The Hunters and the Hunted

Deep within the secluded earth.

Ji Ning sat cross-legged, a thin strand of Earthfire constantly being drawn into his body and into his Violet Palace. The Golden Flame Earthfire Vein that had seeped out from the crack deep underground had already grown noticeably weaker than before.

“Hm?” Mu Northson’s expression suddenly changed.

“What’s wrong?” Qingqing immediately looked over.

“Someone’s coming,” Mu Northson said solemnly. “It might be a demon. In short, some living creature has broken into the mountain belly.”

Earlier, he had left a warning formation in the mountain belly. Since the formation was meant for ‘warning,’ it was naturally extremely covert, so covert that it didn’t even have Yuan energy fluctuations. Anyone who broke into the cave would inadvertently trigger it. However, Mu Northson could not discern the identity of the intruder.

“Activate the illusion formation,” Mu Northson immediately ordered. “Even if it’s a Wanxiang Adept or a great demon… even if they enter the underground river and look this way from afar, they’ll be deceived by the illusion formation.”

“Alright.” Qingqing quickly activated the illusion formation that Ji Ning had given her back then.

At this moment, Wanxiang Adept Dongyi of Snowdragon Mountain was in a fine mood. He led the other two Adepts, who were quite familiar with the path, towards the underground river.

“This really is hidden well.” The black-robed, bald woman beside him laughed.

The bald man in white next to her also nodded. “It seems you can only enter the mountain belly by using a遁术 (dun technique) — it would indeed be impossible to get in without divine sense. Brother Dongyi, how did you enter the mountain belly back then?”

“You’re wrong.” Dongyi shook his head. “This mountain belly originally had an extremely hidden entrance that connected to the outside world. I only discovered it by chance, but I destroyed that entrance afterwards.”

“I see.” Both the black-robed woman and the white-robed man nodded.

The three of them quickly arrived at the underground river.

“Look.” Dongyi pointed into the distance. “Follow this underground river and keep advancing. Before long, you’ll be able to see that Earthfire vein.”

“Once we find the Earthfire vein, my fellow apprentice and I will keep our promise.” The white-robed man smiled slightly.

“Good.” Dongyi nodded.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The three of them rapidly advanced along the underground river. After advancing for a short while, Dongyi suddenly raised his hand. “Stop.”

“What’s wrong?” The brother and sister pair both looked over.

“Something’s off.” Dongyi frowned as he stared ahead. “According to calculations, by now I should be able to see the Earthfire vein from afar. But I can’t see it.”

“What?!” The brother and sister were both startled.

“Are you playing us?!” The woman said sharply.

The white-robed senior brother next to her shook his head. “Don’t rush. Brother Dongyi has sworn a Heavenly Oath; there shouldn’t be any trick… Besides, I can faintly sense Yuan energy fluctuations ahead.”

“Fluctuations?” Dongyi and the black-robed woman both looked at him.

“Mm.” The white-robed senior brother nodded. “If we keep advancing, you’ll be able to sense them too.”

“As expected of Redleaf,” Dongyi thought to himself in surprise. “A genius disciple of the Blood Lotus Temple! Just in terms of soul perception alone, he’s a cut above me.” The reason he had chosen this pair of brother and sister was because he knew that ‘Redleaf’ was extremely powerful; if not for other matters delaying him, he would probably have already joined the Yinglong Guard.

Redleaf definitely had plenty of treasures on him. That was why Dongyi had made this deal with Redleaf.

After advancing another half a li, both Dongyi and the woman sensed the Yuan energy fluctuations.

“It’s an illusion formation,” the white-robed senior brother, Redleaf, said softly. “And a rather complex one at that. It seems, Brother Dongyi, that after you left, other cultivators entered.”

“How could it be such a coincidence?” Dongyi gritted his teeth.

He had no way of knowing that, long before him, the Skygreen Serpent had already known about this place.

