The Cage of Six

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were on high alert, but they were not afraid. In their eyes, the most dangerous of the six was 'True Lord Danzhu'. Now that Ning had broken through to the twelfth level of the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens, he was fully confident he could defeat True Lord Danzhu. What he didn't know was that although True Lord Danzhu was formidable, Blackstone Recluse and Ninefate Recluse were even more terrifying.

"Whoosh!" The barefoot, dark-skinned, bald youth suddenly grinned.

Instantly, streaks of light flew out in all directions like lightning. They were ancient, simple Fuxi Staves.

"Fuxi Staves! A formation!" Ji Ning was shocked. It was rare for even the most supreme geniuses to study formations.

Rumble…

Lines of light connected, and runes swirled into being. A grand sealing array that covered an area of ten li descended, trapping Ji Ning and Yu Wei along with its casters.

"There." The dark-skinned, bald youth said calmly, "I've set up the seal. They can't escape. Kill them or let them go, the choice is yours." He sat down cross-legged at the edge of the formation barrier, his crooked black staff stuck in the ground beside him. He clearly had no intention of getting involved.

His own talismans were already sufficient. Casting a sealing array to trap the enemy was already doing his part for his companions. Fight? He couldn't be bothered. He wasn't someone who enjoyed killing.

"Ji Ning." Xiamang Qi said coldly, "Hand over all your talismans, and the two of you can live. Otherwise… you'll die."

"Hand them over!" Zhuanshui Qi also shouted.

"Hand them over!" The silver-haired girl, Flying Snow Recluse, also yelled.

None of the three had enough talismans yet, so they were naturally the most eager.

True Lord Danzhu smiled. "Brother Ji Ning, to be honest, there are those in this team who are far stronger than I am. I advise you not to struggle. Hand over the talismans and save your lives. You've only been training for a short time, and your future is limitless. There's no need to force this Immortal Fortunes Assembly."

"Come and get them if you can." Ji Ning stood in the distance, his voice cold. "Dream on about me handing them over."

As his voice fell.

A massive Water-Fire Lotus bloomed around him, layers of water-lotus leaves and fire-lotus leaves, beautiful and breathtaking, spinning slowly.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were both protected within the enormous Water-Fire Lotus.

"Stop wasting words with him." The silver-haired girl said coldly, "Attack." A horsetail whisk appeared in her hand. She swished it, sending countless white strands flying into the air, where they formed a strange beast-head. The snowy-white beast-head was hideous, with layered fangs that interlocked with each other.

The snowy-white beast-head opened its massive maw, biting down at Ji Ning and Yu Wei.

The Water-Fire Lotus protected the pair.

"Crackle…" The teeth of the beast-head bit into the Water-Fire Lotus. The countless interlocking fangs easily tore apart a layer of lotus leaves.

"Hmm." Ji Ning was secretly alarmed, but he had expected this. Anyone who survived this long was not to be trifled with.

"Kill!" Zhuanshui Qi formed hand-seals. Instantly, streaks of black light flew out from around his body, transforming in mid-air into six massive black serpents that madly assaulted Ji Ning and Yu Wei, likewise shredding through layers of lotus leaves.

"So persistent." True Lord Danzhu sighed softly. Her eyes suddenly brightened.

An invisible wave of divine sense swept toward Ji Ning and Yu Wei.

Yu Wei's face turned pale.

Ji Ning felt as though needles of divine sense were stabbing at his own soul, but now that his soul was perfectly integrated with his divine body, his resistance had greatly increased. He managed to block it.

"Ninefate, kill!" Xiamang Qi roared, transforming into a eighteen-meter-tall giant. His entire body shone with golden light, his aura towering, as he brandished a warblade and charged at the pair, stepping on the shattered lotus leaves.

"Ji Ning? He seems pretty tough." The dirty girl grinned. Her body also swelled to twenty meters in height, but she radiated no aura whatsoever, seeming utterly ordinary. She rushed forward barehanded.

In an instant, five of them attacked simultaneously.

"SCATTER!"

Ji Ning also swelled to become an eighteen-meter-tall giant, his aura wild and boundless. He let out a furious roar. Invisible divine sense transformed into sharp swords, warblades, and spears, savagely assaulting the minds of True Lord Danzhu, Flying Snow Recluse, Ninefate Recluse, Zhuanshui Qi, and Xiamang Qi. A Primal Daoist's soul made the greatest leaps during the short period of time after their Primal was formed.

By the same logic, when a Fiendgod Body Refiner reached the Primal level, their progress was also at its peak. Ji Ning had reached the twelfth level of the Crimsonbright Diagram; his soul had been nourished by his divine body, resulting in a shocking explosion of power. In fact, it was not far off from the strength of his Primaltwin's soul.

This one blast caused all five of them to change expression.

"BREAK!" With overwhelming momentum, Ji Ning wielded his two enormous Immortal-grade swords. He swung one in a whistling arc, a blinding sword-light directly chopping into the snowy-white beast-head.

BANG!

The beast-head was directly chopped apart, dissolving into countless white strands that flew back. The silver-haired girl holding the horsetail whisk revealed a look of shock.

"GO!" After chopping apart the beast-head with one blow, Ji Ning's sword-light swept out in all directions. The six black serpents that had been charging at him were all sent flying back.

"KILL!"

Ji Ning stepped forward, instantly appearing in front of Xiamang Qi. His sword-light stabbed directly at him.

