The Awakened Fiendgod

Ji Ning, Mu Northson, and Qingqing the Skygreen Serpent all felt a sliver of killing intent emanating from that ancient Fiendgod. To this ancient Fiendgod, they were little more than ants; whether to kill them or not made little difference. Still, having been slumbering deep within the magma beneath the earth, being awakened naturally stirred some anger within him. The Dragon Whale great demon, the true culprit, was the first to be slain, while Ji Ning and the others were merely innocent bystanders caught in the blast.

“No.” Mu Northson felt that sliver of killing intent, and despair began to rise in his heart.

Was he about to die?

“No. I can’t die. I can’t die! I only just entered the Black-White College. I swore an oath at my mother’s grave… I’m going to make the Mulans regret their decision! I haven’t done it yet. I haven’t done anything yet. I won’t accept this. I refuse to accept this.” Mu Northson’s eyes were filled with endless anxiety and unwillingness, but under that overwhelming pressure, he couldn’t even change his facial expression.

“Are we going to die?” Qingqing was wrapped around Mu Northson’s arm. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the towering, ancient Fiendgod. The feeling it gave her was as if it were the vast heavens and earth themselves. She could not muster a single shred of will to resist.

“What a pity, to die on this wooden blockhead. If I have to die, I should at least die together with my master,” Qingqing thought to herself, looking in Ji Ning’s direction, but the rocks blocked her view.

Ji Ning, too, felt death pressing closer than ever before.

Never had he felt it so strongly. Even when he had braved the three trials of the aquatic palace, he had never felt so powerless! Without any means of resistance… this feeling of being so close to death filled Ji Ning with unwillingness.

“I still haven’t destroyed Snowdragon Mountain.”

“I haven’t even become a supreme figure of the Three Realms.”

“Father, Mother… I still need to see if my parents are doing well after their reincarnation.”

“And Sister Qiuye… she must still be waiting for me.”

Ji Ning felt powerless.

Although a pendant hung from his chest—a protective treasure given to him by his master, the Diancai Immortal—and he could summon the protective sword-qi within it with a single thought, what use would this sword-qi be against a Fiendgod that could crush a Primal-level great demon like an ant? It could only hold for a single breath against a Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal.

“Activate.” Ji Ning focused his mind. The protective sword-qi within the pendant, which he had already refined, surged outwards following his will.

Even if it was useless…

He still had to try.

“Oh?” The ancient Fiendgod’s vertical pupil turned to stare at Ji Ning. The omnipresent power was now pressing down on him completely, also suppressing the pendant. The protective sword-qi within the pendant tried to surge out, but the boundless, formless force directly suppressed it, preventing it from escaping.

It was pushed back!

Ji Ning focused his will and triggered it again.

It was pushed back again!

“How can this be?” Ji Ning felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

A flicker of surprise appeared in the ancient Fiendgod’s vertical pupil as it looked at Ji Ning, muttering to itself, “A Sword Immortal? A Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal? The sword-qi is heavy yet sharp. Although it’s different from the Northstar Immortal who hunted me back then, it’s equally astonishing. This human kid has such a powerful Sword Immortal backing him.”

“That Sword Immortal might have fellow disciples or seniors behind him,” the ancient Fiendgod thought to itself. “Better to leave. The last time I was hunted, it was bad enough.”

From the Fiendgod Era to the present, it knew very well how terrifying the human race could be.

Kill the young, and the old come. Kill the old, and a whole crowd of elders come!

There were far too many strong experts among humanity. They could even directly send a large group of Immortals to surround and attack him. It had suffered losses time and time again, which had made it incredibly cautious. It was precisely because of this caution that it had survived until now. Otherwise, it would have been slain or suppressed by the human race long ago!

Most importantly, humans cultivated far too quickly!

Fiendgods were favored by heaven and earth, born strong and growing naturally, without even having to undergo the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations. Those tribulations were only for Ki Refiners! However, Fiendgods were also far slower in their comprehension. Their cultivation was generally measured in tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of years. Cultivation required an extremely long time.

But what about humans? A human could become an Immortal in a few hundred years! A few hundred years? To a Fiendgod, that was an incredibly short period of time.

Their terrifying reproductive rate, their powerful comprehension, and their rapid rate of improvement… all of this had made humanity the true leader, the true overlord of all races on this land and throughout the entire Three Realms! Even Fiendgods had to yield before them.

“Oh? A Loose Immortal has arrived.”

The ancient Fiendgod glanced towards a distant point in the void. Killing that Loose Immortal would still be exceptionally easy for it. But did it dare to kill him? It did not, because it knew very well that this Loose Immortal should be one of the Yinglong Guard’s Loose Immortals. If it killed one, it would soon rouse dozens or even hundreds of Loose Immortals… Especially in the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty, which might even send some ancient, undying old freaks.

“Time to go.” The ancient Fiendgod’s body instantly emerged from the earth. With a single step…

Whoosh.

The very void twisted. The ancient Fiendgod stepped directly into the distorted space and vanished.

The fragments of stone that had been floating in mid-air, as well as the splashing droplets of water, all fell back to the earth. For a moment, it was as if the sky were collapsing and the earth cracking apart.

“It left?” Ji Ning stared at the scene in astonishment. He then glanced at the Dragon Whale’s corpse lying on the ground beside him. With a wave of his hand, he stored the thousand-zhang-long corpse of the Dragon Whale great demon into his storage treasure.

After breaking through to the early Wanxiang stage, Ji Ning had also switched to an Earth-ranked storage bracer.

