Chapter 16: The Wanxiang True Person

"A great stroke of luck?" The silver-robed middle-aged man looked puzzled.

Dong Fanyu's face was full of smiles as he said, "To be honest with you, Brother Wu, I came this time to offer you a great merit. In my Yanshan, a large spirit stone mine has just been discovered, spanning over four thousand li in radius..." Dong Fanyu went on and on praising the spirit stone mine.

"A spirit stone mine?" A clear, cold voice rang out, and a young man in a black ornate robe entered from the side door of the hall. The young man had narrow eyes and a high-bridged nose, like a venomous snake. His mere gaze made Dong Fanyu's heart tremble.

Dong Fanyu quickly rose and asked in a low voice, "Brother Wu, who is this?"

The silver-robed man had already stood up and bowed deeply to the young man, saying reverently, "Master!"

"Master?" Dong Fanyu was startled.

"This is my master, True Person Xu," said the silver-robed man.

The moment Dong Fanyu heard his Brother Wu address the young man as master, he already knew who this young man was. Cultivators... could not be judged by appearance; the stronger one was, the younger one tended to look. If one encountered a cultivator who looked like a youth or even a child, one had to be even more cautious and vigilant!

After all, Dong Fanyu was also a disciple of Snow Dragon Mountain and knew that his Brother Wu had taken a core disciple of the sect, 'Xu Li,' as his master.

Though both were sect disciples, their statuses differed greatly.

Snow Dragon Mountain would classify its disciples based on their talent, potential, and strength. Those with potential to break through to Wanxiang, or even hope to reach the level of Primordial Spirit Daoist, would naturally receive great cultivation resources. Xu Li was a core disciple and had entered the Wanxiang level over sixty years ago.

"Dong Fanyu pays respects to True Person Xu." Dong Fanyu hurriedly bowed deeply.

"You mentioned a spirit stone mine earlier?" True Person Xu said calmly. "Since your Yanshan branch discovered a spirit stone mine, why invite other disciples?"

Dong Fanyu quickly said, "I dare not deceive the True Person..." and recounted the entire matter in detail.

True Person Xu nodded slightly, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth: "So that's how it is. I didn't expect that while traveling, I would encounter such a good opportunity. Wu Qi, accompany your master to this Yanshan. Take control of the spirit stone mine."

Dong Fanyu immediately said with delight, "With the True Person going, the matter is as good as done!"

Though he appeared delighted on the surface, inwardly he cursed. Discovering a spirit stone mine was a great merit, and if they secured it, the Yanshan branch's contribution would be huge! Now a Wanxiang True Person was getting involved. Wanxiang True Persons were considered important high-ranking members of Snow Dragon Mountain, as the highest-level Primordial Spirit Daoists rarely involved themselves in mundane affairs.

True Person Xu would personally take command and seize the spirit stone mine! Later, when the spoils were distributed within Snow Dragon Mountain, True Person Xu would naturally receive a great share.

With a Wanxiang True Person interfering... each of these Zifu cultivators would see their merit reduced by more than half!

"A mere Ji clan, why does it need a Wanxiang True Person?" Dong Fanyu's heart was bitter, but on the surface he still had to show immense joy, not daring to show any resentment.

Xu Li the Perfected glanced at this old man Dong and couldn't be bothered to pay him any heed. "Let's go. We're heading to Yanshan."

Whoosh.

A sailboat appeared beneath their feet. Xu Li the Perfected, Wu Qi, and Dong Fanyu all boarded the sailboat. Wu Qi even transmitted a message to a Zifu cultivator of his own clan: "I'm going to Yanshan. I'll be back in a few days."

Swoosh. One of the white sails on the boat billowed, and instantly the vessel transformed into a streak of light, tearing through the sky at astonishing speed.

"So fast." Dong Fanyu trembled in awe. It was his first time riding a flying treasure controlled by a Wanxiang Perfected.

"It will take only an hour to reach Yanshan," Xu Li the Perfected said calmly.

Swish!

The sailboat left a speck of light on the distant horizon, then vanished. As for Dong Fanyu... he no longer mentioned inviting other Zifu cultivators. After all, even a Wanxiang Perfected had stepped in—what need was there to invite Zifu cultivators?

...

Inside an ancient city, in a secluded hall, five jade slips emitting a cyan glow were placed. Each slip was about the thickness of a palm, exquisitely crafted.

Two servants sat in the hall, chatting idly out of boredom.

"Bang!" "Bang!" Two of the jade slips shattered one after the other.

Both servants were stunned.

"What was that sound? A rat?"

"Strange."

They looked around in confusion, but then one of them noticed that two of the jade slips placed on the altar had completely shattered. His face turned pale with fright. "L-life..." The other servant, about to mutter something, saw it too. "What's got you so scared? This is the city lord's mansion, what danger could—l-life..." He also stared in terror at the broken jade slips.

"Life slips!"

"The life slips are broken!" The two servants exchanged glances, their eyes filled with horror.

"Quick, report this immediately!"

They both rushed out frantically.

This was truly a big deal.

Just a moment.

"Whoosh!" A streak of light shot into the sky, atop which stood an old man with triangular eyes, his gaze filled with madness: "Both Zifu cultivators have died—what happened in Yanshan?"

