Chapter 484: Storm

Tang Zhao took a deep look at Meng Huazhou, realizing that he was very clear about the "swarm" behavioral patterns of these giants. He did not know if he had guessed it or if he had intelligence beforehand; judging from his previous words, the latter possibility was more likely. He said, "That makes a lot of sense. Not being able to sense each other... how can that be achieved?"

Meng Huazhou said, "I do have a method that can make their thinking chaotic, or even turn them into a bunch of idiots. But I need the senior to cooperate with me."

Tang Zhao thought to himself: Very well, I haven't made use of you yet, and you are already trying to use me. He smiled and said, "Go on."

Seeing him suddenly smile, Meng Huazhou felt a bit uneasy and said, "I have a Sword Art that can cause interference in the Void, making them unable to sense each other. They rarely think for themselves; once the connection is broken, they will naturally fall into a state of stagnation. Then, we can separate them, imprison them, and use powerful Sword Arts to eliminate them one by one."

He actually possessed a Sword Art with such a peculiar effect?

Tang Zhao stared at him and said, "I remember your Dharma Artifact is the Jingzhe Sword, right?"

Meng Huazhou answered calmly, "Exactly."

Tang Zhao pressed on, "The Jingzhe Sword is primarily based on lightning, right? How can it have a Sword Art that interferes with the giants' sensing?"

Meng Huazhou paused, then immediately said without changing his expression, "If I may speak frankly, the wonders of lightning far exceed the imagination of the world. I can tune lightning into a special form, formless and substanceless, which does not harm people, yet can invisibly constitute a kind of storm tide. In this storm, various mental fluctuations are greatly interfered with, especially suppressing cognitive sensing. This is something I have tried before and found effective; please rest assured, senior."

He was lying.

Ever since he was reborn in the Zhugong, Tang Zhao's already high Mental Power had surged. Now, he could sense the subtle emotions and states of anyone below the level of a Sword Guest with just a glance; this was the crushing superiority of his realm. He keenly sensed that Meng Huazhou was lying.

Which part was he lying about?

Was it that he could not interfere with the giants' mental sensing, or that he could, but this interference did not come from the Jingzhe Sword?

Tang Zhao felt that, at the very least, the ability to interfere with their mutual sensing should be true, and it was precisely because he could do it that he was all the more worth being wary of.

Instead, he said earnestly on the surface, "Are you saying you turn lightning into electromagnetic waves? Do you think the sensing between them is similar to electromagnetic wave signals? You are using electromagnetic interference?"

Meng Huazhou was bewildered by this, and after a while, he said, "I... anyway, I can do it."

Tang Zhao said "Oh," and added, "Is it really done by the Jingzhe Sword? I thought it was a skill given to you by that new sword on your back."

Meng Huazhou lowered his head and remained silent, offering no comment, only forcibly hiding the gloom in his eyes.

Tang Zhao's heart stirred. He had just been casually leading Meng Huazhou's thinking to see if he could absorb any ideas to deal with the giants, and as he spoke, a term came to mind:

Sun Storm.

If it really was a sensing method similar to electromagnetic waves, he should be able to achieve interference himself.

However, he would need to develop a new Sword Art. If this Sword Art were developed well, it could become a large-scale area-of-effect attack on the spirit.

Tang Zhao's Sword Heart had reached the realm of "mutual understanding," so comprehending Sword Arts was no longer an obstacle. At this moment, he even had a flash of Inspiration, feeling that the new Sword Art was ready to emerge, and if he were willing to add his Mental Power, it could even directly become a Sword Technique.

Hmm...

Better not.

Because he was not yet a Sword Hero. Tang Zhao did not mind having a practical Sword Technique that added icing to the cake, but it could not be his crucial first Sword Technique. As the Jingxing Sword, he walked the path of Sunlight, and he did not want to transition into a spirit-type specialist.

However, a Sword Art had already taken shape in his mind while he was thinking; he only needed to go back and refine it slightly to occupy an important position in his own Sword Art system.

This Sword Art would be named:

Flare!

While he organized his thoughts, he continued to question Meng Huazhou: "It would be best if you have this ability, but I don't have any means of isolation here. What do you suggest we do?"

Meng Huazhou pursed his lips and said, "Isolation... that is also difficult. I don't have any ready-made Art Tools in my hand. How about... using the Hall?"

Tang Zhao was surprised by the breadth of his thinking. He scanned the Hall below and said, "Use the pavilions of the Yutang? This Hall is not a coffin; how can it be used for isolation? I see they seem to have come out of the Hall, right? Since they can come out once, why can't they come out twice?"

Meng Huazhou took a deep breath and said, "Yes, but that is because the pavilions had gaps, allowing it to crawl out from inside. But if the pavilions are sealed tight without a single gap, light cannot enter and shadows cannot come out, wouldn't this Hall be a living coffin?"

Tang Zhao said, "Completely seal the Hall? How can that be done?"

Meng Huazhou's eyes flickered, and he said, "It can be done! These halls are essentially composed of Cloud Silk. As long as one can manipulate the Cloud Silk, one can make the Hall deform. A single thought can turn a pavilion into a coffin!"

His tone quickened slightly, clearly reaching the key point: "I have a plan, but I lack a suitable expert to cooperate with, so it had to be shelved. Fortunately, I met you, senior; it is truly Heaven's will that I should succeed. Like this: I will go down and activate the Sword Art to cut off their sensing, then drive one or two of them into the Hall, and then seal the Hall from the outside. You, senior, will wait inside the Hall and use your Sword Art to eliminate the giants, and then we will find the next one..."

