Chapter 24: The Shaoyin Demon-Subduing Great Formation

The celestial immortals Fire Carp, Infatuation, Jingyu, Withered Tree, and Golden Bell, high in the sky, looked down at the youth on the ruins, each filled with rage. This was originally the lair of the Shaoyan clan, but now the entire region of a hundred thousand li had been reduced to rubble.

"Boy, you are truly arrogant," said Jingyu Immortal, laughing in fury.

"Ji Ning, there is no gate to hell, yet you barge in yourself!" Infatuation Immortal's voice was even icier.

"Kill."

The five celestial immortals were all bursting with murderous intent, eager to kill Ji Ning. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The five figures transformed into a five-colored mountain peak in the air, leaving a trail across the sky as they charged at Ji Ning.

Seeing this, Ji Ning was delighted.

They had indeed entered!

In truth, this was an open scheme. Ji Ning was wreaking havoc and shouting in the Shaoyan clan's lair. Could the Shaoyan celestial immortals just watch? That would become a laughingstock throughout the Grand Xia Dynasty! To attack Ji Ning, they had to close the distance to within ten thousand li, where they could use their treasures.

"Uncle Bai, activate the formation," Ji Ning communicated mentally.

"Alright." Uncle Bai had been waiting. By now, the five-colored mountain peak formed by the five immortals was less than a thousand li from Ji Ning.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At the edge of ten thousand li around Ji Ning, three pillars of light shot into the sky, and numerous other formation bases were activated, though their movements were much smaller. In the blink of an eye, the ten-thousand-li region around Ji Ning was completely shrouded in a vast formation.

"What's happening?"

"We can't see anything there."

The scattered immortals and earth immortals hiding in the distance were startled, but Old Demon Fufeng said, "Don't worry. With the five ancestors' skills, why would they care about such a small formation?"

…

Inside the formation.

The five celestial immortals were indeed unflustered. They had anticipated that Ji Ning might set up a formation around them, but even knowing this, they had to charge in. They had no choice—they couldn't let Ji Ning run rampant in their Shaoyan clan's lair. Moreover, they believed that in such a short time, even if he set up a formation, it couldn't be too terrifying.

That made sense.

For instance, the three great killing formations of Yan Mountain. Even Uncle Bai, a formation grandmaster, couldn't set them up in an extremely short time. Only by relying on the abundance of prepared materials and rare items could he set up many formations threatening to celestial immortals, winning by quantity.

"I can't probe with my mind," said Golden Bell Immortal, scanning the surroundings. He tried to use his mind to investigate but still couldn't perceive anything.

"It seems Ji Ning has a very skilled formation expert as an assistant," Infatuation Immortal said calmly. "As long as it's a formation, it has weaknesses. I believe a formation set up in such a short time can't be too profound. Let's not rush. We'll proceed step by step, giving Ji Ning no chance."

"Infatuation is right."

The five celestial immortals formed a huge five-colored mountain peak around them, pushing back the mist so they could see a few hundred zhang around them.

…

"They've entered the formation," Ji Ning, Mu Zishuo, Whitewater Marsh, and Xiaoqing were together, and Ji Ning was smiling.

"They are now using the 'Five Elements Mountain Defense Formation,'" Uncle Bai said. "This is a defensive formation widely spread in the Three Realms. When five people join forces, its defensive power is immense. Relying solely on the formation's power, it's hard to deal with them."

Ji Ning smiled. "I never thought of killing them with the formation. The formation is just an aid! Now that they're trapped in the formation, unable to probe with their minds, and can only see a few hundred zhang with their eyes, I can attack when I want and retreat when I want. Everything is under my control. This has already increased my chances of victory by several points."

"Do you need my help?" Mu Zishuo couldn't help asking. His eyes were filled with barely concealed killing intent and eagerness. After all, it was Infatuation Immortal, Golden Bell Immortal, Mystic Mechanism Immortal, and Withered Tree Immortal who had destroyed his beloved's soul. Of those four, three were present this time.

"You stay hidden in the formation and don't get close, but you can release the Seven Wheels Wind and Thunder," Ji Ning said with a smile. "Don't worry about it affecting me. The Seven Wheels Wind and Thunder can't hurt me, but they pose some threat to them."

"Mm." Mu Zishuo was excited and expectant.

Ji Ning smiled, then looked at the five celestial immortals in the distance. "Celestial immortals are the true pillars of the Shaoyan clan. If I kill a few, the Shaoyan clan will surely feel heartache and regret!"

Whoosh.

Ji Ning instantly turned into a streak of light and charged over.

…

The five celestial immortals remained calm, maintaining the Five Elements Mountain Defense Formation while carefully probing the formation's intricacies.

