Chapter 1241: Chapter 1241: The First Immortal Under a Big Favor! (Part 3)
"Helping me this once will get you killed! Just say whether you’ll help or not!" Ant Lord exploded, her fur bristling. She really had a lot of questions she wanted to ask Dong Quan and Cihang.
"Fine. Whatever questions you have, I’ll ask in your stead." Returning a favor with a favor, Ning Fan thought that helping Ant Lord once was no big deal.
Ant Lord’s divine sense was tied to his. Although she could use his divine sense to contact Dust Immortal and the Black Evil Sect and quarrel with them, it was very hard for her to speak directly to the outside world.
That was why she needed him to do the talking.
"I have something to ask. I hope you two will answer honestly." Ning Fan said to Dong Quan and Cihang.
"Whatever Master-Uncle asks, the two Disciples will leave nothing unsaid!" Seeing that Master-Uncle had questions, the two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers did not dare slack off, and replied respectfully.
"First question. When you two left the Real Realms, had the war on the Divine Land already begun?" Ning Fan’s words were entirely what Ant Lord told him to ask; he just repeated them. As for what this Divine Land was, what Great Secret of Heaven and Earth it involved, Ning Fan didn’t care in the slightest.
"To answer Master-Uncle, long before the two Disciples left the Real Realms, the war for the Divine Land had already ended." The two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers replied.
[It’s... already over. So in the end, that battle still couldn’t be avoided.] An endless sorrow surged in Ant Lord’s heart. After a brief silence, she signaled that Ning Fan could ask the second question.
"Second question. The one currently in charge of the Divine Land’s order—is it Yuxu Palace or Biyou Palace?" Ning Fan asked.
"To answer Master-Uncle, the one currently presiding over the Divine Land’s order is Yuxu Palace." The two replied.
"I see." Ning Fan nodded with a show of understanding, but in truth he didn’t care about this answer at all.
But Ant Lord cared!
Ant Lord closed her eyes in pain. Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother had still ended up on the path of same-sect slaughter. The two who had once been so close had now become enemies...
[Thank you for helping me. I’ve finished my questions. I want to be alone for a while; just ignore me for now... As for how to deal with these two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers, you can decide on your own...] Was Ant Lord’s heart crying? Ning Fan wasn’t sure, because he found that although he and Ant Lord were connected in mind, once her emotions fluctuated to the point of losing control, that heart-to-heart link became useless—he could see nothing, hear nothing.
It was as if an endless curtain of rain had drenched this little ant’s inner world, veiling all scenery in mist...
Should he forcefully peek into it?
Or would it be better to just let her be alone...
Then Ning Fan felt a bit puzzled. When Ant Lord said to let him decide how to deal with Dong Quan and Cihang, what exactly did she mean?
"May I ask if Master-Uncle has finished asking his questions?" The two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers asked respectfully.
"Mm, I’ve asked them all."
"May I ask if Master-Uncle is satisfied with the answers of the two Disciples?" The two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers asked cautiously.
"More or less." Though that little ant seemed very dissatisfied, Ning Fan thought to himself.
"If that is so... would Master-Uncle, for the sake of the two Disciples still being somewhat respectful, help the two of us leave this place?" The two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers pleaded.
"Take your talisman bodies out of here? What do you mean?"
"As Master-Uncle can see, the two of us are in the form of Yuxu Talisman Soldiers, acting under Primordial Master’s decree to guard the Reverse Ten Absolute Formation here. In the past, at the Dao Fruit Assembly of the Mountain and Sea Realm’s True Spirit Races, there was a Hunkun Holy Sect disciple, Lu Bei, who suppressed the geniuses of all races and took first place. Due to a prior agreement, Primordial Master had no choice but to take out an item afterward and give it to Lu Bei. That item was the Reverse Ten Absolute Diagram. From then on, the array diagram changed owners, and we talisman soldiers within the formation could no longer remain by Primordial Master’s side, and were transferred to Lu Bei to follow his orders. But who would have thought that not long after, Lu Bei would get caught up in a storm, fall victim to a scheme, and die miserably, and the supreme treasure he was guarding was lost along with him, its whereabouts unknown. After many twists and turns, we eventually came to the Zidou Illusion Realm and fell into the hands of the Water Sect Eight Sons. The bitterness that followed is not something that can be summed up in a few words; after the Eight Sons, we were controlled by Beihai, and after that..."
The more the two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers talked, the longer their story got, and the more impatient Ning Fan felt listening. At last, he cut them off.
"Stick to the key points! I’m not interested in your life stories!" Ning Fan frowned.
"Yes... Presumably Master-Uncle also knows that we Yuxu Talisman Soldiers, once we sign a talisman master immortal contract, cannot betray our talisman master. Before leaving Yuxu Palace, our talisman master was Primordial Master; after that, our talisman master became Lu Bei; after Lu Bei died, we fell into the hands of the Water Sect. Strictly speaking, the Water Sect Masters only used restrictive spells to forcibly control us; they don’t really qualify as our talisman master. If Master-Uncle can break these restrictions, you can take us out of this formation and let us see the sky again! We, as Hong Jun Disciples, do not wish to be controlled by outsiders. Meeting Master-Uncle today is truly heaven’s will! If Master-Uncle is willing to take the two Disciples away, in the years to come, the two Disciples are willing to acknowledge Master-Uncle as talisman master and serve at Master-Uncle’s command!" With that said, the two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers knelt to Ning Fan once again, their words earnest.
