Chapter 22: Only Two Remain

Even though Ji Ning had sensed something amiss and used the Windwing Evasion to retreat swiftly, he still felt the immense shockwave slam into his back, sending him tumbling through the air and crashing into the ground, creating a deep pit.

"Ji Ning, are you alright?"

"Ji Ning."

Ji Jiuhuo and the other two rushed over from afar, worriedly looking at the deep pit. Inside, Ji Ning was buried deep, blood staining the surroundings, and even the Dharma treasure wings on his back were twisted. But soon, Ji Ning, still embedded in the pit, began to recover rapidly. He reached out a hand, pushed himself up, and quickly stood.

"I'm fine," Ji Ning said hoarsely, the earlier impact having damaged his throat. He stood up from the pit, the shocking wounds on his back healing swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, all his terrible injuries had mended without even a scar. His Dharma armor automatically transformed into the beast-hide style his mother had tailored.

Ji Jiuhuo and the others watched in awe—this was what they, as Qi Refiners, envied most about Divine Body Refiners: their astonishing vitality.

If it had been them, they would have died long ago.

"The explosion of the Zifu Lake is truly terrifying," Ji Ning marveled.

Opening the Zifu to embark on the immortal path, the Zifu was like a lake storing liquefied elemental energy—this Zifu Lake was the foundation! Just as a fruit tree needs soil to bloom and bear fruit, a cultivator needed the Zifu Lake to reach the Wanxiang stage and even form the Nascent Soul. It was the root. Zifu cultivators would continuously accumulate elemental energy to expand the lake...

But once this accumulated elemental energy was detonated, it would first kill the cultivator themselves, then others.

"That's why the three of us dared not approach. Only you, a Divine Body Refiner, could get close," Ji Jiuhuo said.

"Impressive," Ji Ning murmured.

"The vitality of Divine Body Refiners is even more impressive," Ying Po said hoarsely.

...

Elsewhere.

Within the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation, the illusory blood-colored flood dragons swam about. At the center, bathed in blood-red light, stood Dong Ziqi, his face dark and eyes filled with murderous intent. He longed to rush out and kill, but those cowards from the Ji clan never dared to appear before him.

"Little sister! Senior apprentice-brother Ziqi, avenge us! Destroy the Ji clan!!!" A shrill voice suddenly rang out, followed by a loud explosion.

Mu Si, who had been sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes, sorrow in them: "He Fang and his sister are dead."

"Dead, and they even detonated their Zifu Lake. They were pushed to the brink," Dong Ziqi said hoarsely, his face twisted with rage. He, Dong Ziqi, had been forced to this point by the insignificant Ji clan. He roared, "I swear by Dong Ziqi, I will annihilate the Ji clan! I swear it!!!"

...

The roar spread.

"I will annihilate the Ji clan! I swear it!!!"

Ji Ning's expression changed slightly; he could feel the madness and killing intent in those words. Beside him, Ji Jiuhuo said coldly, "Even if we don't kill them, if we don't hand over the subject's token, they'll still annihilate our clan! If they want to kill us, they must be prepared to be killed. Now they're just howling like cowards."

"Let's go deal with Dong Ziqi," Ying Po said through gritted teeth.

"Mm," Old Servant A Xing agreed.

Ji Ning was also filled with killing intent... For these hostile forces that wanted to destroy the Ji clan and leave them no way out, he felt no mercy.

"Ji Ning," Ji Jiuhuo frowned, "Go to your father's side immediately and help them kill Ju San."

"My father?" Ji Ning was startled.

Had something happened to his father Ji Yichuan and Ji Liuzhen, who were working together against the one called 'Ju San'?

"It's Mu Si," Ji Jiuhuo said urgently, "He's casting a spell, causing countless vines to grow wildly and spread. They're almost reaching your father's side. Once those vines touch Ju San, Dong Ziqi and Mu Si will quickly converge with him through the vines! Once the three of them join forces, it'll be hard to kill them."

The mist and miasma before Ji Ning parted directly, forming a path.

"I'm going," Ji Ning said, turning into a blur as he rushed forward.

"We'll deal with Dong Ziqi and Mu Si," Ji Jiuhuo said to Ying Po and Old Servant A Xing, "We don't need to kill them, but we must disrupt Mu Si... preferably make him unable to focus on casting that spell. Growing those vines to such a size must have consumed a lot of his mental energy and elemental power."

"Mm," Ying Po and Old Servant A Xing nodded.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The three quickly headed toward Dong Ziqi's location.

...

Ji Ning dashed along, even seeing vines growing and spreading. He used the Windwing Evasion to leap away, avoiding touching them.

Soon.

A rumbling sound came from afar, and the mist ahead thinned. Ji Ning saw two figures in the distance—his father Ji Yichuan and clan member Ji Liuzhen.

"Hm? Father isn't using any Dharma treasures. Has he not yet opened his Zifu?" Ji Ning noticed as he arrived that Ji Liuzhen was controlling a Dharma treasure to fight against the burly man called Ju San in the distance, while his father Ji Yichuan was swinging his sword, sending out streams of sword light like water, constantly flying toward Ju San. Those sword lights were like troublesome threads, continuously binding Ju San.

Ji Liuzhen was the main attacker, while Ji Yichuan assisted!

"Damn it!" Ju San roared.

"Judging by what the clan leader said earlier, my father is a Zifu cultivator. But why have I never seen him use a Dharma treasure?" Ji Ning wondered, "Even back when I was attacked by the Winged Serpent and chased it, my father didn't use any Dharma treasure. Why?"

Ji Ning had asked his father before, but he always avoided the question.

