Chapter 14 No Turning Back

Ji Ning felt a terrifying impact force instantly sweep through his entire body. Originally, he had bent his knees slightly to brace against the blow, but the venomous white-faced flood dragon's fearsome strike... sent Ji Ning involuntarily stumbling back a heavy step, his knees bending even more and his center of gravity dropping lower before he managed to withstand the impact.

"Pfft." The venomous white-faced flood dragon sneered coldly, its second claw striking instantly before Ji Ning.

After all, it had two sharp claws.

Just one claw had already knocked Ji Ning back like that.

"Boom!"

But Ji Ning was very calm. His right hand condensed a longsword, and the sword light, like water, struck the venomous white-faced flood dragon's claw from the side, deflecting it. Ji Ning immediately retreated, thinking, "Hmph, the white-faced flood dragon's first claw came with momentum, its power formidable. But this second claw, though sudden, is weaker."

The venomous white-faced flood dragon hadn't expected to finish Ji Ning with two claws, so it immediately continued its pursuit, its claws attacking wildly.

Ji Ning retreated again and again, but he held firm.

"Ji Ning."

"Fellow Daoist Beiming."

"Hold on."

The other Punishment Celestials also came to aid Ji Ning.

Seeing that the opportunity was lost, the Venomous Que Celestial could only angrily twist its waist and lash out with its flood dragon tail.

"Boom."

Ji Ning blocked the attack from the tail, which was over thirty thousand zhang long, with both hands, and used the force to fly backward, his posture completely unperturbed.

The Venomous Que Celestial glared hatefully at Ji Ning, then glanced at the other seven Punishment Celestials. With a cold laugh, it sent a voice transmission command: "Retreat!"

"Yes."

Immediately, each one acknowledged the order.

The other two White-Faced Flood Dragons and the Nine-Headed Celestial Puppet, led by the Venomous Que Celestial, immediately began to retreat. They all stretched their long legs and sprinted across the wild marshes, covering dozens of li with each step, rapidly drawing closer to the floating black city in the distance. Even though Ji Ning and the others were still ten thousand li away from that 'Wujian City', they still felt it was immensely vast!

"No need to pursue." The Xia Emperor's voice rang out by Ji Ning's ears.

The eight Punishment Celestials and the two Celestials halted, watching from afar.

Then they looked at each other, their expressions complex.

"In just this brief exchange, who knows how many Celestial Immortals and Earth Immortals have fallen." Ji Ning and the others couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow for their own kind. Today it was the Punishment Celestial Xishui who had fallen; in the future, they too might fall.

Then, swoosh swoosh swoosh!!! Each of them vanished into thin air.

……

Inside the Eight Dragons Cloud City.

Countless Celestial Immortals and loose immortals densely packed the square of the Eight Dragons Cloud City, all gazing at the Summer Emperor and his group in midair. Ji Ning and the other nine commanders stood by, and the Xishui Army's 'Xishui Celestial Immortal' was also among them. Although the Xishui Army had suffered heavy losses, many Celestial Immortals and loose immortals had survived, and the Xishui Celestial Immortal, by good fortune, had also lived.

'Fellow immortals,' said the black-robed Summer Emperor solemnly, 'This was our first battle with the Seamless Gate, our first true engagement. I never expected to suffer such a great loss at the very first clash. The Xishui Army was severely mauled; we lost four hundred and thirty-six Celestial Immortals and fifty-one thousand and twenty-one loose immortals.'

Silence fell below.

Ji Ning's heart also sank.

Four hundred and thirty-six Celestial Immortals, over fifty thousand loose immortals—what did that mean? Everyone present knew well. For instance, the Black-White College had only ever produced one Celestial Immortal in its entire history before the Great Calamity. Even the Shao Yan clan, one of the ten great tribes of the Grand Xia, had only nine Celestial Immortals and about a thousand loose immortals.

In other words, the number of dead this time was dozens of times the entire strength of the Shao Yan clan!

And these fallen Celestial Immortals and loose immortals had come from all over the Grand Xia, summoned by the Summer Emperor's call to gather at the royal capital. Only by converging from countless sects and tribes could so many Celestial Immortals and loose immortals be assembled.

