by RWX
“He actually didn’t die!” The distant, giant Jadechild stared, astonished.
……
When the giant Jadechild had struck Ning, the nearby Zifu Disciples, including Nong Zidao, were all extremely excited. But upon seeing that Ning was simply knocked flying without being damaged at all, all of them were incomparably disappointed.
“How could it end up this way?”
“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild used the Heavenly Transformation divine ability. How powerful much his punches be? How could this person not have been smashed to death?”
All of the Zifu Disciples felt a chill in their hearts.
“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, we will help you.”
“We will help.”
These frantic Zifu Disciples all unleashed their own techniques.
………
As Ning was sent flying dozens of meters back by Jadechild, a fierce look flashed through his eyes. All of the seven hundred-plus flying swords around him lit up. This was the first time during Ning’s battle with Jadechild that he had used the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].
His head instantly felt a splitting, piercing pain!
“Go!” The sword light that had appeared in front of Ning, shaped like a true sword, transformed into a line of rain.
“Go!” “Go!” “Go!” “Go!”
Ning, relying on their earlier exchange of blows, pulled farther away, then launched five attacks of the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. And then, he immediately came to a halt. Just launching five attacks of the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had made his soul almost unable to take it any longer. Naturally, he halted.
“Die!” Ning’s eyes were filled with eagerness.
This was his most powerful, supreme attack. It had to succeed.
“Useless.” The giant Jadechild was surrounded by those countless flying specks of Stellar Sand. Ordinary raindrops were completely unable to break through them. When the first sword light under Ning’s control pierced through the Stellar Sands, the giant Jadechild glanced at the line of rain, then smashed over with a giant palm atop that rain line.
BANG!!!
The giant Jadechild shook violently. Boomboomboom…he took three hurried steps back, causing the surrounding ground to tremble violently.
The other four rays of sword light attacked from up ahead and from behind.
“How can he be so strong?” The giant Jadechild felt as though his arm was turning numb from pain. However, given the astonishing regenerative speed of his Fiendgod body, he wasn’t afraid. He hurriedly exerted his strength to block the other sword light rays.
Bang! Bang!
Each time he blocked them, he took several steps back. This impacted his agility. He wasn’t careful, and so two lines of ray still chopped past his fists, slicing directly towards his chest. Crackle…the rain line chopped down against the giant Jadechild’s body like a knife. However, his body, covered with that hazy golden light, was incomparably tough. By the time the sword light chopped through his protective armor and began to chop against his body, it found it quite difficult to advance.
Crackle…it just barely managed to leave a large wound on Jadechild’s body, then vanished.
The other flash of sword light also simply left a wound before disappearing.
“What!” Ning stared, wide-eyed.
He understood now.
While activating the ‘Heavenly Transformation’ divine ability, Jadechild’s body had increased tremendously in size. And thus, the level of difficulty for chopping Jadechild’s body in half had risen as well. This was because Jadechild’s body was simply too thick, and every single strand of flesh and muscle had also risen in strength and endurance. The ninth level of his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had only been able to leave a wound on Jadechild’s body.
“You injured me?” Jadechild bellowed as he charged over.
“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, we’ll help you.”
“Ji Ning, prepare for death.”
The other distant, spectating Zifu Disciples all unleashed their various magic treasures and techniques as they flew towards Ning.
“Retreat.” Ji Ning hurriedly activated his wings and retreated at high speed.
The surrounding rainwater began to swivel, spinning into layers of protective curtains that blocked these magic treasures. The magic treasures of these Zifu Disciples…weren’t able to penetrate these layers of protection at all. From this, one could see how terrifying Ning’s ‘Rainwater Sword Domain’ was.
As for Jadechild, he smashed straight through the protective curtains of rain.
“Retreat.” Ning had completely changed his strategy.
While controlling the rainwater to form one layer after another of resilient water to block and slow down his opponent, Ning also generated Waterflame Lotuses around Jadechild! The Waterflame Lotuses around Ning…served as a form of protection. But once the Waterflame Lotuses appeared around Jadechild, they served as a form of binding.
“Break.” Jadechild forcibly smashed apart the Waterflame Lotus, then through one watery curtain after another, seeking to chase after Ning.
Ning used almost all of his concentration on controlling the rainwater and the Waterflame Lotuses. Once he focused his energy on controlling them, it was only natural that the Waterflame Lotuses could constantly bloom and spread out, blocking his foe. Those watery curtains continuously formed as well, one lafter another…faced with so many layers of bindings, the giant Jadechild’s speed naturally dropped dramatically. He wasn’t able to catch Ning at all.
“Dao Domain.” The distant Nong Zidao, secreted within the black tower of light, narrowed his eyes. “It really is a Dao Domain. That rainwater forming into one protective wall after another is actually this powerful…Dao Domain. Only sixteen years ago, and yet he has gained insight into a Dao Domain. What a monster!”
Prior to this, he wasn’t yet certain.
But once Ning focused all his power on unleashing the might of his Dao Domain, using countless amounts of rainwater to block, Nong Zidao and Jadechild, these two experts with tremendous amounts of experience, knew for certain that this was a Dao Domain. If this wasn’t a Dao Domain, how could it be so powerful?
