Chapter 34: Ji Ning Battles the Primordial Spirit

Snowplume Daoist rode the clouds, flying directly into midair, facing Ji Ning from afar.

"Little Qing, Uncle Bai, you two go far away," Ji Ning instructed. This battle was a contest between himself and Snowplume Daoist, so there was no need for Uncle Bai and Little Qing to intervene.

"Ning'er, be careful," Whitewater Marsh urged.

"Master, beat that old Daoist into a pulp!" Little Qing clenched her fists, full of anticipation. Although she didn't know Ji Ning's exact strength, she knew he was far stronger than when they had met in Yanshan Great Wasteland years ago.

...

In midair, Snowplume Daoist and Ji Ning faced each other from afar.

"They're really fighting!"

Perfected Xuke and the gray-robed man had shock in their eyes.

"Senior Brother Lu, how can this Ji Ning be so bold as to dare fight Master?" Perfected Xuke never imagined Ji Ning would be so arrogant as to show no respect for his master. "Master is a Primordial Spirit cultivator at perfection, and with the full support of our Snowdragon Mountain sect, he is quite strong even among Primordial Spirit Daoists."

"Crazy, absolutely crazy." The gray-robed man shook his head in disbelief. "Does this Ji Ning think he can defeat Master? Master is no novice who just entered the Primordial Spirit stage; he has been at the Primordial Spirit stage for centuries, with an extremely deep foundation, and has long established a great reputation!"

The two Wanxiang True Lords were both so shocked, let alone the Zifu cultivators on the warships.

This large group of Zifu cultivators from Snowdragon Mountain were all in shock and bewilderment. That Ji Ning actually dared to challenge their lofty ancestor 'Snowfeather Daoist', it was sheer madness!

……

"Then I shall grant your wish!"

"Please!"

The voices of Snowfeather Daoist and Ji Ning, resounding through heaven and earth, rang out one after the other, spreading across the entire Brightheart Island.

Many people had already gathered at the edge of Brightheart Island.

"Ji Ning wants to fight a Primal Daoist?" Ji Ninefire's expression changed drastically.

"How can Ji Ning be so reckless? That's a Primal Daoist, and a Primal Daoist at the圆满 stage at that... Even if he wanted to fight a Primal Daoist, he should first spar with an early-stage or mid-stage Primal Daoist. Why does he immediately challenge Snowfeather Daoist, a圆满-stage Primal Daoist?" Ji Liuzhen also panicked, extremely anxious.

He even regretted asking Ji Ning how to deal with the Yanshan branch of Snowdragon Mountain. Who would have thought Ji Ning would be so 'tough', even going head-to-head against their Primal Daoist!

"Snowfeather Daoist is a圆满-stage Primal Daoist," Granny Shadow also worried.

Because the Ji clan had poor relations with Snowdragon Mountain, Ji Ning had purchased a very detailed intelligence report on Snowdragon Mountain from the Treasurehill. After reading it, he had placed it within the Ji clan. Naturally, Ji Liuzhen, Granny Shadow, and the others had all seen it and were very clear on Snowdragon Mountain's strength.

Precisely because they understood this, they became even more worried.

"Young master." Qiuye bit her lip, holding her breath as she gazed at the two figures in the distant sky.

…

Everyone thought Ji Ning was playing with fire, but Ji Ning himself knew his own strength best. This time, daring to write that letter... Ji Ning truly wasn't afraid of Snow Dragon Mountain's Primordial Daoist!

Primordial Daoists varied in strength.

For instance, the Primordial Daoists of the Black-White College were the absolute cream of the elite, even capable of battling immortals! Some weaker ones who had just entered the Primordial realm were comparatively much feebler... Even nine years ago, Ji Ning could have escaped unscathed from them. A Daoist like Snowfeather was the most suitable opponent for his current self.

"Even if you are a reincarnated immortal, given your current strength, you probably haven't fully awakened your past life yet," Snowfeather Daoist said with a dismissive smile. "Let me show you the true gap between a Wanxiang Adept and a Primordial Daoist."

