The Clash of Divine Mecha

Ji Ning did not hesitate as he began his slaughter, showing no mercy whatsoever. For to be lenient with one’s enemies was to be cruel to oneself—and to those one had sworn to protect.

Boom! Boom!

His two enormous palms, black as storm clouds, swept through the countless fleeing Immortals. The pain and despair were immeasurable; some even began to curse. But they were nothing more than ants, fated to die early beneath the grinding wheels of the great tribulation. When such a calamity descended, even Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals could be more pitiable than mortals.

“Stop.” “Halt!”

In the distance, the two White-Faced Flood Dragons and the nine colossal black golems charged over simultaneously.

Ji Ning’s gaze flickered as he immediately recognized them. “Heavenly God Puppets?”

These newly arrived, slightly weaker ten-thousand-zhang-tall divine fiends were indeed Heavenly God Puppets. He recognized them at a glance because, back when the Seamless Gate had sent assassins to Brightheart Island, Old Man Yuan had slain them and given all their treasures to Ji Ning. Among those treasures had been a Heavenly God Puppet. It was identical to these nine—a pitch-black, hideous form with a pair of curved horns.

“Northbow, well done!” “Brilliant!” “Kill! Hahaha, kill them all!”

The other seven Xingtian Gods converged on Ji Ning excitedly. Their joy was understandable. The Seamless Gate had just slain their comrade, the Xingtian God Xishui. Almost in the same instant, Ji Ning had brutally killed one of the enemy’s White-Faced Flood Dragons. The fury at losing Xishui had barely faded before Ji Ning’s achievement ignited their spirits.

“Haha. The other nine black divine fiends are all Heavenly God Puppets,” Ji Ning transmitted. “They’re probably weaker than the White-Faced Flood Dragons.”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The three nearest Heavenly God Puppets lunged straight at Ji Ning.

With a thought, Ji Ning swept up all the treasures left behind by the countless Immortals he had just crushed into his storage artifacts. Many Immortals were still fleeing in all directions; they were fast, some even hiding inside flying mansions. Ji Ning couldn’t possibly kill them all. The earlier destruction of the Xingtian God Xishui had also allowed a few Immortals to survive—lucky ones who had escaped with their lives through sheer fortune. In a battle of this scale, surviving the collapse of a grand formation was like snatching a life back from death.

“Hmph.” The Xingtian God Ji Ning took a single sidestep, then lashed out with a vicious claw at the nearest Heavenly God Puppet to his flank.

In his ordinary battles, Ji Ning used the Starseizing Hand, so he was well practiced in fighting with his hands.

Fist? Claw? Palm? Sword-finger? His hands could transform in any way.

The Heavenly God Puppet raised both arms to block.

Boom!

At the moment of contact, Ji Ning’s claw turned into a fist. The surface of the fist condensed sharp spikes—all formed by his Pure Yang supreme-grade treasure, ‘Breaker of All Obstacles.’ The fist slammed heavily into the puppet’s crossed arms. Though the arms held firm, the puppet was sent flying backward, tumbling thousands of li before crashing into a vast lake. It rolled several times, then quickly righted itself and charged once more. By then, Ji Ning was already engaged with the other two Heavenly God Puppets.

Every strike Ji Ning delivered was tremendously heavy!

As he had predicted, the Heavenly God Puppets were extremely tough in defense due to their construction materials, but their offensive power was noticeably weaker. It took the combined attacks of three puppets to keep him occupied and prevent him from finishing one off.

“Kill!” “These puppets aren’t that strong.” “Much weaker than the White-Faced Flood Dragons.”

The other Xingtian Gods joined the fray, exchanging blows with the puppets and the flood dragons.

A fierce battle erupted.

It took three Heavenly God Puppets to tie down Ji Ning. For the other Xingtian Gods, just two puppets each were enough. The nine Heavenly God Puppets and the two White-Faced Flood Dragons had now fully gathered, supporting one another. Though under heavy pressure from Ji Ning’s group of eight Xingtian Gods, they managed to hold their ground.

After all, the Heavenly God Puppets had formidable defenses, their bodies no weaker than Pure Yang treasures. Their obvious weakness was that once captured or pinned, they were doomed.

…

The White-Faced Flood Dragon commanded by the Divine General Duque had been wildly attacking, but without killing the Grand Xia’s two Empyrean Gods. Seeing his two other Flood Dragons and nine Heavenly God Puppets under siege, he let out a furious roar and charged, trampling the battlefield. Despite the desperate efforts of the Grand Xia’s two Empyrean Gods, they could not stop this powerful Flood Dragon.

“This Flood Dragon is too strong,” the Empyrean God of Fiery Clouds transmitted. “I’d guess it’s commanded by a True God or True Immortal,” the female Empyrean God replied. “Let’s focus on spells and support Ji Ning’s group of eight.” “Agreed. We’re better off casting spells now.” The Empyrean God of Fiery Clouds nodded.

Both Empyrean Gods flew forward, beginning to weave their spells—both of the binding and restraining kind. A surging black river and a golden lava river coiled around the three White-Faced Flood Dragons and the nine Heavenly God Puppets of the Seamless Gate.

“Damn it!” “This binding is unbearable!” “My speed is dropping.”

The other two White-Faced Flood Dragons felt it acutely. Their speed, which had once given them an advantage over the Xingtian Gods, was now crippled. Even the force of their attacks was noticeably weakened.

The nine Heavenly God Puppets were hit even harder. As the weakest link, the restraining spells drastically reduced their combat power. Fortunately, since both Grand Xia Empyrean Gods’ spells were area-of-effect bindings, they could still skirmish with the Xingtian Gods.

