Chapter 19 The Demon Army

Ji Ning's sparring match upon arriving at Ten Thousand Mountains Island also delighted the nine Celestial Immortals, including Wuqi and Zhenbu. Although each of them appeared carefree and at ease, the impending calamity—which nearly always claimed one or two of their number—still weighed on them with invisible pressure.

At such a time, the stronger Ji Ning became, the more delighted they naturally were.

Days passed one after another...

The ten Celestial Immortals prepared in silence.

...

Inside a palace, Ji Ning and the nine Celestial Immortals were discussing battle tactics.

"What? We can't use formations?" Ji Ning asked in surprise.

"Of course we can't use formations," Wuqi Celestial Immortal said calmly. "If you use formations, the demon army will use them too. They have far greater numbers, and we would be the ones to suffer. This is a lesson passed down from our predecessors: if we don't use formations, the demon army won't either."

"Strange," Ji Ning said, puzzled.

If we don't use formations, the demon army won't either?

"How can this be?" Ji Ning was baffled.

"Put yourself in the shoes of the creator of the Moon Under the Abyss, and you'll understand," Zhenbu Celestial Immortal said with a laugh. "The creator of the Moon Under the Abyss intends to temper us, to make us stronger. If we rely on formations—like the 'Seven Luminaries Celestial Formation'—then although seven Celestial Immortals appear to fight together, in truth only one is actually fighting while the other six merely supply divine power. This would go against the creator's original intention. Naturally, he doesn't want us to rely on formations; he wants us to rely on ourselves to fight, to kill, and to be tempered by the calamity."

Ji Ning understood immediately and laughed. "Speaking of which, I wonder what the creator of the Moon Under the Abyss hopes to achieve by going to such pains to temper us."

"We're curious too."

"Yes, what is it for?"

"Perhaps only Jueming, who left, would know. Beiming, you just came from the outside world. Did the Venerable Jueming say anything outside about what the creator of the Moon Under the Abyss intended?"

The nine Celestial Immortals were also perplexed.

Ji Ning shook his head. "The Buddha Jueming refused to speak of matters within the Moon Under the Abyss while outside."

"He became a Buddha?" Jibu Celestial Immortal exclaimed.

"The Seven Dragon Gods and the others said so earlier. Didn't you hear?"

"I was distracted."

"You, a Celestial Immortal, distracted?"

"The calamity is near... I couldn't help thinking about the demon army's arrival. What, am I not allowed to be distracted?"

...

Since formations were forbidden, they could only fight individually, relying on each other. The only thing to remember was to stay close so that if one Celestial Immortal was in danger, the others could rescue him quickly. Supporting each other was the only way to hold out longer under the demon army's assault.

In the blink of an eye, Ji Ning had been on Ten Thousand Mountains Island for twenty-one days.

Since the tenth day, the ten Celestial Immortals had been living together, ready to fight at any moment. Finally, today—the cold wind still blew, the sky remained hazy, and the bright moon still hung high—

"Aoooow!!!" A distant, vast roar resounded through heaven and earth from the west of Ten Thousand Mountains Island.

"Hm?"

Ten figures turned into streaks of light, flying out of the palace and landing atop the nearest mountain peak. Like gods of heaven and earth, they gazed into the distance.

"They're here," Feiyou Celestial Immortal said in a low voice.

"Finally," Zhenbu Celestial Immortal licked his lips.

"Beiming, remember," Wuqi Celestial Immortal instructed Ji Ning beside him. "Don't charge too far. You have the Eight-Nine Arcane Art to protect your body, so you can attack and charge, but if you plunge alone into the army without help and then get attacked by the Demon King, death will be near."

"Understood," Ji Ning nodded.

The demon army consisted of a vast number of demons comparable to Celestial Immortals, 'Demon Generals' comparable to the ten Celestial Immortals, and a 'Demon King' far stronger than them.

The more Celestial Immortals who fought, the more Demon Generals and demons appeared.

Since there were ten Celestial Immortals this time, there were ten Demon Generals.

"We must be careful of the Demon Generals. Each of those ten is a match for any of us. And those damned ordinary demons, though weak individually, can entangle you and greatly hinder your strength. We must stay close and support each other. We absolutely cannot let the demons split us apart," Tongqu Celestial Immortal couldn't help saying.

