Chapter 17: Danger Zone

With a single command from Tiannan Zushen, his retinue of Zushen and Zuxian servants immediately set to work.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Six streaks of light, moving at speeds surpassing the limits of the Heavenly Dao, swiftly attacked Ji Ning.

"Chase." Over a hundred Zushen charged out simultaneously, heading for Ji Ning.

"Flee."

Ji Ning didn't dare hesitate. He immediately executed the Nine-Angle Electric Serpent Escape Art.

He was formidable, but with over a hundred Zushen coordinating via the 'Zushen Formation', they could entangle and hold their own even against a true World God. If he were trapped, he would never escape! They could slowly grind down his divine power and immortal energy... Ji Ning absolutely could not allow himself to be surrounded.

"You won't escape." Tiannan Zushen sneered. He had spent no small amount of treasures to purchase those two Zuxian who could manipulate artifacts beyond the limits of the Heavenly Dao. Those two Zuxian could use their artifacts to hold an enemy at bay; as long as they delayed him a little, his Zushen squad would be able to completely surround the enemy.

With this group of servants...

Tiannan Zushen was virtually invincible below the World level!

...

The six streaks of light quickly caught up. They were six long shuttles, their speed clearly faster than Ji Ning's escape art. They soon flew ahead of Ji Ning, trying to block and hinder him.

"Get lost."

Ji Ning now exerted all his strength, manifesting three heads and six arms, wielding six divine swords.

"Heartsword Heaven and Earth!"

All six divine swords struck simultaneously!

The Star Picking Hand divine ability, activated!

Having trained for over a hundred years in the Suifeng Chaos World, Ji Ning's swordsmanship had grown even more formidable, his power even fiercer.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang." All six long shuttles were sent flying far away. Though Ji Ning's speed was affected for an instant, he quickly regained his maximum speed and fled into the distance.

"What!" Tiannan Zushen, who had been leisurely watching from the large ship, changed expression. "Both Zuxian's artifacts surpass the limits of the Heavenly Dao, yet they were defeated in an instant?"

It was too brief.

It felt like the moment they met, the six long shuttles were sent flying far away. In particular, Ji Ning's half-step World God body combined with the Star Picking Hand divine ability had sent the shuttles flying an enormous distance.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

The hundred-plus Zushen were much slower. They could only watch helplessly as the white-robed youth steadily increased the distance between them, quickly disappearing over the horizon.

"Hmph." Tiannan Zushen frowned and snorted coldly. "You got away this time. I hope you can run just as fast next time!"

"Let's go."

Tiannan Zushen ordered calmly.

"Yes." The group of Zushen and Zuxian acknowledged and returned to the large ship, which then quickly departed.

...

Ji Ning glanced back and breathed a sigh of relief.

"When I get the chance, I'll have to get myself some Zushen and Zuxian servants," Ji Ning mused. Zushen and Zuxian were far inferior to World Gods, but numbers could compensate for qualitative differences! A hundred Zushen with the Zushen Formation could hold out for a while against a World God's attacks. If it were a thousand Zushen with the Zushen Formation, they might even be able to surround and kill a weaker World God!

But a thousand Zushen and Zuxian weren't easy to gather. How many Zushen and Zuxian (first-class Zuxian) did the entire Wuyan Star lineage have?

Moreover, the 'Zushen Formation' for a thousand Zushen was worth more than a thousand Zushen slaves! Without the Zushen Formation, no matter how many Zushen there were, they would just be a scattered mess. They needed the Zushen Formation to form a perfect whole.

"Let's go."

Ji Ning continued advancing at high speed.

With Ji Ning's strength, the swamp region of this ancient relic wasn't much of a threat. As long as he was careful and sensed any powerful auras from afar early enough to avoid them, it was relatively safe.

"I see it." Ji Ning spotted a range of连绵 mountains ahead. "I'm entering another area of the ancient relic."

"The information I got earlier about the Suifeng relic is no longer useful."

Ji Ning grew worried.

The swamp region of the ancient relic was the outermost area and actually the safest.

Other areas, however, were constantly shifting under the influence of the cave's formation and restrictions. A place might be safe to pass through one time, but the next time it could be a death trap. So intelligence was of little use.

"Whoosh."

Ji Ning landed on a mountain peak and sprinted at high speed. He no longer dared to fly recklessly, lest he fly into a death zone.

