The Tortoise-Serpent Formation Shattered

Book 17, Chapter 9 — Ji Ning! Ji Ning!

“With the Bixia Formation, we can definitely hold,” the Amethyst Grass Immortal sent mentally, her voice urgent. “Attack together. Fight fire with fire. Kill him!”

As the Tonghe Immortal unleashed his sword art, the eighteen Celestial Immortals simultaneously activated their own treasures. Wielding the Bixia Formation, their magic power was now fused as one, each of them surging to a level comparable to Ji Ning’s power before he had been burned by karmic fire.

The air blazed with myriad colors as spells and treasures rained down like a comet swarm, streaking through the sky to strike the Tonghe Immortal.

“The Five Elements are the root; the Grand Polarity is the guide. This is the Extermination Sword Realm.” The divine light in the Tonghe Immortal’s eyes seemed almost solid as his voice rang out. The colossal Extermination Sword in the sky began to press downward. As it descended… the Grand Polarity cloud-mass above and the distant pillars of Five Elemental light instantly connected to it.

In that moment, a Sword Realm of a hundred li in diameter was born!

The Extermination Sword pressed down rapidly, the Sword Realm shrinking in tandem—from a hundred li to a mere ten li, where it violently clashed with the spells and treasures unleashed by the eighteen Celestial Immortals.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A thunderous roar.

The Extermination Sword Realm trembled, seeming to weaken slightly.

But the distant Tonghe Immortal merely channeled his immortal magic power, and the drifting Five Element pillars and Grand Polarity cloud-mass surged with fresh energy into the Sword Realm, instantly restoring its might.

“Our combined assault can’t break through! This Tonghe Immortal’s ultimate technique is a Sword Realm of this nature—there’s no escape, and it truly breeds despair. No wonder they call him the Extermination Sword Immortal.” The eighteen Celestial Immortals turned pale. Though each of their spells and treasures was vastly amplified, their attacks were scattered and chaotic, unable to stack their power. They were held back by the Extermination Sword Realm.

The Extermination Sword pressed downward!

The entire Sword Realm shrank madly until it ground against the colossal Bixia Turtle.

The eighteen Celestial Immortals poured their immortal power into the formation, making the Bixia Formation—renowned as the ultimate defensive formation—even more unyielding.

CRASH!

A great boom.

The Extermination Sword stabbed straight into the Bixia Turtle’s shell. Runes flowed across the shell’s surface as it strained to hold.

“Hmm?” The Tonghe Immortal’s expression shifted slightly.

“We held! We held!”

“Ha! He’s just a Celestial Immortal, no matter how brilliant his technique. At best, he’s near a Pure Yang True Immortal.”

“Breaking through the Bixia Formation isn’t that easy!”

The eighteen Celestial Immortals brimmed with newfound confidence.

“Descend.” The Tonghe Immortal pointed into the distance, unleashing another Extermination Sword Realm. He intended to wear down the enemy’s defensive formation through repeated strikes.

…

Watching the distant battle, with the Tonghe Immortal’s Extermination Sword Realm fully suppressing the Seamless Gate side, the observers could see the Seamless Gate cultivators had strong defenses but their attacks were utterly ineffective.

“The scene is completely under Senior Tonghe’s control,” the Diancai Immortal said with a laugh. “Too powerful! That sword technique of Senior Tonghe’s perfectly fuses the Grand Dao of the Grand Polarity with so many Dao mysteries from the Five Elements. Even a Pure Yang True Immortal might not have such a devastating technique.”

Ji Ning nodded.

For a Celestial Immortal to fight at a level near a Pure Yang True Immortal required an exceptionally high Dao comprehension and execution. The ‘Extermination Sword Realm’ was likely a perfect fusion of several Grand Daos. Though none were fully mastered, the fusion itself rivaled a sword art created through complete Grand Dao mastery.

“Look!” Yu Wei suddenly turned pale.

“What?” Ji Ning’s expression also changed.

