Chapter 21: Attack

"Confirmed?" the golden strange bat asked, its voice sharp and carrying a strange fluctuation that caused ripples in the surrounding chaotic spatial currents.

"Reporting to the king, it is confirmed. Those on the flying boat are indeed World-level cultivators, ninety-nine in total." A silver strange bat replied respectfully.

Strange bats had very low intelligence; the black strange bats could only shout and kill, barely able to speak complete sentences. But once their life level leaped, transforming from black strange bats to 'silver strange bats,' their lifespan greatly increased, and their intelligence also improved significantly, at least comparable to some ordinary mortals.

"Ninety-nine World-level?" The golden strange bat's cold eyes looked into the distance. "They've gathered as many as ninety-nine. There shouldn't be any Dao Lords of Life and Death among them. If there were a Dao Lord of Life and Death, they wouldn't need to go through such trouble; they could travel alone. Hmm... since that's the case, tsk tsk..."

These strange bats all had a hobby: devouring cultivators. Even if the divine body was extremely strong, as long as it hadn't reached the level of 'Dao Divine Weapon,' the golden strange bat could crunch it up and eat it. To them, cultivators were the ultimate delicacy.

Moreover, the strange bat race had been killed in great numbers by passing cultivators. Even the 'golden strange bat,' the king of strange bats, could be killed by a Dao Lord of Life and Death if careless. So the strange bat race instinctively hated these cultivators.

"What luck. The Dark Sea is so vast, yet I discovered this flying boat. My children, kill." The golden strange bat's voice was sharp as it gave the order. "Kill all the cultivators on that flying boat! Kill them all!"

"Yes." The nine silver strange bats replied respectfully.

"Yes." "Yes." "Yes." The mass of black strange bats responded in a chaotic chorus.

Swish swish swish swish swish swish~~~~

The dense swarm of strange bats swiftly穿梭ed through the spatial currents, heading toward the distant flying boat. Strange bats were born in the Dark Sea and naturally could move and hide in the狂暴 space, which was how they could approach the flying boat without being detected.

...

In the Dark Sea, 'golden strange bats' were indeed very rare, and the Dark Sea was immensely vast. The flying boat carrying Ji Ning traveled so fast that it would take over six hundred years to cross, so one could imagine how vast it was. Thus, among dozens of flying boat teams, perhaps only one would be unlucky enough to encounter a 'golden strange bat.'

"Master, before entering the Dark Sea, you scared me to death. You said how dangerous the Dark Sea was. But look now, how relaxed and leisurely it is." Su Youji and Ji Ning were in a corner of the flying boat, chatting.

"That's because there are over ninety other cultivators sharing the burden with you, helping you deal with the strange bats. If you and I had to handle all the strange bats alone, what would the result be?" Ji Ning glanced at her.

Su Youji blinked.

What result?

Although Ji Ning was strong, he was only one person. He could only deal with part of the strange bat creatures at a time. As for Su Youji, she would have to rely on puppets and insect beasts for help, and even then, it would be fraught with danger.

Now, with ninety-nine cultivators joining forces and the support of a formation, it was naturally completely different.

"Blame it on your incomplete intelligence, Master." Su Youji muttered. "The famous 'Dao Lord Jue Mie,' who sounds incredibly powerful, failed in his Dao merger and wants to take disciples. Such a huge news, but your intelligence didn't record it."

Ji Ning was amused.

The Dark Sea—how dangerous was it?

Even though it was adjacent to the Qian Yin Domain, normally only occasionally would some World-level cultivators cross it for special reasons. Even gathering ninety-nine cultivators took a long time. Ji Ning and the others had gathered too quickly this time.

It was because at the other end of the Dark Sea, in the 'Qiong Ming Domain,' a 'Dao Lord Jue Mie' who had failed in his Dao merger and was about to perish had publicly announced he was taking disciples!

Dao Lord Jue Mie was widely renowned, at least among the many surrounding territories. His fame was very great, but he had always been a solitary wanderer, with no sect and no disciples.

Now that he had failed in his Dao merger, he only then remembered he had no legacy to pass on, so he thought of taking disciples. Such a Dao Lord who failed in his Dao merger had at least touched the edge of Dao merger... his strength was no less than that of Dao Lord Tian Yi! Such a great figure taking disciples naturally attracted a flood of World-level cultivators eager to become his students!

