Desolate Era
Page 56
Rumble….
More than three hundred sword-type magic treasures appeared out of nowhere around Ning, every single sword glowing dimly with white light, while at same time activating the power of the natural world. Ning had already reached a very high level of attainment in formations, and so his ability to execute the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had clearly improved greatly as well. It wasn’t like in the past, where he controlled it by rote and by memory; he now understood some of the mysteries inherent within, and knew how to guide them more effectively.
“What are those?!”
“How can swords fly like that?”
“Flying magic treasures?”
The eight Xiantian lifeforms amongst those thousands of Dao-Soldiers were completely stunned. Seeing the hundreds of flying swords all hovering there, they instantly thought of something…Zifu Disciple! One had to at least be a Zifu Disciple in order to control magic treasures and fly on them. This was all but common knowledge. But now, this youth was actually flying on magic treasures.
But how could they have imagined that Ning’s soul had already reached the level of ‘divine will’, which was why he was able to accomplish this?
“He’s a Zifu Disicple, Master, he’s a Zifu Disciple. That youth is a Zifu Disicple!” Some of the Xiantian lifeforms in the Dao Battle-Armor were already beginning to cry out desolately.
“Die, then.” Ning instantly controlled that pulsating, glowing sword in front of him.
Swish!
That pulsating sword light immediately slashed out in an incomparably beautiful arc, leaving behind a desolate, beautiful line in the air. It easily chopped through that handsome youth’s chest, and the handsome youth stared, wide-eyed, in disbelief. “Zifu…Zifu…” Even in death, he couldn’t believe it.
“No!” The tall, muscular fellow just began to cry out, but before he finished it, he was pierced through by the sword glow as well.
Their Dao-Soldier formation hadn’t truly formed into a Flood Dragon, after all; they had only formed eight illusory Floor Dragons. Every single illusory Flood Dragon was formed from a single Xiantian lifeform Dao-Soldier and hundreds or a thousand Houtian Dao-Soldiers. In terms of defense alone, they were actually inferior to the combined forces of the nine Xiantian Dao-Soldiers of the second trial of the Aquatic Manor.
Ning was naturally capable of winning through close combat and using the True Meaning of the Raindrop, but doing so would be very tiring, and he would have to face a group attack.
But now…
By relying on this level four [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], he was able to bring forth the power of an early Zifu Disciple using a ranked magic treasure. Even if the enemy truly had nine thousand Dao-Soldiers and nine Xiantian lifeforms and was capable of forming into a true Flood Dragon, Ning would still be able to fight. And now, when the enemy was like a platter of loose sand, unshaped and unformed, he naturally chopped through them as easily as chopping through vegetables.
“Zifu Disciple!”
“He’s a Zifu Disicple.”
The sword light slashed out in another graceful arc, piercing through those eight Xiantian Dao-Soldiers in sucession. No matter how those Xiantian Dao-Soldiers attempted to flee, their speed was incomparably slower than the speed of that sword light. Even though the nearby Houtian Dao-Soldiers all tried to help block, those Houtian Dao-Soldiers were simply executed as well.
“A Zifu Disicple!”
“Zifu Disciple!”
One desolate scream after another shook the entire mountain. These Xiantian Dao-Soldiers were filled to the brim with unwillingness to accept this. They hadn’t imagined that this youth named Ji Ning was actually a Zifu Disciple! Ordering them to battle against a Zifu Disciple? They weren’t able to accept that this was how they would die. If they had known, they wouldn’t have come out at all.
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“What.”
“This….”
In mid-air, the Azure Firebird and the black serpent watched with wide eyes, their mouths hanging open. From below, Ning was controlling hundreds of swords which were hovering in the air, and then formed into a single sword light which was dominating everyone and everything. This was power on a completely different level. Much like how Xiantian lifeforms could massacre Houtian experts, that sword light effortlessly executed those eight Xiantian Dao-Soldiers, and with their deaths, those Houtian Dao-Soldiers naturally were unable to maintain their grand formation.
