Chapter 9: All Died in Battle

Wu Xiao Celestial Immortal had many puppet bodies and could convey messages instantly. The news quickly reached the Lord of All Demons, and soon came to the knowledge of high-level powers such as Demon Hand Dao Ancestor and Black Robe Divine King.

"What? Not dead?" The most shocked and hardest to accept was Black Robe Divine King.

"A technique of splitting the body?" Huan Mu Master, who was holding a knife and gently carving wood, frowned and murmured upon receiving the news.

……

Deep within the ancient ruin continent, inside the fortress.

Wu Xiao Celestial Immortal said respectfully, "My master said that Ji Ning is also a scourge. This time, when Assassin Great Demon God dealt with Tathagata, Human Sovereign Fuxi, and the others, he might as well help eliminate Ji Ning."

"Oh?" The foreign great power said, "But as it seems now, this Ji Ning has a technique of splitting the body."

Wu Xiao quickly added, "Even if he has a technique of splitting the body, every time he recovers his true body, the cost is enormous. Moreover, last time when his true body was destroyed, the nine-horned electric snake and other treasures were taken by Hou Yi. If we kill Ji Ning this time, he will lose the nine-horned electric snake and his powerful magic treasures. Even if his true body revives, his strength will be greatly diminished."

"Why do I feel that your killing intent toward Ji Ning is also very strong?" The foreign great power looked at Wu Xiao and said with a smile, "Wu Xiao, if I kill him, you will pass on the puppet technique of the Lord of All Things to me, how about it?"

"The old master long ago made me swear a life-bound oath not to pass it on," Wu Xiao said.

He was the spirit of a magic treasure, similar to the Yellow-Haired Big Bear.

He had long cultivated to the point where he could exist independently outside the treasure, and was considered a true life form. Strictly speaking, he had mastered the puppet technique earlier than the Lord of All Things. The Lord of All Things obtained the ancient puppet methods contained in the 'Wu Xiao Divine Cauldron' by chance, which allowed him to soar thereafter, becoming a renowned strongman among the Ancestral Gods. Unfortunately, he fell in the two Chaos Worlds of Pangu and Wujian.

"Damn that Lord of All Things," the foreign great power said coldly. "Tell your master that this Ji Ning is likely already at the fifth level of sword force."

"The fifth level of sword force? How is that possible? How long has he been cultivating?" Wu Xiao was astonished.

Ji Ning's mastery of the Wu Bao Sword Technique could be attributed to his exceptional talent.

But reaching the fifth level of sword force requires sufficient insight into the sword, which takes time. It even requires life-and-death battles with many strongmen and watching enough sword techniques. Without sufficient experience, it is difficult to reach the fifth level of sword force.

"He attacked my ancient ruin, so I should kill him. But this is also acting on behalf of your Wujian Sect... In my confrontations with the Nuwa camp so far, all the dead have been my subordinates. The price for dealing with Tathagata, Fuxi, and the others has been settled. But for dealing with this Ji Ning, I need twenty Chaos Crystals."

"Twenty?" Wu Xiao Celestial Immortal hesitated. The source of the Envoys of All Things was five Chaos Crystals, which could be used for a long time in battle. Perhaps in the entire great calamity, the remaining nine Envoys of All Things would use no more than a hundred Chaos Crystals.

"My master said that if it is confirmed that Ji Ning is indeed at the fifth level of sword force, and you kill his true body, my master will send twenty Chaos Crystals," Wu Xiao said.

"Hmm... Negotiating with the Lord of All Demons is always refreshing."

The foreign great power looked down at the Youji Imperial Sovereign below and commanded, "Youji, send your subordinates to kill Ji Ning first. If they cannot kill him, confirm whether Ji Ning is truly at the fifth level of sword force. If so, lure Ji Ning into the death ground."

"Yes, great master." Youji Imperial Sovereign said respectfully, then withdrew.

……

"Damn it."

Youji Imperial Sovereign's face was grim. He was once a general under the Lord of All Things and one of the four renowned Imperial Sovereigns of the ancient ruin, with strength at the top Dao Ancestor level! Even compared to the six servants under Assassin Great Demon God, he was not inferior in the slightest. Only the strength of the One-Armed Man made Youji Imperial Sovereign deeply admire; the other five he did not fear at all.

But.

Those servants had followed Assassin Great Demon God for too long, and Assassin Great Demon God trusted the six servants more. Toward the four Imperial Sovereigns who had been subdued, he was much more ruthless.

"Bei Ming Sword Immortal Ji Ning is already at the True God Dao Ancestor level, yet he still wants me to first confirm whether Ji Ning is at the fifth level of sword force," Youji Imperial Sovereign frowned. "To force Ji Ning to display his sword force, I need to send some powerful subordinates. Alas... such dangerous tasks are always left to the subordinates of us four Imperial Sovereigns."

