The Massacre of the First Wave

“Junior apprentice-brother Musi!” Dongzi Qi and the others watched Mu Si’s head fly through the air, their hearts turning to ice. Earlier, when they had eight Zifu Disciples in formation, Ji Ning had still managed to kill two of them. Now, with only six of them in formation… after Ji Ning had broken through their layers of defenses, killing them was indeed as easy as turning over his hand.

“Kill!” “Fight him to the death!”

The hook-nosed man, the gray-robed elder, and the black-robed female cultivator all went berserk. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to flee, but trapped within the formation the Ji Clan had laid down, where could they run? Only by staking everything on a life-or-death struggle might they find a sliver of hope.

“Struggling is futile.” Ji Ning strolled forward. The thick, wildly coiling vines around him rapidly dissolved into nothingness.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The rain fell like silk threads, and within those silk threads were strands of sword-light from the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation, as sharp and deadly as the rain itself.

“Ah!” The black-robed female cultivator, though protected by a hazy golden light covering her body, widened her eyes as a thread of sword-light swept past her neck, sending her beautiful head flying into the air.

Another one dead!

“Die!” The gray-robed elder’s Dao talisman transformed into a massive fire phoenix, which spread its wings and once again flew toward Ji Ning. However, the wall of water formed by the rain around Ji Ning blocked the phoenix. BOOM! The violent explosion shattered the water wall, causing Ji Ning’s Water-Fire Lotus to tremble.

But Ji Ning himself continued to walk toward them, step by step.

“Die.” Ji Ning’s gaze fell upon the gray-robed elder. The elder’s expression shifted, and he hurriedly swung his large cloth banner behind him, for a thread of silken rain was striking at him from the rear.

Chiii!

Another thread of silken rain pierced through the gray-robed elder’s brow, penetrating his brain. Shock and fury filled his eyes before he crashed heavily to the ground.

“Attack you with two sword-threads at once, and you still won’t die?” Ji Ning willed it, and streams of sword-light shot out, attacking the others.

“Junior apprentice-sister Lu! Senior apprentice-brother An! Junior apprentice-brother Mu!” “Junior apprentice-sister Lu!”

The remaining cultivators—the hook-nosed man, Dongzi Qi, and the gaunt man—all had ashen faces. In an instant, three of their six had died! The power of the sword-light transformed into silken rain was simply too great. With the boost from the grand formation and the sword domain, it had reached the level of a Wanxiang Adept’s attack. Facing it alone, they had no chance of survival.

“Ji Ning! You will die!” Dongzi Qi roared, his eyes wild as he stared at Ji Ning. “Kill us, disciples of Snowdragon Mountain, and our sect will not let this go!” “You will surely die.” “Our Snowdragon Mountain has many more disciples. We will wipe out your Ji Clan!”

All three of them had completely lost their minds.

Chiii!

The hook-nosed man and Dongzi Qi were simultaneously attacked by three threads of sword-light. If only a single thread had attacked them, they might have been able to block it. But with three threads of silken rain swirling around them, how could they possibly defend? Both of them had their brows pierced through, and their eyes held shock, fury, and unwillingness as they fell.

“I, Dongzi Qi, the number one man of Yan Mountain, am actually dying at the hands of this Ji Ning! I am not resigned to this! Not resigned!”

“Hatred! Hatred! If I had known, I would never have come.”

Both were once outstanding figures of their time. In truth, without the boost of the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation, if Ji Ning had fought with only his early Zifu-stage Yuan power, either Dongzi Qi or the hook-nosed man could have fought him for a long time. But with the formation’s boost, they died in a single exchange.

“Pfft.” The last, gaunt man’s neck was also sliced open, but the muscles on his neck writhed and healed instantly.