“This illusion formation is a set of Earth-ranked treasures, and the one using it should be at the Wanxiang level,” Redleaf sent mentally. “And anyone coming to harvest Earthfire… is usually a Wanxiang Adept. If my guess is correct, they’ve already discovered our arrival. But since they haven’t attacked, they must not be confident in victory.”

“Right.” Dongyi and the black-robed woman both nodded.

“Wait a moment while I break this formation,” Redleaf said. “Both of you, stay outside the formation; don’t enter.”

“Be careful, big brother.” The black-robed woman quickly said.

“Relax.”

Redleaf’s eyes were filled with absolute confidence. He then strode directly towards the illusion formation.

Inside the illusion formation.

“It’s Dongyi, Hongrui, and Redleaf!” Mu Northson secretly peered through the illusion formation, watching the three people flying swiftly along the underground river from afar. His face immediately fell.

“Who are they?” Qingqing quickly asked.

“Dongyi is from Snowdragon Mountain; Hongrui and Redleaf are brother and sister from the Blood Lotus Temple,” Mu Northson said.

As the two of them were discussing this…

Ji Ning, who was sitting cross-legged and absorbing Earthfire, grew anxious. Because his soul was incomparably powerful — even stronger than many Primal Daoists — he had not sealed off his six senses while absorbing the Earthfire.

“Dongyi? Hongrui? Redleaf?” Ji Ning diverted a small part of his consciousness. “These three. Back in the Crimson Dragon Mountains, when we were all announcing our names… the moment Redleaf announced his, he startled a group of Wanxiang Adepts. Clearly, this Redleaf Adept is no ordinary character.”

“I have to speed up.”

Ji Ning had been very cautious before, prioritizing safety above all else. But in reality, he could accelerate a bit more and still handle it; it would only be a slightly greater risk.

“Absorb!”

A thin strand of Earthfire continuously flowed from Ji Ning’s mouth into his Violet Palace.

Within his Violet Palace, the ‘Earthfire Island’ that sat opposite the ‘Cold-Sha Island’ grew more and more Earthfire.

Outside the formation, Redleaf walked towards the illusion formation while calling out loudly: “I wonder which fellow Daoist is within the formation? Please, withdraw this illusion formation now. We can discuss everything amicably. If not… if I am forced to break through by force, matters will turn ugly.”

“Redleaf.” An icy voice came from within the formation. “You should leave now, and leave quietly. If you truly try to break the formation, this will be a fight to the death!”

“Whose voice is that?”

Redleaf frowned. In the distance, Dongyi and Hongrui frowned as well. Every one of the hundred candidates for the Yinglong Guard was familiar with each other’s voices, but they couldn’t identify this one.

“He called out my name, so he must be one of the hundred,” Redleaf mused. “But he’s deliberately disguising his voice and even threatening me with ‘fight to the death’… If his strength were truly great, why would he resort to such tactics?”

Redleaf sneered and strode directly into the illusion formation.

The moment he entered the formation, his surroundings turned into a blur of chaos, with drifting mist making it impossible to tell direction. Standing within the formation, Redleaf casually took a few steps, sensed the changes in the formation, and immediately laughed.

“Little sister, Brother Dongyi! I can break this formation within an hour!” Redleaf’s voice rang out directly.

Time crept by, second by second.

A killing intent flickered within Mu Northson and Qingqing.

“There are only three of them,” Mu Northson said through gritted teeth. “Qingqing, you handle the woman who looks the weakest. Leave the other two to me.”

“Can you manage?” Qingqing looked at him.

“Relax. I still have techniques that my master gave me, techniques I’ve never used before. I’ll wipe them both out in one go. Do you think the disciples of the Black-White College are easy prey?” Mu Northson’s eyes flickered coldly.

“Mm, I’ve heard of your Black-White College’s reputation. I heard that every single one of you is a peerless genius,” Qingqing nodded. “Leave that woman to me…”

Mu Northson and Qingqing were both on high alert, fully prepared for battle.

“Absorb!”

