The Hidden Dangers of Fame

The other Pure Yang True Immortals also turned their gazes towards the world within the Brightmoon Landscape Painting. The Xia Emperor felt helpless, musing to himself, "Truly, these are times of great upheaval in the Three Realms. Every major power is beginning to set their schemes in motion. My master, Daofather Crimsonbright, had once guided Lu Dongbin. Lu Dongbin and I shared a deep friendship in our past lives, so he is fine. The others are also fine. But that Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva!"

The Xia Emperor understood very well that the supreme major powers of the Three Realms were divided into many factions.

At the very least, of the eight Pure Yang True Immortals who had come today, almost all of the major powers backing them had excellent relations with his master, Daofather Crimsonbright. Only Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva was of the Buddhist faith, and his relationship with Daofather Crimsonbright was not good, but neither was it hostile.

"I must be careful. If he sets his sights on someone during the Immortal Fortunes Assembly, this Mahasthamaprapta might directly abduct them in secret," the Xia Emperor considered silently.

Within the world of the Brightmoon Landscape Painting.

Ji Ning was on a low, forested mountain, the dense foliage providing ample cover.

"Before I killed the Floating Cloud Immortal, the intelligence report from Heavenly Treasures Mountain barely mentioned me in passing. But after killing him, my name spread throughout the Grand Xia capital. Even the Heavenly Treasures Mountain intelligence report praised me highly, acknowledging that I have the strength to be in the top hundred," Ji Ning thought helplessly.

The Heavenly Treasures Mountain still needed some room for maneuver. In truth, only thirty-two people were acknowledged as having 'top hundred' strength! The Heavenly Treasures Mountain concluded that these thirty-two were almost guaranteed to be in the top hundred. Ji Ning was one of these thirty-two.

This was clear...

Within the Brightmoon Landscape Painting, once cultivators like Xiamang Zishan, Cangwu Jiu, and Ji Ning, who were on this list of thirty-two, were discovered, they would be surrounded and attacked! The other Immortal cultivators believed that Ji Ning and the others were the most promising candidates. Therefore, by eliminating Ji Ning and the others early on, they would have a better chance of passing the trial of the Brightmoon Landscape Painting.

"I need to change a little." Ji Ning had just been chased by over a hundred people and had only escaped thanks to his treasure ship's speed.

"Rustle."

Ji Ning's Dao-robe quickly changed from beast-hide form into an ordinary black robe.

"A black-robed youth should be quite common, right?" Ji Ning pondered. "No one will recognize me at a glance."

"Let's go."

Having changed from a beast-hide-clad youth to a black-robed one, Ji Ning began to move stealthily through the world of the Brightmoon Landscape Painting.

From time to time, he would release his divine sense, probing an area of ten li.

The probing range was small, allowing Ji Ning to arrive instantly, and a small range meant he wouldn't alert too many people.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

He probed again and again. Upon his eighteenth probe, Ji Ning immediately discovered a white-robed maiden. The white-robed maiden also sensed something and abruptly looked up.

"Swoosh!" Ji Ning was like a Roc, hissing like lightning as he dove down from the peak above, appearing before the white-robed maiden in a flash.

"You're courting death!" The white-robed maiden's face turned cold, and two short, electric-light-wreathed rods appeared in her hands.

Ji Ning's first action upon attacking was to will it, and an enormous Water-Fire Lotus materialized. After realizing the 'Lotus Sword Domain', the two techniques, the Lotus Sword Domain and the Water-Fire Lotus, had influenced each other. Especially over this past year in the Grand Xia capital, after careful cultivation and refinement, the Water-Fire Lotus spell had become increasingly perfect.

Moreover, Ji Ning's Earthfire and Coldsnare had, after a year of nurturing, both reached the first grade.

Using the first-grade Earthfire and Coldsnare as a foundation, assisted by the 'Taiyin and Sunstar divine patterns' of his divine body to attract the water and fire of the world, and combined with the Sword Dao, the Rainwater Dao, the Blazing Fire Dao, the Gale Dao, the Spacetime Dao... the resulting Water-Fire Lotus was terrifyingly powerful.