Ning Fan’s head was spinning from listening!
These two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers were unbelievably long-winded! They’d said so much nonsense that could be summed up in one sentence: Master-Uncle, we beg you to take us away, we’ll be your subordinates from now on!
No wonder Ant Lord had just told him to deal with these two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers as he saw fit; she must have already expected that they would defect to him.
"You’re sure you want to recognize me as master? If you regret it in the future, what then?" After a brief moment of thought, Ning Fan asked.
"Regret? Martial Uncle, don’t joke around. You are a great power of the same generation as the Three Pure Ones, with boundless prospects. For the two of us to be able to receive orders under Martial Uncle’s seat is already a blessing of three lifetimes; even if we get dragged into karmic cause and effect because of this, that’s only because our own cultivations are lacking—what ’regret’ is there to speak of?" the two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers said in confusion.
"Stating this in advance, I am not a Hong Jun Disciple. You two acknowledging me as master, in essence, is still being controlled by an outsider..."
"..." The two Talisman Soldiers froze for a moment, then both broke into helpless smiles. "So that’s how it is. Martial Uncle is probably the same as the other Buzhou Umbrella holders, all strictly ordered by the Ancestral Master not to reveal their Hong Jun Disciple identity to the outside world. Outsiders all say that those who wield the Buzhou Umbrella have a status equal to the Three Pure Ones, and may sit within ten steps of the Ancestral Master to listen to the Dao. But that’s only a rumor. Without the Ancestral Master’s permission, without the help of Hongjun disciples at the level of the Three Pure Ones, outsiders fundamentally cannot cultivate the Buzhou Umbrella! Martial Uncle must have such concerns, that’s why you would speak to us in this way."
"...I’ll say it one last time. Not only am I not a Hong Jun Disciple, I may even be an enemy of the Hongjun Holy Sect. You two taking me as master—you will definitely regret it in the future!"
"Hehe, rest easy, Martial Uncle, Disciple understands, understands everything. Martial Uncle is absolutely not a Hong Jun Disciple; after we follow Martial Uncle in the future, naturally we also won’t call ourselves Hong Jun Disciples anymore! We still understand a little about confidentiality rules."
"..." Ning Fan was speechless. Was he not speaking human language or something—why couldn’t these two idiot Talisman Soldiers in front of him understand!
And it wasn’t just one or two of these idiots, he had already run into plenty of them...
"Martial Uncle is not speaking—seems you’ve agreed to let us follow! Great virtue!"
Seeing Ning Fan at a loss for words, the two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers simply took it as tacit approval, and both were overjoyed.
Then—! Dao-light flashed around the two Talisman Soldiers, and they suddenly reverted to their paper-man bodies. It turned out that every time these Talisman Soldiers transformed into human form, there was a time limit; they could not maintain it for long. When there was Formation power sustaining them it was still manageable, but if the Formation’s power was cut off, they could not last too long. As for the specifics, Ning Fan himself was not clear yet; he would only understand after researching it in the future.
Once reverted to talisman-paper bodies, the two Talisman Soldiers were only palm-sized. With a flash of light, they flew down into Ning Fan’s palm.
"Please, Martial Uncle, remove the禁制 in our bodies!" the two of them pleaded.
The two had been refined by the Water Sect for countless years, with millions of禁制 planted within. With such complex methods of禁制, there was no way they could break free by relying on their own power.
Azure Spike gleamed in Ning Fan’s eyes; those禁制 that would stump even a Quasi-Saint of the Decline gradually became distinct in his sight.
Among these禁制, there were both new and old. The older ones were extremely ancient; their methods, Ning Fan had seen before at the place where the Water Sect Eight Sons fell, so they must have been left behind by the Eight Sons. He already understood this sort of method somewhat, and moreover, these old禁制 were already extremely tattered, so removing them was not difficult. The more troublesome ones were the newer禁制, which should have been left by Beihai (Northern Sea) True Lord. Compared to those world‑shaking figures like the Water Sect Eight Sons, Beihai True Lord fell far short, and these禁制 likewise were not hard to break!
Ning Fan’s spirit sense flicked rapidly, and in an instant he sent out several hundred spirit sense strikes toward the two paper men. Each and every one of those spirit sense strikes landed on the vital nodes of the禁制; one link collapsed, immediately triggering layer upon layer of collapse.
At last, when Ning Fan struck out his thousandth spirit sense, all the禁制 in the two paper men shattered, and they regained their freedom!
Seeing this, the two paper men were overjoyed and immediately signed a Talisman-Master Immortal Contract with Ning Fan on the spot!
From this moment on, they were Talisman Soldiers belonging exclusively to Ning Fan. Once the Immortal Contract was made, even if they were to face their former Talisman Master, Yuanshi Tianzun, they still could not betray Master Ning!
