Chapter 14: The Divine Beast 'Azure Serpent King'

"What." Ji Ning stopped abruptly, looking ahead. "Could it be that the Azure Serpent King is really about to appear?" Setting aside all other thoughts, Ji Ning turned and changed direction, dashing across the water's surface at high speed, trying to flee.

"Whoosh~~~"

A magnificently beautiful, massive snake head covered in emerald-green scales emerged from the water.

Gazing at the Azure Serpent King's enormous head as it surfaced, Ji Ning's expression turned grave. "Trouble. I didn't expect the Azure Serpent King to arrive so quickly! With my Unity of Heaven and Man movement technique, I can escape the pursuit of many great monsters. In Dongshan Swamp, only a few great monsters pose a threat to me, and the Azure Serpent King is one of them."

"To encounter it on my first visit to Dongshan Swamp!" Ji Ning's mind swiftly recalled the information about the Azure Serpent King he had read in Xifu City.

The Azure Serpent King's true form was the divine beast Azure Serpent! According to the Ji clan's records, during the last investigation, the Azure Serpent King was still at the 'early Xiantian lifeform' stage! Although it was only at the early Xiantian stage, it possessed the bloodline of a Fiendgod, and its strength was not far behind that of the 'great monster Winged Serpent.'

The Azure Serpent King was renowned for its agility! In other aspects, it fell short of the great monster Winged Serpent, but in speed and agility, it surpassed the Winged Serpent! Moreover, the Azure Serpent's venom contained a potent hallucinogenic toxin; a single bite could plunge even a great monster into an illusion!

"My pride—my agility—is precisely what it counters." Ji Ning's heart burned with anxiety.

In a life-or-death battle, agility was more important than strength or speed!

Take the Water Rhinoceros King, for example. Its strength far exceeded Ji Ning's! Its defense far surpassed Ji Ning's!

But in Ji Ning's eyes, the Water Rhinoceros King was nothing but a clumsy fool. He easily circled around it and killed it. It couldn't even ram into him. And this 'Azure Serpent King' excelled precisely in agility!

...

"Swish, swish, swish~~~" The distant lake surface faintly revealed the scales of a massive serpentine body.

The Azure Serpent King's head was raised high, looking down at Ji Ning, its eyes full of confusion. It let out a low roar.

"Hm?" Ji Ning frowned, also staring at the Azure Serpent King. What was the serpent king saying? He couldn't understand. As a divine beast, the Azure Serpent King had not yet taken human form at the Xiantian stage and could not speak human language.

Splash!

Another figure emerged from the water beside the Azure Serpent King—a tall, thin man in white. The man glared at Ji Ning and shouted, "Our king asks you, did you kill that Water Rhinoceros?"

"If I said no, would you believe me?" Ji Ning asked.

"There's no other human around here but you. Who else could it be?" The tall, thin man in white sneered. "And you can walk on water—you've already achieved Unity of Heaven and Man!"

Suddenly, the Azure Serpent King lowered its head and roared again. The tall, thin man in white relayed, "But there's no trace of Xiantian true essence around the Water Rhinoceros's corpse. Could it be that you're not yet a Xiantian lifeform?"

"If I answer you, will you let me go?" Ji Ning countered.

"How could that be?" The tall, thin man in white sneered. "You killed the Water Rhinoceros under our king's command, and we just let you go? Where would our king's authority be?"

Ji Ning frowned and shouted, "Since that's the case, enough idle talk. If you want to fight, then fight. If not, I'll be on my way."

The Azure Serpent King's massive head looked down at Ji Ning, full of confusion. This little human child... of course it wasn't afraid. But the area around the Water Rhinoceros's corpse was too strange. There was clearly no Xiantian true essence fluctuation, so why had the Water Rhinoceros died? Could a non-Xiantian lifeform kill a great monster?

"Hmph." Ji Ning immediately stepped on the water, turning into a gust of wind, and swiftly fled into the distance.

Even when venturing out to take risks, one must know one's limits. To fight a great monster that was too strong was simply seeking death! Ji Ning had never intended to fight the Azure Serpent King...