"Oh?" The white-robed maiden was stunned with shock. The enormous lotus, a thousand zhang in size, had already enveloped her.

"A spell?" The white-robed maiden gave a cold laugh. Suddenly, her body swelled, transforming into a giant twelve zhang tall. This massive white-robed maiden also activated the 'Three Heads, Six Arms' divine ability. In an instant, all six of her hands held short rods, each crackling with electricity. Howling, she smashed her rods against the layers of Water-Fire lotus leaves that were binding her.

BOOM!

It sounded like two great mountains colliding. The six rods, carrying the divine power of lightning and the might of the maiden's Fiendgod Body Refining, smashed layers of lotus leaves apart. But the Water-Fire lotus leaves continuously grew back.

"What?!" The white-robed maiden was greatly shocked. According to her expectations, she should have been able to shatter the spell with overwhelming force. But she was breaking through it very slowly. The opponent's spell could easily maintain this continuous regeneration.

"Impressive. This white-robed maiden is probably even stronger than the Snowfeather Daoist." Ji Ning was also surprised. "Fortunately, my Earthfire and Coldsnare have both reached the first grade, and this spell has also become more perfected. If it were a year ago, she probably would have broken it. But since you can't break my Water-Fire Lotus, you've already lost."

"WHOOSH!"

Over seven hundred flying swords appeared around Ji Ning. With the Coldvein Flying Swords as the core, they were all Earth-ranked flying swords.

"Go!" Ji Ning pointed into the distance. Instantly, a streak of golden sword-light shot forth from his chest, flying straight towards the white-robed maiden. The terrifying sword-intent contained within the golden flying sword directly invaded her very soul. It was the terrifying sword-intent that only a 'Sword Immortal' possessed.

"You are the Darknorth Realperson, Ji Ning!" The white-robed maiden cried out in shock. Lotus spells were quite common, but when combined with over seven hundred flying swords, it was impossible for her not to recognize Ji Ning.

"CLANG!" Facing Ji Ning's Lesser Thousand Sword Formation's attack, the white-robed maiden's six short rods all blocked. BANG! The power of Ji Ning's Lesser Thousand Sword Formation was far greater than his Water-Fire Lotus. The Water-Fire Lotus was primarily for binding and strangulation, while the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation was a pure attack method. Ji Ning was pouring almost ninety percent of his soul energy into maintaining the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation. The white-robed maiden was directly sent flying backward. Two of the short rods in her hands were sent flying, and she herself was blocked by the fire lotus leaves behind her.

RUSTLE, RUSTLE...

The strangulation power of the Water-Fire lotus leaves continuously pressed down on the white-robed maiden.

"Hateful!" The white-robed maiden gritted her silver teeth and glared at Ji Ning. "Ji Ning, you're ruthless."

She directly threw out her token talisman.

HUMM!

An invisible power instantly enveloped the white-robed maiden, and she was teleported away.

"She was truly formidable." Ji Ning waved his hand, collecting the token talisman. "To encounter someone this strong at random. Fortunately, I used the Water-Fire Lotus to bind her. Otherwise, even if she couldn't defeat me, she could have escaped."

The Heavenly Treasures Mountain intelligence report had been very clear: Ji Ning's true body excelled in close combat, followed by his flying sword sword-formation, which was significantly weaker than his close combat.

The white-robed maiden discovered that Ji Ning, relying solely on his 'sword formation', could completely suppress her. He could probably kill her in ten exchanges. If Ji Ning were to engage in close combat... he might be able to kill her in one or two moves. Add to that the Water-Fire Lotus binding her so she couldn't escape, and she had no choice but to immediately concede, at least preserving her life.

Ji Ning moved cautiously, always on high alert, afraid of being surrounded. His strength being acknowledged by the Heavenly Treasures Mountain as being in the top hundred was not without reason.