Before he had even finished speaking, Tang Zhao laughed out loud.

While laughing, he repeated, "I stay in the coffin, and you seal the giants and me inside together from the outside?"

Repeating this sentence made it sound like a joke.

Although Meng Huazhou was definitely setting a trap, the trap shouldn't be too obvious, right? Tang Zhao could play dumb to make use of Meng Huazhou, but he couldn't be so dumb that it was clear at a glance, could he?

Meng Huazhou paused, realizing he had been too impatient and his words had invited suspicion. He hurriedly said, "No, no, no, how could I control the opening and closing of the Hall? Naturally, it would be controlled by you, senior." As he spoke, he held out a flower with both hands.

Tang Zhao was surprised; this small white flower was very familiar. It was the very flower Meng Huazhou had held in his hand to save his life several times and to drag a group of people into Baiyujing.

Meng Huazhou said, "This flower is made of Ruyi Silk and can manipulate ordinary Cloud Silk..." He then explained how to imbue the Ruyi Silk with will and how to connect and operate the Cloud Silk, which was no different from what Ling Baoyu had taught before; he was not playing any tricks here.

Finally, Meng Huazhou said, "I don't know if you are aware of the Ruyi Silk, but if you are, you should understand that what I say is true. If you don't know, I dare to swear that if there is a single word of falsehood, may I be struck by lightning."

Tang Zhao examined the little white flower. The flower was correct, and the previous words were also fine; there was indeed no falsehood.

But just because there was no falsehood, did that mean there was no trap?

Every word spoken could be the truth and still lead someone into a trap.

Meng Huazhou swore in a convincing manner and said, "You hold this, and I will go below to release the Sword Art. Once the storm covers the sky above the Yutang, I will begin to lure the giants into the trap. You go down at that time, personally seal the Hall, eliminate the giants inside, and then come out. With your strength, eliminating a giant won't take even a moment; we can finish it in a few hours. Once these most troublesome enemies are cleared, won't we be able to do whatever we want?"

Tang Zhao weighed the white flower and said, "This plan is worth a try. Very well, you release that Sword Technique that triggers the storm first, and I will see the effect. If you can really do as you say and disable all the giants, I will cooperate with you to continue the plan. If we really eliminate these giants and sweep the Yutang clean..."

He stared at Meng Huazhou and smiled, "I will let you leave safely. I can even give you a few pointers on Sword Guest insights."

He spoke righteously, as if hogging all the benefits was a great favor bestowed upon Meng Huazhou. Meng Huazhou gritted his back teeth and said, "Thank you, senior. I will go and prepare..."

Before leaving, Meng Huazhou glanced at Yue Lai, who had fallen to the ground, and said, "Is this person..."

Before the words were finished, a beam of light flashed, pinning Yue Lai's head to the ground, instantly skewering him like a candied haw. Tang Zhao said lazily, "Why so much nonsense? Go, go!"

Meng Huazhou breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and jumped into the shadows.

As soon as he left, someone behind Tang Zhao said, "Senior, do not trust him."

A person stepped out from behind a wall of light; it was Yue Lai. He was clean and tidy, and the person who had been skewered like a gourd was still lying there; it was clearly one real and one fake.

Tang Zhao did not look at him, his gaze sinking into the shadows as if he could still see Meng Huazhou's vanished back, and said, "Why are you in such a hurry to come out? Didn't you see he hasn't gone far?"

Yue Lai said, "With your strength, does it matter how far he goes? In front of you, he is but an ant. As long as you don't fall for his tricks."

Yue Lai's expression was much more respectful than before. Rather than saying Tang Zhao had saved him and made him grateful, it was more that his full-force sword strike being caught by Tang Zhao's two fingers so nonchalantly had brought him a great shock, causing him to correct his attitude.

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "Don't speak so definitively. I remember you even defeated him before, yet in the blink of an eye, weren't you being chased everywhere by him? It shows that a person's strength is not as simple as it appears on the surface."

Yue Lai said with some resentment, "I was ambushed by him. Actually, even now, if I were to stab him face-to-face, I would have the certainty of a sure kill. But this is Baiyujing, and he is cheating too much. Every blade of grass and every tree here is helping him; I simply cannot get close to him."

Tang Zhao stared at the small flower in his hand and said, "Are you saying he has very high authority in Baiyujing?"

Yue Lai said, "Yes. It is better in the wilderness where there is no one, but once you get close to the pavilions, that man surnamed Meng acts as if he has returned to his own home. With countless invisible helpers, even walking results in being attacked by the floorboards underfoot. I almost thought he was the Ruyi Sword itself. So, you must not go near any halls or pavilions; those are all his traps, and do not believe for a second that he will transfer his authority to you."

Tang Zhao looked at the small white flower in his hand and said, "What kind of authority is this? Naturally he has authority, but who doesn't have authority? I would like to see who the real authority-dog is..."

He suddenly felt something was wrong, feeling as if he had cursed himself.

Yue Lai felt slightly relieved and said, "If you have a way to deal with it, it is still best not to let things drag on. We should have just stabbed him to death with a sword earlier to save him from pulling any more tricks." Saying this, it was clear he was no longer obsessed with taking revenge with his own hands.

Tang Zhao said, "I can still take action now. However, I am waiting for one more experiment; if he can complete it for me, it will save a great deal of effort—"

Yue Lai was about to urge him further, but Tang Zhao suddenly said, "It's here!"

The surroundings were still as gloomy and filled with Silence, but in the sky, an invisible storm had already descended!