The Might of Three Dao-Arts and the Bashe's Maw

“Flee!”

The seven Dharma Kings let out shrill, terrified cries. Their formation had been shattered in an instant, scaring them out of their wits. None of them had any thought of fighting back; their only desire was to escape. In a flash, all of the magic treasures that had been sent flying were once again under their control, and each of them began to employ their own escape techniques.

But…

The black-robed Ji Ning was executing the ‘Li Tian’ sword-art, a technique supremely suited for group combat. Moreover, he had a full nine Li Tian Immortal swords at his disposal, while his enemies numbered just seven.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Under Ji Ning’s control, streaks of sword-light pierced through the air as he hunted down the seven Dharma Kings one by one.

All seven Dharma Kings possessed Immortal-ranked magic treasures, though most appeared to be of a very ordinary quality. One of them, a silver-haired, eagle-beaked old man, had a set of three flying swords, while another, who looked like a youth, was commanding a vast cloud of starlight sand. These two Loose Immortals were each being pursued by two Li Tian Immortal swords, while the other five were each being chased by a single one.

“Block!” The youth-like Loose Immortal, the strongest of the seven, let out a roar as his brilliant starlight sand madly rose to obstruct the two black, intangible Li Tian Immortal swords.

Pfft! Pfft!

Two streaks of sword-light forcibly blasted through every obstacle. They passed through the youth’s body, revealing his fragmented Golden Lotus Primal. It then completely dissipated.

Dead!

“Lord Godfather, save me!” A dark-robed, cold-looking female Loose Immortal cried out in desperation, but a Li Tian Immortal sword swept past her as well, killing her on the spot.

…

It must be remembered that five or six years had already passed since Ji Ning had refined the final stance of the Three-Foot Sword. During the years he spent comprehending the Eight-Nine Arcane Art and learning archery, he had also continued his Dao-comprehension! He had made great advancements in the ‘Wind’ and ‘Space’ Daos in particular, and his swordsmanship had naturally improved as well.

In terms of pure sword-art, Ji Ning had already reached an extraordinary level.

Secondly, he had a full nine Immortal-rank, top-grade flying swords, while the seven Dharma Kings only had low-grade Immortal-rank treasures at best, with the middle-grade being the highest. Some Dharma Kings even used Heaven-ranked treasures.

Furthermore, Ji Ning was executing the ‘Li Tian’ sword-art, a set created by a Daofather to perfectly accompany the Li Tian sword formation, which naturally doubled its power.

Even when used separately, each of the nine Li Tian Immortal swords had already reached the Celestial Immortal threshold.

And thus…

All seven Dharma Kings were slain!

“Whoosh!” The nine streaks of sword-light twisted through the air, sweeping up all the scattered treasures before flying back to the black-robed Ji Ning, who stored them away.

“This… this is simply too…!” The Wufeng Immortal’s eyes were filled with ecstasy as he stared at the black-robed Ji Ning with intense fervor. “Ji Ning, those were the seven Dharma Kings! The seven Dharma Kings, infamous for their might, and you killed them in a single exchange! It’s said that the seven Dharma Kings, working together, were virtually undefeatable below the Celestial Immortal level. But you, Ji Ning… you are no longer on the level of Senior Beixing. You surpass the Beixing of old!”

The black-robed Ji Ning said, “In terms of pure sword-art, I’m not that much higher than Senior Beixing. What matters is that I have a complete set of nine top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords and a sword-art created by a Daofather. Even if a Celestial Immortal patriarch came in person, this Primaltwin of mine could exchange a few blows with him!”

The Blood God Church had split its forces into two groups.

The seven Dharma Kings had been sent to deal with the weakest of their targets, the Wufeng Immortal and the Whitewater Hound, while the Church Lord, Blooddrop, had gone to face Ji Ning’s true body.

“Prepare to die.” Blooddrop stood at the bow of his massive black ship. In front of him, a series of long awls materialized. The tips of these grey awls glowed with a bloody light. Following this, all nine grey awls spread out, shooting through the sky, leaving behind a surging tide of bloody energy.

The nine grey awls screamed through the air as waves of blood billowed.

Ji Ning’s true body stood there, watching from a distance.

“Hmph.”