"This formation is extraordinary," Infatuation Immortal said, frowning after a brief investigation. "Breaking it won't be possible in a day or two."

"Then what do we do?" Golden Bell Immortal asked anxiously. "The longer we delay, the more forces in the Grand Xia world will learn of this, and the Shaoyan clan will truly lose face."

"Forget about losing face. If we can kill Ji Ning, everything is worth it," Infatuation Immortal said.

"Don't rush."

Fire Carp Immortal smiled, stroking his long beard. "Ji Ning set up this formation and even shouted to lure us in. Now that we're in, he naturally wants to deal with us. Otherwise, we could have used Greater Teleportation talismans to leave one by one. We just need to wait. Ji Ning will soon come to us, and then we'll use the Shaoyin Demon-Subduing Formation to bind and suppress him. Isn't that enough?"

"Makes sense," Jingyu Immortal sneered. "When he attacks, that's when he'll be suppressed. Once suppressed, we'll use Greater Teleportation talismans to leave."

The five celestial immortals flew while probing, waiting for Ji Ning to arrive.

Suddenly—

A golden hand, fingers together like a sword, shot out from the distant mist, lightning-fast, and in an instant reached the five immortals. The golden finger, a hundred zhang long, like a god's finger, carried an unmatched sharp sword aura. With a bang, it stabbed into the five-colored mountain peak.

The five-colored mountain peak shook violently, on the verge of shattering.

"Careful."

"Impressive."

"Move."

The five celestial immortals were startled. They hadn't expected Ji Ning's single strike to nearly break their defensive formation. They immediately surged their immortal power, quickly stabilizing the five-colored mountain peak.

"Break for me." A youth appeared, three heads and six arms, his six arms reaching across the sky, his huge hands forming sword fingers, using them as immortal swords! The power of these finger-swords far surpassed that of immortal swords like the Thousand Bull Sword.

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Six sword fingers madly attacked the five celestial immortals.

"Formation!"

Fire Carp Immortal, whose face had fish scales, shouted loudly. A black chain appeared in his hand, quickly extending to a thousand zhang. The other immortals also produced black chains, five in total. They looked identical but had distinctly different auras.

"Subdue the demon!" Fire Carp Immortal roared.

Clang, clang, clang—

The five huge black chains, like five tentacles of a monster, covered the sky and wrapped around Ji Ning from all directions. Circles of water currents swirled around the chains.

"What's this?" Ji Ning was startled and dared not be careless. He swung his hand, which rapidly expanded to over a hundred zhang, slapping at the thick black chains.

Boom—

The collision of the golden hand and the black chains sent Ji Ning stumbling back three steps, cracking the earth beneath him.

"Seize him." Infatuation Immortal, Fire Carp Immortal, Golden Bell Immortal, Withered Tree Immortal, and Jingyu Immortal all looked on eagerly. The other chains also closed in. These chains were treasures themselves, and combined, their power was even greater. They twisted unpredictably; once entangled, escape would be impossible.

In the era of the gods and demons, the Shaoyan clan often used this Shaoyin Demon-Subduing Formation to capture powerful Void-level gods and demons.

Void-level gods and demons varied in strength. Some had extremely high realms, matching the power of Golden Bell or Withered Tree immortals. Capturing them required formidable means. The Shaoyan clan used this formation again to capture Ji Ning and suppress him!

Boom, boom, boom— Ji Ning slapped away the black chains several times, but his expression changed. "Such tricky chains. When I strike them, they sometimes try to dodge my hand and wrap around me. As treasures, they dodge fast. I might get bound if I'm not careful."

"I'll have to rely on my treasures."

The Thousand Bull Sword hovered above Ji Ning's head. He shouted, "Su River, emerge!"

The Ten-Thousand-Li Su River, under Ji Ning's control, shrank to ten li long. Like a huge serpent, it coiled around madly, entangling the five black chains. Cutting water with a sword only makes it flow more; the Su River's entanglement was the most troublesome.

Even the Bashe snake from the Bloodcloud Hall assassination had found the Su River's entanglement uncomfortable. Although these five chains were more powerful, they were still hampered, losing agility and speed.

Haha, Ji Ning was in his element. The five chains, now much less agile, were no match for him.

Sometimes he slapped with his palm!

Sometimes he thrust with sword fingers!

The five chains were sent flying wildly, and the five-colored mountain peak wobbled, causing the five immortals inside to change expression.

"Defend." The five immortals released surging immortal power, focusing more on defense. The five-colored mountain peak's surface was soon covered with floating runes.

"How is Ji Ning so much stronger than you said?" Fire Carp Immortal exclaimed in shock and anger. "How can he easily resist the Shaoyin Demon-Subduing Formation? Infatuation, didn't you say he was slightly weaker than Golden Bell and Withered Tree?"

…