“Ning, he…he’s a Zifu Disciple?” The black serpent, who had watched Ning grow up since he was a child, was somewhat stunned as well.
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Even Blindfish, Jadewich, Shan, and the others trapped within the mountain who had been frantically calling for Ning to flee were stunned. From this angle, they couldn’t see Ning, but through the cave entrance, they were able to see many Dao-Soldiers. They personally saw those Dao-Soldiers dressed in black armor, which was to say the Xiantian Dao-Soldiers, be easily pierced through one by one by an incomparably brilliant sword light. All of those Xiantian Dao-Soldiers collapsed, dead.
In addition, as they died, all of them were howling with grief and rage, “Zifu Disciple!” “A Zifu Disciple!”
“A Zifu Disciple?” Blindfish and the others, including the other pitiable Xiantian lifeforms from the other powers here at the Swallow Mountain region, were all somewhat numb. Could it be that aside from Ning, there was another Zifu Disciple who was attacking?
But right at this moment…
Bang!
A black shadow suddenly leapt out from the already opened entrance to that dark underground cave. His green pupils swept those Xiantian lifeforms who were bound within this cave. There were still some ordinary servants here who hadn’t joined the battle. Two unlucky bastards, because they had been fairly close to the cave entrance, had their bodies immediately invaded by the black necromantic energy swirling around the black-furred zombie when it appeared.
“Ahhh!”
“Ahhh!” The two unlucky bastards hadn’t been able to become Dao-Soldiers. Naturally, they were quite ordinary in ability. As soon as the necromantic aura invaded their bodies, they let out desolate howls, then quickly dissolved into puddles of liquid.
The black-furred zombie had already, with a single step, moved past the cave entrance.
“Young master, be careful!” Blindfish howled frantically.
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Ning, after seeing that the Xiantian Dao-Soldiers had been executed, retrieved his three hundred plus swords. After all, he was still just an early stage Xiantian lifeform. The Xiantian ki in his body wasn’t dense enough! If he were to control thousands of swords, his ki would probably be used up in a single attack. If he just used these three hundred or so, he was still only able to execute it ten times.
His true opponent was that truly terrifying Zifu Disciple.
“Roaaaaar.” An angry roar rang out, and from the distance, a black shadow flew over.
“Is that the Zifu Disciple?” Ning’s wing-type magic treasure trembled, and he immediately flew out in an arc, putting some distance between them. With a smashing sound, that black shadow smashed into the ground, causing a massive, thirty meter wide crater to appear on the ground. When Ning saw this, the look on his face changed.
The black-furred zombie stared at Ning, that black, fog-like necromantic aura swirling around his body.
“This fellow is so strong, and his speed is very fast.” Ning was still stunned, and he even was reminded of that black-furred aberration who had served as the third trial in the Aquatic Manor. However, this black-furred zombie gave Ning an evil, baleful feeling, and had that black fog swirling around his body. That aberration who served as the third trial in the Aquatic Manor didn’t.
“Kill.” The black-furred zombie stared at Ning, then charged towards him.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Activating the wing-type magic treasures, Ning moved like a ghost, constantly dodging. Although each time he
dodged, it was rather difficult, he was still able to evade. Occasionally, the Darknorth swords in his hands would land blows on the black-furred zombie, but only white smudges were left on it.
“This fellow seems quite similar to the black-furred aberration in the Aquatic Manor. His strength is great, his speed is fast, and his body is incomparably tough. However, his strength is much lower.” In their exchange of blows, Ning immediately discovered that the black-furred zombie’s method of using force was very clumsy, while the black-furred creature in the underwater estate has intelligence. In terms of both footwork and palm techniques, although each movement seemed simple, even with Ning’s miraculous evasion techniques, he still couldn’t dodge.
“Not even at the advanced level of technique. Definitely not a Zifu Disciple. The antidote to my poison is probably being carried by that Zifu Disciple. He hasn’t come out, which means he definitely isn’t able to be distracted right now. I have to seize the opportunity to get rid of him.” Ning understood that for the Zifu Disciple to still not come out meant the man was definitely in a tough situation.