'This was my failure in command,' said the black-robed Summer Emperor in a low voice. 'The Seamless Gate's intelligence is formidable, while our knowledge of them is scant. We did not learn in advance of the terror of that white-faced flood dragon. But before the expedition, I had already anticipated that the war with the Seamless Gate would inevitably entail heavy losses.'

The countless Celestial Immortals and loose immortals below remained silent, each feeling a heavy weight in their hearts.

'But!'

'Their losses were even heavier than ours!' The black-robed Summer Emperor's gaze turned fierce. 'The Northmont Sword Immortal Ji Ning, commanding the Heaven Punishment, slew one white-faced flood dragon, killed over six hundred Celestial Immortals, and nearly seventy thousand loose immortals.'

The countless Celestial Immortals and loose immortals below were startled, then their eyes lit up, and some even looked toward the monstrously talented youth 'Ji Ning' standing at the Summer Emperor's side.

'They kill our warriors, but we can kill theirs too—even more!'

'This is war!'

'A war of life and death. Between us and the Seamless Gate, one side must fall!'

'If we do not wish to die, we must kill them, slaughter them all!'

The Summer Emperor's voice resounded through heaven and earth.

'Slaughter them all,' the Summer Emperor roared again.

'Slaughter them all.'

'Slaughter them all.'

The Summer Emperor's voice, along with the immense pressure the immortals felt under the Great Calamity, caused countless immortals to erupt in roars.

Every immortal present understood...

No one could escape this Great Calamity; they had to face it. To survive? They had to fight! To ensure their own survival, they had to make the enemy die!

"All of you return to your camps and rest. The war will be long; today has only just begun," the Xia Emperor decreed.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Countless immortals immediately acknowledged the order, then flew in dense clusters toward their respective camps.

"Return to the main hall." The Xia Emperor swept his gaze over the nine generals and headed for the main hall.

...

Inside the main hall.

The Xia Emperor sat high above, with five Heavenly God True Immortals standing to one side, and Ji Ning and the other eight standing as well.

"Your Majesty." The Xishui Celestial Immortal, his face ashen, stepped forward and then knelt directly. "It was I, I who sought glory, causing the deaths of many immortal comrades. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

The Xia Emperor glanced at him. "You are the general of the Xishui Legion. Now that you have been defeated and caused the deaths of many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals, you are indeed hard-pressed to escape blame. However, strictly speaking, this time it cannot be blamed on you. The strength of that white-faced flood dragon was indeed beyond expectations. I will let it pass this time, but you must be more cautious in the future. I will soon arrange for some Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals to replenish your Xishui Legion. Do not disappoint me again!"

Upon hearing that he would not be punished, the Xishui Celestial Immortal still felt guilty, but when he heard that the Xia Emperor would even replenish Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals to rebuild the Xishui Legion, he was startled. "Your Majesty, this..."

"I trust you," the Xia Emperor said calmly. "Alright, rise."

"Xishui will not disappoint Your Majesty again." The Xishui Celestial Immortal rose, his gaze turning sharp. So many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals had died because of his decision—how could he not feel guilt? How could he not want revenge?

The Xia Emperor swept his gaze and said, "What does everyone think of this engagement?"

"That white-faced flood dragon is definitely commanded by a Heavenly God True Immortal," said the old man with a fiery red beard standing to one side. "When I fought him, his claw attacks seemed simple but contained the complete 'Black Water Great Dao,' definitely at the Heavenly God True Immortal level. As for how many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals he commands, it's hard to say."

"Mm." The Xia Emperor nodded. "Ji Ning, all nine of you listen well. From now on, never engage that white-faced flood dragon alone. Even Ji Ning must have other helpers nearby."

"I understand," said Ji Ning. "When I fought him, he suppressed me in every aspect like strength and speed. I could hold out for a short time, but if it went on longer..."

"Fellow Daoist Beiming, you can hold out for a short time, but I'm afraid we would fall after just one or two moves in a single encounter," said the Fuchen Celestial Immortal, shaking his head.

"So when facing that white-faced flood dragon, at least three of you must join forces," the Xia Emperor instructed. "Also, what do you think of those Heavenly God puppets?"

"Troublesome."

"Very troublesome."

"Obstructive."

Ji Ning and the others who had fought them all frowned.