"Whoosh~~~" The Azure Serpent King shot through the water like a silver wave.

A moment later, a massive snake head appeared once again in front of Ji Ning.

"Faster than me, indeed." Ji Ning stopped abruptly, a wild light burning in his eyes. "It seems this battle is unavoidable. Since I can't escape, then let's fight!"

"In Dongshan Swamp, the only one faster than our king is the old demon Snow Toad! Do you know the old demon Snow Toad? He's the mightiest great monster in all of Dongshan Swamp. One breath of cold air from him could freeze you to death!" The tall, thin man in white walked on the water, each step causing the surface to tremble, far less graceful than Ji Ning's effortless stride. "Before our king, you'd best resign yourself to death—"

Ji Ning frowned, turned directly, and shot like a streak of light toward the tall, thin man in white. "You monster, so noisy! Taste my sword!"

Swish!

A cold gleam flashed, terrifying the tall, thin man in white, who plunged into the water with a splash. As a subordinate of the Azure Serpent King, his strength was even inferior to the Water Rhinoceros King's. How could he dare to fight this human youth?

"Roar~~~" The Azure Serpent King suddenly let out a furious roar.

Ji Ning looked up, showing no fear. Since he couldn't escape, he quickly cast aside his inner hesitation and fear, leaving only a fervor—the fervor of battle! Fighting an opponent whose strength completely surpassed his own truly made his blood boil!

Whoosh~~~ A massive, green-scaled serpentine tail shot out from the lake water, sweeping toward Ji Ning with incredible speed and ferocity.

"So fast!" Ji Ning's skin faintly reddened, as he pushed the power of Yin and Yang to their limits. At the same time, he executed the Windshadow Step, holding a Northmoon sword in each hand. One of the blades shimmered with a blue light... poison! The Northmoon sword came with a sheath holding three swords; two were normal, while the third had its blade coated with poison.

Even some of the arrows he carried were coated with poison! After all, when venturing out and fighting for one's life, the ultimate goal was to kill the enemy. No means were off-limits. In his battle with the Water Rhinoceros King, Ji Ning hadn't bothered, but this Azure Serpent King was far too dangerous.

With one hand, he executed 'Endless Flow.'

With one hand he executed 'Silk Rain into Threads.'

As the two Northern Abyss swords moved, they immediately drew upon the power of heaven and earth. With a rushing sound, a slender stream of flowing water visible to the naked eye coiled around the attacking serpent's tail. This water was incredibly tenacious, frantically winding around it, greatly reducing the tail's power.

At the same time, droplets of water condensed into threads, and these threads sliced across the enormous serpent body!

"Boom!" Ji Ning was sent flying backward at high speed, splashing up a great deal of water.

"Splash!" Bright green, crystalline blood sprayed from a large wound on the serpent's body, but soon the flow slowed and the wound shrank. The blood briefly showed a hint of black, but quickly returned to its bright green color. Clearly, the potent poison on the Northern Abyss sword's edge posed little threat to the Azure Serpent King, which was itself a venomous snake.

Whoosh!

Ji Ning leaped up from the lake, soaring into the air.

The Azure Serpent King quickly coiled its massive body, staring at the distant human youth. In a single exchange, this human youth had actually wounded it.

Suddenly—

The Azure Serpent King's enormous body began to shrink rapidly. Previously, it had been even larger than the Winged Serpent elder, but in an instant it became only a dozen meters long, its body as thick as a human thigh. At the same time, this entirely emerald-green Azure Serpent stared at Ji Ning, hissing.

"Not good." Ji Ning's expression turned serious.

The Azure Serpent King was a divine beast, able to grow or shrink at will, and was renowned for its agility. When it shrank, that was when it was most terrifying!

A purple pellet appeared in Ji Ning's hand, and he quickly stuffed it into his mouth. This was an antidote pill, one of many he had prepared for this adventure to deal with various great monsters and dangers. It was especially effective against illusions and miasma.