"Mm," Ji Ning nodded.

He understood that everyone was speaking to him, since the other nine had experience with the calamity. Because of that experience, they were even more worried that Ji Ning might make a mistake. In such life-and-death moments, a mistake almost always meant death.

Boom, boom, boom~~~

The earth trembled.

The ten Celestial Immortals gazed into the distance. A vast horde of demons appeared, their bodies dark green, each wielding weapons like sabers, spears, or forks. Among them were larger, more robust demons about a zhang tall—the Demon Generals—whose skin was a dark red.

"The big ones are Demon Generals."

"Look, the one with the longest curved horns is the Demon King," Feiyou and the others pointed out to Ji Ning. In truth, Ji Ning had already guessed, as the one with horns a full zhang long had the most imposing aura.

"Aoooow~~~" The Demon King, with a golden gourd at his waist and a black staff in hand, raised his head and roared.

"Aoooow aoooow aoooow~~~" The great horde of demons roared in response.

The ten Celestial Immortals watched with solemn expressions.

...

In the distance, the Seven Dragon Gods, Xiuke Celestial Immortal, and a host of other Celestial Immortals watched nervously.

"Another calamity has come."

"I hope they all survive this time."

"Alas..."

They could do nothing; if they joined the battle, they would only summon more demons, so they could only watch from the sidelines. They had come to Ten Thousand Mountains Island by following powerful Celestial Immortals, but in every calamity, almost always some Celestial Immortals died. They felt sorrow for their own kind, and to them, the fallen Celestial Immortals were their benefactors.

Just as the Seven Dragon Gods and Xiuke Celestial Immortal did not wish Ji Ning to die, no one wanted these ten Celestial Immortals to die.

"I hope Brother Beiming and the other nine all survive," Kulong Celestial Immortal said.

...

"Let's go."

Standing atop the mountain peak, the ten Celestial Immortals, at the command of their leader Feiyou, turned into streaks of light and flew to a peculiarly shaped mountain tens of thousands of li away. This island was called Ten Thousand Mountains Island because it had over ten thousand peaks of various shapes piercing the sky.

The mountain Ji Ning and the others chose was the most suitable for them.

Though they couldn't use formations, they could at least choose the terrain. Suitable terrain would prevent the demon army from launching a large-scale encirclement, reducing the pressure on the ten Celestial Immortals.

"Brothers," Feiyou Celestial Immortal roared, "Survive, and we'll drink together!"

"Drink together!"

"Drink together!"

The other nine Celestial Immortals, including Ji Ning, roared in response, staring at the demon army charging toward them. Each of them felt boundless killing intent. They had no choice; they had to kill, or they would die.

Closer, closer!

The demon army had already entered the range of a million li, and now they were even closer: six hundred thousand li, three hundred thousand li... The weakest demons were comparable to ordinary Celestial Immortals, so their speed was astonishing. Soon they were upon them.

"Aoooow, my children, kill them all!" the Demon King roared loudly.

The demons grew even more excited.

"Kill!" Feiyou Celestial Immortal bellowed.

"Kill!" The nine Celestial Immortals had long since drawn their weapons.

"Boom~~~"

Like surging waves crashing against a reef, the ten Celestial Immortals, relying on the mountain, were instantly besieged by the vast horde of demons.

Ji Ning held his twin swords and, facing demons wielding spears, forks, and sabers, unleashed the Moonbright Sword Art.

Sword light danced.

Eerie and extraordinary.

Pfft!

A demon's head flew into the air.

Clang! Sword light grazed a saber and cleaved a fat demon in two.

"Hm?" Ji Ning occasionally used the 'Mind-Only Style' and 'Yin-Yang Style' for defense. Amid the siege, defense was clearly important; if he let the horde of demons get too close, leaving no room to wield his swords, he would be finished.

"As Brother Feiyou and the others said, I must kill these ordinary demons as quickly as possible, the more the better. Though they are weak, at critical moments, it is often these ordinary demons that send us to our doom." Ji Ning dared not be careless. Though protected by the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, if he were completely bound and trapped, the Demon King could easily suppress him and suck him into that golden gourd.