Ji Ning had become the de facto leader of the nine generals, so he spoke up: "The attacks of these Heavenly God puppets are not strong, but since they are refined puppets, like Pure Yang treasures, it is very difficult to harm them directly. One must subdue them with overwhelming force to eliminate the threat. But if several join forces, they won't give us a chance to capture them."

"Right, no matter how we attack, we can't hurt them," said the Tonghe Celestial Immortal and others.

Ji Ning suddenly realized something.

These Heavenly God puppets were very similar to how he had been when he first cultivated the Eight-Nine Arcane Art but had weak attacks. They were also most afraid of two things: one was binding, and the other was suppression!

"By the way, Your Majesty," Ji Ning suddenly said.

"Hm?" The Xia Emperor looked at Ji Ning.

"I happen to have a Heavenly God puppet," Ji Ning said. "The same kind we fought."

"You have one?" The Xia Emperor was delighted.

"I obtained it when the Alliance of No Return dealt with me," Ji Ning said. "I only have one."

"Good, good, good. When the Alliance of No Return fought in other major worlds, our side also obtained a few Heavenly God puppets. I managed to get three through various means. That you have one is excellent," the Xia Emperor said quickly. "This Heavenly God puppet is extremely precious. I cannot forcibly take it from you. Ji Ning, if you need anything, I can trade for it. You must give it to me."

Ji Ning said, "Since I brought it up, I naturally intend to give it to Your Majesty. As for what I need, Your Majesty could give me some Pure Yang Immortal Pills or Great Luo Immortal Pills."

"I have a great store of such pills," the Xia Emperor said with emotion. "This war will last who knows how long. At critical moments, countless immortals will need pills to replenish their magic power. The quantity of pills... haha, I'll give you a bottle."

Ji Ning turned his hand over, and in his palm appeared a black, horned puppet the size of a palm, identical to the Heavenly God puppet.

It was only after being refined that the Heavenly God puppet could change size at will.

The Heavenly God puppet flew toward the Xia Emperor, while a bottle of pills flew toward Ji Ning. Ji Ning knew very well that this Heavenly God puppet required multiple Celestial Immortals to control, so it was useless to him but quite useful in war. As for the pills... his Eight-Nine Arcane Art was in urgent need of pills, and he was only at the fifth level of the Eight-Nine Arcane Art now.

"Everyone."

The Xia Emperor said, "Our war with the Alliance of No Return is a fight to the death. So we cannot retreat. Moreover, we must fight them over the long term... Because by fighting them, we tie them down, diverting part of their strength here and preventing them from attacking other major worlds."

Ji Ning and the others all nodded.

In this great calamity, Great Xia was just one place. If every major world tried to hide and play it safe, the Alliance of No Return could pick them off one by one.

Thus... every major world must fight! Fight madly! If they wanted to take, they must leave enough blood!

"Starting tomorrow, the nine Punishment Celestials will go out to battle every day, with Ji Ning as the lead. None of you must stray too far from Ji Ning. I will move the Eight Dragon Cloud City close to Ji Ning to support you nearby," the Xia Emperor said. "The Heavenly God True Immortals will also help you, and at appropriate times, I will send four Heavenly God puppets to assist you."

"This war... may last a very long time."

"You have fought the Alliance of No Return before and have some experience. It will probably be hard to gain easy victories in the future. But you must never be careless. As you fight again and again, once you seize an opportunity, you might be able to kill a white-faced flood dragon—that would be a great gain," the Xia Emperor said. "If you succeed occasionally, and succeed several times, their white-faced flood dragons will be finished. The more they die, the greater our chances of winning."

"The days ahead will certainly be hard. A long, grueling battle, and one moment of carelessness could mean death," the Xia Emperor said. "So, nine immortal friends, be careful."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Ji Ning, Tonghe Celestial Immortal, Xishui Celestial Immortal, Feiyu Immortal, Fuchen Celestial Immortal, Wanshou Celestial Immortal, Qianzhen Immortal, Fengdian Celestial Immortal, and Zhanghong Celestial Immortal all solemnly acknowledged the order.

The days to come would be brutal. Perhaps some among them would fall, and each fall would represent the fall of a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals. But none of them were afraid.

Faced with all this, none of them had any way out!