The Unseen Gauntlet

As Ji Ning gazed at the Quya Mountains from afar, his heart couldn't help but tremble. He could faintly sense an incredibly terrifying threat lurking deep within those mountains.

"Given my current power, there aren't many in the Tristar Crescent Continent who can do anything to me. Those who are truly far stronger than me have generally been taken in by the Mount Innerheart sect. If they saw me, they'd probably have to call me 'junior master-uncle.' Even True Immortals and Empyrean Gods would be my fellow disciples," Ji Ning mused.

Roaming the Tristar Crescent Continent was like strolling through his own backyard.

This was the first time he had felt such a sense of dread!

"It seems there really is danger here, and it's a threat that extends to me." Ji Ning nodded slightly. "Alright. If things look bad, I'll immediately hide inside the aquatic palace. Then I'll beg Master to let me escape back to Mount Innerheart."

Trapped in a tough spot, rely on Master.

Although it was a bit shameless, he was still within the Tristar Crescent Cave World. Master wouldn't be too strict. Once he truly graduated and left this Tristar Crescent Continent, he wouldn't even be allowed to mention Master's name. He'd have to rely entirely on himself.

"Master?" Qingya Xiaoyu said softly from beside him.

Ji Ning glanced at his disciple and smiled. "Xiaoyu, I'm going to venture into the mountains. It's dangerous. You go into the Immortal estate first."

"Yes, Master." Qingya Xiaoyu obediently replied.

Ji Ning waved his hand, storing her within his随身 Immortal estate.

Then, alone, he transformed into a streak of light and flew into the Quya Mountains.

Having obtained the map and the detailed records passed down through generations of the Qi Kingdom, Ji Ning quickly located the outskirts of the treasure site.

"Hmm?" He stepped onto the undulating mountain range and immediately sensed the peculiarity of the soil.

"Kill... kill... kill..."

Faint, formless howls seemed to emanate from the mountain rocks and soil, as if a great battle had been fought in this mountain range in the distant, endless past. Even now, the killing intent lingered, refusing to dissipate.

"The soil here is different from the ordinary soil of the Tristar Crescent Continent. It's noticeably heavier, and the qi in this area is much denser." Ji Ning nodded to himself. "This might very well be a fragment of the ancient Primordial Pangu's World that was moved here."

Using the exploration experience of the Qi Kingdom's past generations, Ji Ning quickly found a mountain path and began to walk forward. Mist shrouded everything. Even with his abilities, he could only see one or two li ahead. As for divine sense probing? What his divine sense perceived was completely different from what his eyes saw.

"It completely befuddles the divine sense. Everything my divine sense sees is false." Ji Ning even reached out to touch certain spots, confirming that his eyes were not being deceived.

He advanced cautiously.

In the distance, he could vaguely make out a massive ravine. Ji Ning could faintly sense a sharp saber-intent still coiling and lingering there.

"It looks like a natural ravine, but it was actually formed by a saber-energy passing through." Ji Ning walked for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, when suddenly a formless pressure enveloped him.

"It's exactly as the Qi Kingdom's books recorded. According to them, the deeper you go, the greater the pressure. The experts the Qi Kingdom sent to explore in past generations were ultimately forced to give up by this invisible pressure. The path I'm taking now is supposed to be the one where this repulsive pressure is weakest." Ji Ning moved forward quickly.

The pressure began to climb sharply.

At the very edge of this area, the repulsive force on his body was only about ten thousand jin. But now, it had reached a million jin, then a hundred million jin...

BOOM

The violent repulsive force collided with Ji Ning's body, causing a series of booming sounds.

At this point, the clash between this force and his own strength felt like countless towering mountains, ten thousand zhang tall, slamming into him one after another!

"Even a Loose Immortal would struggle to hold out." Ji Ning waved his hand, producing the Thousandbull Sword. He swung it, and a sword-light in the form of a black divine dragon roared forth, directly smashing apart and blocking the repulsive force in front of him.

"It's easy enough."

Ji Ning advanced while using the Thousandbull Sword to cleave through the invisible pressure.

This invisible pressure was obviously created by some ancient formation or restriction, emitting waves of force. Loose Immortals, who were all Ki Refiners with frail bodies, had to rely on magic treasures to blast this force away to get in. Ji Ning had only managed to get this far without using any treasures thanks to his Fiendgod body.

Whoosh.

Dozens of black divine-dragon sword-lights roared forth, leaving dazzling trails in the mist as they smashed and dispersed the waves of pressure.

He walked for a long time.

"Transform!" Ji Ning suddenly assumed his 'Three Heads, Six Arms' form. Five more immortal swords appeared in his hands, all of which were the faintly ethereal, black immortal swords, 'Plow Heaven Swords.' In such a dangerous place, Ji Ning didn't want to send out his Primaltwin, so his true body would use the Plow Heaven Swords for now. After all, as top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, their power was more than enough.

Holding six top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords and utilizing the 'Three Heads, Six Arms' divine ability, he found it much easier.

The divine power consumed by Three Heads, Six Arms was more than ten times less than the Starseizing Hand!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... The six black dragon sword-lights howled as they slaughtered the waves of pressure. Still, some residual pressure would occasionally crash into Ji Ning's body with a rumbling sound. But as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, as long as the residual force wasn't too great, it was nothing.

"This is already territory the Qi Kingdom never managed to explore."

Ji Ning walked for a while longer. When even his six immortal swords were starting to feel the strain, he saw a figure in the distance. The figure saw him as well.