A feather fan appeared in Snowfeather Daoist's hand, and he waved it casually.

Whoosh!

With that wave, flames erupted from thin air. Dazzling golden fire spread wildly, instantly forming a sea of fire that engulfed Ji Ning.

"Primordial Fire?" Ji Ning saw through it at a glance.

Primordial Fire was something every Primordial Daoist possessed. Back in Yushan Dahuangze, the Dragon Whale Demon King had used this very technique to burn Redbloom Adept to death, but at that time, the Dragon Whale Demon King had just entered the Primordial realm, and his Primordial Fire was not yet powerful enough—far inferior to Snowfeather Daoist's.

"Condense."

Ji Ning spoke softly.

Instantly, a lotus bloomed around him, adorned with red and green. The green were the lotus leaves, while the red were the petals. Massive green leaves encircled him, while the dense red petals in the center rotated layer by layer. Ji Ning stood at the center, fully protected by this lotus.

It was the protective spell—Waterfire Lotus.

"Boom~~~"

The flames from the Primordial Fire surged in from all directions, but the lotus within the sea of fire continued to bloom and rotate, clearly impervious to the flames.

"What!" Snowfeather Daoist, holding the feather fan, changed expression, revealing shock. "Ji Ning effortlessly blocked my Primordial Fire, and he didn't even use swordsmanship—just this protective spell?"

Earlier, he had heard that the sword intent in Ji Ning's letter could make Zifu cultivators tremble and weaken at the knees, so he had guessed Ji Ning's swordsmanship was extremely high. He had expected Ji Ning to use his sword, cutting through all techniques with one strike, to cleave through his sea of fire. He had used the 'Primordial Fire Sea' to probe Ji Ning's depths, but he never imagined Ji Ning would block it with just a lotus.

"A lotus? Ji Ning's insights into water and fire are remarkably profound," Snowfeather Daoist marveled inwardly.

He was right.

Ji Ning's achievements in the Dao of Rainwater and the Dao of Blazing Fire were indeed extremely high. Over nine years, aided by the Water Mansion, Ji Ning's progress was astonishing—these nine years were equivalent to ninety years for someone like Huo Sheng! On these two paths, Ji Ning had nearly reached a bottleneck; with just one more step, he could comprehend the complete Dao of Rainwater and the complete Dao of Blazing Fire!

Additionally, having once discussed the mysteries of the lotus with 'Senior Sister Nine Lotus' had helped Ji Ning perfect this technique.

Moreover, over the past nine years, the Cold Fiend Earth Fire within Ji Ning's body had been elevated to the fourth grade.

Using the Cold Fiend Earth Fire as a catalyst... the Taiyin and Sun divine patterns on his body drew upon the power of water and fire from heaven and earth... then infused with the mysteries of the Way of Rain and the Way of Blazing Fire, and combined with the lotus secret art, this 'Waterfire Lotus' was formed—truly a supreme protective technique.

Lotus leaves and petals layered upon each other, its defensive power was astonishing.

...

The two clashed.

One unleashed a sea of Primordial Fire, the other planted a lotus within the sea of fire.

Both sides watching from afar were extremely tense.

"It's fine, Ji Ning is fine."

"Ji Ning is inside the lotus." The Ji clan breathed a sigh of relief.

"What technique is this Ji Ning using? Even the Primordial Fire nurtured by our master for centuries can't harm him?" The Snowdragon Mountain side grew anxious.

...

In midair.

"It seems you do have some skill after all." Snowplume Daoist said coldly. As he spoke, the sea of fire that had filled the sky vanished without a trace. "But let's see how long you can hold out."

Then, droplets of water appeared in midair.

Droplets the size of fists, one hundred and eight in total, floated around Snowplume Daoist.

"Heavenly Water?" Ji Ning revealed a look of curiosity and excitement. Just as Earth Fire ascended a major level to become 'Heavenly Fire,' Cold Fiend ascended a major level to become 'Heavenly Water.' Only a few among Primordial Daoists possessed means like 'Heavenly Fire' or 'Heavenly Water.'

