The Devil's Deal

It was the Netherworld Poison Vulture Secret Art. Ji Ning recognized it instantly. Cangwu Vulture had been famous for a long time, and this art was his trademark technique. It was a massive 'Netherworld Poison Vulture' formed from a formation of magic treasures. Cangwu Vulture himself was hidden inside that great vulture. Once the vulture failed, Cangwu Vulture would burst out from within and engage in close-quarters slaughter.

Yu Wei also pointed a finger from afar.

Swoosh!

Seventy-two Rahu Godneedles instantly appeared in midair. Drawing upon the power of the natural world, they gathered the forces of heaven and earth to form a massive Ice Phoenix and a massive Fire Phoenix. Both phoenixes howled as they charged towards the black vulture.

"Caw——" The black vulture let out a piercing shriek, its sharp claws raking downwards.

The Ice Phoenix and Fire Phoenix clashed with it, but after just two exchanges, large cracks appeared on their surfaces. On the third impact from the black vulture, both the Ice and Fire phoenixes collapsed directly, and the seventy-two Rahu Godneedles flew back.

"Rise." Ning stood there as the Water-Fire Lotus bloomed all around him.

Ring after ring of the lotus swirled, its leaves swaying in the wind as they spun continuously.

Boom!

The diving black vulture crashed into the Water-Fire Lotus. Although some lotus leaves shattered from the thunderous impacts, they grew back almost immediately. The defensive barrier was unyielding. This caused Xiamang Zishan, who had been watching leisurely from afar, to pause in surprise.

After six months of training, and especially after fully comprehending both the Dao of Rainwater and the Dao of Blazing Fire, the 'Water-Fire Lotus' secret art had achieved a deeper balance and stability, its power dramatically increased. And it was rooted in a first-grade Earthfire and Cold-sha—how could it be broken so easily?

"Let's go," Ji Ning sent mentally.

"Whoosh." Yu Wei transformed into a streak of light, preparing to flee.

"Caw——" The black vulture suddenly opened its beak, and a figure shot out from within—it was Cangwu Vulture himself. As he emerged, his body exploded to thirty zhang in size, and a curved saber appeared in his hand. His right arm turned a brilliant gold. In the blink of an eye, he flashed before Yu Wei, forcing her to retreat in shock.

"Go!" Seven hundred-plus flying swords appeared around Ji Ning.

They coalesced into a single golden flying sword, which shot forward explosively.

Boom!

The power of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation momentarily halted Cangwu Vulture's momentum, but in an instant, his golden right arm swung its saber, dispersing the condensed flying sword. Yu Wei retreated back into the safety of the Water-Fire Lotus.

"He's too fast. I can't escape," Yu Wei transmitted urgently.

Ning understood. Even he himself wasn't confident he could flee from Cangwu Vulture's pursuit. Cangwu Vulture's greatest strength was his movement technique.

"Then we trap them!" Ning transmitted back. "Senior apprentice-sister, join me in holding off Cangwu Vulture."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Threads of golden flying swords from the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation flew out one after another.

The seventy-two Rahu Godneedles in front of Yu Wei flew out as well. The Lesser Thousand Sword Formation, the Ice Phoenix, and the Fire Phoenix all surged forward together. Cangwu Vulture watched the onslaught and the massive Water-Fire Lotus below him. Frowning, he transmitted, "Xiamang Zishan, why haven't you moved yet?"

With Ji Ning and Yu Wei joining forces, Cangwu Vulture alone could not sweep through them.

"Just two of them, and I thought you could handle it yourself," Xiamang Zishan laughed heartily. "Cangwu, remember, don't let them escape. You're the best at chasing and trapping."

"Relax." Cangwu Vulture stood in the air, pointing into the distance.

Instantly, gale-force winds appeared, howling into a cyclone. The spinning tornado enveloped the surrounding area, trapping both Ji Ning and Yu Wei completely.

"I'll trap them with the 'Qianheaven Galewind', supported by the Netherworld Vulture, ready to strike at any moment," Cangwu Vulture transmitted. "With these three layers of defense, they can't escape. The hard-hitting part is yours."

"Hahaha…"

Xiamang Zishan laughed.

Boom!

His footsteps shook the mountain ground. His body instantly swelled to thirty zhang in size, and purple lightning began to wreathe his entire form. Even the air around him crackled with purple arcs. A massive black iron staff appeared in his hand. Holding it, he charged straight through the raging cyclone towards the Water-Fire Lotus.

Boom! His black iron staff swept out in a single horizontal arc, as if breaking the flow of a river. A massive number of Water-Fire Lotus leaves were smashed cleanly in two.

"So strong!" Ji Ning was astonished. This was far more than he had anticipated. The intelligence from Heavenly Treasures Mountain about 'Xiamang Zishan' didn't seem to be this terrifying. His Water-Fire Lotus was crumbling before this man like paper.

"Ji Ning, is it? Come!" Xiamang Zishan laughed, his momentum like an avalanche, crushing everything in his path.

Ji Ning took a single, powerful step forward.

Boom!

His body expanded to eighteen zhang in size, crackling with lightning. He held two Northsea swords as he charged forward. A vertical eye opened on his forehead, sending bolt after bolt of lightning crashing down onto the distant Xiamang Zishan. Xiamang Zishan didn't even dodge!

Purple lightning wreathing his body easily deflected the lightning strikes from Ji Ning. As for the divine sense attacks? He paid them no mind.

"One thought, myriad soldiers."

An invisible, formless army of divine sense blades, war-sabers, and spears howled into Xiamang Zishan's sea of consciousness, slashing and stabbing wildly again and again.

Xiamang Zishan's movement halted for a moment, but then he immediately recovered. The madness in his eyes only intensified. "You have some tricks!"