Ji Ning held his swords in both hands, staring fixedly at the Azure Serpent King.

The Azure Serpent King's head swayed slightly, its tongue flickering, like an experienced hunter seeking a flaw in Ji Ning. As it swayed, it slowly swam across the water's surface, closing in on Ji Ning, while Ji Ning stepped backward across the water, maintaining the distance between them.

"Swish!"

In an instant, the Azure Serpent King transformed into a streak of green lightning!

It lunged straight at Ji Ning!

A fierce light flashed in Ji Ning's eyes. His right-hand Northern Abyss sword transformed into a fleeting spark of fire, moving at incredible speed. This was 'Lightning Flash,' one of the three killing moves from the "Remnant Thunderfire Sword." This technique emphasized only one thing—speed! It was the fastest move in Ji Ning's current swordplay, a direct attack to counter the Azure Serpent King's pounce!

Swish! Swish!

In an instant, the Azure Serpent King changed direction twelve times, moving like a ghostly phantom, barely grazing past the blade of the right Northern Abyss sword. It even used its now much tougher, shrunken body to strike the right Northern Abyss sword.

But Ji Ning's left-hand Northern Abyss sword had already transformed into ripples of water, executing 'Watertight,' the defensive ultimate technique from the "Drip Water Sword."

"Clang!"

The serpent's head clashed with the Northern Abyss sword's edge, and the Azure Serpent King was deflected to one side.

The two passed each other!

"Crack!" As they crossed, an even more terrifying shadow suddenly emerged from the water, lashing at Ji Ning. Caught off guard, Ji Ning was struck hard on the chest. With a bang, his face flushed, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He tumbled through the air and fell toward the distant lake.

Splash, splash...

The Azure Serpent King swiftly swam through the lake, charging straight toward where Ji Ning had fallen.

"Too fast, that tail whip. Much faster than the Winged Serpent elder's tail strike." Ji Ning flipped over in midair, then stood gracefully on the lake's surface. He clutched his chest, feeling that some bones had cracked, but the powerful regenerative abilities of his divine demon body were quickly repairing the damage.

Crack, crack, crack... The two broken ribs in his chest rapidly healed and became whole again.

"Still, its strength is far less than the Winged Serpent elder's." Ji Ning glanced at his chest. The beast-hide garment was torn, but protected by the Golden Dust Coat, the damage to his body was not severe.

"Swish!"

The Azure Serpent King once again transformed into lightning and lunged.

Fast!

"Come on!" Ji Ning, seemingly frenzied, wielded his twin swords and desperately defended. The Azure Serpent King attacked with its head, coiled with its body, and lashed with its tail—every part of its body was a weapon. It frenziedly assaulted Ji Ning from all sides, launching rapid strikes within a very small area, often exchanging multiple blows in an instant.

Ji Ning had mastered every move in the "Drip Water Sutra" and the "Remnant Thunderfire Sword," but he had not yet reached true unity of heaven and man in his swordplay!

Unity of heaven and man in swordplay meant that even ordinary thrusts, chops, or lifts—any move—could draw upon the power of heaven and earth. Because Ji Ning had not reached this level, during lightning-fast exchanges, the transitions and buildup between sword moves would temporarily break away from the state of unity with heaven and man.

Once he left that state, the power of his swordplay would noticeably decrease, creating a major flaw. Even though Ji Ning compensated with the advantage of dual swords, ultimately, a long defense would inevitably be breached!

"Chii!"

The Azure Serpent King's head bit down hard on Ji Ning's calf. Its sharp venomous fangs pierced through the beast-hide and the Golden Dust Coat. The potent poison stored in its fangs instantly entered Ji Ning's body. A strong numbness and intoxication spread from his calf throughout his entire body. Ji Ning quickly swallowed the antidote pill he had been holding in his mouth.

"Die!" Ji Ning's left and right Northern Abyss swords simultaneously executed 'Moth to the Flame' from the "Remnant Thunderfire Sword." In an instant, the two swords transformed into two intertwining flames, stabbing directly at the Azure Serpent King's body, which was still biting his calf.