The Snare on the Wasteland

“We need to kill them, certainly,” a young man with disheveled hair said in a low voice, “but don’t forget what happened before. The six of us ganged up on that pair of Donghe siblings earlier, and Donghe Feiyun still managed to escape! These two Black-White College disciples may only be at Wanxiang Adept (mid) and Wanxiang (early) for Fiendgod Body Refining. But they are Black-White College disciples after all. They might have some protective treasures on them. If we aren’t careful… they might just slip away, too. Then we wouldn’t just fail to kill them—we’d have made powerful enemies.”

“Brother Jihe is right,” said the golden-robed Dong Yi, nodding. “That Ji Ning has some grudges with my Snowdragon Mountain. I know him well. His talent is monstrous, his cultivation speed terrifying. If he escapes, he’ll definitely become another enemy.”

They said this, but the six Wanxiang Adepts present weren’t truly afraid of making enemies. Walking the Immortal path means fighting for that sliver of hope to become an Immortal!

“We need to be more thorough,” said the only woman among the six.

“When we strike, we need to do it in the first instant. One lethal blow, killing them before they can react.”

The six cultivators discussed quietly among themselves. Fighting Wanxiang-level great demons was easy. But against Black-White College disciples, even if only one was Wanxiang (mid) and another was Wanxiang (early) Fiendgod Body Refiner (Crimsonbright Diagram, ninth layer, being equivalent to this level), they didn’t dare take it lightly. You couldn’t judge Black-White College disciples by ordinary standards. If both had been at Wanxiang Perfection, these six probably wouldn’t have chosen to fight.

“At least our foundations are much higher than theirs, and we’re working together. I refuse to believe we can’t kill them.” This was the reasoning that convinced the six.

Ji Ning, however, sensed nothing yet. He was still discussing the human slaves with his junior apprentice-brother.

Then—

“Hm?” Ji Ning turned his head. Through the ship’s gunwale, he saw a warship flying toward them in the distance. “That warship… a hundred cultivators dispersed earlier. That one from the Lieking Sword Sect, Beihe Zhou… I think that was his puppet-warship.”

A cultivator’s memory was extraordinary. Ji Ning remembered every word spoken by every one of the hundred people, every name they gave.

“Senior apprentice-brother, it’s that Beihe Zhou of the Lieking Sword Sect,” Mu Northson said softly.

“Mm.” Ji Ning nodded, watching from afar.

The warship was approaching them. What did it want?

“Hahaha…” A graceful white-robed man stood at the bow of the warship, looking over at them and laughing. “What luck, to run into two fellow Daoists from the Black-White College out here. Beihe Zhou greets you.”

“Yes, quite a coincidence,” Ji Ning replied with a smile. “It seems Brother Beihe has already obtained his Wanxiang great demon corpse.”

Since the other was greeting them with a smile and held no grudge, Ji Ning wouldn’t return coldness.

“Just luck,” Beihe Zhou said warmly. “Meeting here is fate. How about coming over to my ship? We can share some wine.”

“Share wine?” Ji Ning thought to himself.

If it were just a few polite words, that would be fine.

But inviting him onto the warship—that made Ji Ning alert. After all, that was his opponent’s turf. Ji Ning immediately willed it, unleashing his Divine Sense. It spread out, covering the warship completely. When he saw the full picture, Ji Ning was shocked.

Inside the warship, five people were hiding.

“Everyone be careful. Once Ji Ning and Mu Northson board the ship, we’ll activate the formation immediately. Kill them as fast as possible.”

“Mm. The longer we delay, the more chance for things to go wrong. We have to be fast.”

“Once they’re on the ship, they’re dead.”

They were whispering to each other, but since this was a puppet-warship, it was filled with restrictive formations. No sound could leak out. Only Ji Ning, with his Divine Sense, could detect all of this.

“An ambush!” The word surfaced in Ji Ning’s mind. “I can’t believe we’ve run into an ambush the moment we arrived at Mount Yujue Wasteland.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, should we go over?” Mu Northson looked at Ji Ning. With a thin face, he didn’t want to refuse the warm invitation.

“Junior apprentice-brother,” Ji Ning sent mentally, “be careful. Don’t reveal anything. On that warship, there are five other Wanxiang Adepts hiding. They’re here to join the Yinglong Guard, just like us. Counting Beihe Zhou, that makes six—four Wanxiang Perfection, two Wanxiang (late).”

“What!” Thanks to Ji Ning’s warning, Mu Northson managed to keep a calm face on the outside, but he was shocked inside. He sent back, “Senior apprentice-brother, six cultivators? Why aren’t the other five showing themselves? Are they trying to…”

“Exactly. Ambush us,” Ji Ning replied.

“Daring to target us!” Mu Northson grew angry. “Let’s just kill them all.”

“Careful,” Ji Ning warned. “Don’t underestimate them. They aren’t ordinary Wanxiang great demons. They come from top sects and clans. Their techniques must be extraordinary. And with six working together… if you and I aren’t careful, we might actually die here today.”

