Eight Out of Twelve

“Flee!”

“How is this human so powerful?”

The Monster Kings were terrified, utterly despairing.

Among them, only their leader, ‘Golden-Haired Bear Monster King,’ could withstand Ji Ning’s attacks. The other Monster Kings could only rely on their combined efforts to barely delay him, but facing Ji Ning’s terrifying ‘Plowshares Sword Formation’ and his savage close-quarters combat, a single misstep meant death.

“Whoosh.” A streak of bloody light appeared in midair as the Zhu Yan Monster King rapidly fled into the distance.

“Go.” A gale of wind rose, but six distorted sword scars streaked across the sky, directly enveloping the wind. The Three-Eyed Monster King who had been attempting to escape within it was instantly slain.

They had truly bitten off more than they could chew.

The Dongliu Monster Kings had never imagined that this human, ‘Darknorth Immortal,’ would be so terrifyingly powerful. If the twelve of them could have perfectly formed their ‘Flying Bear Formation,’ they could have utterly suppressed Ji Ning. But from the very start, they had been tricked into killing the Firewing Monster King, forcing them to fight separately.

And Ji Ning’s strength was simply too great.

Take Ji Ning’s second truebody, for example. It cultivated the Ki Refining technique of a Daofather, the Beiming Scripture, and was at the late-stage Void Refinement. In terms of raw Yuan power, it was equivalent to the senior Beixing of yesteryear, and its sword arts were on the same level. Crucially, Ji Ning possessed an entire complete set of Immortal-rank, top-grade flying swords, the ‘Plowshares Sword Formation,’ along with the matching Plowshares sword art.

Thus, his second truebody’s strength was actually a full level greater than Beixing had been in his prime!

Ji Ning’s true body was a bit weaker, but his Thousandbull Sword made him incredibly ferocious, and as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, he had no fear of injury. Being stabbed was a minor matter, while those scattered Immortal Monster Kings didn’t dare to engage his true body in close combat.

One attacked from afar, with devastating power that surpassed every single Monster King.

The other fought in close quarters, while all the other Monster Kings were merely Loose Immortals.

Working together, they ground down the remaining eleven Monster Kings, who, unable to form their grand formation, either died or fled.

“Darknorth Immortal.” The Golden-Haired Bear Monster King stood in midair, his voice booming. “What great grievance do the twelve of us, the Dongliu Monster Kings, have with you, for you to scheme against us like this?”

At this point, how could the Golden-Haired Bear Monster King fail to see that Ji Ning had been scheming against them?

From the very beginning, he had deliberately shown weakness, even hiding the true power of his Thousandbull Sword while surrounded, letting them gauge his methods. Then, he suddenly erupted, instantly killing three Monster Kings in a single move, plunging them into chaos and disadvantage… This Darknorth Immortal was pressing the attack step by step, his goal clear from the start: he wanted them, the twelve Dongliu Monster Kings, dead!

“Swoosh!” “Swoosh!” “Swoosh!”

Three streaks of light disappeared into the distant horizon.

Ji Ning shook his head lightly. “And I was being so careful, yet I only managed to kill eight.” With just his true body and second truebody, he was heavily outnumbered. When they chose to flee, each possessing formidable escape arts, it was inevitable that he couldn’t kill them all.

The Golden-Haired Bear Monster King was so furious he could spit blood. ‘Only’ kill eight?

“Die!” Ji Ning’s gaze fell upon the distant Golden-Haired Bear Monster King.

Whoosh!

Nine distorted sword scars streaked across the sky, converging and descending upon the Golden-Haired Bear Monster King. Around the Golden-Haired Bear Monster King floated ninety-nine ball-type treasures of incredible subtlety, layered in an inner, middle, and outer ring… blocking tightly, solidly deflecting Ji Ning’s sword-light.

“Save your wasted effort. I have fought over a dozen Celestial Immortals, and not a single one was able to do anything to me.” The Golden-Haired Bear Monster King’s voice boomed, low and deep. “Tell me, why did you want to kill my brothers?”

