by RWX
As for the distant Tianello and Maji, they and the other cultivators who were watching were completely stunned.
“Utterly terrifying.”
“This is t-t-terrif… is this the true power of the three great clans? So they had forces even more powerful than those Emperor-class golems!”
“Is this the power of the one named Daolord Darknorth?”
All of them felt stunned. They had already been amazed by how Ning had been able to defeat the six Emperor-class golems by himself, but that extended battle had only resulted in the partial destruction of the Cranesoar Mountains. In this battle between Ning and the three clan leaders, however, the very first exchange of blows had already completely destroyed what remained of the mountains. Even the ground around the mountain had begun to crack into a spiderweb of crevices!
This show of force was enough to terrify anyone. Even Daolords of the Fourth Step who dared to move in closer would be instantly annihilated.
……
In truth, others on this world aside from Tianello and Maji were paying attention to this battle! Ning’s direct challenge to the three great clans had drawn quite a bit of attention, especially after he had defeated the first six Emperor-class golems that had been sent against him. This had stunned every clan in the world, causing all of them to hasten to the mountains and watch what would happen next.
“So this is the true power of the three great clans!” The other six ‘great clans’ and the weaker clans were all stunned as they watched from afar. They felt completely breathless. There was no way at all for them to fight back against the overwhelming power of the three great clans.
In their heart of hearts, many of they had dreamed of one day defeating the three great clans and becoming the rulers of this world… but now, they felt a sense of complete powerlessness. The difference in power was simply too vast!
“That Daolord Darknorth is ridiculously strong as well.” They were amazed by the power of the three great clans, but they were also stunned by the strength of Daolord Darknorth. Daolord Darknorth was so strong that he was able to easily annihilate any of the clans in this world, aside from the three principal clans.
……
Ning and the skinny silver man began to furiously battle against each other, and the terrifying shockwaves generated by their blows blasted out in every direction.
“What incredible power… but what a low level of insight!” Ning and the skinny silver man exchanged over a hundred blows in that brief instant but only fought to a standstill.
In strength alone, Ning’s opponent was actually quite a bit stronger than him; Ning was only able to match him through usage of the Heavenbreaker stance. In terms of speed, the silver man moved at a hundred times the speed of light! Even with Ning’s nine novessence arts and heartworld projection active, the silver man was still able to maintain this speed. This was because the man was simply too powerful; he was completely capable of resisting the pressure and maintaining this level of speed.
However… the silver man’s level of insight into the Dao was just too low! Ning felt that it was perhaps weaker than that of many second-tier Daolords. It was perhaps just barely on par with the likes of Patriarch Clearwind!
It must be understood that for cultivators who made it into the higher ranks, their power generally stemmed from their mastery of the Dao. Ning had an incredibly high level of insight into the Dao, the [Heartsword] art, and the Northbow swords… that was why he possessed such power! The silver men had a much lower level of insight into the Dao, but they were much like golems; their speed and strength were incredible, allowing them to fight Ning to a standstill.
“He has an overwhelming amount of power but is only able to put a fraction of it to good use. If I had such speed and strength, I’d be able to take down ten of them.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. “No wonder those three Emperor-class golems we just bound said that so long as Ninedust helps them out while they are working together, they won’t be captured.
* * *
Book 34, Chapter 18 - All Abilities Unleashed
Ji Ning had been able to easily capture the Emperor-class golems because he had a high level of insight into the Dao. His Shadowless stance was completely unpredictable, while his Blood Drop stance was incredibly fast, making it hard for the golems to defend against them.
As for the silver men? Although they were strong and fast, their strikes were too direct and clumsy! Although these clumsy strikes were very forceful, it wasn’t too hard to block them; at most, you would be knocked flying from the power. In a one-on-one fight, they might be able to capture an Emperor-class golem, but all three of them were working together and were being assisted by Ninedust and Ning. It was highly unlikely that any of them would be recaptured.
“I’m clearly stronger than him, but I’m unable to dominate him.” The skinny silver man sent mentally, “Hurry over here. Surround him and kill him.”
“Coming.”
“Let’s go.” The other two silver men charged forwards as well.
Surrounded by the five-colored sea of energy, Ning was weakened and only able to unleash 80% of his full power! Despite that, his high level of insight into the Dao allowed him to fight the skinny silver man to a standstill.
“Attack!” The muscular silver man wielded two silver warhammers while the silver-haired man wielded a pair of long silver sabers. All three of the silver men began to surround and furiously attack Ning.
“Die.”
“Die!”
“He’s dead meat.” The three silver men were brimming with killing intent. At the same time, the tri-colored rope snaked over towards Ning as well. However, the three Emperor-class golems and Ninedust immediately transformed into streaks of light that shot towards the tri-colored ropes.
“Your opponent is us!” Ninedust transformed into a vast wave that wrapped itself around the tri-colored rope, while the three Emperor-class golems launched repeated attacks that caused the tri-colored rope to break apart, reform, and break apart again repeatedly.
……
The tri-colored rope had been tied down by Ninedust and the three Emperor-class golems.
