Crushing Overwhelming Force

“Of the six,” Patriarch Ji Jiuhuo transmitted, “the two we know well, Dongzi Qi and Musi, have set up the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation and the growing Green Vines! The eagle-beaked cultivator has deployed formation flags to protect the surroundings. The black-robed woman has released a swarm of poisonous insects. The gray-robed cultivator holds a large silk banner, which is releasing powerful beast souls.”

“Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation? Green Vines? Formation flags? Poisonous insects? A silk banner? That’s five. What about the sixth?” Ji Ning asked softly.

“The sixth cultivator hasn’t acted yet,” Ji Jiuhuo transmitted. “I’ve told you everything. Figure out how to strike. Just remember—don’t put yourself in mortal danger.”

“Don’t worry, Patriarch.” Ji Ning smiled.

He began to think…

Although his earlier ambush had killed two Zifu Disciples, he hadn’t gained their treasures. When he had rushed in, he’d been blown back instantly; the magic treasures left behind by the two slain cultivators were still in Dongzi Qi’s hands.

“Five defensive layers?”

“Hmph.” Ji Ning’s eyes turned cold. “Struggle all you want—still dead.”

Suddenly—

“Senior apprentice-brother Tongyu! Senior apprentice-brother Zidao!” A shout came from the distance. “We just got hit by the tail of the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation! The tail is being commanded by the Ji Clan’s genius, Ji Ning, and it’s incredibly strong. It killed two of our fellow apprentices! We can only hunker down here now. Senior apprentice-brother Tongyu, Senior apprentice-brother Zidao, remember—beware the rain… beware the rain!”

“The six of you be careful too. Stall for as much time as you can.” Another voice answered from a different direction.

Ji Ning frowned at the shouts. “I need to finish these six quickly.”

Nong Zidao was very dangerous!

He had even recognized the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation at a glance. Although Ji Ning was confident in the formation, he knew that if he let the enemy study it at leisure, they might eventually figure out a way to break it. If the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation collapsed, the Ji Clan would be completely exposed, and the Snowdragon Sect would annihilate them all.

“Kill.” Ji Ning drove the massive dragon tail toward the six once again.

…

Outside, poisonous insects swirled in a protective ring.

An hazy triangular white light tower enveloped them, thick green vines winding around its pillars.

Inside the light tower, eight blood-colored flood dragons swam in a set pattern. Massive phantom images of birds and beasts roamed among them, each radiating a savage killing intent.

“With this kind of defensive setup, no matter how tough he is, he’ll never break through,” the black-robed woman said coldly.

“Right.” Dongzi Qi nodded.

Each of these techniques served a different role, complementing one another. It could already be called an iron wall.

“Let him be a Fiendgod Body Refiner, let his sword arts be peerless—he won’t get in here,” the gray-robed elder said, clutching his silk banner.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh…

A light drizzle began to fall. Thin as silk threads, the rain scattered down. Rain like silk, like mist—it should have been beautiful, but within the black mist, Dongzi Qi, the gray-robed elder, Musi, the black-robed woman, the eagle-beaked cultivator, and the wiry man all turned pale and tightened their nerves.

“It’s here.”

“The rain is here.” The six held their breath.

Earlier, this very rain had silently assassinated two of their companions.

“Pat pat pat pat…” The poisonous insects at the outermost layer suddenly started falling. The silk-like rain—every strand was sharp as a blade. Countless strands danced through the air, slicing madly at the insects. The rain covered everything. Although the insects were numerous, they were on the outermost perimeter, and massive numbers were cut down.

Each strand of rain carried the power of the Dao!

The Water-Fire Lotus manipulated the water and fire of heaven and earth, condensed according to the Dao that Ji Ning had comprehended.

The same rain—water naturally formed from heaven and earth, shaped by the Dao Ji Ning had grasped—also possessed a killing power close to that of the Water-Fire Lotus. It might be a little lacking to break a great formation and slaughter Zifu Disciples, but killing these insects was easy. The insects were densely packed, so individually they were weak. Back when Ji Ning fought Bei Zishan, the Water-Fire Lotus of that time could already kill huge numbers of poisonous insects. Now, Ji Ning’s comprehension of the Dao was far beyond what it had been back then.

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh…” The rain continued.

“Squeak squeak…” The clamor of dying insects stopped in an instant. The dense swarm that had been on outermost alert cleared out completely. Every last one of them had been annihilated in a flash.

The black-robed woman’s face turned pale. She demanded, “Why didn’t you let my bugs come back?” As soon as her insects had been attacked, she had tried to pull them back into the light tower’s formation.

“Once the tower formation is set, I can’t break it just for your bugs!” the eagle-beaked cultivator barked. “The rain is already falling—Ji Ning could show up any second! I can’t drop the tower formation. Even if I did, you’d only save a few at most. So it’s better to leave it up.”

The black-robed woman gritted her teeth in fury.

“Junior apprentice-sister Lu, don’t be angry. The tower formation really can’t be withdrawn.”

“The rain is too strong! Every single strand is attacking.”

