Chapter 6: The Soul-Rousing Jade

Many formation-combining techniques, such as the Python Serpent Formation and the Suanni Formation, each involve different parts being performed separately and then combined, causing a surge in power! At this moment, Ji Ning and his second soul had also developed a 'rudimentary formation combination,' which, though unintentional, was far more 'ingeniously crafted' than many formation-combining techniques.

"Roar!"

That golden immortal sword transformed into an incomparably huge, winding black divine dragon. The black divine dragon let out a dragon's roar that resounded through the sky.

This was the power formed by over three hundred top-grade immortal flying swords stacked together through the 'Grand Qian Sword Formation'!

Its might was already enough to surpass the divine abilities of many Fiendgod Body Refiners!

"What!" The silver-armored youth in the high sky changed expression slightly. "Block it!"

"Hiss~~~"

The green snake formed by the rope in the high sky also let out a hissing sound. This equally enormous green snake faced the black divine dragon's attack and immediately coiled around it.

The divine dragon soared into the sky!

The green snake came coiling!

"Boom~~~" The sky shook violently, and then a wild burst of energy spread in all directions, reaching the four Suanni divine beasts. The Suanni divine beasts emitted a series of rumbles, naturally blocking the impact. The weaker black-robed loose immortals had long since fled far away.

But the surrounding canyon suffered. The canyon rumbled, the earth cracked, many rocks turned to dust, and the cliffs on both sides of the canyon began to collapse on a large scale.

That ancient castle, facing the impact, had a faint light flickering on its surface, blocking all the shockwaves.

"Not good." The silver-armored youth's expression changed drastically. The green snake in the high sky had completely scattered, reverting to the original rope. But that black divine dragon still possessed great power, rampaging freely in the high sky, intending to continue attacking the green snake. "This Ji Ning is actually so formidable; he hasn't even become a Celestial Immortal yet, yet the power of his immortal swords is this great."

"Trying to capture me? General, your strength is not enough!" The beast-hide-clad Ji Ning and the black-robed Ji Ning shouted in unison.

Roar~~~

The black divine dragon in the high sky let out a dragon's roar and continued to dive down.

"I don't believe it. I don't believe it. I must capture him." The silver-armored youth gritted his teeth. He refused to accept failure; the consequences of failure were something he was unwilling to bear. He formed hand seals and shouted, "Asura!"

Powerful immortal magic power quickly drew upon the power of heaven and earth, forming in the high sky a pitch-black, gaunt, ugly general. This ugly general grasped a three-pointed double-edged spear, pointed it directly at Ji Ning, and roared, "Little thief, accept your death!" At the same time, the ugly general charged forward.

"Guardian Heavenly Dragon!" The silver-armored youth changed his hand seals again.

In the high sky, a winding golden divine dragon appeared. The golden divine dragon also let out a dragon's roar and dove straight down.

"Bind!"

At the same time, the huge rope in the high sky transformed into a strange green snake. This green snake also had a snake head at its tail, with a head at each end, and it rushed toward Ji Ning with a howl.

Maintaining two secret arts and one magic treasure placed an extremely heavy burden on the silver-armored general.

...

"Break, break, break for me!" The beast-hide-clad Ji Ning and the black-robed Ji Ning simultaneously controlled the Grand Qian Sword Formation. Over three hundred top-grade immortal flying swords once again condensed into a sharp, unmatched golden flying sword. The golden flying sword howled through the air and transformed into a black divine dragon. For a moment, there were two black divine dragons in the sky.

Maintaining two Grand Qian Sword Formation fourth-level sword beams at the same time was also Ji Ning's limit.

"Trap him."

"I must trap him." The silver-armored youth's eyes held a hint of madness. "I've endured so many years to transcend; I don't want to be punished again, never!"

In the high sky, the ugly Asura general, the Guardian Heavenly Dragon, and the two-headed green snake all attacked at once.

The two black divine dragons met them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

The air was filled with a series of booming sounds, and shockwaves spread everywhere.

"Hahaha... General, your tricks are not enough." Ji Ning laughed loudly. The black divine dragons formed by the Grand Qian Sword Formation's fourth-level sword beams in the high sky only dissipated after defeating the Asura general and the Guardian Heavenly Dragon.

"Suppress!"

The silver-armored youth suddenly waved his hand. In the high sky appeared large seals, seven in total. Each seal had a faint glow and some inscriptions on it. The seals in the sky were like a great mountain suspended in the air, with streams of light flowing between them, as if they were one entity.

"Suppress!" The silver-armored youth pointed angrily at Ji Ning.

The seven seals descended from the high sky, rapidly merging as they fell, even turning into a giant mountain peak that crashed down toward Ji Ning.

"Break."

Ji Ning pointed upward as well. The two black divine dragons formed by the Grand Qian Sword Formation's sword beams soared into the sky, like fish swimming against the current.

Boom~~~~

Under the crushing force of the giant mountain peak, the two black divine dragons scattered. This made Ji Ning's pupils contract. He immediately activated his divine ability, transforming into a hundred-zhang giant with three heads and six arms. Ji Ning's true body extended six large palms and fiercely struck the descending giant mountain peak. "Boom~~~" Heaven and earth split apart. Ji Ning's true body sank directly into the ground, the surrounding earth completely shattered and sunken, spreading in all directions.

Ji Ning's true body was buried up to his chest in the earth, but with a shake, he emerged.