While he was ill, go for the kill!
Swoosh!
The wing-type magic treasures on Ning’s back trembled, then took him in an arcing line, moving past the black-furred zombie. The zombie howled ferociously, wanting to attack Ning, but how could Ning, when using the [Windwing Evasion], be caught by the likes of him?
“Ji Ning?” A sinister, cold, sharp voice suddenly emanated out from the mountain. Ning immediately saw that midway in the mountain, at the ground in front of the cavern entrance, there was a man dressed in a loose black robe. This man’s hair was loosely bound, and his face was utterly ashen, without a hint of color. The oily green eyes the man had caused even greater shock to Ning than the black-furred zombie had.
* * *
Book 5, Chapter 3 - A Battle To the Death!
Bei Zishan swept the surrounding area with his gaze. He saw the areas frozen by frost or scorched by flames and those many corpses. In particular, when he saw, amongst the corpses, the bodies of those Xiantian lifeform Dao-Soldiers, Zishan’s heart clenched. He ached! These were his subordinates. For forging and refining this sort of sinful magic treasure, he needed many subordinates to torment and torture people, and also some powerful subordinates to capture Xiantian lifeforms for him.
“All ruined.” Zishan looked towards Ji Ning, his gaze filled with a sinister maliciousness. “My students and servants were all wiped out by you. Those potential dread wraiths that I had been cultivating and refining for so long, and was about to finish with…you forced me to stop. I, Bei Zishan, was actually by a little child like you to suffer such a loss! I won’t mistreat you. In fact, I will have to ‘thank’ you and let you have a taste of what it is like to have your soul be tormented!
“Zifu Disciple.”
“He’s a Zifu Disciple.”
Amidst the thousands of Dao-Soldiers, there were still quite a few screaming in terror.
“You are a Zifu Disciple?” Bei Zishan stared at Ning. After all, his evil magic treasure was only half completed because of Ning’s interruption. However, even with this half-completed magic treasure, Zishan could be considered a peak Zifu figure. Based on the discussion between his disciples, however, this Ning was just a twelve year old youth of the Ji clan.
A twelve year old who had become a Zifu Disciple?
If this was true! Then Zishan was actually worried. For someone so young to have become a Zifu Disciple most likely meant that this person had some miraculous events occur. Perhaps he might have some sort of hidden, secret technique.
“Zifu Disciple? If I said I wasn’t a Zifu Disciple, would you believe me?” Ning said coldly.
Swoosh!
Zishan had been just standing there, but suddenly, a boat appeared beneath his legs. Stepping onto the boat, Zishan instantly began to pull away from Ning. Zishan, dressed in his long black robed, stared coldly at Ning. He had already decided to consider that Ning was an expert on the same level as him, and so he immediately pulled away.
Immortal practitioners came in all types. Fiendgod Body Refiners preferred close combat, while others who liked to use magic treasures, poisons, golems, and more would naturally prefer to pull to a distance before using their techniques. After all, close quarters combat was very dangerous. Bei Zishan, for example, liked to use poisons and magic treasures.
“Boom!” A black claw suddenly appeared, sweeping forwards and attacking Ning from behind.
Ning’s wing-type magic treasure trembled, and he flew out in an arc, immediately dodging past. As for that black claw, the wind from the attack alone had caused the ground to tear apart. The black-furred zombie, bellowing, charged towards Ning.
“Bei Zishan, prepare to die!” Ning, while dodging the black-furred zombie, simultaneously manifested more than four hundred sword-type magic treasures, all of which were under Ning’s control and immediately emanated a blurry white light.
“Indeed. There’s no need to forcibly control them all. All I need to do is just guide them into the correct flow. When I simply control the critical points of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation…it becomes much easier to control this Lesser Thousand Sword Formation.” Ning previously, while meditating on formations, had tested out the fifth level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation. At the underwater mansion, although he had been able to use it, it had been too exhausting.
