Chapter 32: Awakening

"Xiaoqing, withdraw the maze," Ji Ning instructed. The maze posed no obstacle to the Dragon Whale Demon King but instead affected their own side.

The grand formation dissipated.

In the distance, the tall and stalwart Dragon Whale Demon King came into view. His aura was clearly far more狂暴 and powerful than before. In the depths of his soul, Ji Ning sensed a threat—a warning from his divine soul.

"I have you to thank for my breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage, so I killed those two humans for you. They were your enemies, weren't they?" The great Dragon Whale demon looked down at Ji Ning. "My brothers and sisters all died at the hands of you three. And you, Ji Ning, deserve death the most."

"Go." A cold light flashed in the Dragon Whale demon's eyes.

Whoosh.

A black greatsword, over ten zhang long, like a warship, ablaze with blazing elemental fire, came slashing straight at Ji Ning.

"Hmph." Ji Ning snorted coldly, simultaneously unleashing his divine sense in the Soulshaker Art. His rolling divine sense, like surging waves, slammed heavily into the Dragon Whale demon's Nascent Soul. A low hum sounded—the Dragon Whale demon felt his Nascent Soul shake, and even the power of his magic treasure was noticeably affected.

This secretly startled the Dragon Whale Demon King. Ji Ning's divine soul was so strong—could he be a reincarnated immortal?

Whether he was a reincarnated immortal or not, he had to die!

"Whoosh!"

The black greatsword, wreathed in elemental fire, whistled toward Ji Ning.

Ji Ning let out an angry roar, his body instantly swelling to become a three-zhang-tall giant. Gripping the Northmoon swords, he transformed into a blur and met the attack.

"Boom!"

Sword light and the black greatsword collided in midair.

Ji Ning, executing the 'Star Picking Hand,' unleashed overwhelming power in that strike, sending the black greatsword tumbling back. Ji Ning himself retreated only two steps, while a Waterfire Lotus bloomed around him. This dazzling lotus contained Snow Soul Cold Fiend and Golden Flame Earthfire, greatly enhancing its power.

"Dragon Whale, if you think you can kill me with just a magic treasure, you underestimate me," Ji Ning laughed heartily.

The Dragon Whale Demon King also realized this.

Ji Ning's strength was far beyond that of the two Wanxiang Adepts before; especially in close combat, he was extremely powerful.

"I'll grant your wish." The Dragon Whale demon let out a sudden roar, his body dissolving into vast mist. Then, in the underground river tunnel, he began to reveal his true form.

Ji Ning immediately sent a voice transmission to Mu Zishuo and Qingqing: "Junior apprentice-brother, Xiaoqing, once the Dragon Whale takes his true form, it will be earth-shattering, crushing all surrounding rocks. I'll hold him off in battle. You two must race to the sealing formation as fast as possible. Junior apprentice-brother, find a way to break the sealing formation and pull out its banner. Without that formation, I'll have plenty of ways to escape."

Mu Zishuo hesitated briefly, then replied, "Alright, senior apprentice-brother, be careful."

"Don't worry."

Ji Ning looked down at his junior apprentice-brother and Qingqing. It felt strange to become a giant through the Heaven-Earth Transformation.

Rumble... Deep underground, the great Dragon Whale demon began to reveal his true form. His body was enormous, and the underground river channel was far too narrow. Using his divine ability, he stretched three thousand zhang long, with a girth of several hundred zhang. Such a massive body immediately squeezed the surrounding rock, causing cracks.

"Break open!"

The Dragon Whale found the space too cramped and confining. As a youth, he had lived in the Northmoon Sea, and even on this endless earth, he usually fought in the open sky. His body naturally preferred spaciousness. Being underground was uncomfortable.

He gave a violent roll and twist, his tail lashing out.

Rip!

Like an earth-dragon turning over, the low mountain peak above, covering over ten li, collapsed entirely. Huge boulders were flung skyward, the earth split open, the underground river was severed, and the underground space, previously only a few dozen zhang wide, was instantly forced open to over a thousand zhang.

Splash! The rolling magma below erupted skyward in a full explosion. Some magma even flowed backward.

The Dragon Whale Demon King's revelation of his true form was truly earth-shattering.

Ji Ning, holding his twin swords, watched all this, the Waterfire Lotus blooming around him.

"Go quickly," Ji Ning sent a voice transmission urgently. "If we get separated, meet at the ice layer."

"Senior apprentice-brother, be careful."

"Master, be careful."

Qingqing instantly transformed into a small snake and coiled around Mu Zishuo's arm. Mu Zishuo also turned into a streak of light, breaking through the collapsing rocks and rushing outward, swift as lightning.

"Haha, flee? Can you escape?" The Dragon Whale's massive dragon head let out arrogant laughter. The sky was already visible above, and the surrounding magma rolled in chaos.

"Die."

