Chapter 31: I'll Get You Back in the Next Life

Dong Yi and Hong Rui were both waiting outside the formation.

"Hmm?" Dong Yi and Hong Rui both sensed something and turned to look behind them. At the end of the dark underground river, a tall, burly figure was strolling toward them.

His body was as tall as a two-story building, clearly not something a normal human could possess. And the unrestrained, surging demonic aura spread wantonly... His dark green eyes carried an air of superiority.

"Who are you?" Hong Rui shouted.

But Dong Yi said cautiously, "Demon, you'd better leave quickly. We don't want to kill demons right now."

"You don't want to kill demons, but I want to kill humans now." The Dragon Whale Demon King was leisurely, with the ease that came from absolute superiority in strength.

"Kill humans?"

Dong Yi and Hong Rui's expressions changed.

"If you want to blame someone, blame that brat Ji Ning." As soon as the Dragon Whale Demon King finished speaking, a large black sword wrapped in surging golden flames shot straight toward Hong Rui and the others.

"Ji Ning?" Dong Yi and Hong Rui were puzzled, but facing the incoming black sword, they didn't think twice and immediately engaged the enemy.

"Hmph."

The bald woman in black, Hong Rui, suddenly waved her hand. Two blood-red silk ribbons streaked across the sky, flying like two blood dragons, emitting dragon roars as they coiled toward the black sword.

"Freeze." Dong Yi pointed from afar, and a chill directly enveloped the black sword, attempting to freeze it.

"Boom!"

The black sword smashed through the two blood dragons with irresistible force. The golden flames on its surface blazed brilliantly... easily dispelling the chill and arriving before the bald woman Hong Rui in an instant.

"How is that possible!" Hong Rui tapped her foot and transformed into a streak of light, retreating, while a bronze bell appeared in her hand.

The golden flames on the black sword suddenly surged. With a roar, the golden flames swept over the woman Hong Rui. "No!" A piercing scream, and the bald woman Hong Rui let out a cry before her body was instantly burned to ashes, even her soul burned to nothing.

"What kind of earthfire is this?" Dong Yi's face turned pale with fright.

"Junior apprentice-sister!" Inside the formation, Redleaf Trueman heard the scream and grew anxious. "Dong Yi, what happened to my junior apprentice-sister?"

"Haha, earthfire?" The Dragon Whale Demon King sneered coldly. "This is Primordial Fire!"

Dong Yi's face changed drastically.

Inside the formation, Redleaf Trueman's expression also changed.

Primordial Fire?

Flames are hard to distinguish by appearance alone. Earthfire comes in hundreds of varieties—golden, white, green, all kinds. It's hard to tell from the outside. But Primordial Fire... is the Primordial Fire naturally nurtured by the Turtle-Snake Primordial Spirit, with immense power. Only earthfire nurtured to the upper three grades could possibly match it.

"She's dead, and you will die too." The Dragon Whale Demon King moved his mind, commanding his flying sword to strike directly.

This Heaven-grade flying sword he had obtained by chance. Given his status, obtaining an ordinary Heaven-grade treasure wasn't difficult... Although he wasn't very skilled with flying swords, now that he was a Primordial Daoist, using his Primordial power to drive a Heaven-grade treasure carrying 'Primordial Fire' produced power comparable to when he used divine abilities with his Fiendgod Body Refining.

"Last time I met a Black-White College disciple who could use divine will techniques. Now I run into a Primordial demon. Why am I so unlucky!" Dong Yi's face was ashen. Gritting his teeth, he instantly transformed into a streak of blood light.

Whoosh!

He fled far away, his speed surprising even the Dragon Whale Demon.

"Too bad I already set up a Sealing and Locking Space Formation around the area." The Dragon Whale Demon King shook his head with a cold laugh. With a single step, he had already covered dozens of li.

...

While the Dragon Whale Demon King was chasing Dong Yi, Redleaf Trueman inside the formation also wore a grim expression.

"Junior apprentice-sister is dead?"

"A Primordial demon?"

In the mist, Redleaf Trueman gritted his teeth. A black shuttle appeared in his hand, radiating an evil, ancient aura. This was a life-saving treasure Redleaf Trueman had discovered while adventuring, a relic from the Primordial Era called the 'Nine Heavens Ten Earths Escape Shuttle'. Once activated, its speed would reach the extreme. The shuttle's tip had astonishing piercing power, easily penetrating even a towering mountain.

But each use consumed all the power within the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Escape Shuttle, requiring ten years to recover.

"No time to care." Redleaf Trueman immediately moved his mind.

Whoosh.

The evil black shuttle rapidly enlarged, and he hid inside it.

Swish!

The black shuttle transformed into a streak of light, incredibly fast. The small illusion formation couldn't affect it at all. It easily pierced through... The black shuttle, like a flash of lightning, penetrated layers of rock and then struck the ripples of the sealing formation.

Pfft! It pierced straight through.

The black shuttle quickly disappeared into the distant wilderness.

...

Dong Yi, who had tried to escape, looked at the ripples of the sealing formation before him and fell into despair. He had already attacked twice but couldn't break the formation.

"You can't escape." The Dragon Whale Demon King appeared, and two dragon whiskers materialized, covered in blazing Primordial Fire, directly enveloping Dong Yi.

Dong Yi showed a look of despair.

