by RWX
“Can it be that I, Floatcloud, am going to die here?” Immortal Floatcloud felt despair for just a brief moment; he wouldn’t so easily discard more than a hundred thousand years of cultivation.
“I failed to crush him with raw force… then I’ll try techniques, speed, and other secret arts.” Immortal Floatcloud had gone completely mad. He was using all of his power to struggle to kill Ning!
Whoosh!
The entire region within the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation became filled with white fog. The fog was incomparably thick, so thick that not even divine sense could penetrate it. This was Immortal Floatcloud’s most powerful supportive art, the ‘Heaven-Covering Fog’. However, executing this secret art consumed an enormous amount of his mental energy, and he was no longer able to keep his flying swords at peak power.
“I can’t see anything.” Xiao Lang, who had been staring so hard and fixedly that his eyes had gone bloodshot, instantly grew frantic. “Why is there so much fog there? I can’t see anything.”
“Fog? This fog is definitely capable of blocking out divine sense; otherwise, that Deathsworn wouldn’t use it.” Kindwater Xiaolou was pondering. “Of the many Loose Immortals of the Youngflame clan, there should be a few dozen that are close to the point of being unable to resist the Three Calamities or Nine Tribulations. Those amongst them that are capable of unleashing this sort of mist… it seems the only one is Loose Immortal Floatcloud?”
Celestial Immortal Patriarchs were truly ageless; they would only ever die in combat. Thus, they generally would live extremely long lives and experience countless things. It was thus quite hard for anyone to know for certain how many of the Celestial Immortals of a particular clan remained alive.
Loose Immortals, however, were different.
It was incredible for a Loose Immortal to live even a few million years, such as Immortal Juhua. This was why the Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals of every tribe could generally be located and verified. The Kindwater clan, at least, was quite familiar regarding the statuses of the vast majority of Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals of their mortal enemy, the Youngflame clan.
“This Ji Ning is so formidable. His Primaltwin definitely has the power of a supreme Loose Immortal… and he’s also a Sword Immortal. In a head-on clash, he was no weaker than that Loose Immortal Deathsworn.” Songspear mused to himself, “But with this bewildering fog unleashed, Ji Ning can’t see anything at all… he’s now in a bit of danger.”
……
“Strike.”
The thirty-six Loose Immortals, in the shape of that giant black serpent, were absolutely as powerful as a Celestial Immortal. They once more charged towards the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation. They had smashed against it eight times now, and they had shattered countless blood vessels of the formation. However, that golden heart continued to frantically spew out even more blood, forming more arteries and veins as it strove to support and maintain this formation. Still, one could tell that scars were beginning to appear on the surface of the golden heart. Clearly, the attack of the thirty-six Loose Immortals was simply too strong.
Within the grand formation. Fog was everywhere.
“Grand Dao Domain!”
“Waterflame Lotus!”
“My Own World!”
The black-robed Ning stood there. Faced with this divine sense smothering technique, he finally unleashed the protective technique which he had developed during this past year within the underwater estate. It must be understood that Ki Refiners had very weak bodies; thus, they usually researched protective techniques that would prevent the opponent from easily reaching their flesh. Ji Ning naturally had to consider the best way to protect his Primaltwin.
Under the guidance of the spirit of the underwater estate, Ning had used his Grand Dao Domain, his Waterflame Lotus, and the ‘My Own World’ technique [1. This was the technique of merging the Grand Dao Domain and the Dao-Path of Rainwater, which I realized I accidentally missed in B11C3] to serve as the foundation for the development of a powerful protective technique.
The ‘Lotusflower Swordland!’
* * *
Book 11, Chapter 30 - A Loose Immortal Dies
Rumble…
The thirty-six Loose Immortals of the Kindwater clan, in the form of the giant black serpent, launched a twelfth attack against the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation. It was already beginning to shudder, and the color of the golden heart was beginning to change. Beginning to grow dim, as the cracks and scars on its surface multiplied.
“Break, break, break!”