Although this master would eventually die, even Bei Xiu, the World God, had endured for a chaos cycle with his true spirit dissipating. As long as Dao Lord Jue Mie didn't engage in疯狂 battles, he could still live for a very long time. Over that long period, under the guidance of this Dao Lord, his disciples might even hope to step into the 'Dao Lord of Life and Death' realm.

Moreover, having a great figure who failed in Dao merger as a master—who would dare provoke them? Before the master died, they could practically strut around unchallenged. Over eighty percent of the cultivators on Ji Ning's flying boat were going to the 'Qiong Ming Domain' to become disciples.

The star chart Ji Ning had was given by Dao Lord Tian Yi, and it did not record the news that 'Dao Lord Jue Mie' was taking disciples in the Qiong Ming Domain.

"We've drifted from the Da Mo Domain all the way here, and we've heard many legends—of ancient past, of truly powerful Dao Lords failing in Dao merger and perishing..." Ji Ning shook his head and sighed. "From what we've heard, those who truly succeed in Dao merger are indeed few and far between."

Ji Ning was worried about Dao Lord Tian Yi. Although they hadn't known each other for long, Dao Lord Tian Yi truly treated him like a brother. In the Sui Feng Ruins, despite being severely injured, Dao Lord Tian Yi didn't rush to heal himself but frantically searched for Ji Ning. Only after finding Ji Ning did he heal with peace of mind. At that moment, Ji Ning was deeply moved.

"Careful!"

"Yah—"

Accompanied by a cry of alarm and the screech of strange bats, the many cultivators on the flying boat, who had been quietly talking, instantly activated their treasures and weapons, beginning the battle.

"Pfft." Ji Ning's sword light flashed, and he slew a black strange bat. The bat's head flew off, then dissipated into nothingness.

"What!" Ji Ning's expression changed drastically.

All around the flying boat, a dense mass of black strange bats appeared. The number of strange bats was far greater than in any previous attack—ten times more than the largest before! At a glance, there were thousands of black strange bats. This black, oppressive swarm surrounded the flying boat, forcing its speed to drop sharply until it came to a complete halt, unable to move.

"Change." Ji Ning shook his body, manifesting three heads and six arms, holding six divine swords, Zi Guang Qiong.

"Everyone be careful!"

"There are nine silver strange bats."

The situation immediately turned extremely dire. Every cultivator present was anxious. Each silver strange bat was comparable to a being beyond the peak of World Gods. Although they had the formation's boost, one needed at least peak World God strength to fight a silver strange bat with the formation's help.

"Whoosh~~~~" Ji Ning's sword light turned, tracing an arc, and the eight black strange bats around him instantly fell and vanished.

"Youji, refine this insect nest." Ji Ning handed the green jade ball to Su Youji. Once refined, she could control the fifty-one insect beasts inside. The situation on the field was dire, with too many strange bats attacking, and Ji Ning feared he might not be able to protect Su Youji in time.

"Mm." Su Youji nodded. At this critical moment, she didn't refuse and quickly refined it.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"There are too many strange bat creatures!"

"Why are there so many?"

"Quick, block that silver strange bat!"

On the flying boat, a slaughter ensued. Treasures flew, and World Gods charged into battle.

"I'll hold off this silver strange bat!"

"I'll hold it off!"

Previously, the cultivators on the flying boat had never faced such a dire situation, so many had been hiding their strength. Now they had to unleash it. On this flying boat, there were over ten cultivators with peak World God strength! After all, those aspiring to become disciples of 'Dao Lord Jue Mie' naturally had to have sufficient strength.

"Kill."

Ji Ning was like a phantom, his sword light elusive and ghostly, swift as lightning. Wherever his sword passed, strange bats fell dead, unable to withstand his terrifying swordsmanship.

Clearly, in the over three hundred years in the Dark Sea, Ji Ning's divine power avatar had often fought within the Snowscape Diagram Scroll cave heaven, and his swordsmanship had become much stronger than when he was in the Da Mo Domain.

"Kill any strange bat that gets close." Su Youji also summoned insect beasts, calling out thirty powerful ones to surround her, killing any strange bat that dared approach.

Black strange bats were indeed weak, but these insect beasts were all at the World-level perfection stage, much stronger.

...

On the entire flying boat, the cultivators fought madly, barely managing to withstand the siege of nine silver strange bats and thousands of black strange bats.

...