"Many thanks to Martial Uncle for saving us from the sea of suffering!" the two paper men said happily.
"Ai, Little Martial Uncle truly has a benevolent heart; even Yuxu Talisman Soldiers he’s never met before, he’s willing to save. I am far inferior to him! I just don’t know why these Yuxu Talisman Soldiers insist on copying me and calling Little Martial Uncle ’Martial Uncle’..." Leize was secretly curious in his heart, but had no intention of asking more.
"To think that while trapped in an absolute formation, I could still pick up two Talisman Soldiers for free. After refining the Merit Umbrella, my luck seems to have become frighteningly good..." Ning Fan couldn’t help but chuckle.
These Yuxu Talisman Soldiers’ brains were seemingly not very bright, but their strength was definitely not weak. A single Yuxu Talisman Soldier could chase a heavily injured Leize around and beat him; if two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers joined hands, they could probably fight evenly with Leize at his peak. If there were four Yuxu Talisman Soldiers, that would be two Leizes; if there were eight, that would be four Leizes...
The only troublesome part was that once the Yuxu Talisman Soldiers left the Formation, it became difficult for them to maintain their forms. Before solving this problem, it would be hard to use the Talisman Soldiers in real combat.
Forget it. Once matters here are settled, he would think about this again.
He just didn’t know whether, in the other absolute formations, he could continue this streak of good luck and subdue more Leizes...
Achoo!
Ancestor Leize suddenly sneezed with no apparent reason. Maybe he was hearing things; he seemed to have just heard Little Martial Uncle counting something like "two Leizes" and "four Leizes." Hehe, since when had he become a unit of measure? He must really be hallucinating from his severe injuries.
"Little Martial Uncle, my injuries are too severe. I can’t help you fight; I might even become a burden. So I’m thinking of staying for a while in the little world inside the Wind Master’s Pocket to heal. Healing inside there can not only increase my recovery speed, it can also help repair the pocket itself..." Leize said.
"It’s fine. Just stay inside the pocket and heal; I’ll handle the matters here!" Ning Fan agreed to Ancestor Leize’s request and casually gave Leize some expensive pills for his wounds.
Though Leize did not lack expensive pills for healing, this was, after all, Little Martial Uncle’s concern for him, and it moved him deeply.
Moved, his relationship with Ning Fan also became closer. After a slight hesitation, he finally braced himself and said, "Um... Little Martial Uncle, in the battle just now, you seemed to have seized quite a lot of spoils of war. Among them is one item that would be of great help to my recovery."
"Which item?"
"It’s that Qi Hang Talisman Soldier Ci Hang was holding before, the Qi Wen Ding Feng Zhu (Seven-Pattern Wind-Calming Pearl)." Leize regretted it the moment he finished speaking.
The value of the Seven-Pattern Wind-Calming Pearl was far too high! For a wind cultivator, this item was no less significant than an Innate Superior Treasure; of course, to others, it was just an ordinary Innate Lower Grade Treasures. Ning Fan might not be a wind cultivator, but he could still use this item to trade with other Masters. If he happened to meet a wind cultivator who needed it, it was not impossible to exchange it for a huge fortune.
For such a weighty treasure, he really shouldn’t have had the gall to open his mouth...
"Take it." Ning Fan, however, did not care in the slightest. It was only a Seven-Pattern Wind-Calming Pearl. Let alone that he was not a wind cultivator—even if he were, he could still afford to give it away!
Compared to the comradeship of Leize and the others who risked their lives to shield him, an external object was truly not worth mentioning.
"Little Martial Uncle, you really are the best Martial Uncle in all the heavens!" Leize was moved to the point of sobbing messily. Taking the Wind-Stabilizing Pearl, he happily returned to his Wind Master’s Pocket to heal.
Cihang, on the other hand, felt a bit depressed. That bead seemed to be hers, right... Forget it, forget it, even she herself belonged to Martial Uncle now; a single bead was nothing.
Leize burrowed into the Wind Master’s Pocket, and the pocket naturally was handed over to Ning Fan for safekeeping.
"Heh, just a Wind-Stabilizing Pearl is enough to satisfy you like this? Not enough, far from enough..."
Ning Fan was infected by Leize’s mood and also laughed. In his heart he was already pondering how, once matters here were settled, he should properly repay Leize and the others to express his gratitude.
He tied the Wind Master’s Pocket at his waist and turned his gaze toward the northwest of the Wind Howl Formation.
Pure Yang and the Fish Master were in that direction!
...
Reverse Ten Absolute Formation, Soul Falling Formation!
Pure Yang Ancestral Master was inside the Formation, currently besieged from both sides by two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers. One of the Yuxu Talisman Soldiers rode a deer and held a mace, calling himself Yao Tianjun; the other wore an Eight Diagrams Dao robe, had Celebratory Cloud protecting his body, and wielded a Yin-Yang Mirror to attack, referring to himself with the Dao title Chijing.
Facing the combined assault of the two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers, Pure Yang Ancestral Master grew more and more alarmed as he fought. The two before him were by no means weak, and what was even more troublesome was that they could increase their cultivations.