“Is this a rain spell? Ordinary water spells have traces you can follow. But this rain—pure naturally condensed rain—that’s also a spell?” They were all shocked by the rain’s power. Those bugs had once bitten through a Zifu Disciple’s robe. Individually weak, they were still not easy to kill.

“Could it be… a Dao Domain?” the gray-robed elder said slowly.

“A Dao Domain?”

“A Dao of the Rain?”

The other cultivators gasped in shock.

“Impossible. That Ji Ning is only sixteen! He’s just a Zifu Disciple. How could he have comprehended a Dao Domain? Many Wanxiang Adepts haven’t grasped one.”

“Impossible!”

The Zifu Disciples refused to believe it.

And then—

The black mist thinned, revealing a massive dragon tail slowly moving toward them. Standing in the dragon tail was a young man in animal skins, surrounded by more than seven hundred flying swords. He walked forward step by step, a faint smile on his face.

“Ji Ning.”

“It’s Ji Ning.” The six stared at the young man in animal skins. They were stunned that he was approaching so openly.

Dongzi Qi shouted, “Ji Ning, you got lucky with a sneak attack. Coming at us head-on by yourself is suicide!”

As Ji Ning walked, a lotus blossomed beneath his feet. A massive Water-Fire Lotus bloomed in beauty, making him look like a child of the lotus. He was encircled by the Water-Fire Lotus, and beyond that by seven hundred flying swords, and beyond that by the great phantom of the dragon tail, and beyond that by endless rain.

In that moment, Ji Ning seemed to become the very core of this world.

Even Dongzi Qi and the others felt their hearts shaken.

“Junior apprentice-brother Musi, stop him!” Dongzi Qi ordered.

“Leave it to me.” Musi’s cold face was filled with murderous intent. Outside the formation, thick, tough vines thrashed wildly and shot toward Ji Ning in an attempt to entangle him. These vines were not the ones Musi had summoned during their first exchange. Those had been hastily grown; these had been cultivated for a long time and had reached the peak of toughness.

Ji Ning kept smiling.

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh…” The enormous Water-Fire Lotus spun. After Ji Ning had comprehended the Dao Domain, the Water-Fire Lotus’s power had increased again.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The countless strands of rain, like blades, madly slashed at the vines, shattering countless small tendrils. Only the thick main vines remained, covered in wounds. When they encountered the crushing of the Water-Fire Lotus, they snapped and broke apart one by one.

Whoosh… More lotuses bloomed around Ji Ning, sprouting out of nowhere. Lotus leaves opened in an endless barrage.

The killing was unceasing.

None of the vines could get within a hair’s breadth of Ji Ning.

“Break.” Ji Ning looked at the white light tower formation and spoke softly.

Roar…

The faint sound of a dragon’s cry rose. The massive tail lashed out, slamming heavily into the white light tower formation. Every scale on the tail was clearly visible, and the power was astonishing. With a thunderous crash, the light tower formation shattered. The moment it broke, the rain swept the three formation flags away.

He had broken three of their five defensive layers in an instant.

“Go! Devour his soul!” The gray-robed elder shook his large silk banner. Unlike Bei Zishan, who had used countless ordinary human souls refined from resentful ghosts, this elder had refined beast souls from powerful monsters. His guilt was much lighter. Though its power didn’t match a true Ten Thousand Ghost Banner, it was far stronger than Bei Zishan’s unfinished version.

The beast souls let out silent shrieks. They shot straight at Ji Ning, ignoring the rain and the Water-Fire Lotus, and plunged directly into his body.

Ji Ning smiled calmly.

Inside his sea of consciousness, the Nuwa statue shone with boundless light, enveloping the beast souls. The once-fierce beast souls revealed expressions of relief. They prostrated themselves toward Ji Ning and the Nuwa statue in gratitude, then vanished, entering the cycle of reincarnation.

…

“What?!” The gray-robed elder saw the color of his banner grow dim, and his expression changed drastically. “All my beast souls are gone.”

Dongzi Qi and the others had been watching eagerly, but when they heard this, their hearts turned cold.

Ji Ning walked forward.

Lotuses bloomed one after another…

Rain surrounded him…

“Time for you to die.” A strand of sword-light coalesced before Ji Ning, then vanished into the rain. Another strand followed, and another, as Ji Ning released endless lines of sword-light.

Boom!

With Ji Ning’s current power, a single strand of sword-light could directly cut down and destroy the eight blood-colored flood dragons that were roaming around. The gray-robed elder, the eagle-beaked man, and the others all cried out in panic, realizing that death had arrived. They pulled out Dao talismans, activated magic treasures, each of them fighting with their last breath.

“Boom!” “Boom!”

The rain swirled around them like a copper wall, and the Water-Fire Lotus bloomed in layer after layer, blocking every assault.

Ji Ning threw all his strength into it, utterly crushing the six Zifu Disciples.

“Pfft!” With a bitter, unwilling cry, Musi’s head was the first to fly. The nine sword-lights of Ji Ning’s Lesser Thousand Sword Formation had all turned into raindrops, mingling with the endless rain to slaughter them one by one.