"Northmont Immortal." A deep, rumbling voice rang out.

"King Golden-Furred Bear," Ji Ning spoke. The man was none other than the tall, stalwart Golden-Furred Bear. Surrounding him were ninety-nine round bead-treasures, a constant stream that surged forward, breaking apart the pressure.

"Did the Northmont Immortal also obtain a treasure map and discover this place?" Golden-Furred Bear asked.

"Indeed," Ji Ning didn't deny it.

"Back then, our Twelve Eastern Stream Kings were planning to enter these Quya Mountains. We were discussing it at Third Brother's place when we learned that several hundred of his Blazingwing Guards had been killed. The rest of us kings just happened to go over and back him up... Who would have thought that most of them would die, and now I'm the only one left to come explore this treasure. Oh, and you, the Northmont Immortal who killed so many Demon Kings, are here too. Truly, the world is full of surprises!" Golden-Furred Bear sighed emotionally.

Ji Ning smiled. "Indeed, I have the Blazingwing King to thank. Otherwise, how would I have known about a treasure here? But King, you've stopped here. Having trouble going on?"

This invisible area had a peculiar property. As long as you advanced, no matter which direction, waves of pressure would assault you. But if you stood still, you wouldn't be attacked at all.

"I can't go on. You have your Fiendgod body to refine, so you can endure some of the residual repulsive force. But we Loose Immortals have fragile bodies. We don't dare to resist it; we have to smash all of this force. The Yuan force consumption is enormous... I'm going to stop here to recover, then go deeper," Golden-Furred Bear said.

"Then I'll go on ahead." Ji Ning laughed.

Relying on his six top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, Ji Ning forced his way in, quickly disappearing from Golden-Furred Bear's sight.

"Our Twelve Eastern Stream Kings have truly just become a stepping stone for this Northmont." Golden-Furred Bear ground his teeth, feeling helpless. He knew that in terms of pure strength, Ji Ning had the edge over him. Moreover, Ji Ning's Fiendgod Body Refining gave him a much greater chance of success in a dangerous place like this.

"Starseizing Hand!"

Under the immense pressure, Ji Ning was forced to activate the Starseizing Hand.

Instantly, the power of the black divine-dragon sword-light exploded. Ji Ning even temporarily put away the 'Three Heads, Six Arms' divine ability, relying solely on the Thousandbull Sword and the Starseizing Hand to charge in!

Charge, charge, charge!

Gradually, Ji Ning was once again forced to use Three Heads, Six Arms, using the Starseizing Hand in all six hands.

After a long time, Ji Ning had to stop to rest, recovering most of his expended divine power.

He would stop to recover, then advance.

Later on, every ten or so zhang of advance required six uses of the Starseizing Hand. The consumption of divine power was staggering.

*Boom! With another step forward, Ji Ning suddenly burst out of the pressure zone.

"Hahaha..."

"I finally made it out of that damned place."

Ji Ning laughed heartily. There was no more repulsive force here. For the first time, he felt that walking unhindered was a kind of pleasure.

"That journey of a few thousand li took me nearly an entire day. I burned through my divine power completely more than a few times." Ji Ning shook his head in amazement. Still, he held onto his six immortal swords and advanced cautiously. He tried probing with his divine sense, but it was still blocked, showing him only illusions.

Ji Ning walked, following a mountain stream.

The mist was still thick; he could only see one or two li. Vaguely, he could make out a gorge up ahead.

*Crackle! As Ji Ning took another step, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck down.

"Scram!"

Ji Ning didn't hesitate. He went all out, sending six black divine-dragon sword-lights roaring forth, directly shattering the lightning bolt.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... A torrent of lightning bolts began to surge towards him.

"Before, it was just invisible pressure. At least it didn't threaten my life. But these lightning bolts are lethal." Ji Ning hurriedly executed his sword art. He noticed that if he retreated, the number of lightning attacks decreased. But if he advanced, the attacks multiplied rapidly, becoming more and more ferocious and terrifying.

After advancing a mere hundred zhang, Ji Ning had to stop. He couldn't go any further.

*Boom! Rumble! A barrage of lightning bolts, each as thick as a water barrel, surged forward with reckless abandon. Ji Ning struggled to block them. He tried to advance a single step, but an even more ferocious wave of lightning forced him back.

"What should I do? I can't advance another step."

Ji Ning was growing anxious.

The power of these lightning bolts was immense. At the start, he'd allowed one or two small strands to hit him, and his divine body had easily withstood them. But as he experimented, he found his limit. Any more than that, and he had to use his sword-light to split them apart.

Reaching this point was only possible because of his Fiendgod body.

"Should I go back? Going back would be easy. The lightning would decrease the further back I go. As for the repulsive pressure area, it would take at most half a day to slowly fight my way back out." Ji Ning felt no pressure about retreating. The Qi Kingdom's records mentioned that a Loose Immortal had once used various methods to force a deep entry, but when it came time to return, he couldn't, because he had to cleave through the same kind of pressure zone.

All he could do was spend a long, long time, inching his way back.

What Ji Ning didn't know was that the Blazingwing King had once been trapped in that very pressure zone for decades!

Rumble...* Endless lightning bolts crazily descended.

Ji Ning's heart was filled with unwillingness.

"Little brat, with your strength, you still dare to come in here? I advise you to leave quickly, before you lose your little life!" A sharp, thin voice rang out in Ji Ning's ear.