Chapter 29: Second Spirit vs. Loose Immortal

Ji Ning in black Daoist robes stood there, surrounded by over two hundred Heaven-grade flying swords. The sword-intent that filled the entire Blood Coil Heaven-Sealing Formation was enough to make anyone's heart tremble. Anyone could sense the terrifying power of this 'Ji Ning in black Daoist robes,' and combined with the sudden disappearance of Ji Ning's true body earlier, everyone present could guess—

This Ji Ning in black Daoist robes was his second spirit!

"That's a second spirit. This Ji Ning has only been cultivating for thirty years." Xiao Lang's eyes showed both shock and anger, disbelief written on his face. "How can he have a second spirit after only thirty years of cultivation? And he dared to split his soul? Isn't he afraid of death?"

"This second spirit is formidable. Those two hundred-plus flying swords all seem to be Heaven-grade treasures. I heard that Ji Ning purchased several hundred Heaven-grade top-quality flying swords at the Heavenly Treasure Mountain headquarters. So they were for this second spirit. Ji Ning must be quite wealthy; his second spirit has probably already cultivated straight through to the perfected Nascent Soul stage." Zhuanshui Xiaolou marveled inwardly. "Being able to control over two hundred Heaven-grade treasures simultaneously—that's definitely Loose Immortal combat power. His true body has also disappeared; he must have entered a portable grotto. Portable grottos are extremely valuable. Just how much wealth does this Ji Ning possess? Did he gain a huge haul in the Wujiang Immortal Estate?"

Even Shaoyan Nong didn't have a portable grotto, but Ji Ning did!

Zhuanshui Xiaolou assumed that Ji Ning might have gained something else in the 'Wujiang Immortal Estate,' but he didn't know that the portable grotto was a free gift from the spirit of the Water Mansion, the Yellow-Haired Big Bear.

"Impressive." Tiannong Quge stared at the formation.

"With such strength, he didn't even respond to Xiao Lang's provocations earlier. He really can hold back." Bo Yanzi also marveled.

They all guessed that Ji Ning's true body had probably hidden inside his portable grotto. A portable grotto could indeed conceal a person, but no matter what, one of Ji Ning's true body or second spirit had to remain outside. If both hid inside the grotto, the portable grotto would become visible.

Portable grottos generally weren't very durable. An enemy could forcibly seize it and then throw it into the void 'outside the Three Realms,' and then one would be truly doomed.

A place like 'Wujiang Immortal Estate' couldn't be carried around, so it could be built as sturdy as a sect's mountain gate, with extremely strong defensive capabilities.

Portable grottos, on the other hand, were generally very weak.

Choosing between strong defensive power and portability—usually one could only have one. Unless it was something like the 'Water Mansion,' which was created by the Chaos Primordial 'Three Lives Daoist' before the world was opened, pouring all his heart and effort into it for his successor. It could only be carried after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, and its defenses were also extremely strong. But such treasures were far more precious than Pure Yang treasures, which was why they were so special.

Normal grottos, however, followed the usual rules.

Portability and defensive power—you couldn't have both.

"If both my true body and second spirit hid in the Water Mansion, and the Loose Immortal sent by the Shaoyan clan attacked fiercely, the secret of my Water Mansion would probably be exposed." Ji Ning absolutely wouldn't allow that to happen. "Besides, my second spirit has already reached the perfected Nascent Soul stage. Even in terms of foundation, it's only one major level lower. That's not an insurmountable gap."

...

"It's actually a second spirit! Xuanji Ancestor, you've harmed me!" The Floating Cloud Immortal wailed in his heart, then his eyes filled with madness. "I have no retreat. It's either Ji Ning dies or I die."

"I don't believe that after cultivating for over a hundred thousand years, I can't deal with this little brat who's only cultivated for thirty years."

Thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning. In reality, the Floating Cloud Immortal had already set up the Blood Coil Heaven-Sealing Formation. After seeing Ji Ning's second spirit, he was stunned for only a moment before unleashing his strongest attack.

"Heaven!"

"Earth!"

"Man!"

The Floating Cloud Immortal roared, his face instantly turning red. He had thrown caution to the wind and directly used a forbidden technique. The core within his body, that golden lotus Nascent Soul, erupted with even greater power. The three flying swords before him, which faintly formed a formation diagram, suddenly surged with powerful auras. The formation diagram became almost solid, vast as if containing heaven and earth, with faint clouds swirling within.

"Kill!!!" The Floating Cloud Immortal directly unleashed his ultimate killing move.

He had no time to waste. Outside, the thirty-six Loose Immortals of the Zhuanshui clan were frantically attacking his 'Blood Coil Heaven-Sealing Formation.' Once the formation was breached, facing those thirty-six Loose Immortals all clad in Immortal-grade Dao-soldier armor, he would probably be finished in a single exchange. So he had to hurry.

Hum~~~

The three Heaven-grade top-quality flying swords—Heaven, Earth, and Man—surrounded by the formation diagram, seemed to carry the might of heaven and earth as they rolled forward overwhelmingly.

This was crushing with raw power!

"Hmph." Ji Ning in black Daoist robes, standing far away, was not a bit slower than the Floating Cloud Immortal. He also immediately activated the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation. Led by the nine Water Mansion Spirit-Shark Swords, the power of over two hundred Heaven-grade flying swords was gathered together through the 'Lesser Thousand Swords Formation,' coalescing before Ji Ning into a single flying sword surrounded by golden light.

"In terms of elemental power, I am one major level lower."