The Waterflame Lotuses just bloomed, one after the other.
But the Rainwater Sword Domain was everywhere. Every single curtain of rainwater was somewhat weaker than a Waterflame Lotus, but there was too much rain. This was quality born from quantity; Jadechild’s speed naturally dropped.
“If you have any ability, fight me head on.” Jadechild roared savagely. “What sort of ability is this, to rely on this sort of technique?”
“To be able to lock you down is a form of ability as well.” Ning laughed coldly. “And in addition, by locking you down, I’ve ensured your death.”
Jadechild’s face changed.
“Indeed…” Ning saw the look on Jadechild’s face. A thought came to his mind; he had guessed correctly.
Previously, when they had fought head on, Jadechild’s strength had been simply too overbearing. Even by going all out and using the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], Ning had only been able to make him take three steps back. Even when he had landed a blow on Jadechild’s body, the sword light had only been able to leave behind an injury on that two-story-tall figure, then vanished. But the heavens were always fair.
The Heavenly Transformation divine ability allowed one to gain in strength and speed. Even one’s endurance would rise dramatically, and one’s size would increase as well…
With so many advantages, could it be that it had no disadvantages?
The disadvantage was…it used up an enormous amount of divine power! To maintain the Heavenly Transformation state used up an astonishing amount of divine power.
Ning had trained in the divine ability, ‘Windwing Evasion’. Windwing Evasion was different from the Heavenly Transformation
technique. The Windwing Evasion…focused on technique! But the Heavenly Transformation divine ability…was a sort of divine ability that relied on one’s ability to control one’s body.
The Windwing Evasion was a divine ability technique meant for flying about and evading. Those paintings of the giant Roc contained an incomparably deep and exquisite profoundness to them, while also a technique for using divine power! When Ning had been battling Bei Zishan, he had used up his divine power to activate the Windwing Evasion.
When one used divine power to activate a divine ability, the divine power could increase tenfold or a hundredfold in power, naturally making the divine ability powerful as well.
But Ning’s ‘divine power’ in his Fiendgod body was only at the peak Xiantian level, while his elemental energy surpassed that of a peak Zifu-level Ki Refiner. By using his elemental energy to control the wing-type magic treasures in accordance to the intricacies of the Windwing Evasion, naturally he was still quite fast.
“Maintaining the Heavenly Transformation will use up astonishing amounts of divine power. I want to see how much you have.” Ning mused to himself. “As for myself, the amount of energy I’m using up is negligible. Both the Rainwater Sword Domain and the Waterflame Lotus relies on activating the power of the heavens in order to take form.
“Ji Ning!”
The giant Jadechild bellowed. “All you are capable of is using these despicable methods.”
Ning just focused whole-heartedly on controlling the Rainwater Sword Domain and the Waterflame Lotuses, frantically trying to entangle his foe. The giant Jadechild, as Ning had predicted, was using up an extremely astonishing amount of divine power while using his divine ability. The giant Jadechild didn’t dare to return to his normal state either, as if he did, Ning’s sword light would probably instantly chop apart and slaughter him.
…..
Roughly an hour later.
This was the last hour of Jadechild’s life. During this hour, he came to a halt, no longer going to smash against the Waterflame Lotus or the curtains of rain. By not attacking, he was able to lower his expenditure of divine power. However…when he stopped moving, Ning would begin to control his sword light to attack. After Ning’s sword light left a wound on his body, he would have to use a large amount of divine power to heal.
Not battling wasn’t an option. Battling also wasn’t an option.
Jadechild’s divine power was finally used up, and reluctantly, his body returned to the size of a normal person’s.
Crackle…
A line of rain slashed past, and Jadechild’s head went flying, then landed on the ground. Given how his divine power had been completely used up, there was no way he could heal his wounds any longer. Naturally, he lost his life.
“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild died.”
“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild!”
The other Zifu Disciples were all incomparably terrified, but within the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, they were completely unable to flee.
“It’s all over.” Within the black tower of light, Nong Zido stretched his hand out to stroke the Fairy Crane by his side. A hint of pain and pity was in his eyes. “Crane, I’m sorry. This trip to Swallow Mountain was in error. I’m unable to save you. Let us end our master-servant relationship now. I hope that the Ji clan will spare your life!” Within his other hand, a Dao-seal suddenly appeared.
Whoosh.
Suddenly, a spatial vibration appeared, then Nong Zidao’s body disappeared from within the tower of black light, leaving behind only the other five Zifu Disciples, the Landwyrm, and the Fairy Crane.
The Fairy Crane let out a griefstricken bird call as tears began to flow from its eyes.
* * *
Book 6, Chapter 20 - Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal
“Nong Zidao disappeared?” Ji Ning frowned.
The other five Zifu Disciples were utterly terrified as well. Ning, with the assistance of the grand formation, was absolutely at the Wanxiang Adept level of power. The five of them weren’t even enough to join into a formation of their own.
“Ji Ning, please spare our lives.”
