Chapter 17: Killing Ji Ning

Yu Wei smiled as she looked at Ji Ning pressed against her belly: "If only it could always be like this, how wonderful... but..."

In Yu Wei's heart lay an inescapable shadow.

Because she belonged to the Netherworld Sect, a fate decided in her past life. Her soul had been marked by the Godking, leaving her unable to resist. Even due to the soul mark, the Godking felt like a father to her; though she knew this, she could not harbor a trace of malice, only affection. Yet deep down, she also did not wish to harm Ji Ning.

"In this war so far, only at the very beginning did Qinghu ask me in a dream. There has been no movement since." Yu Wei was always worried. "I don't know when they will command me again."

As the war progressed, the day when her happiness with Ji Ning would end drew nearer.

One day, she would have to part ways with Ji Ning.

"I hope that day comes later."

"At least let my child with my junior brother come safely into the world." Yu Wei silently prayed.

……

At noon the next day, the Golden Crow hung high, the heat at its peak.

Netherworld City.

Main Hall.

Eight Celestial Immortals and True Immortals were seated.

"Fellow Daoists." The black-robed, black-haired elder with red pupils rose, his calm voice carrying bone-chilling coldness. "Today is the day Ji Ning dies! I ask for your efforts!"

"Haha, if Brother Chibing kills Ji Ning, the most powerful Punishment God of the Great Xia side will be gone, no less than losing a Celestial Immortal or True Immortal." The White Extremity True Immortal laughed heartily. "If Brother Chibing also eliminates Ji Ning's true body, the merit will be immense. I will surely report it to the Godking."

The Red Ice True Immortal shook his head calmly: "I have no full confidence in killing his true body. If his true body always follows this second soul... then there is a chance to catch them all in one net. If his true body does not follow, I fear I can only slay his second soul this time."

No one knew where Ji Ning's true body was hidden, so the Black Jade Celestial Immortal had sent the Red Ice True Immortal this time, targeting the second soul.

If the second soul died, it was equivalent to losing one life.

Ji Ning had a total of two lives: his true body and his second soul. How precious was one life?

In fact, Ji Ning's true body was inside the Water Mansion, and the Water Mansion always followed the second soul!

"Everyone, let us set out." The White Extremity True Immortal rose with a smile. "If we kill Ji Ning today, we must hold a celebration banquet."

"Today, we will witness Brother Chibing's strength."

"I have fought Ji Ning countless times, yet I have never been able to do anything to him."

The Venomous Que Celestial Immortal and the others all rose.

Then they all left the main hall and began to deploy their armies.

……

Eight Dragons Cloud City.

"Prepare for battle!" The Xia Emperor's voice resounded throughout the entire Eight Dragons Cloud City.

Immediately, all the military camps began to mobilize.

Within the Northmoon Legion camp.

"Senior apprentice-sister, prepare the meal and wait for my return." Ji Ning rose upon hearing the Xia Emperor's command. "Today I really want to eat 'White Snow Nine Dragons Roar'." These dish names were all coined by Yu Wei. Since becoming a Celestial Immortal, Ji Ning's palate had shifted more toward vegetarian dishes, and this dish was a vegetarian one.

Without waiting for Yu Wei's reply, Ji Ning transformed into a streak of light and flew out.

Yu Wei walked to the door, gazing into the distance at Ji Ning among the countless figures: "Come back safely." Every time Ji Ning went on an expedition, Yu Wei could not help but worry.

"Formation!"

Eight Dragons Cloud City.

At Ji Ning's command, his thousand Celestial Immortals and one hundred thousand loose immortals all activated their formations, their gazes full of trust. These three years had elevated Ji Ning's prestige to an astonishing height.

Soon, the ten-thousand-zhang tall headless divine demon 'Punishment God' took shape.

The seven Punishment Gods looked at each other.

"Let's go teach those little bastards of the Netherworld Sect a lesson." The seven Punishment Gods laughed, then together left the Eight Dragons Cloud City.

