Chapter 4: Bo Zishan, Die

Ji Ning had never executed the sixth layer of the Small Thousand Sword Formation. Back in the water mansion, even the fifth layer had been his limit. But since comprehending the Nine Volumes of Formations, he had become more adept at guiding the formation's momentum. The fifth layer now came easily, and he felt that while the sixth layer was difficult, he had a chance of success.

“I must succeed; if I don’t, I die!” Ji Ning strained to control the four hundred and eighty-six flying sword artifacts hovering around him. He used his divine will to forcefully control the key ‘swords’ of the Small Thousand Sword Formation, gradually guiding the rest. For a moment, the four hundred and eighty-six sword artifacts bobbed like waves, unstable.

Though difficult, a faint white light appeared on all four hundred and eighty-six sword artifacts.

“It worked!” Though Ji Ning still had to fend off the poisonous insects, often getting bitten, and dodge the black-furred zombie chasing him from behind, he was incredibly excited. Relying on his formation mastery, he had managed to execute the sixth layer of the Small Thousand Sword Formation.

“Kill!” Ji Ning stared madly at Bo Zishan on the distant boat.

A strand of sword light, condensed to the extreme and incredibly sharp, instantly obeyed Ji Ning’s will, shooting across the sky like a meteor, striking at Bo Zishan with unstoppable momentum.

“Die!” Bo Zishan on the boat shook the blood-red cloth banner in his hand.

The banner shook once.

The surrounding world darkened. Vicious, visible ghosts howled out, each one a survivor of the earlier mass slaughter and cannibalism among the ghosts, further strengthened by being nurtured in the banner artifact. This was only a semi-finished product; if fully refined, it would be truly terrifying.

Yet even with this semi-finished artifact, Bo Zishan could look down on most Zifu cultivators.

“Roar~~”

“Kill!”

“Eat you!”

Countless ferocious ghosts, hideous and screeching, flew toward Ji Ning in a tangled mass. After being nurtured in the banner, these ghosts could now emit sounds! They crossed and surged, moving swiftly. Of course, compared to Ji Ning’s Small Thousand Sword Formation sword light, the sword light was faster.

“Ssss.” Bo Zishan held a horsetail whisk, which transformed into three thousand white threads to frantically block. But this strand of sword light was far more powerful than before, piercing through layer after layer of obstruction. In desperation, Bo Zishan even used the staff handle of the blood-red cloth banner to deflect the sword light.

The sword light was too fast; Bo Zishan barely managed to touch it.

Ssss~ The sword light struck the staff handle, causing the entire blood-red banner to tremble slightly. The sword light’s power weakened further, then hit the black robe formed by Bo Zishan’s protective armor artifact. It barely left a black spot on the robe before vanishing.

“Good thing I blocked it; it almost pierced my body and killed me.” Bo Zishan was startled. Zifu cultivators fought on a razor’s edge; one misstep could cost their life. “Hmph, now that he’s being torn apart by the ghosts, he can’t spare the focus to use that sword light again. Surrounded by so many ghosts, he’s doomed.”

Bo Zishan was confident—even he would die if torn by these ghosts.

…

Ji Ning’s expression changed as he saw the dense mass of ghosts howling toward him. They shrieked, easily piercing through the six layers of Waterfire Lotus. Ghosts were spirits; weapons, Waterfire Lotuses, and the like could not block them.

“Eat you.”

“Eat.”

Countless ghosts surged in, instantly engulfing Ji Ning, each madly rushing into his body.

“He’s dead for sure.” Bo Zishan confidently awaited Ji Ning’s fall. But then his expression changed, for the blood-red banner in his hand began to tremble, its aura steadily weakening—its power was declining. “What’s happening? How, how can this be?”

Bo Zishan was shocked and enraged.

This banner was his trump card, always effective! But now its aura was weakening, meaning the artifact’s power was dropping. The banner’s foundation was those ghosts… There was only one possibility: a large number of ghosts were dying!

“How is that possible? Ghosts are souls filled with ferocity; no weapon or object can block them. They devour and tear at the opponent’s soul. Can countless ghosts not eat his soul?” Bo Zishan couldn’t believe it. Even a Zifu cultivator would have their soul devoured in moments.

…

In the sea of consciousness.

Ji Ning’s soul resided there. A flood of ghosts surged in, shrieking as they sought to devour.

“What do I do?” Sensing the countless ghosts pouring into his sea of consciousness, Ji Ning was alarmed. The soul was the foundation; without it, even reincarnation was impossible. And Ji Ning had no experience in soul combat.