Immortal Floatcloud was in a berserk state, his white hair flying about. His three flying swords clashed hard against Ning’s Lotusflower Swordland.
Crackle…
Layers of lotus petals continuously defended, one layer after the other.
The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]-formed golden flying sword was as fast as lightning. By comparison, the speed of the flying swords of Immortal Floatcloud was much lower; they were once more struck, then sent back.
“It’s over.”
Immortal Floatcloud suddenly gave up. His three flying swords no longer attacked. He just stood there, staring blankly at the black-robed Ji Ning, who stood there within the Lotusflower Swordland.
In the face of the Lotusflower Swordland… Immortal Floatcloud felt as though he was facing a turtle that had retreated into its shell. There was no way to break it at all! Or, at least, he wasn’t going to be able to do it in a short period of time. In addition, he could sense that his Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation was at the breaking point. He felt despair. He gave up. He understood that this time…he had failed.
Immortal Floatcloud looked at Ning, his face incomparably calm and peaceful. He sent mentally, “Ji Ning, tell me, what… what technique is this?”
The black-robed Ning, seeing that the opponent had actually stopped attacking, realized that the opponent had given up. Towards the bald elder in front of him, Ning actually didn’t feel any hatred; instead, he felt pity. This was because Ning could tell… that this person was a Deathsworn!
“This is my Lotusflower Swordland.”
“Every single lotus petal was formed from my elemental ki and the sword-light.”
“The region covered by my lotus flowers becomes my world.”
“This is a world with the Dao of the Sword, the Dao of Rainwater, the Dao of Space, and the Dao of the Inferno. This is the most powerful technique which I have developed.” The black-robed Ning spoke mentally to his foe. In this moment… Ning understood that the man had chosen death.
Immortal Floatcloud looked at Ning, envy in his eyes. “The Dao of the Sword? The Dao of Space? The Dao of Rainwater? The Dao of the Inferno? So many Daos… and two of them are Grand Daos. You’ve actually been able to join them together perfectly and create a technique of your own. At only thirty years of age, you are already so talented… I’ve never before met a genius like you in my life. I can’t even imagine what your future shall be like. I… am whole-heartedly convinced that my defeat was deserved.”
Ning, however, knew exactly how much effort he had put into the creation of this technique.
He had often gone to the Stellar Hall to meditate on the Dao.
He had often gone to the Still Room to quietly ponder.
He had repeatedly, tirelessly tested time and time again.
The spirit of the underwater estate had guided him as well… and all of these things had helped to inspire him, allowing him to develop this protective technique, this technique that was completely focused on defense.
“Kill me. Let me die by your hands.” A dreamy look was in Immortal Floatcloud’s eyes. In the moment before his death, his subconscious was telling him… that this peerless genius in front of him, Ji Ning, would have an astonishing future. In fact, he even had the vague feeling that an incomparably massive storm was about to arise… and that the peerless genius before him would become one of the most dazzling figures to emerge from the storm.
“A
s you desire.” The black-robed Ning nodded.
Swish!
A golden sword-light flew out.
Immortal Floatcloud didn’t block at all. He allowed it to slash directly through his body, piercing into the golden-lotus Primal within his body. The golden lotus, upon being pierced through, began to collapse.
Although Ning hadn’t destroyed Immortal Floatcloud’s soul, because of the oath he had sworn to the Dao of the Heavens, Immortal Floatcloud knew that his soul was about to be shattered regardless. He knew this… because he could sense the ripples from the impending descent of the Dao of the Heavens.
“Patriarch Arcanum…”
“In this moment, my subconscious is telling me that an enormous tempest is about to descend… one dazzling, eye-catching figure after another is going to arise from the storm, and this Ji Ning is going to be one of them. Our Youngflame clan is going to have a calamity befall us because of this…”
“Patriarch Arcanum, it is one thing for you to have doomed me… but how terrifying of an enemy have you made for our Youngflame clan?”
“In the future, you will regret it.”
“You will regret it.”