After all, Ji Ning's true body, relying on his divine ability for close combat, had once survived an attack from the 'Bone-Annihilating Immortal-Slaying Needle'! This led the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to believe that Ji Ning's true body's close combat ability was terrifyingly powerful.

One on one...

Within the Brightmoon Landscape Painting, Ji Ning was indeed among the very top.

Ordinary opponents could be suppressed by the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation and the Water-Fire Lotus.

Powerful opponents would require the simultaneous use of the Water-Fire Lotus and close combat.

This was, of course, assuming it was a one-on-one fight.

"That Zhang Baicheng is indeed fierce. He has already killed three people with his sabre. What domineering sword art!" A distant mountain forest.

"That Xiamang Zishan is also quite skilled. She captured someone and let them go, but she's been making people concede."

"The ones with some fame are beginning to show their prowess." The Xia Emperor sipped his wine while accompanying the eight Pure Yang True Immortals, watching the scene unfold.

Xiamang Zishan, Cangwu Jiu, and others had suffered setbacks earlier, but they soon concealed their tracks. Everyone became cautious, and they began to successively kill their opponents or force them to concede. The token talismans they obtained gradually increased. However, because it was still early, killing one person usually yielded only one or two token talismans.

"That dirty maiden is quite formidable." The Xia Emperor's eyes lit up.

The Xia Emperor suddenly noticed Lu Dongbin. In the Three Realms, Lu Dongbin was known for spreading many inheritances and was skilled at being a teacher. He was ranked among the very top of Pure Yang True Immortals, and his eyesight was naturally vicious. The Xia Emperor couldn't help but laugh, "Lu Dongbin, look at these young ones. Which of them has the strongest luck?"

"Strongest luck?" Lu Dongbin, half-reclining and drinking wine, glanced at the Brightmoon Landscape Painting and shook his head. "How can one tell? Besides, luck is inherently ethereal and uncertain... Even one with great luck can still be killed."

The Xia Emperor felt helpless.

He knew that one with great luck could be killed. Great luck only meant they were more fortunate, often aided by heaven. But they could still be killed by others! The one who killed them might either seize their luck or cause their own luck to diminish.

For example, if someone was the only son of a major power. Killing this person would incur the hatred of that major power, even their personal intervention, which would greatly diminish their own luck.

Another example: someone who had encountered a great fortune and was carrying a great treasure would also have strong luck. If he was killed, the treasure would be obtained by his killer, greatly increasing the killer's own luck.

Thus...

Luck was invisible and intangible. It needed to be deduced from various aspects, which required keen eyesight. Clearly, Lu Dongbin possessed extremely high eyesight.

"You drunkard, you refuse to say a word." The Xia Emperor was exasperated. "Of course I know that one with great luck can be killed. But the one with great luck has a higher chance of becoming a major power in the Three Realms, does he not?"

"Tell you, and you'll just snatch him up, won't you?" Lu Dongbin glanced at him. "Pick your own. I said your Daofather and you have the first pick, and I'll pick from the leftovers."

The Xia Emperor was speechless. What could he do against such a brazen character?

Five days had passed within the Brightmoon Landscape Painting. Ji Ning was resting in a cave dwelling, where there was also a pool of cold water. He washed his face, feeling refreshed.

"Five days, and I've obtained over fifty token talismans." Ji Ning mused, "But at the beginning, there were many Wanxiang Adepts within the entire Brightmoon Landscape Painting, so I could often encounter them. As time goes on, there are fewer people, making them harder to find. Moreover, those who survive are increasingly formidable and harder to deal with."

"But there is an advantage too. Those who survive to the end probably each carry quite a few talismans." Ji Ning's expression suddenly changed.

RUMMBLE...

A faint tremor spread from a distance.

"A battle? It sounds like a big one." Ji Ning immediately transformed into a streak of light, rushing out of the cave, and carefully approached the source.