“The Nüwa Diagram.” Ji Ning immediately thought of the Nüwa Diagram.

In the sea of consciousness, Ji Ning, clad in white robes, sat cross-legged. Before him in midair appeared a figure of Nüwa. Nüwa stood there as if eternal, untouched by time. Her gaze held compassion and care, like a mother’s eyes, radiating boundless light that enveloped the surroundings.

As the ferocious ghosts charged in, they were bathed in Nüwa’s boundless light. Soon their ferocity dissipated, and their faces showed happy, peaceful smiles.

One by one, they showed gratitude to Ji Ning—some bowed, others knelt.

Then they dissipated, heading to the underworld for reincarnation.

Wave after wave of ghosts came, but all had their ferocity dissolved by Nüwa’s true form image. Once ghosts lost their ferocity, they could not remain in the mortal world and had to go to the underworld.

In truth, Ji Ning’s soul was already at the level of a Wanxiang Adept. Even without visualizing Nüwa, his soul’s strength meant these ghosts could not destroy him—after all, the artifact was only semi-finished, effective against Zifu cultivators but insufficient against a Wanxiang Adept.

But then, Ji Ning would have to rely on his soul’s power to directly annihilate the ghosts.

By visualizing Nüwa, he instead freed them to reincarnate, earning great merit.

…

Though it seems slow, it happened in an instant.

Unfazed by the countless ghosts entering his body to tear at his soul, Ji Ning stared at Bo Zishan in the distance and roared, “Kill!”

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

A strand of sword light shot out, then another… Four strands in total flew toward Bo Zishan. These four strands nearly exhausted the innate true yuan in Ji Ning’s body; the remaining trace could not sustain another attack. This was Ji Ning’s all-out strike.

“How is it possible? How can a youth be unafraid of ten thousand ghosts tearing at him?” Bo Zishan, still clutching the blood-red banner, couldn’t believe it. Seeing the strands of sword light flying toward him, he panicked and maneuvered his boat to flee.

But how could the boat match the speed of the sword light?

Bo Zishan frantically used his horsetail whisk to block and swung his banner to intercept. He barely managed to deflect the first strand, but the second arced around and pierced through the black robe formed by his protective armor artifact, stabbing into his body.

Swish! Swish!

The other two strands instantly pierced his head and neck. A hole appeared in his forehead, and his neck was completely severed, sending his head flying.

“Impossible…” Bo Zishan’s face still held disbelief.

The distant black-furred zombie stopped, its eyes confused. The poisonous insects, having lost many companions attacking Ji Ning, retreated quickly. The three Waterfire Lotuses had killed countless of their kind; without their master’s orders, they naturally fled.

Ji Ning collected his sword artifacts, a look of melancholy and disbelief on his face. “I… I killed a Zifu cultivator? I succeeded?”

Just then—

Bo Zishan’s corpse on the boat was falling. As it fell, a golden light flew out from within. Ji Ning’s eyesight caught it—it was a golden insect!

“What is that?” A golden insect flying from the corpse? Ji Ning was shocked and puzzled, sensing something wrong. He felt he couldn’t let the golden insect escape… but his innate true yuan was exhausted, and his Waterfire Lotuses couldn’t reach that far.

“Whoosh~~~”

Suddenly, the sky turned from day to night. Countless bright stars hung in the night sky, forming a river of stars. Among them hung a huge full moon, its moonlight bathing the world. The gentle moonlight fell upon the golden insect, which was frantically fleeing.

The golden insect seemed panicked, flying desperately.

Suddenly, the gentle moonlight coalesced into a large hand. This moonlight hand gently grasped the golden insect, which was terrified and cried out, “Spare me, spare my life!”

“Crack!” The moonlight hand squeezed lightly, crushing the golden insect to dust.

Then the myriad stars and the full moon vanished, and the sky returned to daytime.

“This, this is…” Ji Ning stood stunned. “Stars and moon… a Wanxiang Adept, a Wanxiang Adept!”

“You were too careless.” A man in a green robe with flowing hair flew over on the wind, smiling as he approached. “You worked hard to kill Bo Zishan’s true body, but almost let him escape through his lifebound insect. Bo Zishan was skilled in raising insects, so naturally he would have a lifebound insect. To kill him, you must kill his lifebound insect. Failing at the last step would be a pity.”

Ji Ning realized he had encountered a major figure. There were no Wanxiang Adepts in Yanshan. He immediately bowed. “Ji Ning pays respects to the senior.”