In the distance, the eighteen Celestial Immortals of the Bixia Formation had withdrawn their treasures. Azure runes began to appear around them. Gritting their teeth, they pushed their power to the limit. Countless silken threads flew out, spreading across the entire Bixia Formation. Soon, from beneath the tail of the Bixia Turtle, a massive azure serpent emerged. Coiled together, tortoise and serpent, their aura exploded dramatically.

“Tortoise and Serpent?”

“Xuanwu!”

Both Ji Ning, Yu Wei, the Diancai Immortal, and the Tonghe Immortal himself paled.

The image of the tortoise and serpent held a uniquely special place in the Three Realms. Every Ki Refiner formed a Tortoise-Serpent Primal when they reached the Primal Daoist stage. And Xuanwu… was a true powerhouse from the ancient Pangu World, now known as the famed Xuanwu Emperor. The Tortoise-Serpent Formation was immeasurably more profound and complex than the Bixia Formation.

“The Bixia Formation is purely defensive. The Tortoise-Serpent Formation is an improvement upon it,” the Tonghe Immortal said, understanding dawning as he watched the enemy deploy the formation. “It possesses comparable defense to the Bixia Formation while also carrying devastating offensive power.”

Suddenly—

SHWOOOSH!

The massive azure serpent coiled around the turtle shot forward, its jaws gaping wide. Its head swelled to a hundred li in size, seeming to swallow heaven and earth whole. The Tonghe Immortal tried to block with his Extermination Sword, but the serpent’s head appeared intangible. It swallowed even the Tonghe Immortal whole. He quickly recalled the six sword beams to his side, transforming them into protective light.

“What? This… this…” The Diancai Immortal and Yu Wei were stunned.

“Swallowing the Heavens?” Ji Ning frowned deeply. This was one of Xuanwu Emperor’s innate divine abilities. For the Tortoise-Serpent Formation to replicate it showed that its creator had refined it to a level almost indistinguishable from the true Xuanwu.

“The Tortoise-Serpent Formation: the turtle governs defense, the serpent governs offense,” the Amethyst Grass Immortal and her seventeen comrades said with savage satisfaction. The turtle formation was roughly equal to the Bixia Formation in defense, but the full formation was perfect and terrifyingly powerful. Deploying it was extremely difficult; even these eighteen top-tier Celestial Immortals could barely manage it.

“Die!”

The Tonghe Immortal, now trapped within the azure serpent’s body, unleashed the Extermination Sword Realm again. But inside the serpent, another serpent head materialized and attacked him savagely. The head appeared and vanished unpredictably, an utterly mysterious assault. The Tonghe Immortal was battered and clearly on the verge of collapse.

“Once the Tortoise-Serpent Formation is deployed, it sweeps all before it below the level of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals,” the Amethyst Grass Immortal and her comrades said, utterly confident.

…

“It’s over.”

“Even the Tonghe Immortal can’t break through this Tortoise-Serpent Formation. The azure serpent’s attacks are unfathomable.” Standing on Anchan City’s walls, the Diancai Immortal was in despair. Yu Wei’s face was ashen. Neither could do anything against the might of the coiled tortoise and serpent. They all understood the gap was too vast.

Only a true Empyrean God or True Immortal could break through.

“Damn it.” Ji Ning’s expression hardened. He could see the Tonghe Immortal wouldn’t last much longer.

SWISH!

Ji Ning immediately activated his Nine Heavens Annihilating Wind divine ability and shot into the distance.

“Ji Ning!” The Diancai Immortal’s face changed drastically. “Ji Ning, stop!”

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei’s face twisted with alarm. She even tried to manipulate the formation to intercept him.

But Ji Ning, Yu Wei, and the Diancai Immortal were all familiar with this formation. They had even left their soul imprints at its core. The three of them, along with the Tonghe Immortal, could all control it. It could block anyone else, but not Ji Ning.

“Junior apprentice-brother, this formation is incredibly powerful. Even the Tonghe Immortal is no match for it. Don’t be reckless,” Yu Wei sent mentally, her voice frantic.

“Disciple, I command you to return!” The Diancai Immortal was panicking.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

They both shot out from the city walls, chasing after Ji Ning.