"But in terms of the Dao, I have comprehended the 'Realm of the Grand Dao' of the Sword Dao and the 'Rainwater Dao,' and have already fused them into one. Sword Immortals are also best at offense."

"In terms of the formation of treasures, I have the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation. Your Heaven-Earth-Man Three-Talent Formation is clearly not that exquisite. My technique is from the Thousand Swords Immortal, whom even Immortal Juhua could never forget, and which even the spirit of the Water Mansion praised. As for you, sent by the Shaoyan clan as a suicide soldier, your status among the many Loose Immortals of the Shaoyan clan is probably not high, far inferior to the Thousand Swords Immortal or Immortal Juhua."

"In terms of flying swords, the Water Mansion Spirit-Shark Swords are far superior to your three swords, and there are nine of them. In terms of quantity, I have over two hundred flying swords."

"I don't believe I can't win!"

Ji Ning in black Daoist robes had a cold glint in his eyes, his killing intent soaring.

The two stood opposite each other, one in white robes, the other in black.

Far apart, they faced off.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

The three flying swords, carrying the massive formation diagram, came crushing down.

The flying sword surrounded by golden light, however, shot through the air in an instant, with a heart-stopping sharpness, and collided directly with the massive formation diagram.

"Rumble~~~" A tremendous tremor, elemental energy exploding, space twisting.

The three flying swords were sent flying backward several zhang, and the cloud formation diagram was covered in large cracks.

Ji Ning's sword light, meanwhile, dissipated into nothingness.

"Again." Ji Ning in black Daoist robes smiled coldly. The over two hundred flying swords around him shifted, and a vast amount of sword-intent gathered before his chest, once again condensing into a flying sword surrounded by golden light.

"How is this possible? Blocked? He blocked it?" The Floating Cloud Immortal's heart turned cold, as if doused with ice water on a winter day. His soul felt frozen. He had a feeling he was going to lose. He had used a forbidden technique and unleashed his ultimate killing move, yet it had been blocked head-on.

Head-on collision was the most straightforward way to gauge an opponent's strength.

"His second spirit has top-tier Loose Immortal combat power." The Floating Cloud Immortal understood. "This is what a true genius is. His second spirit is probably only at the perfected Nascent Soul stage, and he's only cultivated for thirty years, yet he has comprehended the 'Realm of the Grand Dao.' His Dao insights are already no less than mine. And that flying sword formation is clearly profound and mysterious, giving him strength no less than mine."

"Am I, Floating Cloud, going to die here?" The Floating Cloud Immortal despaired for only a moment. Over a hundred thousand years of cultivation made him unwilling to give up easily.

"If crushing with raw power fails, then I'll rely on technique, speed, and other secret arts." The Floating Cloud Immortal went completely mad, struggling with all his might to kill Ji Ning.

Whoosh!

The entire Blood Coil Heaven-Sealing Formation was instantly filled with white mist, so thick that even divine sense couldn't penetrate it. This was the Floating Cloud Immortal's strongest辅助 secret art, 'Mist Concealing the Sky.' However, using this art consumed a lot of mental energy, so his flying swords couldn't reach their peak state.

"I can't see!" Xiao Lang, who had been staring with reddened eyes, grew anxious. "It's all mist. I can't see a thing."

"Mist? This mist must be able to block divine sense, otherwise that suicide soldier wouldn't have used it." Zhuanshui Xiaolou pondered. "Among the many Loose Immortals of the Shaoyan clan, those who are about to succumb to the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations should number several dozen. The one who can use such mist... could it be the Floating Cloud Loose Immortal?"

True Celestial Immortal Ancestors were truly immortal; they only died in battle. So they generally lived for a very, very long time. Over the long years, it was hard to say how many Celestial Immortal Ancestors each tribe still had alive.

But Loose Immortals were different.

A Loose Immortal living for millions of years was already remarkable, like Immortal Juhua. So the Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals of each tribe could generally be verified. At least Zhuanshui Xiaolou was very familiar with most of the Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals of the tribe's mortal enemy, the 'Shaoyan clan.'

"That Ji Ning is truly formidable. His second spirit definitely has top-tier Loose Immortal strength, and as a Sword Immortal, he's not inferior to that suicide Loose Immortal in a head-on clash." Tiannong Quge thought to himself. "But now that the mist has been cast, Ji Ning can't see anything. That's a bit dangerous."

...

"Attack."

The thirty-six Loose Immortals, transformed into a massive black serpent with the might of a Celestial Immortal, once again struck the Blood Coil Heaven-Sealing Formation. They had already struck eight times. Many of the countless blood vessels within the formation had shattered, but the golden heart frantically pumped out blood, forming more blood vessels to sustain the formation. However, it was clear that the golden heart's surface was showing cracks. The attacks of those thirty-six Loose Immortals were simply too powerful.

Inside the formation.

Mist was everywhere.

"Realm of the Grand Dao!"

"Water-Fire Lotus!"

"Self-Contained World!"

Ji Ning in black Daoist robes stood there. Faced with this technique that blocked divine sense, he finally unleashed a 'protective spell' he had created in the Water Mansion over the past year or so. It should be noted that cultivators who focused on qi refinement had fragile bodies, so they generally studied protective spells to prevent enemies from easily touching their physical forms. Ji Ning naturally had to consider his second spirit. Under the guidance of the Water Mansion's spirit, Ji Ning had created a powerful protective spell based on the 'Realm of the Grand Dao,' 'Water-Fire Lotus,' and 'Self-Contained World,' named the 'Lotus Sword World.'