“I offer to you all of the magic treasures that I am carrying. My clan will also offer up magic treasures in exchange for my life.”
“Ji Ning…”
The five of them were all begging, without any hint of a martial spirit.
Ning swept the five of them with his gaze.
“Ji Ning.” A voice suddenly rang out by his ears. “We’ve destroyed these two groups of Zifu Disciples, but two more days will pass before the Grand Xia Dynasty arrives…within these two days, more disciples of Snowdragon Mountain might arrive. There is no way for us to watch over and guard these people. Kill them all. As for those two Zifu-level Diremonsters, if you are able to make them submit, do so. If not, kill them!”
Ning nodded.
The Patriarch’s words were reasonable.
“All of you, accept death.” Ning looked at them and spoke calmly.
In front of his body, that flashing sword light suddenly transformed into a line of rainwater and flew towards them. It was immediately followed by yet another flash of sword light.
These were all only at the eighth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]!
“Ji Ning, Snowdragon Mountain will definitely avenge us.”
“Ji Ning, you will die a miserable death!”
These five seemed to have gone berserk. All of them wanted to go all out, but given that they weren’t able to join in a formation, even though they threw out some powerful Dao-seals…upon encountering that curtain of water, they immediately exploded, unable to touch Ning at all.
Within a few moments, all five of them perished.
“Do you two spirit-beasts submit?” Ning swept his gaze towards the still-living Landwyrm and Fairy Crane.
The Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane looked at each other, and then the Landwyrm transformed into a large, azure-armored man, while the Fairy Crane transformed into a white-robed maiden. The azure-armored man and the white-robed maiden all immediately fell to their knees. “We are willing to submit!”
Although Zifu-level Diremonsters were incomparably arrogant and hard to tame, when they were faced with only two options, to perish or to submit…they would generally submit, especially when the opponent’s power completely surpassed their own.
“Follow me.” Ning’s gaze flashed, and the falling rain disappeared. Immediately afterwards, a surge of blazing fire swept out, rendering the corpses of the five Zifu Disciples into ash, leaving behind only their magic treasures, which Ning easily collected.
“Yes.” The Landwyrm and the Celestial Crane all followed after Ning.
Soon, they passed through the layers of black fog and arrived in front of Ji Ninefire.
“Eh?” Ning was surprised. In front of him, aside from the Patriarch and his father, Ji Truekeep, Granny Shadow, and Ah Xing had all arrived as well.
“I asked them to come.” Ninefire laughed. “Both groups of Zifu Disciples are dead. For now, we have no opponents, so I had them all come over.”
“Ji Ning. Formidable.” Truekeep’s eyes were shining.
“Formidable, formidable.” Old servantAh Xing’s face was filled with delight as well.
Granny Shadow laughed and nodded as well.
All of them were very happy.
This was because, in just two or three short days worth of time, Snowdragon Mountain would only be able to invite some Zifu Disciples from nearby regions to come over…and as for the main Snowdragon Mountain Sect, it was simply too far away. There was no way they would be able to make it over in two or three short days. Having killed eighteen Zifu Disciples and tamed two spirit-beasts, the threat level had dropped dramatically.
“Unfortunately, we allowed Nong Zidao to flee.” Patriarch Ninefire shook his head.
“Patriarch, how did he escape? Why did he suddenly disappear?” Ning asked hurriedly. Granny Shadow and the others all looked tow
ards the Patriarch as well. They had just gathered together, and so they hadn’t had a chance to ask about these things in detail.
Ninefire shook his head. “I don’t know either. He simply disappeared. There’s no trace of him in the entire formation. However, if we ask his spirit-beast, I imagine it will know.”
The eyes of Ning and the others lit up. Right. Ask the spirit-beast.
“Fairy Crane.” Ninefire looked at the white-robed maiden. “How did Nong Zidao escape?”
The white-robed woman said respectfully, “My former owner was skilled in formations. He was valued by his master, and so was given a ‘Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal’. This Dao-seal, upon being used, will instantly allow one to teleport to any location within ten thousand kilometers.”
“A Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal?” Ning and the others looked at each other.
Ning quietly memorized this name. It seemed as though this Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal was the same thing as his so-called ‘Traceless Talisman’. The Traceless Talisman had been acquired in a fortuitous encounter by an ancestor of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, who had used up two, leaving only one behind. Because it allowed one to teleport within ten thousand kilometers without a trace, it had been named the ‘Traceless Talisman’.
“Patriarch, what should we do with these two spirit-beasts?” Ning looked at Ninefire. The other five all looked at each other as well.
“Ji Ning, are you willing to accept them?” Ninefire asked Ning.
Ning looked at the Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane. Zifu-level spirit-beasts were very precious. Ordinary Zifu Disciples wouldn’t be able to acquire them, but in truth…Ning didn’t care about these two Zifu spirit-beasts. If Ning took some time to focus on his insights, in anywhere from a few hours to a few days, he would break through to the seventh level, as a Fiendgod Body Refiner.
In but a few years, he would reach the ninth level as an Fiendgod Body Refiner of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]! By then, Zifu-level spirit-beasts would truly be useless to him; in fact, they would slow him down.