“Damn it.”

The Duque White-Faced Flood Dragon was the least affected. Berserk, he charged straight in.

Ji Ning and his seven Xingtian brothers immediately felt the surge of danger.

“Tonghe, Ten Thousand Beasts, Floating Dust—the four of us, together!” the Immortal Tonghe transmitted. As the closest combatants facing the Duque Flood Dragon, the four Xingtian Gods joined forces.

Boom!

The Xingtian God Tonghe was sent flying from a single head-on collision, but the other three Xingtian Gods gave the Duque Flood Dragon no chance to pursue, immediately blocking him.

Thus, four Xingtian Gods hammered away at the Duque Flood Dragon. Wave after wave, supporting each other, they managed to hold this terrifying beast at bay.

Meanwhile, Ji Ning and the other three Xingtian Gods savagely attacked the nine Heavenly God Puppets and the two White-Faced Flood Dragons. Ji Ning alone was locked in combat with six of the Heavenly God Puppets.

…

On the distant city walls of the black fortress known as the Seamless City, the White Extreme True Immortal, the Green Fox Sect Leader, and others watched from afar.

“I told them to be careful of that Ji Ning,” the Green Fox Sect Leader said with a frown, her voice carrying a trace of anger.

“It’s not entirely their fault,” the Bloodcloud Tower Master shook his head. “The battlefield changes in an instant. Once an opening appears, escape is impossible. And Ji Ning was incredibly daring, leaping up and striking with his knee. True primordial Fiendgods rarely use such techniques.”

The White Extreme True Immortal said coldly, “Ji Ning’s strength lies in his ability to think of what others dare not think. When a real divine Fiend uses battle, his entire body’s power is fused into one, so attacking with both arms is enough. But neither the Xingtian Gods nor the White-Faced Flood Dragons can even control their own strength properly, let alone fuse it into one. The power in a Xingtian God’s legs naturally far surpasses that of its arms. If Ji Ning hadn’t taken that risk, our side could have held out. The nine Heavenly God Puppets would have had time to reinforce. But by daring that knee strike, Ji Ning shattered that White-Faced Flood Dragon’s defense, then killed it with a single sword.”

The others nodded.

“Ji Ning truly is a variable,” the Green Fox Sect Leader said.

In the corner, the Poison-Ugly Immortal’s face grew even darker. A flicker of mockery passed through his eyes.

Once, he had been in Nuwa’s camp, terrified of Ji Ning’s revenge.

Now, he had joined the Seamless Gate. The one most eager to kill Ji Ning had become the Seamless Gate itself.

“This battle has gone far enough,” the White Extreme True Immortal said. “Xia Emperor still has Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who haven’t acted. We haven’t gone all out either. Even if we did fight to the death, neither side could sweep the other. This first engagement has revealed each side’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s time to reconsider our strategy.”

“Yes.” “We need to think carefully. We may need to deploy reinforcements from the Fifth World.”

Everyone nodded. None of them had expected to annihilate the enemy in a single clash. To underestimate Xia Emperor would be foolish. If they recklessly attacked with everything, even if they succeeded, the cost would be unimaginable. The Seamless Gate’s goal was to occupy the entire Grand Xia world at the lowest possible price. If there was truly no other way, they would pay any price.

“Duque.” The White Extreme True Immortal looked at a nearby Seamless Gate Empyrean God. “Cease fire. Pull back.”

This man was none other than the Empyrean God Duque, though this was merely one of his avatars.

As a divine Fiend, he could split into countless avatars.

“Fine.” Duque’s eyes were narrow and long. “But before we withdraw, I want to personally test Ji Ning’s strength.”

“Duque, my thanks.” The old man in black robes with red pupils, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.

“Haha, Brother Chibing, no need to thank me. I know you’re here on Senior Wu Xiao’s request to kill Ji Ning. I’m helping you, but more importantly, I’m helping the Seamless Gate. This Ji Ning is indeed an obstacle to occupying the Grand Xia,” the Empyrean God Duque nodded.

The red-pupiled old man nodded gently.

He was not under the command of the Green Fox Sect Leader or the others. He had come here entrusted with a single task from the Celestial Immortal Wu Xiao—to kill Ji Ning.

…

“The Seamless Gate is probably about to retreat. Stay alert for their final counterattack,” Ji Ning transmitted. As the strongest force on his side, he had the clearest view of the battlefield momentum.

“Understood. Everyone be careful.” “Bad. That strongest White-Faced Flood Dragon is fleeing! Ah, Ji Ning, be careful!” the Immortal Tonghe transmitted urgently.

Ji Ning noticed it too.

That strongest White-Faced Flood Dragon was incredibly fast. It feigned retreat, then arced around and charged directly at Ji Ning.

The other Xingtian Gods immediately gathered toward Ji Ning to support him.

“Die!”

The Duque White-Faced Flood Dragon’s aura was sky-piercing. He leaped into the air, not truly intending to retreat, but to test Ji Ning—though killing him would be best. His claw, with the force of splitting heaven and earth, came down with all his power, slamming viciously at the Xingtian God Ji Ning.

Ji Ning stepped back with his left foot, bending both knees slightly. Facing this mighty claw, he raised both hands before his face in a block.

Boom!!!

It was the most violent collision since the battle had begun. The shockwave itself tore open the earth. The ground beneath Ji Ning and the White-Faced Flood Dragon collapsed, sinking both of them down to at least knee-deep. The land in the distance rolled like waves, eventually reaching the distant lake and raising a monstrous tidal wave.