They believed in Ji Ning’s strength, but they had just witnessed the Tortoise-Serpent Formation’s horror. Its defense was impenetrable even by the Tonghe Immortal’s strongest sword. Its attack, the azure serpent, was mysteriously able to swallow heaven and earth. The Tonghe Immortal was about to die. If Ji Ning were trapped inside the serpent, how could he survive?

“Swoosh.” Ji Ning did not stop.

“Ji Ning! The azure serpent of the Tortoise-Serpent Formation specializes in entrapment. Your body may be as tough as a magic treasure, but it’s a direct counter to you! You’ll die if you go there!” Yu Wei flew madly after him, but with his Nine Heavens Annihilating Wind divine ability, Ji Ning’s speed was beyond her reach.

By now, Ji Ning had already charged toward the Tortoise-Serpent Formation.

The eighteen Celestial Immortals of the Seamless Gate were fully focused on the formation, intent on killing the Tonghe Immortal, when they noticed Ji Ning arriving.

“Ji Ning?”

“He dares to come even after seeing our Tortoise-Serpent Formation?” The eighteen Celestial Immortals were astonished.

“Perfect. Let’s stay focused on the serpent formation to kill the Tonghe Immortal first. Once he’s dead, we’ll kill Ji Ning! Pick them off one by one! As for Ji Ning… the turtle formation is enough to hold him off,” the Amethyst Grass Immortal sent mentally.

“Agreed.” The other seventeen Celestial Immortals concurred.

Handling Ji Ning and the Tonghe Immortal simultaneously would be exhausting. Ignoring Ji Ning for now and focusing on killing the Tonghe Immortal first was the smarter play. After that, dealing with Ji Ning would be far easier. After all, the Tortoise-Serpent Formation’s defense was on par with the Bixia Formation.

WHOOSH!

The moment he reached them, Ji Ning pressed his right hand together into a sword-finger. With a flash, the sword-finger swelled to a thousand zhang in length, like a titanic sword spanning heaven and earth. Silver-white light gathered at its tip. In that instant, Ji Ning had activated the fourth-cycle Starseizing Hand and poured all his Heartforce into the strike.

Starseizing Hand, Sword Force, Heartforce—all unleashed at once!

“Junior apprentice-brother!”

“Ji Ning!”

Yu Wei and the Diancai Immortal were flying desperately toward the scene, watching in anguish.

CRACKLE!

The colossal sword-finger descended with unfathomable might.

The eighteen Celestial Immortals’ faces changed only when the finger touched the formation. But it was too late. With a RIIIP, the Tortoise-Serpent Formation couldn’t stop Ji Ning’s terrifying sword-finger. It tore straight through. As the thousand-zhang sword-finger swept across the formation, Celestial Immortals were flung away like pebbles struck by a mountain. In that single instant, six Celestial Immortals died!

“This…” The surviving Celestial Immortals, including the Amethyst Grass Immortal, were stunned. “Impossible! The Tortoise-Serpent Formation is invincible below the level of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals!”

Normally, that was true.

But Ji Ning was different.

Back when he fought the Shaoyin clan, he had reached the peak of the Celestial Immortal level. Later, in the Realm of Annihilation, he broke through to the seventeenth stage of the Crimsonbright Diagram. With that breakthrough in divine power alone, he was already close to a Pure Yang True Immortal in combat power—on par with the Tonghe Immortal.

But Ji Ning also had Heartforce at the third stage, along with Sword Force.

A single burst of third-stage Heartforce consumed one-fifteenth of his total reserve, and the boost was astonishing! Combined with Sword Force, Ji Ning, who was already near a Pure Yang True Immortal, made a qualitative leap. In offensive power, he had truly reached the level of an Empyrean God or True Immortal!

“Is… is he already an Empyrean God or True Immortal?” The Amethyst Grass Immortal and the others stared in terror at the distant Ji Ning. They all began to plan their escape, their will to resist utterly broken. But Ji Ning let out a single roar:

“Three Heads, Six Arms!”

FLASH!

Where there had been one sword-finger, now six sword-fingers tore through the void, raining death upon them.