……

"The life slip, the life slip is broken!"

……

"Life slip!"

……

When Ji Ning had killed all eight Zifu cultivators, in Yanshan and several cities around it, the various tribes discovered that the life slips of their Zifu cultivators had shattered. A shattered life slip meant death, naturally shocking and enraging these tribes.

Some Zifu cultivators even flew swiftly toward Yanshan.

……

Within Yanshan territory, at Oxhorn Mountain eight hundred li outside Ten Thousand Swords City, endless black mist spread.

Ji Ning stood there, surrounded by the corpses of Dongzi Qi and the other Zifu cultivators.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning frowned. He sensed streams of fierce, baleful energy continuously entering the Northmoon sword in his hand. The battle had relied on the Small Thousand Sword Formation, but Ji Ning had also held the Northmoon sword just in case. Now, baleful energy from the corpses was being drawn into the sword.

"The Northmoon sword is a Fiendgod Bloodforge weapon. It can absorb baleful energy, killing intent, and the like, but only from those I kill with my own hand." Ji Ning understood this. The boundless earth had many places filled with baleful energy, such as where Bo Zishan had tortured countless people, leaving dense resentment and baleful energy. But since Ji Ning hadn't killed those people, he couldn't absorb that energy.

These eight Zifu cultivators, however, had all been killed by Ji Ning.

The Northmoon sword could thus absorb the energy.

"Strange. Why can it only absorb baleful energy from those I kill myself, but not other baleful energy?" Ji Ning shook his head inwardly, recalling the Fiendgod Bloodforge ritual and the ancient, mighty existence that had descended, far more revered than the 'Dao'. "Right. If it could grow by absorbing any baleful energy, divine weapons and demonic weapons would be too easy to upgrade."

"Hmm? Inside me?" Ji Ning looked down.

Streams of fierce, baleful energy were entering his body, or rather, being absorbed into the Zifu within him.

In the Zifu, within the space filled with purple mist, there was a lake formed entirely of condensed yuan force. Above the lake floated various treasures, such as boats, flying swords, and other unused artifacts. Among them hung a Northmoon sword.

He held two Northmoon swords in his hands, so one remained inside his body.

Before opening the Zifu, he couldn't store treasures inside his body. Once the Zifu was opened, ranked treasures and Fiendgod Bloodforge weapons could be stored within. Unranked treasures, however, could not enter the Zifu.

"Sssss~~~"

Three Northmoon swords—two outside, one inside the Zifu—

shared the baleful energy, devouring it madly. As they absorbed, the same ancient Fiendgod character—'Kill'—appeared on the surface of all three swords. The swords themselves were transforming. Since becoming Fiendgod Bloodforge weapons, this was the most concentrated baleful energy they had ever devoured.

After all, killing a Zifu cultivator produced far more baleful energy than killing ten thousand mortals.

"Done." After a moment, three Northmoon swords floated before Ji Ning.

Their luster had grown deeper.

With his divine sense, he controlled the three swords to slice through the air. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~ He even extended his palm and let the swords cut it, leaving three wounds that quickly healed.

"Much sharper indeed." Ji Ning smiled. "It seems that to nurture a powerful divine or demonic weapon, one needs plenty of killing." Ji Ning disliked wanton slaughter, but he showed no mercy to those who provoked him and left the Ji clan no way out.

"Patriarch," Ji Ning spoke, "How should I attack the other group of Zifu cultivators?"

"Ji Ning," Patriarch Ji Jiuhuo transmitted, "The other group consists of seven Zifu cultivators and two Zifu spirit beasts. The most formidable are Nong Zidao and Tong Yu. Nong Zidao is a formation expert, but not a threat in direct combat. The other Zifu cultivators together can't harm you. Your greatest obstacle is Tong Yu."

"Tong Yu?" Ji Ning nodded slightly.

"Tong Yu is likely a Fiendgod Body Refiner. I've been monitoring them, and from their conversations... they are extremely confident in Tong Yu, even knowing that the first group of twelve Zifu cultivators all died. They also mentioned the word 'divine ability.' If I'm not mistaken, Tong Yu should be at the peak Zifu level and has already learned a divine ability." Ji Jiuhuo transmitted. "A Fiendgod Body Refiner at peak Zifu with a divine ability is on par with a Wanxiang cultivator. You must be careful."

Ji Ning nodded.

Wanxiang level?

With his yuan force stronger than peak Zifu, combined with the Rainwater Sword Domain and the Small Thousand Sword Formation, he too was at the Wanxiang level!

The opponent was a Fiendgod Body Refiner with a divine ability?

"If you can't kill Tong Yu, try to kill Nong Zidao," Ji Jiuhuo transmitted. "Nong Zidao is their only formation expert. Once he dies, they won't be able to break the Black Dragon Locking Heaven Formation. We can hold out until the Xia Dynasty's envoy arrives."

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded. "I understand."

Whoosh!

Ji Ning waved his hand, and before him appeared a large number of storage treasures, flying swords, feather fans, cloth banners, and other artifacts—spoils from the eight dead Zifu cultivators.

"I'll first find all the ranked flying swords among them and refine them, to increase the power of my Small Thousand Sword Formation. Then I'll go all out and fight Tong Yu." Ji Ning's eyes were filled with killing intent.