The Secret of the Wings

As Shaoyan Nong was lost in his various thoughts, the other disciples of the Black-White College were also trying to console Ji Ning.

“Junior apprentice-brother, endure it for now,” Cangjiang sent mentally to Ji Ning. “Once we leave this Wujiang Immortal Estate, we won’t have to put up with Shaoyan Nong’s attitude.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” Yu Wei also sent mentally, her voice laced with concern. “We can’t fight Shaoyan Nong right now, but in the end, a true powerful cultivator relies on himself. At best, Shaoyan Nong will become Feathersouth God someday. But even if he does, the true leaders of the Shaoyan clan are still those old monsters who have lived for billions of years. Once you train to become a Celestial Immortal, the Shaoyan clan will have to treat you with respect and wouldn’t dare to slight you in the slightest. What is a mere Feathersouth God? Just a nominal leader.”

Ji Ning glanced at his senior apprentice-sister, Yu Wei.

He had met Lord Cui, the Judge of the Dead. He had met Granny Meng. He had even seen a powerful force attack the Six Paths of Reincarnation! And his own master, ‘Daoist Threelives,’ was an awe-inspiring figure of tremendous power within the Three Realms… Just as his senior apprentice-sister said, true power came from one’s own cultivation.

What was a mere clan like the Shaoyan clan, a tribe within the Great Xia Dynasty, one of the three thousand major worlds?

Once he achieved Celestial Immortal status, the Shaoyan clan would have to treat him with respect.

After all, fewer than one in ten thousand Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals would ever become a Celestial Immortal. A Celestial Immortal was a free and unfettered immortal who had already leaped out of the confines of the Three Realms.

“Senior apprentice-brother,” Mu Northson sent mentally. “If being with senior apprentice-sister Nine Lotos is making you unhappy, then I think you should just break it off. Of course, that’s just my opinion. You have to follow your true heart. Ask your own heart—do you really desire senior apprentice-sister Nine Lotos to be your Dao-companion?”

Ji Ning glanced at Mu Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother, say no more.”

In his heart…

Ji Ning did have feelings for Nine Lotos. In his past life and this one, he had never experienced romantic love before. He wasn’t exactly sure what his feelings for Nine Lotos were, but there was definitely a faint, hazy liking there. It was just that the recent conflicts had been festering in his heart!

“Gulp, gulp, gulp.” Ji Ning held his wine cup, drinking continuously. Though he was drinking frantically, the wine was being incinerated by the earthfire within his body time and again.

Nine Lotos sat cross-legged, glancing at Ji Ning who kept drinking.

“It seems Ji Ning is really angry.” Nine Lotos was troubled as well. “Why is Ji Ning like this? I already lowered my head. And this isn’t even a real issue; it’s far too common. This sort of thing is just some superficial socializing. Why is he so angry? If he gets angry about this and that, then when I become the leader of the Dongyan clan in the future, am I supposed to go along with everything he wants?”

“I’ll let him cool down. He should understand.”

She had been pampered and held high since she was a child, the designated heir of a major tribe.

He was a genius from a peaceful world in his past life, and in this life, a prodigy born from a native tribe.

Although they were attracted to each other, back when they were in the secluded paradise of Winged Serpent Lake, things were fine. But once they truly began to face real-world situations together, the contradictions started to intensify.

As both Ji Ning and Nine Lotos stewed in their own grievances…

Suddenly—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Multiple figures charged in with an aura of boundless, terrifying might. The Zifu Disciple death-sworn soldiers who had been standing at the outermost perimeter had their bodies directly smashed to pieces. Blood splattered everywhere. In the blink of an eye, the entire great hall had turned into a Shura hell, the ground covered in blood and shredded flesh.

“It’s puppets!” Shaoyan Nong, seated at the head of the hall, was shocked, but then his expression shifted to one of excitement and anticipation.

Puppet figures charged into the hall. Ji Ning and the others were scattered, sitting cross-legged behind their individual tables, and had no time to form a formation.

“That bastard Shaoyan Nong said those Zifu Disciple death-soldiers could hold them off for a while, but they couldn’t block them at all.” Ji Ning produced two Northsea swords in his hands, blocking a Qiongqi puppet that was charging straight at him.

BANG!

A single sword flash from Ji Ning sent the Qiongqi puppet flying back.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, protect junior apprentice-brother Northson,” Cangjiang sent mentally.

“I know. Don’t worry,” Ji Ning replied.

The main hall was enormous. Ji Ning and the others were seated in two rows. Nine Lotos, Cangjiang, and Yu Wei were on the opposite side from him, a considerable distance away. Ji Ning, Mu Northson, and Xue Hongyi were on the same side. At this moment, six Qiongqi puppets simultaneously charged at the six Wanxiang Adepts.

Even more puppets charged directly towards Shaoyan Nong!

Ji Ning handled the Qiongqi puppet with ease, but Mu Northson was having a harder time. Mu Northson was more skilled at manipulating puppets himself and was not very adept at close combat.

“Swoosh!” Black wings appeared on Ji Ning’s back. With a single flap of the wings, he executed the Windwing Evasion technique, howling through the air to appear beside Mu Northson. Sword-light flickered, and the Qiongqi puppet at the Primal level was sent flying backward.

“Thank you, senior apprentice-brother!” Mu Northson broke out in a cold sweat, quickly manipulating a silver serpent puppet to engage the enemy.

“It’s nothing.” Ji Ning smiled. He held two swords, and lotus blossoms bloomed around him as he easily held back the two Qiongqi puppets.