When they first crossed blows, one of them had a strength equivalent to a Decline-era Sixth Calamity Immortal Emperor, while the other was equivalent to a Decline-era Nine Tribulations Immortal Emperor.
But as the battle went on, Yao Tianjun’s strength surged to the level of a Decline-era ten-thousand-tribulation Quasi-Saint, while that Chijing Taoist’s strength soared to the level of a Decline-era fourteen-thousand-tribulation Quasi-Saint!
The fact that their cultivations could rise to such a degree left Pure Yang Ancestral Master deeply shocked; all their methods were Ancient Great Cultivator Divine Skills, extremely difficult to handle!
If not for his money-can-move-gods ability being enough to protect himself, he would have long since been severely injured by these two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers.
On top of that, the Soul Falling Formation here also coordinated with the two’s attacks, making Pure Yang Ancestral Master’s situation grow ever more perilous.
"Not good, not good at all! I already used up a huge amount of my funds in that battle with that Ganoderma Immortal earlier. Now that I’m facing these two again, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold out for long. What should I do..."
Pure Yang Ancestral Master was growing anxious when suddenly his pupils shrank; he felt a sense of crisis.
He saw Yao Tianjun, realizing the fight was dragging on too long, suddenly take out a dipper full of black sand and fling it toward him.
This black sand was no ordinary thing; it could make souls fall and specialized in attacking souls!
Such a soul-level attack was almost impossible to guard against. Even the money-can-move-gods ability could not completely defend against it; no matter how good the Copper Coin was, it still had that empty hole in the center one could drill through.
In the blink of an eye, eighty percent of the black sand was blocked by the golden money protecting his body, yet twenty percent still slipped past the layers of coin shadows, directly turning illusory and smashing onto Pure Yang Ancestral Master’s souls!
Pain!
Excruciating pain!
What struck his souls were not grains of black sand, but more like tens of thousands of black mountains!
Pure Yang Ancestral Master only felt everything before his eyes go dark; in that instant, countless cracks split open across his souls!
He was badly hurt!
By rights, even though this sort of black sand could injure souls, the probability of inflicting serious damage on a titled Quasi-Saint should have been extremely low.
But Pure Yang Ancestral Master just happened to not be a normal titled Quasi-Saint!
He was a Quasi-Saint whose Immortal lifespan had long since run dry, clinging to life only by relying on the Heaven Evading Coffin. His cultivations remained formidable, but his souls had already become exceedingly frail, unable to withstand too violent a torment. What he feared most in the remainder of his life were Illusory Art and attacks on the souls!
These weaknesses were also a common affliction among Masters who used the Heaven Evading Coffin.
This dipper of black sand struck precisely at his sore spot and its effect was overwhelming!
That one strike actually left him unable to stand steady. He dropped to one knee on the ground; as he spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood, even his gaze began to sway.
This move directly inflicted a dizziness effect on him!
He had not been injured in the fight against Ganoderma Immortal.
At the very beginning, facing the two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers’ pincer attack, he had been in a sorry state but still remained uninjured.
Only this dipper of black sand struck his soft underbelly!
"Strange. This one’s methods are not weak; he shouldn’t have gone down so easily to my strike. Could this be a ruse, him deliberately selling a flaw to lure us into closing in so he can spring a sneak attack?" Yao Tianjun and Chijing Taoist both hesitated. Seeing the opening in Pure Yang Ancestral Master’s defense, they did not dare take advantage and press the attack, instead stopping to watch from the side, inadvertently giving Pure Yang Ancestral Master a chance to catch his breath.
"Cough, cough, cough... My souls have actually decayed to this point? I can’t even withstand a single dipper of Soul Falling Sand anymore... Back when I was together with you, I wasn’t afraid of three dippers of Soul Falling Sand. At that time, the strongest thing about me was my souls..." In his dizziness, Pure Yang Ancestral Master’s vision blurred; he could no longer see the scene ahead clearly. No one could defeat time. He might have invented the Heaven Evading Coffin, but all it did was help him evade the years—it could not allow him to truly disregard them.
"This fellow seems genuinely weakened, not pretending. I’ll attack him once more; you stand by and guard against the side for me, ready to stop any ambush or sneak attack!" Yao Tianjun said to Chijing Taoist.
"Mm." Chijing Taoist seemed not fond of speaking. He merely spread open his Celebratory Cloud defense, covering Yao Tianjun’s rear within the Celebratory Cloud.
With Celebratory Cloud protecting him, Yao Tianjun felt much more at ease. "Go!"
With a lift of his hand, he once again sacrificed the Soul Falling Sand, sending it toward Pure Yang Ancestral Master.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort suddenly rang out, forcibly scattering the sky-filling Soul Falling Sand.
Within that cold snort was an ancient Fiendgods pressure. With just a single snort, it actually pierced through the sky formed by the Soul Falling Sand within this Formation!
"Who is it!" Yao Tianjun and Chijing were so terrified by that Fiendgods voice that their gall almost shattered. They did not understand exactly how terrifying this sound was; they only instinctively felt fear!
