Chapter 685: The Change in the Endgame, A Golden Immortal's Sudden Strike

Thirty-two Heavenly Immortals and sixteen True Immortals entered the array this time. Once they stepped inside, the gate closed again.

Ling Sheng easily willed her divine ability to activate, and all forty-eight started slaughtering one another at the entrance. It didn't take long for the commotion to die down.

Wang Sheng did not move this time. Instead, he gave Hu Chang his first task: reaping the spoils of war.

The brute went out and returned quickly, yet he still couldn't recover from the shock. The way he looked at Ling Sheng had completely changed. His restless interest from earlier had turned into open shock and caution.

Ling Sheng paid no attention to him, though. She just knelt quietly beside and guarded Wang Sheng, who had already entered seclusion again to continue his comprehension of the lightning technique.

Wang Sheng had chosen the Five Heavenly Yang Lightning.

A complete lightning technique usually consisted of two or three sections. The first taught how to draw, gather, and condense lightning. The second focused on how to control and command it, which was what he concentrated on. After all, he needed it to learn how to direct his heavenly tribulation lightning.

It hadn't been long, yet he had already produced quite impressive results.

He avoided comprehending the Great Dao of Heavenly Tribulation itself, preventing him from triggering a heavenly might warning. Instead, he studied lightning techniques that allowed him to guide the heavenly tribulation lightning. It slightly felt like clever circumvention, but it was remarkably effective.

Wang Sheng considered the Dao of the Sword as his primary Dao. Hence, the moment he realized that this approach worked, he immediately explored how to combine lightning techniques with it. His goal was to fill the gap between his Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent and the sword technique required to unleash it.

He had already chosen a name for the technique: the Nine-Yang Heavenly Tribulation Sword.

It essentially fused his Dao of Pure Yang, Sword-Controlling Art, and heavenly tribulation power. Each variable would support and strengthen the others, pushing his Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent's power to its utmost limit.

Hu Chang soon rushed back with a pile of storage artifacts. He could not help but mutter under his breath, "Why would those bastards send a few dozen people to their deaths?"

Wang Sheng calmly replied, "They're testing the waters. The next time the array opens, Ling Sheng's presence will be quite intimidating for them."

Hu Chang chuckled as he tossed the various storage artifacts over. "You want them to realize just how much danger they're in and retreat?"

Wang Sheng raised his hand and drew the artifacts toward himself. He briefly inspected their contents, took out several jade pendants that recorded immortal arts and Daoist arts, and selected a few precious materials used for forging flying swords. Afterward, he tossed the storage artifacts back to Hu Chang.

Hu Chang scratched his head in the corner. "Old Wang, what's this for?"

"They're for you."

Hu Chang grinned widely. "That's more like it!"

He quickly stuffed all the storage artifacts back into his robes, laughing foolishly to himself.

This was a simple way of winning people over, but it worked extremely well. It was far more effective than trying to persuade someone with words.

Wang Sheng asked, "How strong were they?"

Hu Chang thought for a moment. Looking puzzled, he lowered his voice. "Judging from the remaining auras on the bodies and the damage their battle did on the terrain, they were all fairly weak."

"The man we released earlier seems to have caused the intended effect to some degree."

"By the way, Old Wang, why are we just waiting here to die? Why not think of some way to slip out of the array?"

Wang Sheng smiled bitterly. "If I could leave, I wouldn't have spent so much effort studying lightning techniques. The array won't open again for a while. Go cultivate."

The brute beside him scratched his head but didn't pry further. He simply sat down and let out a long yawn.

Wang Sheng flashed into the sky as arcs of lightning surged around him, making strands of his long hair stand upright. Looking like a sphere of lightning, he gradually disappeared behind the radiance of heavenly tribulation lightning.

Hu Chang glanced at Ling Sheng, who had curled into a ball again. His throat bobbed slightly as he swallowed. He then quietly shrank into a corner, unable to say another word.

Those who cultivated to strengthen themselves physically possessed far weaker Primordial Spirits than cultivators at the same realm who specialized in the Dao of the Primordial Spirit. Their worst fear was mind manipulators, especially the infamous evil entity known as the Ghost Heart Vine.

Still, no matter how he looked at her, he felt unexpectedly sympathetic to the young girl, who could only curl up before heavenly tribulation power. He cleared his throat and slowly moved closer to Ling Sheng.

The huge brute, who stood over a

zhang

tall, gently asked, "Do you want me to set up an array for you?"

Ling Sheng nodded a little, then gave him a faint and slightly stiff smile. She softly answered, "

Mm.

"

Hu Chang scratched his head and took out a pile of Spirit Stones. Using the limited knowledge he had, he arranged a simple sound-isolating array.

Perhaps because it provided her a little comfort, Ling Sheng soon looked slightly less tense despite fearing heavenly tribulation.

Hu Chang chuckled and sat nearby. He raised his head and watched the lightning flashing in the sky. For a while, he simply stared in silence.

After a long time, the sphere of lightning released hundreds of bolts. Wang Sheng shot up into the sky and grasped a lightning sword made out of pure lightning. He then scattered streams of heavenly lightning across the air, gathering layer upon layer of tribulation clouds.

Just who exactly is Old Wang? What kind of vortex has he gotten himself dragged into?

Hu Chang had once felt very confident about himself. Now, however, the great zhenren had realized that he had somehow lost all control over his own situation. With the road ahead covered in fog, he no longer had any idea where to go. He even felt fortunate just to be able to stay alive.