"I'll ask the clan leader after the battle," Ji Ning buried the doubt in his heart. He held a Northstar Sword in each hand, and with a flap of his Dharma wings, he shot into the air.

The earlier explosion of He Fang's Zifu Lake had destroyed one of his Dharma wings. Fortunately, he had several of these unranked Dharma wings.

"Father, Uncle Liuzhen! Leave Ju San to me!" Ji Ning shouted, turning into a streak of light as he charged straight at Ju San.

Ji Yichuan and Ji Liuzhen both turned to look: "Ji Ning!"

"Haha, come on!" Ju San, who had been frustrated with no outlet for his strength, was overjoyed to see Ji Ning charging at him. He was a Zifu-level Divine Body Refiner! Divine Body Refiners loved close combat, but Ji Liuzhen and the other had kept their distance, and Ju San, not skilled in movement techniques, couldn't catch up.

Constantly being hit without being able to retaliate—

What agony!

Although he had also opened his Zifu for Qi Refining, he hadn't spent much effort on controlling Dharma treasures. His main focus was on close combat.

"Come, come, let me see how formidable this Ji clan genius is." Ju San had a pair of black wings on his back, and as he rushed toward Ji Ning, he moved with notable agility.

"Dharma wings?" Ji Ning's eyes lit up at the sight of Ju San's wings. Most Divine Body Refiners had wings for better mobility. "They must be ranked Dharma treasures. I've been needing a pair of ranked Dharma wings since breaking through to Zifu."

Boom!

Boom!

One was from the Snowdragon Mountain sect, having trained in the ordinary Divine Body Refining technique "Introduction to the Mighty Force," yet he had reached the early Zifu stage. The technique sounded mediocre, but it was far superior to the Ji clan's techniques like "Future Buddha Sutra" or "Blood Demon Indestructible Body," which had grand names. The more powerful the sect, the more modest the names of their techniques.

The other, from a humble background, trained in the indisputably best Divine Body Refining technique of the Primordial Era, "Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens," but was only at the Xiantian perfection level.

"Bang!" "Bang!"

Ju San wielded a great axe, while Ji Ning held twin swords.

As they clashed...

It was like the battle of young gods from ancient times. The ground trembled, cracked, and stones flew everywhere! Both had Dharma wings and fought fiercely at close quarters, unafraid of occasional injuries. Wounds often appeared on Ju San's body.

"Ju San's axe technique is quite exquisite. The axe itself is large, and when defending, it acts like a shield," Ji Ning thought.

"Ji Ning has also reached Zifu in Divine Body Refining!" Ju San was even more shocked. "And his twin-sword technique is profound. I've immersed myself in axe techniques for nearly a hundred years, yet I can't match his swordsmanship. I'm at a disadvantage everywhere..." So far, he had only left two wounds on Ji Ning, and those were from Ji Ning trading blows. But his own body had been cut over a hundred times, though all wounds had naturally healed.

Ji Ning's swordplay grew even more ferocious.

"Fast, fast, fast."

Ji Ning knew that since his opponent used a heavy weapon like a great axe, he had to be fast. The faster he was, the greater his opponent's flaws.

"Like the Wind!"

"Like Fire."

Ji Ning's left and right hands wielded different sword techniques—one sword was like wind, illusory and elusive; the other was like burning flames, blazing hot. Both were astonishingly fast. One was eerie, the other狂暴. Together, their power multiplied!

"Faster! Even faster!" Ji Ning pressed Ju San relentlessly.

Ju San was flustered.

"Swish!"

A ethereal, wind-like sword traced along the edge of the great axe and sliced through Ju San's waist. Blood splattered, and Ju San was cut in two.

"Now's my chance!" Ji Ning instantly entered a frenzied state.

Lightning Flash!

Lightning Flash!

Lightning Flash!

Ji Ning's twin swords simultaneously executed this technique—neither eerie nor狂暴, just pure speed! A barrage of sword light poured into Ju San's severed body, splitting it further, but Ju San's head still grinned, "Divine Body Refiners aren't so easy to kill!"

"Waterfire Lotus." Ji Ning unleashed his final trump card.

The countless pieces of the severed body were drawn into the Waterfire Lotus, where water lotus leaves and fire lotus leaves slowly rotated in opposite directions. After nearly five years of cultivation, the grinding power of the Waterfire Lotus was astonishing. The defenseless flesh was ground into powder.

Grind! Grind! Grind!

The flesh desperately tried to congeal and reform into a body, but the Waterfire Lotus kept grinding.

Boom~~~ The flesh scattered, turning into dust, unable to congeal again.

Ju San was dead!

"I've got a pair of ranked Dharma wings ahead of time," Ji Ning said, waving his hand to collect the Dharma wings, great axe, Dharma armor, storage treasure, and everything else left on the ground.

Ji Ning turned around.

In the distance, Ji Liuzhen and Ji Yichuan could barely hide their astonishment. Watching two Divine Body Refiners fight was brutal—a clash of strength where one fell and the other pounced to trample him, giving no chance to recover. It was only because Ji Ning had the Waterfire Lotus that he could finish Ju San so decisively.

"Let's go," Ji Ning said quickly, "Father, Uncle Liuzhen, let's join the clan leader. Only two remain!"

"Only two remain?" Ji Liuzhen and Ji Yichuan felt a surge of excitement. They hadn't expected the Ji clan to achieve such a glorious victory in this battle. Now only two Zifu cultivators were left.

But they were also the strongest two.

"Kill them."

Ji Ning, Ji Yichuan, and Ji Liuzhen turned into streaks of light, swiftly heading to join Ji Jiuhuo and the others.

...