“Fiendgod Body Refiner?” Ji Ning’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Ji Ning, can you spare my life?” The gaunt man took a step back, looking at Ji Ning. Although he was at the mid-stage of Fiendgod Body Refining, he had lost all confidence. The gap in their strength was too great… with the boost of the grand formation and the Rainwater Sword Domain, Ji Ning’s power was on par with a Wanxiang Adept. He was completely outclassed!

Ji Ning let out a soft laugh. “At this point, do you think I will spare any of you?”

Boom!

The black wings behind Ji Ning fluttered, and he pounced toward the gaunt man with explosive speed.

“Ji Ning!” the gaunt man bellowed, wielding a black staff. “Ji Ning! Snowdragon Mountain will definitely destroy your Ji Clan and kill you!”

Pfft!

Three threads of sword-light sliced through his body. Though his Fiendgod body was tough, he was still cut into four pieces by the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation’s blades. Ji Ning, flying straight toward him, directed the Water-Fire Lotus. The lotus spun, grinding and crushing the gaunt man’s remains. His body was instantly reduced to meat paste. Although the paste madly tried to reform, under the relentless grinding of the Water-Fire Lotus, it dissipated completely after only a few breaths of time.

Silence descended.

The rain fell like silk, like mist. The Water-Fire Lotus continued to spin and bloom, and Ji Ning, standing within the lotus, swept his gaze across the area. Dongzi Qi and the others lay scattered on the ground, utterly still. All of them were dead.

“Dead.” Ji Ning’s voice was soft. “This batch of Zifu Disciples is completely eliminated. Only the other batch remains.”

Of the two batches of Snowdragon Mountain Zifu Disciples that had entered the formation, the first batch of twelve was completely annihilated.

It wasn’t that they were weak; it was that Ji Ning was too strong!

In truth, even with the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation, it would have been very difficult for the Ji Clan to kill these twelve. Earlier, Ji Liuzhen, Old Servant Axing, and the others had tried to attack. Aside from the initial ambush where they killed four, once Dongzi Qi and his seven companions had set up their formation, the Ji Clan could no longer gain the upper hand. But Ji Ning, using the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation to compensate for his weakness in Yuan power, and wielding the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation and the Rainwater Sword Domain, had reached the strength of a Wanxiang Adept. That was why he had been able to crush them so thoroughly.

On the mountainside.

Ji Jiuhuo, the commander of the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation, revealed a look of surprise and delight, trembling slightly with excitement.

“Patriarch?” Ji Yichuan, standing beside him, looked at him.

“He won. Ji Ning won.” Ji Jiuhuo was overjoyed. “Dongzi Qi and the others have all been killed by Ji Ning. Every single one of the first batch of twelve Snowdragon Mountain Zifu Disciples who entered the formation is dead. Not one remains.”

Ji Yichuan’s heart trembled as he heard this. “All of them are dead?”

“Yes.” Ji Jiuhuo nodded heavily.

Both of them were excited and almost unable to believe it. After all, they were just the Ji Clan, a mere tribe in Yan Mountain. Facing a behemoth like Snowdragon Mountain, a group of Zifu Disciples like this would have terrified any ordinary tribe. Even Ji Jiuhuo had only been hoping to buy time until the arrival of the Grand Xia Dynasty’s envoy. He had never imagined they would actually kill twelve Zifu Disciples in a single breath, without losing a single member of their own clan!

“Now only the other batch remains,” Ji Jiuhuo said. “The batch led by Tongyu and Nong Zidao.”

“Kill them, and we’ve won for sure.” Ji Yichuan pressed. “Especially Nong Zidao. If we kill him, I don’t believe Snowdragon Mountain can find another formation master anytime soon.”

“If Nong Zidao dies in this second batch, our Ji Clan will almost certainly have victory in hand.” Ji Yichuan nodded.

Snowdragon Mountain might send more Zifu Disciples… but formation masters were rare. Nong Zidao had only come because of Tongyu’s personal invitation. Within the area near Yan Mountain, apart from Nong Zidao, Snowdragon Mountain had no other powerful formation masters among its disciples.