...
Pure Yang Ancestral Master did not notice that Ning Fan had come to rescue him.
He was still in a state of soul dizziness, unable to see Ning Fan standing ahead; yet his mind was clearer than at any other time. Those past events he was unwilling to touch turned into bubbles, rising from the bottom of the lake of his heart.
He remembered the original intention behind inventing the Heaven Evading Coffin.
He remembered that person’s resolute back as she left.
When the whole world believed he had invented the Heaven Evading Coffin because he was greedy for life and afraid of death, even he had almost forgotten that the reason he had dragged out his miserable existence to this day was merely to wait for one person.
Because there was someone who said she wanted to turn into eternity: that person had abandoned everything just to become the protector of the North Heaven; that person had secretly shouldered the fate of the North Heaven and sealed herself into a cold stone Formation.
He had to wait for her. Dying was easy; waiting was hard—especially using an endlessly long life to traverse a near-eternal waiting... If that eternity truly had an end, if she still had a day when she would return, then his continued struggle to live on would have meaning.
If, when she returned, there was no one under heaven who still remembered the past, how... unbearably lonely would that be.
Yes, he had to be there, he had to always be there...
Even if this Soul Falling Sand was powerful, he still had to endure it and overcome it!
"Hm?" Pure Yang Ancestral Master’s eyes finally grew a bit clearer.
The Soul Falling Sand attack he had anticipated did not land. At this moment, there was instead a large umbrella, open above his head, sheltering him beneath it.
The one holding the umbrella wore white robes; his back looked frail and scholarly, but if one saw his face, one would see in his eyes a world-toppling momentum!
So it was Brother Ning who’d come to save him. No wonder that blow didn’t hurt at all—it had been blocked by Brother Ning.
"Are you alright?" Ning Fan did not turn back to look at the Pure Yang Ancestral Master, he merely asked calmly; that calmness was respect.
"I’m fine." The Pure Yang Ancestral Master had his pride; he actually didn’t want Ning Fan to see the scene of him injured and on his knees. Ning Fan’s not turning back at this moment moved him a little.
He had thought Ning Fan was an even more indifferent person—he never expected he was actually cold on the outside, warm on the inside.
"How about leaving what comes next to me." Ning Fan smiled.
"Very well. Be careful. These talisman soldiers are extremely strange and not easy to deal with..." The Pure Yang Ancestral Master was almost out of Copper Coins; even if he wanted to help Ning Fan again, his ability was limited. So he didn’t stand on ceremony with Ning Fan. Since Ning Fan could move about the Reverse Ten Absolute Formation with ease, dealing with the situation here should not be too difficult.
He never underestimated Ning Fan’s strength.
He firmly believed that when Ning Fan faced two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers, even if he had to go through a bitter fight, he would still win in the end...
Wait! Hold on!
Where was that so‑called bitter fight!
Why did that Yao Tianjun and Chijing Taoist on the opposite side suddenly kneel down to Ning Fan!
The Pure Yang Ancestral Master had been about to drill into the Wind Master’s Pocket to rest, but before he could move, he was stunned by the scene before his eyes.
As soon as Yao Tianjun and Chijing Taoist saw Ning Fan coming with the Buzhou Umbrella, they directly knelt to him, calling him Martial Uncle, their attitude incomparably respectful. Within that respect there was even a trace of dread; they really did seem to have been frightened by Ning Fan’s Ancient Fiendgods voice!
"This has got to be fake! How can they just kneel like that..." the Pure Yang Ancestral Master said, eyes wide.
"Heh." Ning Fan did not explain much. After putting the Pure Yang Ancestral Master into the Wind Master’s Pocket to rest, he walked toward Yao Tianjun and Chijing Taoist.
These Yao Tianjun and Chijing Taoist were of course fake, transformed by Yuxu Talisman Soldiers and not their true selves.
With his experience from dealing with Celestial Lord Dong and Cihang earlier, Ning Fan already knew what to do now to take these two talisman soldiers under his command.
"Forgive us, Martial Uncle! We are trapped inside this Formation, controlled by the Formation, our actions not our own. We must attack you and your friend..." After giving a deep bow, Yao Tianjun and Chijing Taoist stood up, faces twisted with pain, and drew their swords against Ning Fan.
Ning Fan did not trade blows with these two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers. Instead, he directly summoned two paper men—these paper men were naturally the talisman soldiers he had just subdued, Dong Quan and Cihang Talisman Soldier.
"Eh? This is..." Yao Tianjun and Chijing Taoist were first startled, then overjoyed.
What had they just seen!
This umbrella‑bearing Martial Uncle of unknown name had actually rescued Dong Quan and Cihang from within the Reverse Ten Absolute Formation!
If he could save Dong Quan and Cihang, he could naturally save them as well!
"So that’s how it is! I originally thought that after our Primordial Master sent us away, he’d already forgotten us. I never imagined that after so many long years, the old man still remembered us, and thus asked Martial Uncle to come save us!" Yao Tianjun and Chijing Taoist were deeply moved.
"You’re overthinking it. I wasn’t sent by your Primordial Master." Ning Fan said speechlessly.