Just moments after the seven Punishment Gods disappeared, five Celestial Immortal puppets also set out.

……

On the scarred, endless wilderness, the thousand-li lake from years ago had long vanished. Even most of its water had been directly annihilated in battles of such terrifying levels, leaving only a few rivers and streams.

Three White-Faced Flood Dragons and eight Celestial Immortal puppets were issuing challenges.

Whoosh.

The seven Punishment Gods appeared out of thin air.

"Fight."

"Kill."

Led by the Venomous Que White-Faced Flood Dragon, the Netherworld Sect side immediately charged forward.

"Go." Ji Ning said, and under his lead, the seven Punishment Gods also advanced. At this moment, the five Celestial Immortal puppets of the Great Xia side appeared.

"Boom."

"Boom."

The Punishment God Ji Ning and the Venomous Que White-Faced Flood Dragon first engaged in one-on-one combat.

The battle was too familiar; they had fought too many times, and both sides knew each other's tactics well... Yet none of them dared to be careless. One main purpose of this prolonged stalemate was to pin down the enemy's forces, and another was that, though they seemed to exchange blows fiercely, no one died.

But both sides were like venomous snakes, silently seeking their opportunity.

Once the opportunity came, they would instantly bare their fangs! Even the celestial gods and true immortals secretly following both sides would all make their move, determined to wipe out part of the enemy's forces in one fell swoop.

"Opportunity."

"I need an opportunity."

While Ji Ning and Tonghe fought side by side against the Poison Que White-Faced Dragon, Ji Ning's mind remained utterly calm as he silently observed the battlefield situation.

Over these three years, his strength had actually improved considerably.

Long-term dancing on the razor's edge of life and death greatly aided his comprehension of the Dao of the Sword. First, his Dao of the Sword had reached a bottleneck. Based on his current realm of the Dao of the Sword, Ji Ning had also created the eleventh stance of the "Three-Foot Sword."

His heartforce and soul-nurturing technique had also yielded some gains. Although he had not yet reached the 'minor success' description of this technique in the Source Elder's Heart Sutra, if Ji Ning executed this technique, his control over the strength of the Heaven Punisher would triple! The tripled strength and higher sword arts could elevate Ji Ning's power to another level.

However...

Even if he rose another level, Ji Ning understood that he was still no match for the Poison Que White-Faced Dragon.

"Even if I suddenly burst out with some power, the Undying Sect would immediately adjust based on my strength. It wouldn't help the situation at all," Ji Ning thought to himself. "I must seek an opportunity, a suitable opportunity, and then suddenly unleash my full power to take down a White-Faced Dragon."

Especially the death of Qianzhen made Ji Ning yearn for this day even more.

When Qianzhen died, Ji Ning wanted to save him but was too far away. At that time, even the Xia Emperor and the others had acted but were too late.

On the battlefield... the fighting was truly too fast; in an instant, it was life and death!

"Seek the opportunity."

...

Inside the Water Mansion.

The yellow-haired giant bear and the seven celestial gods were in the main hall, all sitting and eating immortal fruits and drinking immortal wine.

"This Ji Ning is truly crazy. His second true body is fighting outside, while his true self is still frantically cultivating in the Star Hall," said the gentle youth, the Jushe Celestial God, holding a wine cup and smiling as he watched the void image. The void image was created by the yellow-haired giant bear, who could sense the external region through space. Since the Water Mansion was carried by the second true body, it could naturally probe the battle scene.

"With the great tribulation approaching, Ji Ning feels the pressure. His child with Yu Wei is about to be born, born amidst the great tribulation. Of course he wants to protect Yu Wei and the child, so it's not strange that he cultivates desperately," the Redcloud Celestial God said calmly with a smile.

The true self and the second true body only shared memories; otherwise, they did not affect each other.

Even if the second true body was fully engaged in battle, the true self could still devote himself entirely to cultivation.