Ji Ning and the others, including Xue Hongyi, all managed to fend off a single Qiongqi puppet. In truth, these six Qiongqi puppets hadn’t been sent to kill them—their main purpose was to keep them occupied. The other twelve Qiongqi puppets, along with their leader, a man in black armor, howled as they charged towards Shaoyan Nong.

“Hahaha…” Shaoyan Nong laughed loudly. “Capture them!”

Xiangliu Fang reached out with both hands. His two enormous palms, blotting out the sky, swept down. His fingers transformed into giant serpents, each one like a living rope that coiled around a Qiongqi puppet. Some of the larger serpents even coiled around two of the Qiongqi puppets at once. In an instant, the twelve Qiongqi puppets were all caught by that pair of giant hands. However, the man in black armor drew a longsword from his thigh and slashed it directly at Xiangliu Fang’s palm.

BANG!

An explosion rang out. In truth, just containing the twelve Qiongqi puppets with his bare hands was already a great strain, let alone resisting the astonishing power of that sword strike. The giant hands were forced back, and the Qiongqi puppets all broke free.

“Oh?” Xiangliu Fang was stunned. “That sword of yours…”

“Slash!” The man in black armor transformed into a streak of light and pressed the attack, continuing to chop at Xiangliu Fang.

At the same time, the other twelve Qiongqi puppets howled as they flew towards Shaoyan Nong. Shaoyan Nong’s brow furrowed. A massive, crimson-scaled flood dragon appeared around his body, and a leaf-shaped Dao talisman appeared in his hand.

“Troublesome.” Shaoyan Nong muttered under his breath, but he was extremely confident. With Uncle Fang, the crimson-scaled flood dragon, and his own protective treasures, victory was guaranteed.

“ROOAR!”

The crimson-scaled flood dragon roared, battling the group of Qiongqi puppets. Suddenly, one of the Qiongqi puppets seized a nearby bronze lamp, then turned and fled!

“The bronze lamp!” Shaoyan Nong was shocked.

He understood now.

These puppets weren’t here to kill him. They knew their strength was insufficient. Their true target was the bronze lamp. To refine a treasure, one had to be near it and slowly pour one’s Yuan power into it. If it was taken too far away, or if it fell into someone else’s hands, his Yuan power could no longer reach it, making it impossible to refine.

If that happened, controlling the Immortal Estate would be a distant dream. With these puppets’ knowledge of the Wujiang Hall, they could easily play hide-and-seek with him, dragging things out for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. But he couldn’t afford that kind of delay.

“Quick! Get the bronze lamp back!” Shaoyan Nong roared.

Xiangliu Fang also let out a terrifying growl. His right arm suddenly detached from his body. The severed arm emitted a mighty aura of black divine power. The divine power surged, and the severed right arm reformed into another Xiangliu Fang. The original Xiangliu Fang also grew a new arm.

In the blink of an eye, two Xiangliu Fangs appeared in the great hall. However, in the time it took to separate this clone, the Qiongqi puppet was already about to rush out of the hall. After all, a Primal-level puppet was as fast as lightning.

One of the two Xiangliu Fangs engaged the man in black armor in battle.

The other quickly gave chase to the puppet that had taken the bronze lamp and fled. With a whoosh, he vanished into the corridor, continuing the pursuit.

“Two Xiangliu Fangs? A clone?” Ji Ning and the others were all secretly shocked.

“The bronze lamp! The bronze lamp! Damn it! Damn it!” Shaoyan Nong roared in fury.

Then, at the entrance to the distant corridor of the great hall, Xiangliu Fang walked in, holding a sack in one hand and the bronze lamp in the other.

“Haha.” Shaoyan Nong immediately began to laugh.

The man in black armor was filled with disappointment. He knew that the gap in power between his side and this group of invaders was too great. His only hope had been to catch them off guard and steal the ‘bronze lamp.’ Unfortunately, this Fiendgod was simply too strong. Even while fighting him, he could split off a clone, catch up to the Qiongqi puppet, and reclaim the bronze lamp.

“The situation is settled.” Shaoyan Nong felt a wave of relief. He was now free to leisurely observe the entire hall.

But as he did, his expression suddenly changed.

He looked into the distance at Ji Ning and Mu Northson. Ji Ning held two Northsea swords, with black wings on his back, easily holding back the two Qiongqi puppets.

“Wings?” Shaoyan Nong carefully observed Ji Ning’s movement technique, then sent a mental message to Xiangliu Fang beside him. “Uncle Fang, look at Ji Ning.”

The two clones had already merged back into one. Xiangliu Fang, using all his strength, had grabbed the man in black armor and stuffed him into his sack. Hearing Shaoyan Nong’s mental message, he glanced over. His expression also changed.

“Uncle Fang, that’s the Windwing Evasion technique, right? I’m not mistaken?” Shaoyan Nong asked.

Windwing Evasion.

Shaoyan Nong had never cultivated it himself, but he had watched his own clansmen train in it countless times. Because he saw it every day, and because he had personally seen the contents of the Windwing Evasion manual, he could recognize some traces of the technique in Ji Ning’s movements.

“Yes, it is the Windwing Evasion technique. I have trained in it myself. Although Ji Ning is using his wings to conceal it, this is definitely the Windwing Evasion technique,” Xiangliu Fang sent mentally. “In the past, the juniors of the Yuchi clan also used their wings to conceal it. Ji Ning is using the same old trick. Though this method is crude, one cannot recognize it without a deep study of the Windwing Evasion technique.”

Shaoyan Nong sent, “Uncle Fang, how did Ji Ning come to learn the Windwing Evasion technique?”

“It must be the remnants of the Yuchi clan!” Xiangliu Fang sent back.