But this time, it was clearly much easier for him. In addition, thanks to Ning’s nonstop testing, his control over the 405 sword-type magic treasures had become much more dexterous, and it became easier and easier for Ning’s ‘divine will’ to control them.
“Magic treasures!” Zishan, astride his flying boat, saw this from afar. His face changed. “He’s able to control magic treasures and fly on them. So he is indeed a Zifu Disciple! So many sword-type magic treasures….most likely they are almost all unranked, but so many unranked magic treasures joined together still pose a formidable threat.”
“Roaaaaaaar.” Growling, the black-furred zombie was still in pursuit of Ning, attacking again and again.
Ning, relying on his incomparably dexterous Windwing Evasion, was able to dodge aside time and time again. In a battle of life and death, one had to rely on one’s advantages. This black-furred zombie clearly was incomparably strong and indestructibly tough. Battling with it head on was simply idiocy. Ning naturally understood that this black-furred zombie was probably reared by Bei Zishan. As long as he could kill Zishan, there would be no need to fear this black-furred zombie.
“Lesser Thousand Sword Formation, level five!” Ning constantly controlled the many swords hovering around him, and given that his understanding of the intricacies of the formation was rapidly increasing, his ability to utilize it was become greater as well.
“Go!” Ning’s eyes suddenly flashed as he stared at the distant Zishan.
In front of him, there formed a flickering, unstable sword light, which suddenly shot out into the distance, as fast as lightning, leaving behind only seemingly solid yet seemingly illusory arc in the skies. It stabbed directly towards the distant Bei Zishan. Zishan had long since produced a horsetail whisk-type magic treasure in his hands, and seeing the attack, he immediately brandished the horsetail whisk, which transformed into three thousand white threads that sought to entangle that piercing sword light.
Both this flying boat as well this horsetail whisk were ranked magic treasures! Their power was formidable.
“Crackle…..”
“Not good.” Zishan’s face changed, and he hurriedly controlled his horsetail whisk, making it so that even as those three thousand white threads were blocking and entangling the sword light, a large number of the white threads were also emanating rays of light, with each layer of them ablating and frantically neutralizing the oncoming force, causing the sword light to have lost almost all of its power before it even reached Zishan’s body.
This caused the distant Ning’s face to change as well.
The power of the fifth level of the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation definitely wasn’t weak. The fourth level could be comparable to an early Zifu Disciple using a ranked magic treasure, so the fifth level had to be comparable to a more formidable Zifu Disciple, right?
“You really are a Zifu Disciple.” Zishan stared at Ning, his face filled with savagery. He shouted, “At such a young age, you are such a monster. How can I possibly spare you!”
In Zishan’s hands, a black item suddenly appeared which looked like a wasp’s nest. At the same time, it quickly grew greater, to the size of three meters tall. It was filled with countless holes, and there with countless buzzing sounds, one golden wasp after another swarmed out from those countless holes, instantly charging out. In the blink of an eye, those many wasps filled the skies, pouring towards Ning in a flood.
“Venomous bugs.” Ning was startled, and in front of his body, an utterly unstoppable sword light formed once more. “Kill!”
Swish!
A sword light pierced through the skies, directly flying towards those countless, tightly clustered swarm of golden wasps. With crackling sounds that were quite unpleasant to hear, the sword light slaughtered hundreds of the venomous bugs before having passed through to the other time. By now, more than half of the energy of the sword light had been used up, and it turned in an arc, once more stabbing into the swarm. This time, however, it used up all of its power in the swarm, with another few hundred of them having died.
“I can’t let this continue.” Ning, while using his wing-type magic treasures to dodge, immediately discarded the notion of using the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation to attack.
The Lesser Thousand Sword Formation used up a truly astonishing amount of energy. Ning had only used the fifth level version of the attack twice, with a single fourth level version of this attack. However, as a result, only sixty or seventy percent of his Xiantian ki remained. There were, however, hundreds of thousands of these venomous bugs, while a single sword light of his had only killed seven or eight hundred.