“You are the criminal, the sinner of our Youngflame clan. The sinner! But none of this has anything to do with me any longer… I, whose soul is about to shatter, no longer have any connection to anything, to anything at all…”
Immortal Floatcloud closed his eyes. His body completely dissipated into nothingness, revealing an already battered and disintegrating golden-lotus Primal. Under the descent of the ripples of the Dao of the Heavens, the golden lotus was completely annihilated, quickly and completely vaporizing.
The more powerful a cultivator was, the more faith they would place in what their subsconscious told them.
Immortal Floatcloud, in the moment before his death, could also sense that in the future, a terrifying storm was about to arise… and that even the likes of the Youngflame clan, which had existed from the earliest days of the Fiendgod Era until now, would be shaken and perhaps be thrown down by the storm…
BOOM!
As the sword-light of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] pierced through the golden-lotus Primal and as Immortal Floatcloud transformed into nothingness, a massive explosion could suddenly be heard. The Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation blew apart, and a giant black serpent coiled in the air above it, staring down at Ji Ning, who was being protected by a titanic, swiveling lotus flower.
One lotus petal swept around and picked up the flying swords, storage treasures, and other relics left behind by the deceased Immortal Floatcloud. This petal then drifted over to the black-robed Ji Ning.
The black-robed Ning waved his hand, collecting it all.
The entire manor was completely silent.
The terrified servants… the stunned Golden Imperials… Skyfarmer Songspear… Kindwater Xiaolou… Fairy Wavecolor… Xiao Lang… and even the thirty-six Loose Immortals, who had dropped their formation… all of them stared at the black-robed Ning, protected by the defensive layers of the enormous Lotusflower Swordland.
They had just witnessed…
A Wanxiang Adept’s Primaltwin execute a mighty Loose Immortal.
* * *
Book 11, Chapter 31 - Fame From the Battle
Kindwater Xiaolou, Skyfarmer Songspear, and the others were unable to even breathe. They were all in a state of shock.
“Xiaolou, whose this friend of yours?” The leader of the thirty-six Loose Immortals, a burly and muscular bearded man, spoke out.
“Uncle Fan, he is Ji Ning. I invited him here… but who would’ve thought that he’d suffer an attack from a Loose Immortal Deathsworn?” Xiaolou said.
“Ji Ning?” The bearded, burly ‘Uncle Fan’ immediately realized who Ning was, as did the group of Loose Immortals behind him. The death of Youngflame Nong wasn’t something everyone knew, but most of these Loose Immortals who were permanently stationed at Cloudwater Manor knew about this matter. They thus immediately guessed that it had been the Youngflame clan who had sent out the Loose Immortal Deathsworn. Instantly, these Immortals of the Kindwater clan began to feel a sense of delighted schadenfreude; the Kindwater clan had been mortal enemies with the Youngflame clan for countless eons now.
“My young friend Ji Ning.” Kindwater Sanfan looked at the black-robed Ning, then said with a loud laugh, “You truly are formidable. If my guess is correct, this Loose Immortal should have been Immortal Floatcloud. He’s a Loose Immortal who has lived for a hundred thousand years, but he actually died in your hands… and your Primaltwin should be at the peak Primal level, correct?”
“For a peak Primal to be able to kill a supreme Loose Immortal… you clearly are a level lower in terms of elemental ki, and you’ve only trained for thirty years, but… formidable, formidable.”
“That lotus technique truly broadened my horizons as well, and that sword formation technique was also quite impressive.”
The group of Loose Immortals of the Kindwater clan all laughed and praised Ning.
The reason why they praised him was not just because Ning truly had surprised them; more importantly, there was a huge grudge between Ning and the Youngflame clan! Since the Kindwater clan was mortal enemies against the Youngflame clan, they took a true liking towards Ning. The more impressive he was, the more of a threat he would be to the Youngflame clan, and the more they would like him.
“You praise me too much.” The black-robed Ning shook his head. “The only reason I won was because your combined powers, seniors, was far too strong. You caused the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation to nearly break down. Immortal Floatcloud knew that he had no more time left, and so he voluntarily gave up. Only thus could I kill him.”
