword forms, then infused them with his own life essence along with three parts of Spiritual Dawnlight.

At that moment, he heard a slightly hoarse voice beside his ear.

"If you fall into a desperate situation later, you may call out and surrender your cultivation. I will intervene and save you, just as I said before. Your cultivation will be severed, but you will still be able to live out the rest of your Heavenly Immortal Realm lifespan."

Divine Guardian Wang!

Wang Sheng snorted quietly through his nose. "

Hmph.

"

Well aware of the situation, he did not immediately burst into curses.

A wise man does not fight a losing battle. Accounts could always be settled later.

The moment Wang Shan finished speaking, Wang Sheng's spiritual perception trembled. He sensed dozens of auras appearing inside the grand array. Fortunately, they were all just Heavenly Immortals; they were nowhere near as terrifying as Wang Shan.

Those flying from space stopped just outside the desolate planet, making Wang Sheng wonder if Wang Shan had just captured the ones who had appeared in the array.

A corner of the sword cultivator's mouth twitched. He was now certain that the divine guardian truly intended to push him to his death.

Wang Shan had disguised himself as the "guardian spirit," captured Heavenly Immortals, and thrown them into the array. Combined with their old hatred for the Heavenly Court and the recent grudges they had built up due to what happened in the divine tree array, this arrangement would certainly drive the experts gathered outside the desolate planet into a furious rage.

Wang Sheng would have no way to explain himself, especially not with the mask still irremovably fixed to his face.

Even if he killed the dozens of Heavenly Immortals inside the array, the Golden Immortals or even Taiyi Golden Immortals outside the planet would find and end him as quickly as lightning once they found a way in. Since he was only at the early stage of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, he would probably be reduced to dust in an instant.

Wang Sheng then remembered the stone pillars he had seen when he had first been brought into the array. Heavily wounded immortals were bound to them, likely to further enrage the immortal factions.

Without the Dragon Sword and Spiritless, Wang Sheng could not use the unity of man and sword. He wasn't confident that he could win against the several peak Heavenly Immortals he sensed nearby.

He had no idea what the ones who had been thrown into the array were experiencing right now. They hesitated for a short while, then almost simultaneously rushed toward him.

Wang Sheng shook his head slightly and breathed in lightly. He sprang up within the fissure, skimming along the dark ground as he sped up. Before long, he concealed himself within the gray mist and suppressed his aura with all his strength.

Moments later, several streaks of light shot past barely ten meters above him. He remained completely still. After they flew past, he quietly rushed toward a lake of lava that his immortal perception had discovered.

Taking a deep breath, Wang Sheng pinched his nose and plunged into the lake. Blazing white lotus flowers bloomed around him as he sank more than a hundred meters. He then silently spread out his immortal perception.

The dozens of Heavenly Immortals flew wildly through the array, clearly searching for him.

After hiding for almost half an hour, a mid-stage Heavenly Immortal Realm aura happened to pass above the lake. A bubble of lava burst open, and a flash of sword radiance shot upward from below.

Having prepared for a long time, Wang Sheng now struck with full force. Several strands of sword intent converged upon his attack.

Before the middle-aged cultivator could react, an immortal sword pierced straight through his chest and pressed its blade against the forehead of his Primordial Spirit. He froze in shock and dared not move.

Without delay, Wang Sheng sharply shouted, "Who are you?! Do not waste your breath on nonsense!"

"I am an unaffiliated practitioner from Qiuming—"

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Why did you come here?"

The middle-aged cultivator almost cursed out loud. The muscles of his face twitched as he whispered, "A senior wearing the same mask as you captured and brought me here. He said whoever kills the person wearing that mask will be allowed to leave this place alive. Otherwise, after three days, everyone here will die."

Wang Sheng nodded calmly. "How did you find me?"

"The senior... gave it to me."

Softly, Wang Sheng replied, "My apologies."

Wang Sheng lightly thrust his immortal sword and severely wounded the middle-aged man's Primordial Spirit, temporarily crippling him. Such a wound would require at least several hundred years to recover.

He saw no reason to kill him, especially since he hoped to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Perhaps it could leave him a chance of survival later.

He tossed the man beside the lake. Already sensing several strands of immortal perception locking onto him, he cursed inwardly, then turned and flew. Using Soaring Red Feathers, he quickly shook off the pursuers behind him.

More and more experts had gathered outside the desolate planet. Wang Shan had drawn all the forces that had been lingering nearby and searching for the guardian spirit.

By rough estimation, at least a hundred Golden Immortals and no fewer than a dozen Taiyi Golden Immortals were among them. However, they only sealed off the various regions of the desolate planet. They dared not rush. After all, a grand array lay below that none of them could see through. Everyone remained wary of a possible trap.

For two full days, the experts simply surrounded the planet.

During that time, Wang Sheng severely wounded twelve Heavenly Immortals in the array while avoiding head-on clashes with the few peak Heavenly Immortals he sensed. The ones he injured were mostly from the weaker group.

I can't let this go on forever.

Hidden in a volcanic crater, Wang Sheng stroked his chin with his left hand while thinking deeply. With his right hand, he rapidly forged another immortal sword. He compressed it into a sword core and stored it within him to nurture.

At that moment, he sensed more than a dozen Golden Immortal Realm pressures and several hundred Heavenly Immortal Realm auras flying toward the array from space.

The group outside has finally run out of patience, huh?

"Do not blame me for using any means necessary."

Wang Sheng sighed quietly, his gaze becoming firmer. The Qiankun Ring on his right index finger flickered, and a green vine appeared behind him. Within a glow of immortal light, she transformed into a young girl.

"I'm counting on you."

"Yes, Master," Ling Sheng replied.