Although he had protective items, they could only hold out for a short time. If he couldn't escape the sealing formation, death was certain!

"Blame that brat Ji Ning." The Dragon Whale Demon King sneered. "You're just an appetizer. Oh? One got away? What treasure was that shuttle? So fast."

With his knowledge, he had never heard of the ancient relic 'Nine Heavens Ten Earths Escape Shuttle' from the Primordial Era.

"Why blame Ji Ning?" Dong Yi roared. "Let me die knowing why."

The Dragon Whale Demon King stared at the human cultivator in surprise. "Don't you know that the one inside the formation is that brat Ji Ning?"

"Ji Ning is inside?"

Dong Yi's eyes widened.

This... this...

If he had known Ji Ning was inside, he would have fled without a second word. Last time, the six of them together had fallen to Ji Ning and his junior apprentice-brother. How could he dare to face Ji Ning again? But Ji Ning hadn't said a word earlier.

"Damn you, Ji Ning! I've fallen into your hands in this life. In the next life, I'll get you back!" Dong Yi showed a crazed expression. Boom! As the dragon whiskers coiled around him, he exploded.

Knowing the opponent was a Primordial Daoist, he wouldn't let himself be burned by Primordial Fire. Being burned by Primordial Fire meant even the soul would be incinerated.

That was utter annihilation!

By killing himself, he could still be reborn!

"He died cleanly." The Dragon Whale Demon King didn't care. With a wave of his hand, he collected all the treasures Dong Yi left behind. Too lazy to examine them, he moved and headed back to Ji Ning.

...

Ji Ning sat cross-legged, continuously drawing mouthfuls of earthfire into his Zifu. The speed of absorption made Qingqing and Mu Zishuo beside him feel alarmed.

"How is senior apprentice-brother? Is he okay?" Mu Zishuo worried.

"Master wants to succeed in planting the earthfire as soon as possible." Qingqing also watched Ji Ning.

Ji Ning was indeed pushing himself.

He had already absorbed a lot of earthfire over the past three days. When Redleaf Trueman and the others came to break the formation, Ji Ning began to accelerate the absorption.

"Enough earthfire." Ji Ning ignored everything else.

"Condense!"

In the Zifu space, the myriad stars, the Moon Rabbit, and the Golden Crow shot out countless rays of light, landing on the earthfire island, covering all the earthfire like soil. The earthfire quickly seeped into and coiled around every rune, turning them golden.

Chi!

On the earthfire island, a tiny golden flame sprouted.

"Success." Ji Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

Opening his eyes, he looked at his junior apprentice-brother and Xiaoqing beside him. Ji Ning felt cold sweat on his back and forehead. In the final moments, he had indeed pushed the absorption to the limit, like dancing on a tightrope. One mistake and he would lose control. But with a Primordial demon outside, Ji Ning couldn't afford to care.

"Senior apprentice-brother, what's happening outside?" Mu Zishuo quickly asked. "I sensed that Redleaf Trueman inside the illusion formation escaped, and there was killing outside."

"It's the Dragon Whale." Ji Ning said grimly.

"Dragon Whale?" Qingqing was shocked. "Could it be the Dragon Whale demon from last time? I heard someone outside say 'Primordial Fire'. Has that Dragon Whale demon already broken through to become a Primordial demon?"

Ji Ning nodded.

Qingqing and Mu Zishuo's hearts turned cold.

Unlike Redleaf Trueman, Ji Ning and Mu Zishuo had just left their sect and had little experience in the outside world. Their protective treasures were only those bestowed by their sect. They didn't have rare treasures like the 'Nine Heavens Ten Earths Escape Shuttle'.

"His sealing formation is still an Earth-grade formation." Ji Ning transmitted. "Although he's now a Primordial demon, using Primordial-level 'Primordial power' to drive it... the sealing power should be limited. If I go all out, I might be able to break it."

"Senior apprentice-brother, I have a protective puppet given by my master. It can unleash the power of a Primordial Daoist for a short time, enough to break the formation. But the puppet can only fight for ten breaths before it shatters, because the materials are ordinary." Mu Zishuo said.

Ji Ning's heart relaxed.

Right. His own master, Palace Immortal Diancai, had given him two protective treasures. Mu Zishuo's master, Qionghua Daoist, doted on his disciple. And in the art of puppetry... some extraordinary puppets were naturally adept at fighting above their level. It was only natural for his junior apprentice-brother to have protective treasures.

"Hahaha..." A deep laugh sounded. "Brat Ji Ning, you were so arrogant last time. Did you ever think this day would come? After ten thousand years of accumulation, I burst through and reached the Primordial stage. Now killing you is much easier."

"Kill me? In our battle last time, you fled quickly and saved your life." Ji Ning said coldly. "Although you've become a Primordial Daoist, you've just broken through. Your strength probably hasn't increased too absurdly. I still have ways to kill you! We Black-White College disciples are skilled at fighting above our level."

"Black-White College?" The Dragon Whale Demon King was slightly startled, then sneered.

He had Fiendgod Body Refining and divine abilities.

He was also a Primordial demon with a unique constitution. How could he fear a mere Wanxiang Adept?

"Leave now, and you might save your life. Otherwise..." Ji Ning looked into the distance. Outside the formation stood the Dragon Whale Demon King. To the two of them, who possessed divine sense, the illusion formation was useless.