"Haha, General, impressive skills." Ji Ning looked at the silver-armored youth with a smile.

The silver-armored youth's face darkened.

"Damn it, damn it." The silver-armored youth was very unwilling. He had seen Ji Ning's strength and admitted that the opponent's sword formation was very powerful. But in terms of actual power... this Ji Ning was definitely far inferior to him. Among Celestial Immortals, he was at the top!

But this battle was not about comparing strength; it was about binding the opponent with a rope!

If it were purely about superiority, he could have focused entirely on using his seven 'Pure Yang, lower-grade' magic treasure seals to unleash his strongest move. But this time, he needed to trap the enemy, so he had to divert attention to use the 'rope' and expend considerable effort to unleash its maximum power. Binding a Fiendgod who practiced the Eight-Nine Arcane Art was no easy task.

Distracted by the rope, he could not unleash his strongest move with the seals.

"You win!" The silver-armored youth looked at Ji Ning gloomily. "I can't kill you, and I can't capture you."

Clearly, his strength was a full level above Ji Ning's.

Yet he simply could not capture Ji Ning!

Such was the power of the Eight-Nine Arcane Art... unless the gap in strength between the two was truly enormous, only then could one first defeat Ji Ning and then bind him. Clearly, the gap between this general and Ji Ning was not that absurdly large.

...

The canyon had long since turned into ruins. Above the ruins were only the silver-armored general, a group of bronze demon guards, Ji Ning, and Mu Zishuo.

The silver-armored general finally bowed his head. Unable to kill Ji Ning and unable to avoid punishment, he could only minimize his losses to reduce the penalty.

"Good."

Ji Ning nodded with a smile. "That's wise."

Mu Zishuo, standing by, also had a look of relief in his eyes. Just now, Ji Ning, Mu Zishuo, and the silver-armored general had each sworn a Heavenly Dao oath. Ji Ning promised that as long as Mu Zishuo was set free, he would absolutely not reveal the secrets of the ancient castle. Mu Zishuo also swore never to divulge the secrets here.

The silver-armored general naturally set Mu Zishuo free.

"General, please open the grand formation and let us leave." Ji Ning stood in midair. Mu Zishuo, beside him, also had a look of relief, as if his whole being had suddenly become full of life. He was full of hope for the future.

"Don't rush."

The silver-armored general sighed. "Before you go, let me tell you another piece of bad news."

Ji Ning and Mu Zishuo's expressions changed.

Bad news?

"I lost badly this time." The silver-armored general sighed. "The forbidden area is so heavily guarded. Even the puppet experts we captured have all sworn Heavenly Dao oaths not to escape. If they try to escape, they die. So I never imagined anyone could infiltrate... Running into someone who practices the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, I'm just unlucky."

"Stop the nonsense. What exactly are you trying to say?" Ji Ning frowned and shouted.

After lamenting for a while, the silver-armored general looked at Ji Ning and Mu Zishuo, then sneered, "Qu Huan, who was in charge of some trivial matters in the castle, is already dead. If I'm not mistaken, this Mu Zishuo has already taken his relative's soul."

Mu Zishuo, beside him, shouted, "So what?"

"Have you ever heard of Soul-Rousing Jade?" The silver-armored general said with a smile, finding some satisfaction in annoying the two before him.

"Soul-Rousing Jade?" Mu Zishuo and Ji Ning's expressions changed. Ji Ning had learned common knowledge about the Three Realms at 'Mount Fangcun,' so he naturally knew about Soul-Rousing Jade. As for Mu Zishuo, who had studied puppetry extensively, he had naturally heard of this legendary material in the field of puppetry.

Soul-Rousing Jade: Once a soul enters Soul-Rousing Jade, it becomes one with the jade and can never leave. However, it is also nourished by the jade and can exist permanently as long as it is not attacked or damaged. Puppet experts generally implant Soul-Rousing Jade into puppets, allowing the soul within the jade to control the entire puppet, giving it great spiritual vitality.

"Did you not recognize it?" The silver-armored general said with a faint smile. "That crystal jade ball that held the soul was Soul-Rousing Jade!"

"What!" Mu Zishuo was shocked and furious.

"It's over." Ji Ning looked at his junior apprentice-brother. Yu Xia's soul was in the 'Soul-Rousing Jade ball,' and she would never be able to leave the Soul-Rousing Jade, forever trapped in that tiny space. This was actually a very painful thing, and she would never have the chance to reincarnate.

There were two sides to the matter.

Yu Xia's soul had merged with the Soul-Rousing Jade, unable to leave forever, unable to reincarnate—it was very painful.

But this way, she could always be with Mu Zishuo.

"Mu Zishuo." The silver-armored youth in the distance sneered, "Your relative's soul can accompany you forever. You must be very happy, right? But don't forget, she is forever trapped in that narrow place. How painful is that? This pain will accompany her for endless ages until the moment she is attacked and destroyed, which will also be the moment her soul is annihilated."

Mu Zishuo gritted his teeth: "Xiao Xia..."

He felt guilty.

Ji Ning sighed inwardly. The silver-armored general in the distance laughed loudly, "See how good I am? I specially told you this news. Alright, hurry up and leave."

"Let's go." Ji Ning coldly glanced at the distant silver-armored general, then directly put Mu Zishuo into his随身仙府 (portable immortal mansion). He then soared into the sky. The formations in the high sky did not hinder him at all. Ji Ning quickly flew far away, then performed a spatial teleportation and disappeared.

...