It was a piece of loot he had seized from a slain Wanxiang-level great demon. Its space was quite large, but the corpse of the Dragon Whale great demon still filled over half of it.

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Mu Northson ran over excitedly as well.

“Master.” Qingqing transformed into a streak of green light, directly coiling around Ji Ning’s arm.

Having brushed so close to death, both of their minds had undergone a subtle change.

“Senior apprentice-brother, why did that Fiendgod leave?” Mu Northson asked hurriedly. “And why didn’t it kill us?”

“I don’t know either.” Ji Ning shook his head. Although the ancient Fiendgod had muttered to itself, the space around them had been sealed, preventing sound from traveling. Naturally, he hadn’t heard a thing.

Just then…

A blood-robed elder suddenly appeared in mid-air. This blood-robed elder wore a tall crown, and his splendid blood-red robe was exceedingly luxurious. However, his eyes now held a trace of unwillingness. “It escaped. It sure ran fast. Lucky for it.” He had sensed the fluctuations here and rushed over immediately, but he had sensed the Fiendgod beginning to flee while he was still on his way.

He had given chase, but unfortunately, he hadn’t caught it.

“You three.” The blood-robed elder appeared in mid-air, then looked down at Ji Ning, Mu Northson, and Qingqing.

As his gaze fell upon them, Ji Ning and the others felt a chill run down their spines.

“You should have seen the Fiendgod that appeared earlier, right?” the blood-robed elder said coldly. Gradually, the surrounding heaven and earth began to freeze, and Ji Ning, Mu Northson, and Qingqing all felt an invisible pressure on their bodies. It was very similar to the technique that Fiendgod had used. However, this pressure was far weaker than the Fiendgod’s.

Even so, the Immortal before them still made Ji Ning and the others feel they were no match for him.

“Tell me, what did it look like?” The blood-robed elder pointed at Qingqing. “You, little demon, speak first.”

Qingqing’s face was filled with terror as she spoke, “It was an enormous Fiendgod. Its palm alone was a thousand zhang across, and its body was ten thousand zhang tall! Its body seemed to be made of gathered magma and rock. It had one vertical pupil, one nose, and one mouth. It had no hair, and there was even magma faintly visible on its head.”

A flicker of shock appeared in the blood-robed elder’s eyes. Him? Only now did he know which Fiendgod it was. This also sent a chill through him… It was a close call. Good thing he hadn’t caught up. If he really had caught up, he probably would have lost his life. He then pointed at Mu Northson. “You, speak.”

As soon as the words fell…

Mu Northson felt a formless force guide his soul. Although his consciousness was perfectly clear, his mouth couldn’t control itself as it began to speak. “It emerged from the underground magma, its entire body a fiery red. A formless, binding force pressed down on us, making it impossible for us to resist in the slightest. It had one vertical pupil, one nose, one mouth…”

“You, speak.” The blood-robed elder pointed at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning also felt a formless divine sense instantly invade his sea of consciousness.

However, Ji Ning’s powerful divine sense fought back.

Boom!

A silent, soundless clash of divine senses. Although the blood-robed elder held an absolute advantage, he was unable to control Ji Ning like a puppet.

“Oh? Your soul is this powerful?” The blood-robed elder looked at Ji Ning. “Which sect are you from?”

“This junior is a disciple of the Black-White College, Ji Ning. My master is the Diancai Immortal,” Ji Ning said respectfully. “This person beside me is my junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson. As for this Skygreen Serpent, it is a spirit-beast I just accepted in the Mount Yujue Wasteland.”

“The Diancai Immortal? The Black-White College?”

The blood-robed elder nodded calmly, remaining just as aloof. “Let me ask you, when the Fiendgod appeared… why didn’t it kill all of you?”

“I don’t know,” Ji Ning shook his head.

“I don’t know either,” Mu Northson said as well.

Qingqing obediently shook her head too, not daring to make a sound.

The blood-robed elder knew very well that this ancient Fiendgod had a strange temper and often killed humans out of spite. However, because it was always cautious and low-key, it generally refrained from killing cultivators with powerful backgrounds. As a result, the Grand Xia Dynasty’s pursuit of this Fiendgod was not overly aggressive.

If it slaughtered wantonly, killing many figures with powerful backing, the Grand Xia Dynasty would fly into a rage and launch a full-scale pursuit. It probably wouldn’t take more than a few days to capture it alive!

“You three are lucky to have escaped with your lives from that Fiendgod.” The blood-robed elder barked, “But do not spread word of this matter. If you do, the Yinglong Guard will hold you accountable!”

“Yes,” Ji Ning, Mu Northson, and Qingqing all replied in unison.

The blood-robed elder waved his hand dismissively. “Leave this place immediately.”

Not daring to hesitate, Ji Ning and the others boarded a dragon-headed warship, turning into a streak of light as they rapidly departed.

Whoosh.

Another figure appeared in mid-air. It was a silver-haired youth with flowing hair and wearing a tall crown, followed by a stalwart old man in armor.

“A Fiendgod appeared?” the silver-haired youth asked with a smile.

“Which one was it?”

Ji Ning had guessed that the appearance of this ancient Fiendgod would cause some disturbances, but that was a problem for the Immortals to worry about. It was far too distant from him.

“Senior apprentice-brother, we really came back from the brink of death this time. We almost couldn’t make it back alive.” Mu Northson sighed as he looked at the clouds around them, gazing down at the endless, wild lands below. “It feels so good to be alive.”

“It feels so good to be alive,” Ji Ning agreed with a nod.

If he had actually died there, it would have been far too unjust. He still had so many things he hadn’t done!