"I'll block it." Xiamang Qi was terrified by Ji Ning's fierce momentum. He didn't dare to take any reckless action, focusing entirely on defense. CLANG! A thunderous noise rang out. The eighteen-meter-tall Xiamang Qi flew backward like a meteor, crashing heavily into the distant sealing array.

"Too strong."

Xiamang Qi, Zhuanshui Qi, and Flying Snow Recluse were all stunned.

The way Ji Ning had dealt with the three of them was absolutely overwhelming! If it had been a one-on-one fight, he probably would have taken their lives in two or three exchanges.

"Whoosh." At this moment, the dirty girl stepped forward, greeting Ji Ning. She extended her hand, palm as sharp as a blade, chopping toward him. The palm-strike technique was supremely exquisite; even Ji Ning found it unfathomably subtle. In terms of pure skill, it was definitely superior to his own sword-arts.

Ji Ning's sword light howled forth as well.

BOOM!

Sword-light and palm collided. The dirty girl was sent stumbling back three steps, while Ji Ning only took one.

"What?!" Ji Ning was shocked. When he had fought in the Brightmoon Painting World, he had used the Starseizing Hand openly. He didn't dare hold back, as none of his opponents were pushovers. Even with the Starseizing Hand, he hadn't been able to instantly kill Xiamang Qi; anyone still alive at this point was incredibly powerful! But this girl dared to use her bare hands to block his sharp sword, and she actually managed to do it. This was insane.

"You guys go after the girl. Leave Ji Ning to me." The dirty girl seemed extremely excited.

Ji Ning shook his body, instantly manifesting three heads and six arms.

Wielding six swords, he charged straight at the dirty girl. "Unless you want to die, get out of my way."

"It's rare to find a good opponent." The dirty girl welcomed his charge.

"KILL! KILL! KILL!" Ji Ning showed no mercy. With three heads and six arms, his sword-light was like lightning and curtains of water. The dirty girl, however, relied on a pair of hands to block in front of her time and again, managing to block the majority of his sword-light. The remaining sword-light that struck her body only managed to leave shallow wounds.

"Her body is like a magic treasure? My full-strength sword strike can shatter Earth-ranked treasures, yet it only leaves a tiny wound on her skin?" Ji Ning was stunned. "I can't get tangled up with her."

He flickered, trying to charge toward Flying Snow Recluse and Zhuanshui Qi.

"You're mine." The dirty girl also shook her body, manifesting three heads and six arms. She flowed like water, following Ji Ning's movements. Her six palms struck and chopped at him again and again.

"What's going on?" Ji Ning grew anxious.

This girl was sticking to him like glue. His sword-arts were fierce, but her body was like a magic treasure, able to directly withstand his attacks. He simply couldn't break free.

Seeing this, Flying Snow Recluse, Zhuanshui Qi, Xiamang Qi, and True Lord Danzhu all launched a killing strike at Yu Wei.

"Black."

"White."

Yu Wei stood there. A black phoenix and a white phoenix swirled around her, forming an impenetrable fortress. She simultaneously dealt with attacks from all four sides. The massive snowy-white beast-head, six black serpents, and the secret art seals of True Lord Danzhu—a giant, translucent seal in the air—came smashing down at the two phoenixes again and again.

"Junior apprentice-brother." Yu Wei sent an urgent mental message.

"Senior apprentice-sister." Ji Ning understood. She couldn't hold out much longer. Although her strength had greatly increased and she was skilled in defense, she couldn't withstand a simultaneous assault from four opponents.

The three-headed, six-armed Ji Ning roared: "GET LOST!"

"You're not good enough for that," the dirty girl said, also with three heads and six arms, completely tying him up.

Even when he'd fought Xiamang Zishan, Ji Ning hadn't felt so stifled. This girl's body was like a magic treasure, and her comprehension of the Dao was extremely high. Every single move she used was profound and mysterious. She had him completely entangled, and he simply couldn't escape.

"Junior apprentice-brother." Yu Wei's voice rang out in Ji Ning's mind.

Ji Ning saw what was happening in the distance.

BOOM!

The white phoenix finally collapsed. The eighteen-meter-tall Xiamang Qi charged forward, wielding his warblade.

"GO!" In desperation, Ji Ning activated his Lesser Thousand Sword Formation. Over seven hundred flying swords hung in the air, condensing into a single thread of sword-light that flew out, stabbing toward Xiamang Qi. Although Ji Ning's close-combat abilities had skyrocketed, the power of his Lesser Thousand Sword Formation hadn't improved much.

CLANG. Xiamang Qi blocked the sword-light with a single stroke of his blade. Although his body shook, he continued his charge toward Yu Wei.

Only a single black phoenix was left, desperately trying to block the giant seal, the black serpents, and the snowy-white beast-head.

Xiamang Qi closed in… Yu Wei tried to retreat, but within the sealing array, surrounded and attacked from all sides, how could she escape?

CLANG. Xiamang Qi's warblade deflected the sword-light of Ji Ning's formation. At the same time, his left hand suddenly emanated a bizarre, multi-colored light, even faintly radiating black Qi. This chilling, terrifying left hand reached straight for Yu Wei.

"Ten Thousand Venoms Stinger!" Yu Wei's face drastically changed.

PUFF.

Despite her desperate resistance, her close-combat skills were no match for a Fiendgod Body Refiner like Xiamang Qi. The black-qi-emanating left hand pierced directly through her abdomen. The terrifying venom instantly flooded her body, and her face turned gray and black.

—[To be continued]