"As expected of the number one on the Heavenly Treasures Mountain intelligence reports." The towering Ji Ning, wielding twin swords, rushed out, absolute confidence burning in his eyes.

"Hahaha…" Xiamang Zishan charged with his black iron staff, his aura overwhelming the heavens. Before his breakthrough, he had already been ranked first. Now, after breaking through, he believed he was without equal. The goal of this Immortal Fortunes Assembly was to claim the first place!

The two of them clashed instantly.

A dazzling sword-light shot into the sky!

A mighty, torrential flood of staff strikes shattered the surrounding Water-Fire Lotus.

Boom!!!

Ning took three steps back.

Xiamang Zishan also took three steps back, causing the mountain rocks beneath him to crumble and the peak to totter on the verge of collapse.

"What?" Cangwu Vulture, watching from the air, was stunned. "He blocked that lunatic, Xiamang Zishan? This Ji Ning's close-combat strength is terrifying."

"Good one! You can take my self-created 'Heaven-Earth Myriad-Pound Staff' third form! Now try my newly created fourth form—I've fused four complete Daos into the Dao of Thunder!" Xiamang Zishan seemed even more crazed, charging at Ning once more, his staff flowing with purple lightning.

A single staff strike came, and it felt as if heaven and earth were being torn apart.

Ning met it, his Northsea swords transforming into two dazzling streaks of light that welcomed the terrifying staff.

"Boom!"

A heavy blow.

Xiamang Zishan didn't retreat a single step, but Ji Ning was sent flying backward, slamming into the mountain wall behind him. The already precarious peak began to collapse with a thunderous roar.

"How is this possible?" Ning's face was pale. In their first exchange, he had already used the Starseizing Hand, barely managing to match him. But when Xiamang Zishan unleashed an even stronger technique, Ning found himself completely at a disadvantage.

"His staff art is stronger than my sword art," Ning understood.

The gap in their comprehension of the Dao was enormous.

Furthermore, Xiamang Zishan had reached the twelfth stage of the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens, far surpassing Ning's own level!

He was a member of the royal Xiamang clan. The divine ability he cultivated, while inferior to the Starseizing Hand, was still a formidable one among the Three Realms. The gap wasn't too absurd.

"Rumble…" The mountain peak collapsed, and rocks tumbled down.

Ji Ning and Xiamang Zishan stood facing each other from a distance, completely ignoring the falling boulders. The stones were shattered into dust by their divine power before they could even touch them.

"Three Heads, Six Arms!" Ning shook his body, instantly sprouting two additional heads and four extra arms.

"Haha, me too!" Xiamang Zishan shook his body as well, manifesting his own Three Heads, Six Arms, holding three black iron staves.

"Come."

Ning charged, activating the Windwing Evasion technique, moving like a specter to meet Xiamang Zishan.

"Hahaha…" Xiamang Zishan continued his relentless, headlong charge to meet him.

Both wielded Three Heads, Six Arms!

Six swords against three black iron staves!

The flowing, watery sword-light was breathtakingly beautiful, while the torrential storm of staves was like the lightning of heaven itself. Ning no longer tried to meet force with force. In the past, his Starseizing Hand had been unstoppable, but against Xiamang Zishan, he began to leverage the agility of his swords. Combined with the Windwing Evasion, although every exchange sent him staggering backward, he was no longer being blown away.

"I hit, I hit, I'll hit, hit, hit!" Xiamang Zishan was a walking storm of violence, his three black iron staves smashing down wildly.

Ning's six swords were like an endless stream of water, deflecting and redirecting the attacks, while occasionally slipping in a cold strike of his own.

Blood trickled from the corner of Ning's mouth. "I can't keep this up. I have to save senior apprentice-sister Yu."

"Lesser Thousand Sword Formation!"

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Golden flying swords materialized, howling towards Cangwu Vulture in the sky. Ning transmitted urgently, "Senior apprentice-sister, go now!"

Boom! A staff strike from Xiamang Zishan sent Ning crashing into the rubble. The Xiamang prince roared, "Boy, don't get distracted! Distraction means death!"

This battle between Xiamang Zishan and Ji Ning had already drawn the attention of everyone from the Pure Yang True Immortals and Celestial Immortals down to the ordinary viewers in the Imperial City Square.

"Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Vulture—ranked first and second on the Heavenly Treasures Mountain report."

"That Ji Ning is incredible. He's tying up Cangwu Vulture!"

"And he's fighting Xiamang Zishan!"

"Xiamang Zishan is so strong! Can Ji Ning really last for a hundred exchanges with him?" The spectators in the Imperial City Square, representing major powers from the three thousand commanderies and the four seas, watched with bated breath. Many of them were Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals, and they could clearly see the terrifying power of Xiamang Zishan's staff art.

It was a staff art that surpassed that of many Loose Immortals! And Xiamang Zishan's divine body and divine abilities were clearly top-tier, making him an utterly dominant force.

But this kid Ji Ning, who had only been cultivating for a little over thirty years, was actually holding him off! Even if he was on the defensive, relying on his sword's agility to endure, he was still tying him down!

When they saw Ning divide his attention to control the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation to harass Cangwu Vulture, only to be heavily injured and sent flying into the rubble by Xiamang Zishan, many people felt their hearts tighten for him.

"Is Ji Ning really splitting his focus in a life-or-death fight? His opponent is Xiamang Zishan!"

"He's going to get himself killed trying to save his female companion."

The Imperial City Square was abuzz with discussion.

Mu Northson, Xiaqing, Uncle White, the Five Madman Immortal, Beishan Baiwei, Nine Lotos, and the others were all on edge, their hearts in their throats. But they couldn't enter. They couldn't help. All they could do was watch helplessly as the events unfolded.