"Rest easy, Martial Uncle, we know the rules! This business of secretly colluding with Zi Dou Immortal Domain will rot in our stomachs!" Yao Tianjun and Chijing Taoist vowed solemnly.
As far as they knew, the Zidou Illusion Realm was cut off from the Real Realms; even someone as strong as a Reverse Saint could hardly interfere with this realm. If their Primordial Master wanted to meddle in this realm, he must have used some shady method and struck some sort of deal with that supreme existence, Purple Mountain Dou Sea. Once this deal was exposed, it would inevitably bring endless trouble to Hongjun Holy Sect. Zi Dou Immortal Domain was already a taboo of the Real Realms; naturally, this matter could not be spread about.
"Are all Yuxu Talisman Soldiers this dim‑witted..."
Ning Fan felt a bit of a headache, but then also some relief. If not for the low intelligence of these Yuxu Talisman Soldiers, he wouldn’t be able to pick up subordinates for free.
"Enough. Dong One, Ci Two, you two go stop those two talisman soldiers. I’ll go destroy the Rain Tower of this Formation!" Ning Fan injected a large amount of Mana into the two newly subdued talisman soldiers, allowing them to transform into human form, then issued a淡淡 command.
Using Mana to drive talisman soldiers could not maintain their physical forms for long, but this span of time should be enough for him to topple the Rain Tower.
"Dong... Dong One?!" Dong Quan’s face was full of shock.
"Ci... Ci Two?!" Cihang’s usually cool expression cracked with a snap.
Had they just been given weird new names by their new talisman master!
Should they be happy, or should they cry...
"Your old names are too hard to remember, so I gave you nice‑sounding ones. Mm, this way the names roll off the tongue, and it’s also convenient for me to count how many thun... how many talisman soldiers I have." Ning Fan nodded in satisfaction.
He could feel that Dong Quan and Cihang really liked their new names. That was excellent; his painstaking thought hadn’t been wasted.
Chi!
Without wasting time on this topic, Ning Fan fixed his direction and turned into a streak of flowing light, charging straight toward a certain spot within the Soul Falling Formation.
There, the Rain Tower of the Formation stood towering, and atop the Rain Tower stood a familiar figure.
It was unexpectedly the only one among the three Purple-Faced Souls whom Ning Fan had never beaten before—Ganoderma Immortal!
"Strange. Why would Ganoderma Immortal be here presiding over the Formation? Could it be he reached some sort of agreement with that Beihai old fellow and thus came to help deal with me?"
...
Ning Fan had guessed right. After Ganoderma Immortal fell into the Reverse Ten Absolute Formation, he did indeed make an agreement with Beihai True Lord.
Beihai True Lord claimed that as long as Ganoderma Immortal behaved and helped him deal with Ning Fan, and then offered up half of his own Ganoderma blood and flesh afterward, he would spare Ganoderma Immortal’s life.
The reason Beihai True Lord had made this agreement with Ganoderma Immortal was also out of helplessness. Though he coveted the medicinal power of Ganoderma Immortal’s blood and flesh, he did not dare to kill Ganoderma Immortal with his own hands.
Kill a Heavenly Dao Soul? Madness like that—Ning Fan dared, a very few demonesses dared, but he definitely did not! One misstep, and there would no longer be any place under heaven for him to undergo True Immortal Tribulation!
"I hope that Rain Master by title will keep to our agreement..."
Ganoderma Immortal felt humiliated. He, a dignified Purple-faced Heavenly Dao Soul, had actually reached the day where he had to give up half his flesh to cling to life—how pathetic! But he had no choice. Trapped inside this Formation, if he did not obey, he would be killed by Beihai; even if he did obey, he still had to face Ning Fan. Just thinking of Ning Fan’s terrifyingness made Ganoderma Immortal’s heart quiver.
Ginseng Immortal had been slain, Velvet Antler Immortal had been taken; if he confronted Ning Fan, what would his outcome be? Just thinking of it, he knew it would be miserable.
"The talisman soldiers of this Formation are rather bizarre; that heaven‑defying thief may not be able to fight his way all the way to me. There’s really no need for me to worry too much..."
Ganoderma Immortal was busy comforting himself when his expression suddenly changed drastically.
In that instant, from far below the Rain Tower, a streak of flowing light tore through the air toward him. If it wasn’t Ning Fan, who else could it be!
"This is bad! That star of misfortune really came!"
Ganoderma Immortal’s face went deathly pale, and not long after, he lost contact with Beihai True Lord—his life or death unknown.
...
By the time Ning Fan toppled the Rain Tower and walked out of the Soul Falling Formation, the Yuxu Talisman Soldiers under his command had increased to four.
They were Dong One, Ci Two, Yao Three, and Chi Four!
When the Wind Howl Formation was broken at first, Beihai True Lord could still barely remain calm.
But not long after, even the Soul Falling Formation was broken by Ning Fan, and Beihai True Lord was truly shocked.
Unlike the Wind Howl Formation, the Soul Falling Formation was one of the top few Formations among the ten absolute Formations. Black sand that fell souls, straw men that collected souls—no matter how high your Divine Skills, how strong your magical treasure, once you entered this Formation, your souls should be damaged.