…

Within the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation, demonic miasma filled the air.

Nong Zidao was frowning, his mind completely absorbed in calculating the intricacies of the formation’s maze. He had nearly all of his mental energy focused on it.

The other Zifu Disciples formed a ring around him, staying vigilant.

Tongyu stood beside Nong Zidao, exuding an aura of invincibility, as if he could hold off an army all by himself.

Suddenly—

“Ji Ning!” “It’s Ji Ning!” “Junior apprentice-brother Musi, stop him!” Shouts rang out from the distance.

“Fight him to the death!” “Junior apprentice-sister Lu! Senior apprentice-brother An! Junior apprentice-brother Mu!” Mournful cries followed. “Ji Ning, you will die!” “Ji Ning! Snowdragon Mountain will wipe out your Ji Clan! We’ll kill you!” Curses, both frantic and bitter, echoed through the air.

Then, a deathly silence. Not a single sound.

Nong Zidao had already opened his eyes. Tongyu’s expression was grave. The other Zifu Disciples around them all wore ugly looks.

“Junior apprentice-brother Dongzi!” Tongyu shouted loudly, his voice reverberating through the formation.

There was no answer.

Not a single answer.

“They’re dead.” Nong Zidao’s voice was hoarse. “All of them.”

“We, we… Senior apprentice-brother Zidao, Senior apprentice-brother Tongyu…” The red-haired cultivator spoke hesitantly, and the others looked at Tongyu and Nong Zidao with growing unease. A full twelve Zifu Disciples had been killed! How could this not fill them with worry and fear?

Tongyu let out a low growl. “Listen to my orders. Junior apprentice-brother Zidao, continue studying how to break the formation. Immortal Crane and Dijia, protect him. The six of us will set up the Duan Formation to further protect him.”

“Yes!”

Immediately, the Duan Formation flared to life.

“All of you focus on defense.” A golden light blazed in Tongyu’s eyes as he scanned their surroundings. “If that Ji Ning dares to come, I will deal with him.”

“Leave it all to Senior apprentice-brother Tongyu,” Nong Zidao said. At the same time, he thrust eighteen formation flags into the ground within a three-zhang radius around him. Instantly, a black-glowing tower manifested, completely enveloping and protecting him. Only Nong Zidao, Immortal Crane, and Dijia remained within the tower’s black light.

“Rest assured!” Tongyu’s gaze was calm, his killing intent soaring. As a Zifu Perfection Fiendgod Body Refiner who had also cultivated divine abilities, he had combat power rivaling a Wanxiang Adept. How could he possibly fear Ji Ning?

…

The sun hung high in the sky.

Within the manor of a great city’s lord.

Dong Fanyu, one of the two Dong elders, was seated there. A young man beside him smiled and said, “Senior Dong, please wait a moment. The clan leader will be here very soon.”

“No rush, no rush.” Dong Fanyu replied with a smile.

There were four people in total who had been sent out by the Snowdragon Mountain Yan Mountain branch to invite fellow disciples: the two Dong elders, Mu Si, and Ju Nianxiong. Mu Si, having successfully invited Tongyu and Nong Zidao, had felt it was sufficient and returned ahead of schedule. According to the original plan, each of them was supposed to invite roughly ten Zifu Disciples. The two Dong elders and Ju Nianxiong had been traveling together, inviting people along the way. Some of the Zifu Disciples they invited had already set off for Snowdragon Mountain. They were still continuing their journey, aiming to invite about ten each. They had no idea what was happening in Yan Mountain right now.

“Senior apprentice-brother Fanyu.” A deep, resonant voice rang out. A silver-robed, middle-aged man strode out. “The last time I saw you, it was at Yan Mountain, a hundred years ago. My servants told me you had an important matter to discuss. What is it?”

“Great news!” Dong Fanyu’s face was full of smiles.

…

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