"Go." Snowplume Daoist fanned his feather fan again.

Instantly, the droplets, like one hundred and eight meteorites, streaked across the sky and crashed toward Ji Ning.

Boom!

The first droplet smashed directly into the protective lotus around Ji Ning, shattering the outermost layer of lotus leaves, but was blocked by the inner red petals.

"Such formidable power." Ji Ning felt the terrifying impact.

His current Waterfire Lotus could sweep away most Wanxiang Adepts, and had easily withstood the earlier Primordial Fire, yet it was battered like this by a single drop of 'Heavenly Water'... This single drop of Heavenly Water was likely enough to kill an ordinary Wanxiang Adept at perfection.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~" A torrent of heavenly water droplets came crashing down.

Ji Ning did not dare to rely on the Water-Fire Lotus to withstand them head-on.

"Circle."

Ji Ning held a Northmoon sword in each hand. With a flash of sword-light, those droplets of heavenly water that came crashing down with overwhelming momentum... instantly began to spin along with Ji Ning's sword-light, and were all drawn in by his sword.

The sword-light was like water, guiding each droplet of heavenly water...

"Hmm?" The distant Snowfeather Taoist was startled. "A seemingly simple sword stroke, yet it contains such profundity. This Ji Ning's sword technique has surpassed anyone from my Snowdragon Mountain."

"It seems I must overwhelm him with sheer force."

The Snowfeather Taoist dared not hesitate. He immediately willed it, and the droplets of heavenly water that had been sent flying by the Northmoon swords suddenly burst apart with a series of "bang bang bang" sounds. Instantly, the surrounding temperature plummeted, the air began to freeze, and frost formed on Ji Ning's face, covering it with a layer of white rime.

"So cold." Even Ji Ning's divine-mortal body felt the chill. "No wonder it's a level above Cold Qi. The cold of this heavenly water is unremarkable when dormant, but once unleashed, it's astonishing."

A large amount of frost condensed around them, and faint mist began to spread.

Within the mist, two white flood dragons suddenly appeared.

"Kill!"

The distant Snowfeather Daoist finally unleashed his killing move, a truly awe-inspiring powerful attack treasure—the Mandarin Duck Light-Splitting Sword!

The Mandarin Duck Light-Splitting Sword consisted of two swords, yin and yang, which transformed into flood dragons with astonishing might. It was a rare treasure among Earth-ranked artifacts; each sword alone counted as a top-grade Earth-ranked treasure, and when combined, their power multiplied, becoming even more formidable.

"Master has unleashed the Mandarin Duck Light-Splitting Sword."

"It's the Mandarin Duck Light-Splitting Sword. This Ji Ning's strength is truly remarkable—he's actually forced Master to use it. Even if he loses, he can be proud." The distant Xu Ke and the others were shocked. Being forced to use the Mandarin Duck Light-Splitting Sword meant their master's other methods were ineffective against Ji Ning.

Suddenly, a loud laugh rang out—

"So this is the Mandarin Duck Light-Splitting Sword?" With a hearty laugh, Ji Ning, who had been standing motionless in midair, suddenly sprouted a pair of black wings from his back. His body swelled, turning into a giant ten zhang tall. A fierce, terrifying demonic god aura radiated from him, chilling the hearts of onlookers.

"A divine ability!"

"It's the divine ability Heaven-Earth Transformation!" Xu Ke and the others, as well as Baishui Ze, Xiaoqing, and Ji Jiuhuo, were all astonished.

They all knew of the Heaven-Earth Transformation, but most could only grow to two or three zhang, or at most five zhang. Ji Ning, however, had reached ten zhang—and the larger the transformation, the greater the power.

"Boom!"

Transformed into a ten-zhang giant with wings on his back and lotus blossoms around him, Ji Ning took a step and turned into a gust of wind. His sword light streaked across the sky, leaving only a dazzling trail. With a thunderous crash, the Mandarin Duck Light-Splitting Sword, which had been attacking him, was sent flying backward.