“Brothers?” Ji Ning shook his head. “Golden-Haired Bear Monster King, look at the other Monster Kings among the twelve. Every single one is drenched in sin, their karma manifesting as bloody light that stretches for hundreds of zhang. Only you have very little sin upon you, just some black, turbid energy clinging to your body. You are nothing like them.”

The Golden-Haired Bear Monster King nodded slowly. “You’re right, you’re right. They are more blind, more stupid, more insane. I am more clear-headed. When they faced the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations… they despaired, so they stopped caring about becoming entangled in sin. But I know that the greater the sin, the more powerful those Tribulations become. I want to live longer, so I naturally will not allow myself to become burdened by great sin.”

“But they were my subordinates, the subordinates I commanded over the Eastern Flow territory, and you have destroyed it all.” The Golden-Haired Bear Monster King’s voice was low. “I do not wish to be your enemy, but I want to understand: why did you kill them?”

“Because…” Ji Ning smiled. “Of their sin!”

A look of sudden understanding dawned on the Golden-Haired Bear Monster King. “I see. You want to kill those with great sin to accumulate Karmic Merit. With enough merit, it will help you when you face your own Tribulation in the future.”

“No.” Ji Ning’s smile was amiable. “It’s because this was a trial set by my master.”

“Eh?” The Golden-Haired Bear Monster King was taken aback.

“I must kill ten beings of great sin. That is the trial.” Ji Ning said.

The Golden-Haired Bear Monster King was dumbfounded. “You… what sect are you from, to have such a trial? And with your strength, who would dare give you a trial? Could it be a Pure Yang True Immortal, or an Empyrean God?”

“That’s none of your concern. Let me ask you, how do you think my strength compares to a Celestial Immortal’s?” Ji Ning asked. This Golden-Haired Bear Monster King had, after all, fought against over a dozen Celestial Immortals and should have an accurate assessment.

The Golden-Haired Bear Monster King nodded. “You are a Sword Immortal, your offensive power is extremely high. In particular, your second truebody has reached the average standard of a Celestial Immortal.”

“As for your true body, it’s somewhat weaker, reaching the low standard. However, your true body possesses an extremely powerful Immortal-ranked flying sword. That one sword is clearly much more powerful than the other five. Although it’s at the low standard, it has the advantage of being a Fiendgod Body Refiner.”

“If the twelve of us, the Dongliu Monster Kings, could have formed our Flying Bear Formation, we could have suppressed you. But without that formation, you were able to break us one by one. The strength of the other eleven was, after all, somewhat weaker, still a hair’s breadth away from a Celestial Immortal’s.” The Golden-Haired Bear Monster King evaluated.

Loose Immortals could live for a hundred thousand, three hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, seven hundred thousand, nine hundred thousand, or even a million years…

The longer they lived, the more their power skyrocketed.

Back in the Grand Xia world, that Fuyun Immortal had only been at the hundred-thousand-year level. These Monster Kings were at least at the five-hundred-thousand-year Loose Immortal level. The Golden-Haired Bear Monster King had surpassed the million-year mark. Senior Beixing had also been at the million-year level. As for Celestial Immortal Juhua, he had been at the multi-million-year level.

“Oh.” Ji Ning nodded, gaining a general understanding of his own strength.

“Darknorth Immortal, if you have business, you can find me at Golden Summit Mountain.” After speaking, the Golden-Haired Bear Monster King transformed into a streak of golden light and shot away.

Watching the Golden-Haired Bear Monster King depart, Ji Ning murmured, “That Golden-Haired Bear’s defense is truly formidable. Those ninety-nine ball-type Immortal-ranked treasures… an entire set, they must be of extraordinary value. Too bad I couldn’t get my hands on them.”

“Hm?” Suddenly thinking of something, Ji Ning took a step and returned to the top of the cliff.

The mountain peak had long since been shaved down a layer.