Ji Ning was fairly confident in himself. With his Fiendgod Body Refining, his vitality was immense. And with his trump card Divine Ability, Starseizing Hand, he felt very secure. But his junior apprentice-brother was only at Wanxiang (mid)… his Yuan power was far inferior to theirs. Besides, his junior was only eighteen. In a chaotic battle, Ji Ning might not be able to protect him. If his junior apprentice-brother died here, Ji Ning would never forgive himself.

“Understood,” Mu Northson said, his alertness at its peak.

“Stay right next to me,” Ji Ning sent. “Don’t rush off anywhere. Follow my orders.”

“Alright.”

Having settled everything through mental transmission, they watched as Beihe Zhou, across from them, kept his warm smile on his face while waiting for an answer. He even added, “I’ve always admired and envied the disciples of the Black-White College. Meeting you two here today is my good fortune.”

“I’m flattered,” Ji Ning said, sounding apologetic. “But we still have things to do, so we can’t make it. Let’s meet up for a good drink after we pass the trials and both join the Yinglong Guard.”

“Oh.” Beihe Zhou cursed inwardly, but outwardly he kept a face of understanding. “Of course. Then we’ll wait until we become Yinglong Guards to celebrate.”

“Now!” Beihe Zhou sent the command instantly.

Inside the ship’s cabin, the five cultivators heard the command. They exchanged glances, nodded, and were about to shoot out.

But faster than them was Ji Ning!

The moment Ji Ning’s Divine Sense detected the five cultivators exchanging glances and nodding, ready to burst out, he willed it. Seven hundred twenty-nine human-ranked flying swords appeared around him.

“Junior apprentice-brother, attack!”

Around Mu Northson, two black, serpentine vipers appeared. Their surfaces rippled and shifted, spikes emerging from the scales covered in runes. The snakes’ auras turned savage and wild.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Five figures shot out like lightning. Gray light flickered on their bodies. The Locking Space Formation was already taking shape, anchored on the six cultivators. The area covered by the six became the formation’s range.

“What’s going on?” Beihe Zhou, Dong Yi, and the others all discovered with shock that Ji Ning and Mu Northson were already unleashing their techniques.

“Kill!”

“They know!”

“Hold nothing back!”

Beihe Zhou and the others reacted extremely fast. They each used their own powerful techniques. Linked through the formation, they shared Yuan power, their power skyrocketing.

“Freeze the World!” The golden-robed Dong Yi pointed from afar.

Instantly, a visible white, icy chill swept toward Ji Ning and the others. Ji Ning and Mu Northson stood atop the dragon-headed warship, which remained sealed shut to protect the humans inside. If not for the human slaves, they could have used Minor Teleportation Dao Talismans to escape.

But first, the human slaves.

Second, as proud graduates of the Black-White College, how could they flee without fighting?

Neither of them even mentioned escape. There was only one word: fight!

“Chilling miasma! This Dong Yi of the Snowdragon Mountain has actually nurtured a chilling miasma inside his body,” Ji Ning realized with shock. The Violet Palace was a mysterious place. It could nurture chilling miasmas, earthly fire, wind miasmas… all terrible forces of nature. After being nurtured, their power became astonishing.

But to nurture a chilling miasma, one first had to find a treasure land containing a naturally occurring miasma, then draw it into the body. Such places were priceless.

Having such a miasma was practically the same as having a Divine Ability.

“Wind!” The black-robed Xu Manquan pointed at Ji Ning and the others. Nine flying wheels spun at high speed in the air, turning into a massive cyclone-wheel that tore through the air, crushing toward the pair.

“No Self, No Sword!” The leader, Beihe Zhou, had nine flying swords floating in front of him. They shot across the sky, leaving nine trails of sword-light like rivers, descending toward Ji Ning.

“Nirvana!” Sammon Jihe put his palms together. Gray energy appeared around him, spreading toward Ji Ning and the others.

“Die.” Nongsan the Daoist smiled coldly and waved his hand. His whisk turned into three thousand strands of white silk, covering the sky as they swept forward.

“Break!” The only woman, Meng Liuqing, had a Dao talisman in her hand. She let out a sharp shout.

Boom!

Bolts of lightning appeared in the air, striking down at Ji Ning and Mu Northson.

All at once, six Wanxiang Adepts used their most vicious techniques. These were not rogue cultivators who lacked secret arts—they were true Adepts with ancient inheritances!

“Water-Fire Lotus!”

“Thorns Everywhere, the Second Stance of the Three-Foot Sword!”

A massive, vivid lotus bloomed, wrapping Ji Ning and Mu Northson completely. Ji Ning held his Northsea swords, ready for anything, and also executed the ninth layer of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation—his strongest sword-art, the second stance of the Three-Foot Sword.

“Serpent Swallows the Sky!” Mu Northson controlled from afar. Two massive, savage black snakes, each biting the other’s tail, formed a giant ring, carrying a terrifying devouring, crushing, and killing force as they swept forward.