With a flip of his hand, Ji Ning produced the Qianqiu Sword. As his immensely powerful late-Void-stage Ki surged into it, the might of this nearly Purely Yang sword exploded to an astonishing degree.

“The Qianqiu Sword lives up to its reputation as a treasure nearly at the level of a Purely Yang artifact. This artificially created treasure has extremely strict requirements for Ki! A true Purely Yang treasure can only be used by a Celestial Immortal. This sword is the very best of the Immortal-ranked top-grade, and its power is close to that of a Purely Yang artifact. Before, when I was only at the early Void stage, I couldn’t even stimulate all of its power. Now that I’m at the late Void stage, I can finally unleash its full might. However… this isn’t yet the time to use its strongest strike.” Ji Ning had been feeling a vague, unidentifiable threat in his heart, but he couldn't pinpoint it!

This unease caused him to hide part of his strength, keeping it in reserve for any sudden surprises.

“Go.”

A massive lotus-shaped sword-world bloomed around Ji Ning. Because the Earthfire and Colds Sha within his body had never been able to advance to the ‘Skyfire’ and ‘Skywater’ level, the power of his Water-Fire Lotus had actually fallen behind his ‘Lotus Sword-World’.

The giant lotus flower bloomed, layer after layer of petals spreading outward.

His Dao realm had risen, making the Lotus Sword-World far more powerful than before.

“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” One awl after another, accompanied by surging waves of blood, charged forward, tearing apart layer after layer of lotus petals.

Ji Ning gripped the Qianqiu Sword, its blade flashing with light as he blocked each awl.

Booming sounds rang out without end.

Sword-ki surged wildly.

Ji Ning used the Lotus Sword-World while wielding the Qianqiu Sword in one hand, directly slapping the awls away.

“Hmm?” Blooddrop, attacking from afar while monitoring the seven Dharma Kings’ situation, thought to himself, “This Ji Ning has some skill. Although I was only using thirty percent of my power… he hasn’t even used his ‘Three Heads, Six Arms’ technique, relying on just a single magic sword to block me. It seems that even if I went all out, it would be hard to kill him. To have grown so strong in less than a hundred years… this monster who won first place in the Immortal Fortunes Assembly is no ordinary talent. Hmph, once the seven Dharma Kings kill Wufeng, Diancai, and that spirit-beast, they’ll come help me. Then we’ll kill this Ji Ning together!”

Blooddrop was lost in his pleasant daydreams.

But then, he was shocked to see…

A black-robed Ji Ning had suddenly appeared within the seal formation.

“A Primaltwin? This Ji Ning actually dares to separate his Primaltwin from his true body? Isn’t he afraid of being defeated in detail? He really doesn’t want to live.” Blooddrop was startled, but not panicked. He believed that even if the seven Dharma Kings couldn’t suppress Ji Ning’s Primaltwin, they would at least be able to hold their own.

“What is that?!”

The nine streaks of sword-light from the powerful Immortal-ranked flying swords were so mighty they made one’s heart tremble. With a howl, the nine swords joined forces and directly shattered the blood dragon.

The seven Dharma Kings fled in panic, screaming in terror, only to be caught up to and slain.

Blooddrop was dumbfounded!

The power of Ji Ning’s Primaltwin far exceeded his expectations. Even if he himself were to go all out, he couldn’t have shattered the blood dragon so easily! Unless there was a significant gap in strength… Ji Ning’s Primaltwin was actually stronger than his own!

“The seven Dharma Kings, my seven Dharma Kings, gone, just like that.” Blooddrop’s heart ached with loss. “This Ji Ning isn’t human. He’s a freak. In less than a hundred years of training, he’s actually stronger than me, who has received secret techniques. He’s probably already on the level of that old monster ‘Tuoshan’ from the Beishan clan of Anchan.”

“But since I’ve lost the seven Dharma Kings, I need to give him something to remember me by.”

Blooddrop’s eyes were filled with nothing but madness.

The disciples of the Blood God Church were famous for their insanity, and their Church Lord, Blooddrop, was the biggest madman of them all. Right now, with his treasure ship in hand, why would he retreat so easily?

“Whoosh!”

The flying awls quickly flew back as the massive black ship in the air shrank down. Blooddrop also hid himself within the cabin. The entire black ship sealed itself shut, becoming a fortress.