With a wave of his hand, Ji Ning manifested his immortal estate. Qingya Xiaoyu and the Qi Kingdom royal family who were inside all appeared outside the estate.

“What’s wrong?” The Qi Kingdom royals looked around in terror.

“Did that senior Darknorth die, and the estate fall into the hands of the Dongliu Monster Kings? Have we fallen into a Monster King’s clutches?” The black-robed girl was also terrified.

Qingya Xiaoyu was also worried, looking around for her master’s figure.

Then they all froze.

Because they saw Ji Ning sitting at the cliff’s edge, holding a flask of wine, drinking leisurely as he gazed at the endless sea of clouds.

In the distance, within those clouds, countless monsters were fleeing in all directions, panicked, not a single one daring to provoke Ji Ning.

“Where are the monsters?” Qi Rufeng was stunned.

“This, this…” The black-robed girl was also at a loss.

“Master, Master.” Qingya Xiaoyu ran to Ji Ning’s side. The bond between a cultivator and their master was extremely weighty; the saying ‘once a master, always a father’ was no joke. The grace of a master in passing down the ‘Dao’ was immense. Qingya Xiaoyu was incredibly agitated that her master, this seemingly young youth, was alive and well.

“Senior Darknorth, the twelve Dongliu Monster Kings?” Qi Rufeng couldn’t believe that Ji Ning had the strength to repel them all, and couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s a pity, I only managed to kill eight.” Ji Ning shook his head and sighed.

“What?” Qi Rufeng’s eyes went wide.

But Ji Ning paid him no heed, drinking wine and admiring the beautiful scenery. Although he was in a good mood, he was still regretful. The trial for the Eight-Nine Arcane Art required killing ten beings of great sin. And now, he had only killed eight! He was still two short! If he could have killed just two more, he could have returned to Mount Innerheart to learn the Eight-Nine Arcane Art. But now, he needed to stay here a while longer to find two more great sinners to kill.

“Senior Darknorth? Senior?” Qi Rufeng couldn’t help but call out.

“Master.” Qingya Xiaoyu also called out softly, even reaching out with her small hand to lightly touch Ji Ning.

Ji Ning turned his head.

Qingya Xiaoyu was also filled with confusion, and said in a low voice, “Master says he killed eight, this, this…” She was merely a Zifu Disciple. In her eyes, the twelve Dongliu Monster Kings were lofty and unattainable, the rulers of the entire Eastern Flow territory. When her master said he killed eight, she assumed he meant eight ordinary, scattered Immortal old monsters.

“Nod.”

Ji Ning waved his hand carelessly, and instantly, a host of Immortal-ranked treasures appeared in midair. These were the treasures left behind by the eight Monster Kings who had just died, each one emanating powerful ripples.

Prince Qi Rufeng, a man of broad experience, widened his eyes. He had seen Immortal-ranked treasures in the imperial palace, and now he was stunned. “These, these… are all Immortal-ranked treasures? So many Immortal-ranked treasures? How can this be…”

“This set of Immortal-ranked treasures!” Qi Rufeng suddenly stared at six suspended, curved blades. Those six curved blades were precisely the Immortal-ranked treasures the Firewing Monster King had used when he massacred the Qi Kingdom capital. Qi Rufeng could not forget the scene of those six curved blades slaughtering freely, with scattered Immortals dying one after another.

“That set belonged to the Firewing Monster King. The Firewing Monster King is dead.” Ji Ning said calmly. “Among the eight dead Monster Kings was him. According to my promise to you, I was to either protect you for a year or kill the Firewing Monster King. I’ve done that, and the promise is fulfilled. You may leave if you wish.”

With that, Ji Ning walked directly toward his immortal estate, adding, “Xiaoyu, follow me inside.”

“Yes, Master.” Qingya Xiaoyu obediently followed Ji Ning inside.

The master and disciple entered the estate, while outside, the prince and princess stood there in a daze for a long time.