Ji Ning was also absorbing Earthfire at an even faster rate.

A massive Dragon Whale Great Demon appeared in the air above a low-lying mountain peak. Gazing down at the peak, his emerald-green eyes burned with boundless killing intent.

“Is this the place? Human brat Ji Ning… I hope you’re still here!”

The Dragon Whale King moved his mind.

Boom!

An overwhelming wave of divine sense swept downwards, spreading across the area. Having cultivated for over ten thousand years, his soul was incomparably powerful, and his Dao-heart was extremely firm. Thus, just one day after breaking through to become a Primal great demon… he had already gained divine sense! Some Primal Daoists would take a year or half a year before gaining their divine sense after their breakthrough. A difference in foundation led to a difference in the time it took to gain divine sense. For someone like Ji Ning, who had gained divine sense while still at the Zifu stage… that was so monstrous it defied reason. No wonder everyone thought he was a reincarnated Immortal.

His divine sense covered a hundred li of land.

The low mountain peak below was completely within its range.

“Hm? Nothing?” The Dragon Whale King frowned. “No… there’s a warning formation inside the mountain belly.” His divine sense swept through, revealing every detail with perfect clarity. The extremely covert warning formation — which even Redleaf and Dongyi hadn’t noticed — was easily discovered by the Dragon Whale King.

“There must be people inside.” Whoosh!

The Dragon Whale Great Demon dove several dozen li straight down to the low mountain peak. With a single遁术 (dun technique), he entered the mountain belly.

Inside the mountain belly.

The Dragon Whale Great Demon continued to spread his divine sense.

“Hahaha…” A savage grin spread across the Dragon Whale Great Demon’s face. This time, he easily discovered the group of human cultivators by the underground river, less than a hundred li away.

“Human brat Ji Ning is absorbing Earthfire? And there are other human cultivators outside, trying to break a formation?” The Dragon Whale King sneered coldly. “These humans, killing each other… how laughable. What a pity. They all must die.”

“I’ll set up a Locking Space Formation around the area first, then kill every last one of them.”

The Dragon Whale Great Demon immediately began his preparations.

Neither Dongyi, Hongrui, nor Redleaf detected the Dragon Whale King’s arrival. He deliberately avoided the range of the warning formation. Only one person discovered him… and that was Ji Ning!

When the Dragon Whale King’s divine sense swept out, Ji Ning’s own divine sense naturally detected it.

After all, purely in terms of divine sense, Ji Ning was even stronger than the Dragon Whale King.

“Divine sense?” Ji Ning was shocked. “A Primal Daoist? A Primal great demon?”

Ji Ning was truly alarmed.

He immediately slowed his absorption of the Earthfire and sent his own divine sense spreading in all directions. Instantly, he discovered the Dragon Whale King, who had just used a遁术 (dun technique) to reach the air above the low mountain peak. The Dragon Whale King was already sticking formation flags into the ground all around, setting up a Locking Space Formation.

“Hahaha… human brat?” The Dragon Whale King sensed Ji Ning’s divine sense and sent a mental message. “I have to thank you. If it weren’t for you, how could I have broken through and become a Primal so quickly? Hahaha… to thank you, I’ll kill all those human cultivators who were trying to deal with you. Of course, you’ll all die as well. Hahaha…”

Swoosh.

The Dragon Whale Great Demon used a遁术 (dun technique) to enter the mountain belly. Very soon, he was advancing along the underground river, charging straight towards them.

Meanwhile, Dongyi and Hongrui were still watching outside the formation, while ‘Redleaf’ was hard at work trying to break it.

“The Wanxiang Adept inside the formation is dead for sure.” Hongrui’s eyes were filled with anticipation.

“Right.” Dongyi was also looking forward to it.

Dongyi had no idea… that inside the formation were the people he feared the most — Ji Ning and Mu Northson. And at this very moment, behind them, the Dragon Whale King was charging towards them! What was more, a Locking Space Formation had already been set up all around them. There was no escape.