"Impossible! In that battle at the Control Positions Sky Map, this brat clearly wasn’t this strong. How can he now flip his hand and suppress a Quasi-Saint, breaking my absolute Formation!"
Beihai True Lord refused to accept it!
But reality made his back go cold!
"Bad news, Lord Beihai! That Ning Fan passed by the Tian Jue Formation, and with one lightning diagram he took away all the absolute lightning in Tian Jue Formation. The eight hundred Yellow Turban Warriors in the Formation only blocked him for half a breath before they were all killed!" Yellow Turban Strongman Jia.
"Bad news, Lord Beihai! That Ning Fan went through the Inferno Formation, swallowed all the formation flames, then released his own Black Dragon evil fire and burned all the Yellow Turban Warriors in the Formation along with the Inferno Formation itself to ash!" Yellow Turban Strongman Yi.
"This is bad! Daoist Beihai! The Earth Inferno Formation has also been broken. I saw the situation going wrong and withdrew early to barely save my life, but that thief still crossed half the great formation’s distance and chopped off one of my arms! That damn thief!" Earth Mansion Star Lord.
"The Golden Light Formation... can’t be held!" Changsang Daoist.
"Master, forgive me! That Ning Fan has entered the Red Sand Formation! I am no match for him, I was almost taken into his umbrella the moment we met!" Immortal Stone.
"Not good, that old monster Ning has come to the Ice Formation... Daoist Beihai, hurry and save us, ah!" Three miserable screams rang out, it was the voices of the Three Elders of the Boundary Clan; they seemed to have been cut down by Ning Fan after barely a few exchanges.
This, how is this possible!
True Lord Beihai was dumbfounded!
In such a short time, Ning Fan had actually broken eight formations of the Reverse Ten Absolute Formation. What kind of cultivations was this! He wasn’t an Ancient Great Cultivator! He clearly wasn’t an Ancient Great Cultivator!
"Not good! That Ning Fan is heading straight for the Blood Transformation Formation, and the one guarding the Blood Transformation Formation is Daoist Friend Shen Zu; he still doesn’t know Ning Fan is coming!"
True Lord Beihai was burning with anxiety, and without another word was about to notify Great Immortal Shenzu of this matter.
But he was still a step too late!
...
Reverse Ten Absolute Formation, Blood Transformation Formation!
At this moment within the Blood Transformation Formation, a shocking battle was erupting. On one side was a fish skeleton as huge as a mountain range, and on the other side was a bizarre-looking Fiendgods giant.
That fish skeleton was naturally none other than Fish Master, and that Fiendgods giant was the true self of Great Immortal Shenzu.
There was a reason to say that this Fiendgods giant looked strange.
Calling this Fiendgods giant a giant, he actually looked more like a gigantic foot that had grown a human face and arms.
Fish Master was a Second-Grade Quasi-Saint, and Great Immortal Shenzu was also Second Grade!
This was a clash between Second-Grade Quasi-Saints. The Yuxu Talisman Soldiers did not intervene in this battle, because Fish Master had used his Origin Sword Qi to lay down a seal and had sealed the two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers!
The two talisman soldiers guarding the Blood Transformation Formation, one called himself Sunx Tianjun, and the other called himself Tai Yi.
At this moment, be it Sunx Tianjun or Tai Yi, both were sealed to the side by Fish Master’s Origin Sword Qi, their expressions slightly awkward.
The two of them had fought Fish Master for not even a hundred rounds before they were sealed. It was a bit... embarrassing...
According to the calculation that two Yuxu Talisman Soldiers were about equal to one Leize, one Leize would also only be able to hold out for about a hundred rounds before Fish Master, then would have to admit defeat...
"Hmph! If the real Sunx Tianjun were here, he would never lose so easily!" Talisman Soldier Sunx Tianjun was somewhat unconvinced.
"No, you’re wrong. Even if it were the real Sunx Tianjun, he could at best barely fight this person for three hundred rounds. If it were the real Taiyi Zhenren who came, then it would indeed be enough to fight on even terms with this person. But if the two of them were engaged in a life-and-death battle, where victory must be decided, then the final victor would still be this Master called Fish Master. He is too strong. His Sword Dao has almost already stepped half a foot into the Source Stream of Dao. The reason he cannot truly step in is not because he lacks comprehension of the sword, but because his sword itself is not tough enough and cannot bear his Dao. If he could make up for this weakness, then even Taiyi Zhenren would not be able to suppress this man..." Talisman Soldier Tai Yi said with a bitter smile.
"In your view, which of these two Masters from the Land of Dreams can win?" Talisman Soldier Sunx Tianjun asked again.
"In terms of sheer strength, this Fish Master is stronger. But in order to seal the two of us, he used up two of the three strands of his Origin Sword Qi. In other words, at this moment his sword can only display one-third of its power. In this situation, that Master called Shenzu instead has the advantage."
Fish Master was tired, extremely tired.