"Mm, Ji Ning's strength is steadily improving. His Dao of the Sword has reached a bottleneck. Once his Dao of the Sword is perfected, the Celestial Tribulation will be near," the child-like Yuanguang Celestial God said expectantly. "After he becomes a celestial god, it will be time for our Zhai Xing Mansion to emerge."

"The name of Zhai Xing Mansion has not resounded in the Three Realms for a long time."

The other celestial gods were all looking forward to it.

Since the Great Xia war began, these seven celestial gods had simply taken up residence in the Water Mansion. After all, during the war, Ji Ning might encounter danger at any time. If danger truly arose and they were called upon, they would need time to travel from the Zhai Xing Great World to the Water Mansion and then to the outside world. In that brief time, Ji Ning might have already perished.

They dared not gamble.

So they stayed long-term in the Water Mansion.

"Look, the celestial gods and true immortals have appeared."

"The celestial gods and true immortals on both sides have also made their move. It seems today's slaughter will have a bit more variety. Interesting."

"Yes, it's too boring, always killing and killing. Only when a bunch of Celestial Immortals and loose immortals die does it get exciting," said the Blazing Sun Celestial God in a deep voice.

...

Outside.

Both sides had begun fighting frantically. On the Xia Emperor's side, 'True Immortal Dongyan' and 'Celestial God Huoyun' appeared, mainly because the Undying Sect had first sent 'True Immortal Chibing' and 'Celestial God Sanyang'.

The true immortals used treasures and spells to influence the situation.

The celestial gods sometimes cast spells and sometimes engaged in close combat.

Once they joined the fray... the situation became chaotic, and chaos often created opportunities.

"Opportunity, opportunity..." Ji Ning, while carefully fighting, became even more vigilant in seeking an opportunity, a chance to slay an opponent.

"Go."

The red-eyed old man, True Immortal Chibing, who was floating in the distance, pointed from afar. Instantly, countless black flowers and grasses grew from the earth, rapidly entangling the feet of the seven Heaven Punishers and the nine Celestial God Puppets. However, the Heaven Punishers and Celestial God Puppets were all immensely powerful and could tear through those plants, but their speed was still affected.

"Damn it." Ji Ning hated this kind of binding spell the most. This True Immortal Chibing appeared almost every ten days or half a month. Ji Ning and the others had long gained experience in dealing with this black plant binding spell, but it still affected them.

In the distance, True Immortal Chibing silently recited a spell in his heart.

A golden light appeared in his palm, and True Immortal Chibing's face turned pale.

This was a trace of the primal golden liquid from his 'golden core,' the most precious thing.

"Grow." True Immortal Chibing silently uttered this word.

The vast expanse of black flowers and grasses that had spread over a wide area suddenly withered rapidly. However, the black flowers and grasses beneath Ji Ning's feet grew wildly, their height quickly rising. Previously only a few hundred zhang tall, barely affecting the Heaven Punisher's feet, they now rapidly rose to over two thousand zhang, frantically entangling Ji Ning's legs.

Moreover, black chains appeared among these black flowers and grasses.

These black chains... were very similar to the black chains that the Undying Sect used to penetrate the void. Nine black chains shot up into the sky, tens of thousands of zhang long, madly coiling around Ji Ning layer by layer, even carrying a mysterious spatial power. Ji Ning used his sword arts but could not break through the black chains; instead, the black chains coiled around him even more tightly.

"Ji Ning."

"Beiming."

"Beiming."

The other six Heaven Punishers were greatly alarmed and anxious; they all felt the terrifying power contained in the black chains.

"The technique that Wuxiao taught me is truly formidable," True Immortal Chibing did not hesitate. A red jade vase appeared in his hand, and he aimed it at Ji Ning from afar, shouting, "Why not come in now!"

A tremendous suction force enveloped the Heaven Punisher Ji Ning, who was bound by the nine black chains in the distance.

...