The five-colored rope had transformed into a five-color sea that was weakening Ning.
The three silver men were attacking Ning at the same time.
This was an utterly apocalyptic battle! Massive shockwaves blasted the surrounding area repeatedly. The nearby mountains had long ago been annihilated, while the earth itself had caved in. The other six great clans and the standard clans who were watching from afar were in a state of shock. This was a battle that engendered both admiration and despair in their hearts. They weren’t even close to being able to fight against foes like this.
“Ahaha! You are too weak. You clearly possess tremendous power, but you are only able to put a fraction of it to good use.” Ning was in his three-headed, six-armed form as he fought against the three by himself, but he wasn’t at any disadvantage at all.
“How can this be?”
“How is this possible? Why can’t we even suppress or dominate him?”
“How can he be this strong?” The three silver men were all stunned. Just one of them was enough to fight Ning to a standstill… so why was it that all three of them working together were only achieving the same effect?!
This was because when Ning was fighting against the six Emperor-class golems and the skinny silver man, his strategy was to fight them head-on and meet them attack for attack! Now that three silver men were fighting him at the same time, Ning primarily relied on his defensive sword-arts and only launched the occasional attack. His Soleheart stance and his Yin-Yang stance were simply too powerful, especially after the Northbow swords had absorbed all of that frozen ninesong pith. His defensive sword-arts had reached an incredible level of prowess.
Ning’s defensive sword-arts were so perfect that he would be able to hold out against anything save for an utterly overwhelmingly superior level of power. Given how clumsy these silver
men’s attacks were and how low a level of insight into the Dao they had, Ning found it very easy to defend against them.
“Forget about three; I’d probably be able to defend against six of these silver men,” Ning mused.
“Take rope form and bind him!” the muscular silver Fumo clan leader sent mentally to the five-colored sea. Instantly, the five-colored sea began to rapidly shrink in size. It once more transformed into the five-colored rope and coiled towards Ning.
“Rope?” Ning immediately moved. Whoosh! The five-colored rope was only able to move at less than fifty times the speed of light due to the heartworld projection and the nine novessence arts, while Ning was able to move much faster. He was able to effortlessly dodge the five-colored rope and immediately used his Shadowless evasion art to disappear without a trace.
“Damn.”
“Once our golems take rope form and shrink in size, Daolord Darknorth is able to easily avoid it.” The three silver men were beginning to grow anxious. Ning was no fool; he wasn’t just going to stand there like an idiot and allow the five-colored rope to bind him. The reason why he had done so against the tri-colored rope in his first battle against the six golems was because he was so completely sure in his chances that he didn’t even want to bother with dodging, instead choosing to exchange attacks. Now, however, Ning didn’t dare to act with such arrogance.
“Golems, maintain a size of ten million kilometers,” the silver-haired man was forced to order.
……
At a size of ten million kilometers, the combined attacks of the three silver men ensured that there was nowhere for Ning to run. This size was enough to keep Ning at just 70% of his maximum power.
“There’s just nothing we can do to him.” The three silver men furiously assaulted Ning, but even at 70% power Ning’s defenses were airtight, even though he was now forced to completely focus on defense and was only able to launch the occasional attack.
Even if another silver man came, Ning would still be able to hold on.
“Nonti clan leader and Juwah clan leader, the three of us have done everything we can. This Daolord Darknorth’s defensive sword-arts are even more formidable than his offensive sword-arts. There is nothing we can do to him,” the muscular silver man sent mentally. “The three of us and these golems are completely unable to kill him. There’s nothing else we can do.”
“Yes, we’re out of other options.”
“I really didn’t want to do this… but we’ll have to use it.”
The three silver men exchanged a glance. This Daolord Darknorth was the most dangerous disaster to ever befall their three great clans! All three of them were on par with him, but even working together with the assistance of the five-colored rope they were still unable to do anything to him. Their failure to kill him was already shaking their control over this world. They absolutely could not permit this to continue.
“Die.” The muscular silver man produced a deep-blue oval treasure that was covered with layers of wriggling runes.
“Daolord Darknorth, you should feel proud to die to this Sithe treasure.” The skinny silver man produced an ancient banner that was blood-red and covered with a strange, evil-looking beast diagram.
“Die.” The silver-haired man took out a black bottle.
Ning immediately felt a sense of danger. “Not good. Come forth!” Ning produced a snow-white lotus flower in his hands. The lotus instantly bloomed, with Ning standing at the very center. The layers of lotus leaves which appeared around Ning began to swivel, while Ning was within the bud at the very center which was completely covered by the first layer of petals. Ning was able to see through the semi-translucent petals and sense what was happening outside.
It must be remembered that Ning and Ninedust had acquired Winesage’s vast hoard of treasures as well as the treasures owned by Timedream, Kingfreak, and numerous second-tier Daolords. Some of the weaker ones that weren’t very useful, he had left behind for the Three Realms or to Su Youji and the others, but the useful ones he had kept on him. This one was one of the three most supreme defensive treasures in Ning’s possession.