He was a Master who had half a foot stepped into the Source Stream of Dao, and Great Immortal Shenzu was likewise someone who had great comprehension regarding the Source Stream of Dao.
To seal Sunx Tianjun and Taiyi Zhenren, he had used up two of the three strands of his Origin Sword Qi; facing Great Immortal Shenzu at this moment was extremely strenuous.
"Hmph! Fish Ji Zi, with only one-third of your Origin Sword Qi left, you are fundamentally no match for me. I also don’t wish to end up in mutual destruction with you. How about this! I’ll let you leave this formation, and allow you to go to other formations to attack others. At that time, whether you continue to stay here making things difficult for others, or flee this place, I will not interfere! The only one I want to eat is that brat Ning Fan; I have not the slightest interest in your fish meat. Why must you insist on fighting to the death with me!" Great Immortal Shenzu said unhappily.
"No!" Fish Master refused in one breath.
"Damn it! What benefit has that brat Ning Fan given you, that you are willing to risk your life for him like this! I’ll give you double, but you must help me devour that boy!"
"Our Daos are different; we cannot work together!"
Fish Master’s tone thoroughly enraged Great Immortal Shenzu.
Great Immortal Shenzu was furious!
He decided to use his strongest technique to let Fish Master see some real color!
"Fish Ji Zi! Many in the Northern Heaven know my background, do you!" Great Immortal Shenzu laughed from sheer rage!
"Of course Fish knows. You are a living being transformed from the foot of a Fiendgods Ancient Great Cultivator of the Earth Giant Clan. The power of your full-strength stomp is comparable to a Great Cultivator’s strike, but it usually only has the strength for a single stomp. If that one stomp misses, you must flee. You are nothing to be afraid of." Fish Master said indifferently.
"Nothing to be afraid of? Hmph, what a big mouth! Since that’s the case, today I’ll let you know why I’ve been rampaging through the Northern Heaven for so many years and no one has dared meddle in my business! You insist on meddling, then I’ll stomp you to death with one foot! In my eyes you’re an ant. Ancient God’s Lost Technique, Tread Ant!"
In that instant, Great Immortal Shenzu’s entire body completely turned into a Fiendgods foot. That foot seemed vast enough to cover the sky, shining with azure Fiendgods light. Compared to this enormous foot, Fish Master’s skeletal body truly was too small, no different from an ant about to be stomped!
At this moment, a grave look surfaced on Fish Master’s face as he was already considering withdrawing the Origin Sword Qi that was sealing the talisman soldiers. He admitted that he had underestimated Great Immortal Shenzu. This was the first time he had seen Great Immortal Shenzu’s trump card technique; without all three strands of Origin Sword Qi unleashed together, there was no way to block this strike!
At this moment, far away in the Red Water Formation, True Lord Beihai sensed the Divine Skills fluctuation of Great Immortal Shenzu and was so anxious he wanted to curse! He had invited Shenzu here to kill Ning Fan, not to make things worse. If Shenzu’s foot came down, whether or not he could stomp Fish Master to death was one thing, but he would definitely stomp the Blood Transformation Formation into powder!
"Daoist Friend Shen Zu, stop at once!" True Lord Beihai’s voice did not reach Great Immortal Shenzu’s ears.
He didn’t hear it!
Or perhaps he heard it, but simply did not care about the consequences that this stomp would bring!
Great Immortal Shenzu laughed wildly. As he fell from the sky, he seemed to already see the scene of Fish Master being heavily wounded by his stomp.
You dare meddle in my business!
This is the price!
Boom!
Great Immortal Shenzu’s stomp successfully stepped on something!
But unfortunately, this stomp neither injured Fish Master, nor destroyed the Blood Transformation Formation.
He had stepped on an umbrella! A strange umbrella suddenly expanded to a sky-covering size and appeared above Fish Master, sheltering Fish Master beneath it.
His stomp carried a power comparable to a Great Cultivator’s strike, enough to change Fish Master’s expression and shatter the Blood Transformation Formation! Such a terrifying stomp landed on the surface of this umbrella, yet failed to crush it.
It merely stirred up a faint radiance on the umbrella’s surface, like ripples; the light spread out, and then... there was nothing more.
Great Immortal Shenzu was stunned!
He was a living being transformed from the foot of a Fiendgods Great Cultivator of the Earth Giant Clan; yet the power of his full-strength stomp was actually unable to crush a paper-umbrella-looking magical treasure!
What kind of joke is this!
What the hell kind of umbrella is this, how could it... be this terrifying! And this familiar!
Isn’t this damn thing that brat Ning Fan’s umbrella!
"You... stepped on and damaged my umbrella!"
Under the umbrella, Ning Fan, who was holding it up, had his eyes turn cold!
That single stomp by Great Immortal Shenzu had not been entirely without effect on the Merit Umbrella!
This bastard went around barefoot all day; because his feet were too filthy, he had left a footprint on the Merit Umbrella when he stepped on it!
This was a footprint with a smell!
"Impossible! How could you withstand my full-strength stomp! This stomp is comparable to the might of a Great Cultivator; you absolutely cannot have done this! Fake, it’s fake!" Great Immortal Shenzu said in horror.