He ran at high speed, his heartforce probing the surroundings like ripples, while the many Zhutian Star Gold Beads orbited around him. If there was danger, the beads would encounter it first.

"Hm?" Ji Ning ran for a moment, then suddenly turned to look into the distance.

On a distant mountain peak sat a woman in fiery red robes, cross-legged. Her features were lovely, her eyes like autumn water. Around her orbited dozens of crescent-shaped blades, each wreathed in flames. Hundreds of blades circled, fire spreading in all directions.

"What a beautiful woman." Ji Ning, who had seen much, couldn't help but sigh inwardly. "She's the kind that could topple kingdoms."

After a glance,

Ji Ning continued sprinting forward. His running speed reached tens of thousands of kilometers in an instant.

The woman in fiery red robes sitting on the mountaintop also noticed Ji Ning and muttered softly, "Strange. My self-created 'Great Freedom如意 Art' carries a natural allure... Deliberate seduction is vulgar, but this natural charm of mine is powerful. He didn't even come to talk to me? Doesn't he know the reputation of 'Fire Fairy'?"

Fire Fairy Su Youji was quite famous among the Zushen and Zuxian of the Damo Territory.

"And in the danger zone of an ancient relic, he dares to run so fast," the woman in fiery red robes muttered. "I consider myself reckless, but he's even more reckless than me. Running this fast, he'll probably explore more in one year than I would in ten thousand years. But he'll die quickly too. He's the first decent-looking one I've seen... Ah well, I hope you're lucky."

...

The swamp was the outermost area.

Beyond the swamp, everything was considered danger zone. Normally, explorers would be very cautious, moving at a very slow pace.

But the 'Suifeng relic' occupied nearly half of a Chaos World. Its scope was unimaginably vast. If one explored slowly, even hundreds of thousands or millions of years would only cover a tiny area. However, Zushen and Zuxian generally had long lifespans and weren't in a hurry; safety came first.

Ji Ning was different.

Ji Ning had an avatar outside, and he had comprehended 'Heartsword Heaven and Earth', giving him excellent perception and control over his surroundings. He was bold because of his skill. Moreover, he hadn't been cultivating for very long; why would he want to spend hundreds of thousands of years here? He planned to adventure for a few years and then leave, so he naturally moved quickly.

"Hm?" Ji Ning's eyes lit up as he spotted a corpse on the ground in the distance.

"Collect." A rope of innate spiritual treasure flew out, bound the corpse, and then pulled it into his随身 cave treasure.

The corpse would naturally be cremated, but the treasures had to be collected.

"Let's go." Ji Ning was in a good mood. In ancient relics, it was common to occasionally find the remains of other cultivators. Of course, he might die himself one day.

...

It was too vast.

The ancient relic was enormous. Ji Ning had been wandering inside for over a year. With his Heartsword Heaven and Earth perception, the protection of the Zhutian Star Gold Beads, and his heartforce detection, he had avoided many dangerous places. Aside from Tiannan Zushen and Fire Fairy at the beginning, he had encountered six other cultivators. Only one had attacked him; the others had avoided him from afar.

The one who attacked Ji Ning was naturally killed by him.

"Whoosh."

Ji Ning sprinted through the forest, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, with a unique rhythm. Clearly, he had gained considerable experience.

"Rumble, rumble, rumble..." Waves of fluctuations came from the distance.

"Hm?" Ji Ning's eyes lit up. "The fluctuations are quite strong, and there seem to be several sources. Let's go take a look." According to the intelligence records, in such a dangerous area, battles involving multiple parties usually meant a valuable treasure.

Swoosh.

Ji Ning silently approached. Soon he reached a mountain peak. Peering through the weeds, he saw a valley in the distance where five Zushen and Zuxian were fighting, split into two sides: one side had one Zushen or Zuxian, the other had four.

"Prison Sword God, there are two Dao artifacts. You take one, we take one. Isn't that good?"

"You four fools? Die, die, die." The figure shrouded in black robes, manifesting six arms wielding six misty sword lights, slaughtered madly. The other four Zushen and Zuxian coordinated with each other, barely holding on.

Ji Ning, watching from the mountain peak, heard this and his eyes lit up: "Dao artifacts? Two of them? Prison Sword God... Hmm, it must be the legendary Prison Sword God. He's indeed a sword expert, probably on the same level as me."