The great Dragon Whale demon's two dragon whiskers descended from the sky, directly enveloping Ji Ning. The whiskers, wreathed in elemental fire, moved like lightning and engulfed Ji Ning.

"Break!"

Ji Ning's sword light blazed.

"Boom!" Ji Ning, wielding both swords, was sent flying backward after a single clash.

"His strength has increased so much." Ji Ning crashed through dozens of zhang of rock, his expression changing. "Right, those dragon whiskers are his lifebound magic treasure, refined over many years. Now that he's reached the Nascent Soul stage and revealed his true form, the power of that lifebound treasure has naturally surged."

Once he revealed his true form, the Dragon Whale's strength soared.

Even with the Star Picking Hand, Ji Ning felt he couldn't withstand it...

"It seems my strength still falls far short of a Nascent Soul Daoist." Facing the Dragon Whale Demon King, Ji Ning felt outmatched. Just as he was thinking of how to buy time—

Suddenly, the world fell silent.

The backward-flowing magma stopped moving.

The splashing droplets from the underground river hung in midair.

The flying碎石 also froze in the air.

Ji Ning remained in the posture of retreating with the Windwing Evasion technique...

Mu Zishuo stood motionless before the sealing formation...

Even the vast, suspended Dragon Whale demon halted in midair, his dragon whiskers floating still...

At this moment, everything around seemed completely frozen.

But Ji Ning, Mu Zishuo, the Azure Serpent, and the Dragon Whale Demon King—these four living beings—were very clear: this was not stillness!

"This is..." Ji Ning clearly felt an incredibly terrifying force descend instantly. This force was so powerful that it completely suppressed him, leaving him as immobile as an ant in ice. He couldn't even change his facial expression; the pressure was too great.

"What, what is happening?" Ji Ning felt shocked and uneasy. His divine soul sent repeated warnings—a very dangerous threat.

Ji Ning had a feeling that faced with such a threat, he would be annihilated in an instant.

...

"What, what's going on?" Mu Zishuo, who had just rushed to the sealing formation, was also frantic and deeply shocked. He too felt completely suppressed, unable to move even a finger. He saw the碎石 suspended in midair, motionless, which only increased his fear and panic.

...

The Dragon Whale Demon King was even more shocked.

He was a Nascent Soul demon, a Dragon Whale at that. How great was his strength? With a single roll, he could shatter heaven and earth. Yet now, his massive Dragon Whale body hung in midair, unable to move at all.

"I've already entered the Nascent Soul stage. What kind of power is this, leaving me utterly helpless? Even an immortal shouldn't be this strong. Could it be a Celestial Immortal? Or some ancient Sanxian who has lived for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years?" Many thoughts raced through the Dragon Whale demon's mind, filled with fear and unease.

...

Though Ji Ning couldn't move, he could still see with his eyes.

"That is..."

Ji Ning suddenly saw, in astonishment, the rolling magma in the distance begin to part. The entire earth split open, and a huge, fiery red hand, covered in magma, emerged from the earth. This single hand—just its appearance—filled Ji Ning with a sense of despair.

That was what happened when the gap in strength reached an extreme.

This hand, with a palm a thousand zhang wide, had clearly visible, ancient, mottled palm lines as if carved. After emerging from the magma earth, it directly grabbed the Dragon Whale demon's head in midair.

Crunch!

Like crushing an egg, the fiery red hand gently crushed the Dragon Whale demon's head. In that instant, even the Dragon Whale demon's soul and true spirit were crushed, utterly annihilated, leaving no chance for reincarnation.

Thus, a Nascent Soul demon died!

"This..." Ji Ning was astounded, but his facial expression was completely frozen; his facial muscles couldn't change at all.

"Boom!"

From the cracked, scorching magma, an even larger fiery red head emerged!

Yes, a head!

It had one eye, one nose, one mouth. Its head alone was over a thousand zhang tall. Its massive body slowly rose from the depths of the earth, revealing most of itself before stopping. Its body seemed formed of magma rock, radiating immense heat. It glanced at the Dragon Whale demon's corpse lying in the rubble, its single, glowing red vertical pupil cold.

"A little earthworm dares to destroy my cave and disturb my sleep. Deserving of death." The giant's voice rumbled.

Ji Ning still couldn't show any expression.

Inside, he was shouting: "A Fiendgod, it must be a Fiendgod!"

At this moment, Ji Ning could think of nothing else. Neither immortals nor demons fit. This ancient, terrifying being—whether in appearance, aura, or strength—only one kind of existence matched: Fiendgods! Born from heaven and earth, Fiendgods were mostly enormous in size.

They were immensely powerful, once ruling this endless earth for endless ages—that era was the Age of Fiendgods!

"Two more humans, and a little snake." The ancient Fiendgod, who had slept for who knows how long, swept his vertical pupil over Ji Ning, Mu Zishuo, and the Azure Serpent, looking at them as if they were ants.