A deep sense of confusion filled Hu Chang's eyes. He yawned again, crossed his arms, leaned back against the mountain wall, and soon fell asleep.

***

Half a month later, the array opened again. Quickly discovering what had happened inside, they could only accept that their entire force had been wiped out.

Wang Sheng stopped cultivating, and Ling Sheng prepared to act again. This time, however, no one entered the array.

The array gate remained open. Wang Sheng stayed on constant alert.

Four tense days later, he sensed a familiar aura appear. He slipped out from the crater and hurried toward a river of lava—the place where he had felt it.

From the boiling lava rose a sphere of light, inside of which floated a suit of golden armor.

The Kang Star Deity's armor!

Wang Sheng cut the sphere apart in one swing and caught the armor in his hands. Countless emotions stirred in his heart. After putting it on, he immediately returned to the volcanic crater with a bit more confidence.

He felt as though he had just reunited with a comrade he hadn't seen for many years. Even so, he still could not withstand the attack of a Golden Immortal.

With the return of his immortal armor, shaping the initial framework of the Nine-Yang Heavenly Tribulation Sword became easier. Things seemed to improve with each step he took.

Wang Sheng seized every moment to grow stronger. After all, he had chosen to face and endure the deliberate pressure from Wang Shan and the unknown number of Golden Immortals, Heavenly Immortals, and even Taiyi Golden Immortals who could come into the array.

It didn't matter if he had to force out his own potential or if all his efforts later proved futile against a Golden Immortal. He refused to give up.

***

Half a month later, a battalion of more than six hundred powerful cultivators entered the array. Among them were over twenty Golden Immortals.

Wang Sheng did not dare relax. Just as the gate closed, he ordered Ling Sheng to activate her divine ability. A chaotic battle erupted near the entrance before the cultivators could even spread out. However, Ling Sheng soon reported that a third of the intruders could not be completely controlled.

The enemy had clearly found a way to resist her control.

Wang Sheng and Hu Chang both felt their hearts tighten. At that moment, a faint crimson glow enveloped Ling Sheng. The human-faced vine leaves wrapped around her body flashed through countless faces, each one displaying joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness in turn.

The array trembled nonstop. Heaven and earth shook, and the sea of Dao laws fell into turmoil. Drops of sweat soon appeared on Ling Sheng's delicate face. Wang Sheng's immortal perception could only catch a vague sense of the fierce battle taking place.

This was the first time Ling Sheng had actively tried to seize control of cultivators' minds. In the past, she only stirred her targets' killing intent and amplified the evil already hidden in their hearts. Now that she couldn't control a third of the cultivators, she had to use the puppets already under her influence to attack and intercept the remaining group.

She understood one thing very clearly: Her master was only a Heavenly Immortal. No Golden Immortal could be allowed to get near him.

Half a day later, she breathed out quietly, opened her eyes, and looked at Wang Sheng. At some point, her immortal robe had turned blood red. She looked like an alluring yet dangerous rose blooming from a sea of blood, though her gaze remained pure and clear.

"I have dealt with them, Master. More than one hundred twenty of them have sustained incapacitating injuries and can no longer move or fight."

Wang Sheng slowly nodded and finally relaxed a little. "Thank you for your hard work. Rest for a while."

Ling Sheng shook her head softly. "I absorbed the vitality of many cultivators, which allowed me to grow stronger. You do not have to worry, Master."

Wang Sheng smiled and nodded. He returned Ling Sheng to the Qiankun Ring so she could rest and digest the devilish qi that had formed within her, allowing her to gradually resolve her innate devilish nature.

Hu Chang muttered, "Old Wang—

ah,

no, Boss, if this keeps going, won't Ling Sheng fall into devilry?"

"Perhaps," Wang Sheng replied without much concern. "Time to clean up the battlefield."

"Alright!"

Hu Chang leaped up at once. The moment he heard they were going to collect storage artifacts, his spirits rose immediately.

The two set out from the volcanic crater and moved through the battlefield, clearing the area and delivering final strikes.

They had a plentiful harvest this time. After all, many Golden Immortals had entered the array, and they had all fought each other to death.

The cultivators outside had found a way to resist the divine ability of the Ghost Heart Vine, but they could not ensure that everyone could withstand her. Two-thirds of the group still fell under Ling Sheng's control, while the remaining third had their killing intent and evil thoughts extremely amplified.

Unless someone could straight up destroy this desolate planet, those who entered the array would end up dead, no matter how large their group was.

The terrain inside the array had once again been completely reshaped. Wang Sheng moved through the battlefield, striking down one wounded cultivator after another. Meanwhile, Hu Chang busied himself gathering what he jokingly called immortal fat and immortal marrow.

Wang Sheng did not treat him poorly. Though he kept most of the spoils, he gave Hu Chang a fifth. The brute grinned so widely that his lips nearly reached the back of his head.

Soon, Wang Sheng found six heavily injured Golden Immortals gathered near a lake of lava. Several figures were also scattered along the surface of the lake.

He summoned his flying sword and sent a series of sword phantasms toward the six dying cultivators. However, just as the flying sword let out its sharp whistle through the air, a Golden Immortal who should have had no aura left opened his eyes, revealing bloodshot pupils.

He locked onto Wang Sheng and, with a furious roar, transformed into a blood blade that was a thousand

zhang

long. Right after, he slashed straight at Wang Sheng.

The winds and clouds shifted. Heaven and earth trembled violently.

With boundless fury, the Golden Immortal shouted, "Die!"