Chapter 26: Harm Not My Junior Brother

Ji Ning, in his black Daoist robe, drove the All Things Emissary and suppressed the Darklight Swordmaster with a single move. The strength he displayed shocked all sides—he was no longer a mere top-tier Dao Ancestor but was very close to the level of the Three Sovereigns and the leaders of the Daoist and Buddhist sects. The lurking 'Shadowless Dao Ancestor,' however, had no time to ponder.

"He must be eliminated." Shadowless Dao Ancestor made his move.

"Hm?"

As All Things Ji Ning struck with his sword to suppress the Darklight Swordmaster, he immediately saw a pitch-black figure appear before him. The figure instantly split into six, each holding a whip with blades like soft swords.

Whoosh~~~ Whoosh~~~ Whoosh~~~

The six shadows swung their whips, which blanketed the sky and completely sealed off all directions around Ji Ning, slithering like venomous snakes toward him.

"It's Shadowless Dao Ancestor," Ji Ning immediately guessed the attacker's identity. "The Escort Sect really thinks highly of me, sending their two best assassins—one skilled at long-range attacks, the Darklight Swordmaster, and one adept at close combat, Shadowless Dao Ancestor. Working together, how many in the Three Realms could escape them?"

Shadowless Dao Ancestor cultivated both divine power and magic, and was a True God, far stronger than the Three-Life Daoist of old. He was a fearsome existence on par with Bodhi and Source Elder in both strength and status.

The Darklight Swordmaster and Shadowless Dao Ancestor were very different.

The Darklight Swordmaster... attacked from a distance with his treasure, delivering a fatal sword strike with immense burst power. But in prolonged combat, he was relatively weaker.

Shadowless Dao Ancestor... excelled in close combat!

He had cultivated a very mysterious divine ability called the 'Shadowless Demon Scripture.' This ability was known only to a few top experts within the Escort Sect, but only Shadowless Dao Ancestor had truly mastered it. It was somewhat similar to the 'Tao Wu's Eighteen Divine Demons' but with significant differences.

When using this ability, he could instantly split into six clones! Each clone possessed the strength of the original, and the clones were like shadows... shadows could not be killed. When Shadowless Dao Ancestor maintained this ability, all six clones appeared as shadows, with only one hiding the true body!

But it was extremely difficult to identify the true body among the six shadows, and Shadowless Dao Ancestor could easily shift his true body among them.

With this ability, his power surged, and he was nearly immortal! Since Shadowless Dao Ancestor was already a top-tier Dao Ancestor, mastering this ability made him comparable to Bodhi and Source Elder.

"Break, break, break."

All Things Ji Ning, a peerless sword immortal, wielded two divine swords and attacked furiously.

Even Shadowless Dao Ancestor was occasionally struck, but only the 'shadows' were hit. His countless whips came relentlessly... forcing Ji Ning to stay vigilant, for a moment's carelessness could see him bound and captured.

"Clang, clang, clang."

"Rip."

All Things Ji Ning and Shadowless Dao Ancestor engaged in close combat, exchanging blows wildly.

One was impervious to weapons and had the best swordsmanship in the Three Realms.

The other had six clones attacking simultaneously and was immortal, with the Darklight Swordmaster striking from afar. Their coordination was perfect.

Ji Ning was completely suppressed.

"What to do? My attacks are useless; I'm completely entangled by Shadowless Dao Ancestor. I can't hurt him. His whips could bind me at any moment, and that damned Darklight Swordmaster keeps interfering. There's no other way—I have to stall for time. The longer this goes, the more experts from Nuwa's camp will arrive." Ji Ning thought.

...

Though described slowly, battles among experts were lightning-fast.

Ji Ning's true body was ambushed and destroyed, then his second avatar drove the All Things Emissary out, and Shadowless Dao Ancestor and the Darklight Swordmaster joined forces.

Just then.

"Huanmu!" A furious voice rang out.

A majestic figure in animal skins appeared in the sky, tearing the space around him. He was surrounded by a heart-stopping flame, yet staring at it brought an involuntary warmth, as if seeing hope in the fire.

That was the Undying Ember.