But Youji Imperial Sovereign also understood that back then, Assassin Great Demon God had only fled here with his six servants, without any other subordinates. So trivial matters like cannon fodder naturally fell to the original foreign races of the ancient ruin.

……

Youji World.

A vast group of foreign strongmen flew through the air, each at the Heavenly God level. At a glance, there were nearly three hundred of them.

"Brother, when you go to deal with Bei Ming Sword Immortal Ji Ning, you must be careful. The Imperial Sovereign said that Ji Ning is likely at the fifth level of sword force," the two silver-robed men leading the group, who looked alike, communicated telepathically.

"Although my branch is going to kill Ji Ning, if he really is at the fifth level of sword force, we only need to flee; there's no need to fight to the death. If Ji Ning truly is at the fifth level of sword force... then it will be up to you to lead him into the Dream Shadow Forest," the tall silver-robed man transmitted.

The Dream Shadow Forest was a very eerie place in Youji World.

Once inside, one would fall into one strange illusion after another, as if dreaming! And it was endless; even True God Dao Ancestors found it hard to escape, and they would be trapped forever in the Dream Shadow Forest until killed by the illusions!

The most terrifying thing was—

Even the natives living in Youji World found it hard to determine where the Dream Shadow Forest was, because its location constantly changed. An ordinary-looking forest might be the terrifying Dream Shadow Forest. 'Youji Imperial Sovereign,' who ruled this fearsome world, naturally had a way to confirm the location of the Dream Shadow Forest.

……

"Where exactly are Fuxi, Tathagata, and the others?"

Ji Ning stood in midair, his surroundings chaotic in time and space, his sense of direction completely lost.

Ji Ning could no longer find the traces of where Buddha Tathagata and the others had passed. And in such a place of distorted time and space, he could not use the technique of time reversal.

"According to my master, Buddha Tathagata and the others should still be in Youji World. Forget it, I'll just pick a direction and fly forward," Ji Ning quickly flew in one direction. He dared not fly too fast, for fear of rushing into some enemy trap.

Not long after entering the ancient ruin...

Ji Ning understood that the hardest part of conquering the ancient ruin was not the foreign races, but the harsh environment here. No wonder the foreign races living in the ancient ruin longed to break into the Three Realms; they did not want to live in constant fear and unease.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning's heart stirred. He faintly sensed an approaching aura.

As a Half-Step Ancestral God, his soul was stronger!

With his heart force controlling his divine soul, Ji Ning's senses were extremely acute. Even a True God Dao Ancestor approaching within a certain distance would be detected by him, let alone weaker Heavenly Gods and True Immortals.

……

"Bei Ming Sword Immortal should be somewhere in the area ahead." A towering eight-armed demon was flying cautiously. This eight-armed demon was formed by the combined array 'Eight-Armed War Demon Array' of one hundred and ninety-nine foreign Heavenly Gods, a formation passed down by the Lord of All Things. Youji Imperial Sovereign was pained to dispatch so many Heavenly Gods.

This array was very similar to the Seven Luminaries Heavenly God Array.

The Seven Luminaries Heavenly God Array used only seven Heavenly Gods, but this one used one hundred and ninety-nine Heavenly Gods, capable of exerting strength close to that of a top True God. Such an array was also a secret transmission; some core secrets of the array required life-bound oaths not to be leaked. The core of this array was a warrior who had once followed the Lord of All Things.

"Found him." The eight-armed demon was searching for Ji Ning when it suddenly saw a white-clad youth standing calmly in midair in the distance.

"Here he comes." A sword appeared in the white-clad youth's hand. "Since you're here, there's no need to leave."

"Kill!" The eight-armed demon's aura soared to the heavens.

Ji Ning stepped forward, as if strolling leisurely.

……

Youji World, clan territory.

"Reporting to the Imperial Sovereign, all one hundred and ninety-nine clansmen died in battle." An old man in a golden robe had a sorrowful expression on his face.

"Not one escaped?" Youji Imperial Sovereign found it hard to believe. He quickly shouted, "Show me the battle scene."

"The battle scene could not be transmitted back," the golden-robed old man said.

"What!" Youji Imperial Sovereign was stunned. How fast must the killing have been to prevent these clansmen from transmitting the battle scene?

"But one clansman had cultivated a split body, and that split body is also on an external mission. Now we can immediately recall that clansman's split body and ask what happened during the fight with Ji Ning," the golden-robed old man quickly said. "We must be quick. Once that clansman's split body also dies, we won't be able to know the scene of that battle."