Screeeech! The layers of wriggly runes on the deep blue oval disc in the hands of the muscular silver man suddenly began to light up, emanating an ear-piercing screech as they did so. At the same time, a light blue sonic wave burst forth from the treasure and shot towards Ning.
The light blue sonic wave easily pierced straight through the snow-white lotus; the lotus wasn’t able to defend against it at all. Ning struck out with his sword, but it didn’t make any contact with the sonic wave at all.
Rumble…
The sound dove into his body, smashing straight against Ning’s soul and truesoul. Ning’s truesoul and soul were protected by the azureflower mist energy; although both trembled slightly, they didn’t suffer any harm at all and managed to endure the hit head-on.
“What a strange attack. It struck at the soul and truesoul?” Ning was secretly stunned. He stared intently at his foes.
Whooosh. The attacks from the other two silver men arrived as well. The black bottle had already shattered, a black flame erupting from it which quickly ‘glued’ itself over the snow-white lotus flower. Hissing crackles could be heard as the snow-white flower immediately began to tremble, but then the lotus began to swivel once more. Although the black fire which had been ‘pasted’ on the petals were enough to cause them to tremble, the other petals helped spread the pressure and thus the flower withstood the attack.
Finally, the power of the black flames was completely used up. The snow-white lotus flower had dimmed considerably as well and was rather wobbly.
The strange beast depicted on the ancient blood banner suddenly let out a furious bellow. Boom! A blood-red beast came flying out from the banner, which evaporated in its wake. The blood-red beast’s eyes gleamed with brutal, murderous red light. It seemed to represent the incarnation of slaughter itself as it charged straight towards the snow-white lotus.
Boom! The snow-white lotus continued to swivel as it strove to hold on, but in the end it was still broken apart. After shattering the lotus, the blood-red beast charged straight towards Ning.
“Hmph.” Ning no longer sensed much danger, and so he struck out with his sword to defend. Boom! A terrifying explosion rang out.
The blood-red beast repeatedly struck out with its sharp claws while Ning used his swords to defend. In the end, Ning was able to survive thanks to his powerful defensive sword-arts, with the Hegemon armor also having helped him endure the many blows.
“AWOOO!” The blood-red beast grew dimmer and dimmer, first turning an ordinary red, then turning pink. Finally, it unhappily raised its head to let out a resentful howl before completely vanishing.
Ning landed on the ground, a hint of blood on the corner of his lips. He glanced at the three silver men in the distance, looks of shock on their faces.
“Come, let’s do that again,” Ning growled. “Let’s see if you have more treasures or if I have more treasures.” As Ning spoke he waved his hand and caused one treasure after another to appear in front of him, not suppressing their auras in the slightest.
“B-but…” The three silver men exchanged glances. They weren’t able to beat Darknorth in a straight fight. Now, it seemed as though Daolord Darknorth had quite a few treasures of his own. Every single treasure they possessed had been laboriously acquired from that secret place and had been left behind by the Sithe. There were very few of them, and each one they used up represented a permanent loss.
“What should we do?” The three silver men felt rather lost. They suddenly realized that there was nothing at all they could do to this Daolord Darknorth.
* * *
Book 34, Chapter 19 - Darknorth Palace
“Haha, treasures? We brothers have plenty of’m!” Ninedust had transformed into a vast wave, but he now manifested his upper body and sent out one powerful treasure after another to appear in front of him. The Daolords of this world didn’t have that man
y treasures, but Ninedust and Ji Ning came from the Endless Territories. As a result, they had quite a few.
“What?!” The three silver men saw the many treasures hovering in front of the distant Ninedust and could sense the terrifying ripples of power emanating from them.
“Even the weaker Daolord has that many treasures on him?”
“Where the hell did they find so many treasures? Isn’t the secret location accessible to our three clans alone? We’ve completely searched through every corner of this entire world; the only place with many treasures secreted within it is that secret place. The other places shouldn’t have that many treasures. Where did these two Daolords find so many?”
The three silver men were extremely anxious. They exchanged glances at each other. “Fall back for now,” the muscular silver man commanded. Whoosh. Whoosh. The five-colored rope and the tri-colored rope began to retreat, moving towards the three silver men.
Ninedust and the three golems flew towards Ning. The two sides stared at each other from afar.
“If you want to fight, let’s fight,” Ninedust called out loudly. “What’s the point of just standing there blankly? It’s gonna be a war of attrition via treasures, right? Come on! You use one, I use one… let’s see who has more. I want to see if you end up dead or if we end up dead!”
“Damn.” The three silver men were absolutely enraged. They were exalted figures who were the absolute rulers over this world. They have never been challenged and mocked like this before! They were enraged, but after this battle they realized that there was nothing they could do in battle to this Daolord Darknorth. His defenses were incredibly tough and airtight, giving them no chance to win at all; if they wanted to win, they would have to use the treasures the Sithe had left behind. Unfortunately, they had extremely few of those treasures! Their treasures possessed great power… but it seemed as though these two Daolords also had quite a few treasures of similar power.