In terms of power, Ning’s Primaltwin was actually only on par with Immortal Floatcloud. If they had been in a simple one-on-one fight, it would be hard to say who would be the winner.
But this was no simple battle; it was an assassination attempt! An assassination attempt in the Cloudwater Manor of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia! It had to be resolved quickly. As a Deathsworn, Immortal Floatcloud had already been forced to the brink from the very beginning. If he wasn’t able to kill Ning in a short moment, then he would have no choice but to welcome death in his despair.
Swoosh. Swoosh. The Whitewater Hound and Little Qing charged over to the black-robed Ning. Previously, the two had been seated alongside the Golden Imperials, drinking and eating with them. When Ning suffered the attack, not even the Golden Imperials had been able to protect him in time, much less the two of them.
The two had been frantic and nervous, and had been driven nearly to the point of insanity. They didn’t even dare to send soul messages, for fear that Ning would be distracted by them; after all, this was a life-and-death battle. If Ning was distracted and something untoward happened as a result, then it truly would be too late for regrets.
Fortunately! Fortunately, Ning had survived.
“You killed him, that’s all that matters.” Kindwater Sanfan shook his head, then laughed, “Your Primaltwin is at the peak Primal level; it is a full tier lower than Immortal Floatcloud in power. But in the end, Immortal Floatcloud wasn’t able to do anything to you. There’s nothing he can say about his loss, and your victory was a clean and fair one.”
Right at this moment, a powerful aura suddenly spread out from the air above them. This caused all the people present, including the Loose Immortals, Ning, Xiaolou, Songspear, and the others to all raise their heads to look. From the opened ceiling above them, a group of figures flew downwards, with the leader dressed in black armor and the rest dressed in silver armor. These were the Imperial Guards of the Grand Xia!
The leader, a black-armored youth, chortled, appearing to be quite relaxed and at ease. The silver-armored warriors behind him also seemed quite relaxed.
“Xiaolou, what’s going on in your Cloudwater Manor?” The black-armored youth laughed. “Just now, when the watchers of the Imperial Guard headquart
ers were scanning the entire imperial capital, they realized that thirty-six Loose Immortals had appeared in the air above Cloudwater Manor, and that they had all formed into the Kindwater Godsnake and flew into this building. Something happen?”
The Imperial Guards watched over the entire imperial capital, including the streets, the arenas, and the many Immortal estates. Once powerful ripples of battle were felt, the Imperial Guard would immediately hurry over.
However, places like the Heavenly Treasures Mountain or Cloudwater Manor would often have some gambling duels and battles; these locations had all applied for permission for these events from the Grand Xia Dynasty. That was why they were permitted to hold battles, ‘with conditions’. The so-called ‘battles with conditions’ were almost all gambling battles and duels.
Assassinations, however, were still absolutely forbidden.
When the Imperial Guard had first noticed the powerful ripples coming from Cloudwater Manor, they had thought that it was a fairly powerful betting duel going on. Only after seeing the thirty-six Loose Immortals form into the Kindwater Godsnake did they realize that something was wrong! Still, with so many experts protecting Cloudwater Manor, the Imperial Guard didn’t panic; one of the deputy commanders just grabbed a few people and casually sauntered over.
“It was an assassination,” Xiaolou laughed. “The Loose Immortal Deathsworn assassin should have been Immortal Floatcloud of the Youngflame clan. Brother Hong, although I say that it was Immortal Floatcloud, that’s just a guess.”
“Immortal Floatcloud of the Youngflame clan? Who was he assassinating?” The black-armored youth, Xiamang Hong, exclaimed in surprise.
Xiaolou pointed at Ning. “Look. Him right there.”
Xiamang Hong looked towards Ning with curiosity. “Him?” Xiamang Hong said, “The Youngflame clan sent a Deathsworn to assassinate you, but you remain alive?”
Ning was speechless. This man was excessively impolitic in his words; he actually said to the assassination target, ‘you remain alive’?! How was Ning even supposed to respond to that?