"It's Suirenshi." Ji Ning, locked in battle with Shadowless Dao Ancestor and the Darklight Swordmaster, felt hope surge.

"Suirenshi is here." Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan was overjoyed.

Suirenshi was arguably the strongest in Nuwa's camp. Of course, Buddha Tathagata and Lord Sanqing might have improved over the years and could be stronger, but at least Suirenshi's publicly displayed strength was at the pinnacle of the Three Realms.

Suirenshi in the sky held a charred wooden staff. He swung it with overwhelming force, like a falling star smashing through all obstacles, shattering the purple light.

"Well struck." Huanmu Master also swung his wooden ruler.

Both expanded to a million zhang.

The staff and ruler collided.

Heaven and earth trembled.

Huanmu Master was knocked back two steps in the void, but he drew a circle with his ruler to dissipate the impact.

"In close combat, I am still slightly weaker," Huanmu Master said softly with a cold gaze. "But I don't need to fight you."

"Change."

Huanmu Master shook his body and transformed into a three-headed, six-armed form, each hand holding a wooden ruler.

"Huanmu, I really don't want to kill you." A sigh echoed through heaven and earth as a golden giant hand tore through the void.

"Tathagata." Two of Huanmu Master's arms grew huge, their hands gripping wooden rulers to meet the attack.

...

Almost as soon as Bodhi summoned them, Suirenshi, Tathagata, and Lord Sanqing had arrived.

Suirenshi's staff, heavy as the Sun Star or Moon Star, sent Huanmu Master staggering back with each blow.

Tathagata's palms contained vast worlds and were already like Chaos treasures.

Lord Sanqing's 'Immortal Slaying Sword Formation' was the most fearsome, forcing Huanmu Master to use nearly half his effort to defend against it.

"Pity that Shennongshi and Fuxishi are in the endless Chaos; it will take time for them to arrive," Bodhi fretted. "If it were the Myriad Demon Lord or Demon Hand Dao Ancestor, they couldn't simultaneously hold off Sanqing, Tathagata, and Suirenshi. Only Huanmu can do that."

Bodhi was burning with anxiety.

His strength lay more in escape; in close combat, though close to leader level, he was still inferior to Sanqing and Tathagata.

Huanmu Master was truly monstrous.

With his myriad techniques combined, he could simultaneously hold off Sanqing, Tathagata, and Suirenshi. It was terrifying to behold!

"Demon Hand, make your move. Remember, don't cause too much trouble. Avoid triggering the final battle if possible," the Myriad Demon Lord transmitted.

"You should have let me act long ago."

A woman in purple appeared above the imperial palace.

She was petite, with a pretty face.

But her killing intent made the entire Zhulu Great World tremble; dark clouds gathered. Bodhi, Lord Sanqing, and Tathagata all changed expression upon seeing her.

The true demon among demons! A murderous madman! A great fiend that terrified even the Chaosworld of the Escort Sect!

Demon Hand Dao Ancestor!

"I didn't expect Shadowless and Darklight to fail against Ji Ning, forcing Demon Hand to act. I just hope Demon Hand doesn't escalate things." The Myriad Demon Lord worried. Ji Ning, driving the All Things Emissary, had exceeded their expectations; they needed a leader-level expert to capture him directly.

The Myriad Demon Lord had no choice but to send Demon Hand Dao Ancestor.

...

The woman in purple appeared and stretched out her crystalline white hand, which crossed the sky to grab All Things Emissary Ji Ning, who was still fighting Darklight Swordmaster and Shadowless Dao Ancestor.

Bodhi, Xuanyuan, Sanqing, Suirenshi, and Tathagata were all tied up by Huanmu Master alone! Though Huanmu Master was struggling, he held on. Only Buddha Tathagata, with his indestructible golden body, calmly extended a hand to strike at Demon Hand Dao Ancestor. But Demon Hand Dao Ancestor blocked with one hand while the other continued to grab Ji Ning.

"Harm not my junior brother."

A roar suddenly echoed through heaven and earth.

A similarly fierce aura surged skyward. A figure of an ape stood far off at the edge of the sky, holding a staff in both hands and swinging it fiercely. A golden staff, descending from the horizon, smashed directly toward Demon Hand Dao Ancestor.