“Ji Ning, since you killed my seven Dharma Kings, I’ll kill your master instead.” Blooddrop’s roars shook heaven and earth, but he was muttering to himself inwardly, “A loss this big, but killing Diancai should be considered a major feat. I’ll definitely be able to get some more treasures out of this.”

…

Ji Ning had been merely dealing with Blooddrop. Most of his attention was focused on being wary of the unknown danger, ready to react at any moment.

When Blooddrop suddenly hid within his black ship, which became like a fortress, Ji Ning simply frowned and sent a mental message: “Uncle White, activate the formation and obstruct Blooddrop. Don’t let him get close to Master.”

“Don’t worry, Ning’er.” The Whitewater Hound hadn’t even made a real move yet; he was the final guardian for the Diancai Immortal!

“Blooddrop is barely at the level of a Celestial Immortal. It’s hard to kill him, but I can still suppress him,” Ji Ning thought to himself. “That treasure ship of his is only a life-preserving tool. It poses no real danger to me. So where is the true danger?”

Ji Ning’s eyes blazed with torch-like light as he scanned his surroundings.

His divine sense was also probing.

But he couldn’t find anything!

Suddenly…

Hum!

A white-robed man appeared from thin air. On his arm was a strange bloody scar. Following this, eleven more white-robed figures appeared around him, each radiating immense auras. The invisible pressure they gave off made every single one of them seem at least as strong as Blooddrop! The first one to appear felt to Ji Ning even more powerful.

“A Grand Teleportation Dao-seal!” Ji Ning was startled by their sudden appearance. “The space around here has long been sealed. No spatial teleportation should be possible, unless they used a ‘Grand Teleportation’ technique. They can’t possibly have a freak who has mastered the ‘Space’ Grand Dao among them. They must have used a Grand Teleportation Dao-seal.”

“Just to catch us off guard, they used a single-use Grand Teleportation Dao-seal? And the other eleven white-robed men appeared afterward, meaning they were probably hiding in the leader’s mobile Immortal estate.”

Ji Ning deduced all of this in an instant.

And his heart grew even more alarmed!

Just how precious was a Grand Teleportation Dao-seal? To use one just for their entrance… just how terrifyingly powerful was the enemy’s attack going to be?

“Kill.” One of the white-robed youths let out a savage laugh. Following this, complex patterns of light appeared around him, forming runic arrays. Strange characters floated above them, each wreathed in black light.

The other white-robed people did the same.

The runic array and characters around the leader were even larger and more complex.

“Condense.”

A massive black serpent suddenly appeared in mid-air. Its pupils were a brilliant gold, and its body radiated a strange, heaven-shaking power. The very space around it trembled under the serpent’s dominance.

“The Primordial Godbeast, Bashe?” Ji Ning was shocked.

The most supreme Godbeasts in the Three Realms had all been born in the primordial era. They were no weaker than Primordial Fiendgods, and some were even Primordial Fiendgods themselves. Godbeasts like the ancient ‘Yinglong,’ the ‘Kunpeng,’ the ‘Candle Dragon’… because they were born of heaven and earth, even from chaos itself, they could be considered Fiendgods. However, because they were the progenitors of countless Godbeasts who bore their bloodline, they were also classified as Godbeasts, the most original of them all.

The blood dragon formed from the seven Dharma Kings’ formation earlier was an ordinary cooperative formation.

But formations that could manifest primordial Godbeasts were of a far higher level. Once such a Godbeast was formed, it would possess incredible, mystical powers.

…

Slow as it is to describe, it took but an instant.

The twelve white-robed men, having used a Grand Teleportation Dao-seal, appeared instantly and formed a massive Bashe. This heaven-shaking Bashe opened its cavernous maw. The mouth twisted space itself, as if heaven and earth were being devoured. A terrifying, world-sucking suction force latched onto Ji Ning. Although he was a Fiendgod Body Refiner who struggled with all his might, he could not resist the pull. Not long ago, a Celestial Immortal patriarch had also failed to resist and was devoured, dying inside.

“Whoosh.”

Under the watchful eyes of the Wufeng Immortal and the Whitewater Hound in the distance… the giant Bashe opened its mouth wide and swallowed Ji Ning whole!