by RWX
Ning’s face tightened as he sent mentally to Ning, “Ninedust, my [Dreamstar] did nothing to him.”
“He is probably a supreme Daolord! Supreme Daolords almost all have incredibly powerful souls and Dao-hearts. Their souls won’t be easily shaken by illusions. Don’t worry. Leave it to me.” The Ninedust Sectlord glared coldly at the distant red-robed youth, then barked, “Daolord Snowjoy? Hmph! Let’s see if you really are strong enough to bar my path.”
“After you.” The red-robed youth smiled gracefully, then flew over.
“Attack!” The Ninedust Sectlord swept through the skies, his longstaff expanding to become ten thousand kilometers long as he slammed it towards the opponent in front of him. The space around him actually twisted into a vortex, with that longstaff being at the center of the vortex as it smashed towards the red-robed youth.
The red-robed youth instantly manifested a total of six ivory-white arms. His six arms spread out like the plumes of a peacock, launching palm-strikes, finger-strikes, claw-strikes, and other attacks towards the Ninedust Sectlord.
Thud! An extremely soft and light collision could be heard. The red-robed youth’s body trembled slightly before he then continued to press the attack against Ninedust.
“Die.” The Ninedust Sectlord spun his staff around his waist as he prepared for another strike. The longstaff was like a Flood Dragon leaving the waters, causing great waves to appear in the area that crashed downwards towards the red-robed youth.
Boom!
Hiss!
Bang!
The red-robed youth’s attacks were extremely graceful. No matter how ferocious the Ninedust Sectlord’s attacks were, the youth was able to defend against them with extremely delicate strikes. He was able to use his six hands alone to defend against Ninedust’s longstaff without suffering the slightest of disadvantages.
Ning grew increasingly anxious as he watched. If this continued, the battle could go on for several days without any resolution.
Swoosh! Ning suddenly vanished as he used his Shadowless evasion skill to move closer to the red-robed youth.
“You wish to ambush me?” The red-robed youth’s godsense had been activated this entire time, and so he naturally was able to notice as Ning drew close to him. He let out a soft laugh. “you are a Heartforce Cultivator. If you hid far away, I wouldn’t be able to do anything to you… but you actually dare to deliver yourself into my hands?”
“Kill!” Six streams of light appeared simultaneously as Ning manifested [Three Heads, Six Arms] and sent his six Northbow swords to attack his opponent.
“Screw off.” The red-robed youth casually waved a single hand to slap back at him.
Bang! The tips of the swords collided against the center of the red-robed youth’s palm. The youth’s face instantly changed. He had thought that he would be able to deliver a heavy blow to Ning with a single hand, but Ning had used the most powerful attack available to him – the Blood Drop stance. This stance, when used with the Northbow swords, contained incredible power!
Although Ning felt the tremendous power contained within that palm-strike, the defensive prowess of his sword-arts allowed him to deflect and ablate much of that power with one sword. He also had the Hegemon armor, allowing him to take on as much of the strike as possible so as to ensure that his other five swords were not disrupted by the attack. Thus, the other five Northbow swords continued to fly mercilessly towards the red-robed youth.
“I told you to screw off!” The red-robed youth was irritated now. He sent three of his ivory-white palms towards Ning in a fierce assault, his palms growing in size as he slapped out towards Ning.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning was knocked flying backwards.
Boom! The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly landed a blow with his longstaff against the red-robed youth’s waist, knocking him flying backwards as well. The youth spat a mouthful of blood out.
“Damn.” The red-robed youth quickly righted himself in midair, a look of anger in his eyes as he smiled coldly towards the distant Ning. “Impressive, Darknorth. I didn’t expect you to be this strong in close combat! You caught me slightly off-guard… and you didn’t even spit out any blood after taking a hit from me! Impressive, impressive.”
Ning was stronger than he had expected. He had to use at least thirty to forty percent of his power to deal with Ning, but this meant that he would no longer be able to fend off the Ninedust Sectlord.
* * *
Book 32, Chapter 14 - Daolord Shaka Bars Their Path
“The two of you are more powerful than I had expected. I’ve just developed an ultimate attack that I’ve yet to display in front of other Daolords. The two of you shall be the first one to see it.” the red-robed youth said in a cold voice. His body began to glow with rays of astral light that coalesced to his left and his right, forming two starlight bodies.
The red-robed youth and his two starlight bodies looked absolutely identical to each other.
“A Stargod clone?” Ji Ning and Ninedust both exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes, these are Stargod clones.” The red-robed youth smiled coldly. “This is the supreme technique of the Starking, the ‘Stargod clones’.”
The Starking was ranked ninth amongst the Daolords, and he was famous for his killer technique, the ‘Stargod clone’. Every single Stargod clone had 50% of the true body’s power! The Starking was able to create a total of seven such Stargod clones.
“The Starking’s ‘Astral Dao’ is an extreme one that has obvious flaws, rendering him weak in close combat. However, it allowed him to develop his Stargod clone technique, letting him be ranked amongst the top ten in the Endless Territories.” The red-robed youth smirked. “My own Astral Dao is more perfect than his. It has no flaws at all. Although I’m only able to create two Stargod clones, I’m vastly superior to the Starking.”
Ning and Ninedust traded a glance. This unknown Daolord Snowjoy was indeed quite formidable in close combat. Although he had been defending this entire time, he was still able to match Ninedust blow for blow. Now that he had two more Stargod clones with him, what were they to do?
“Kill!” The red-robed youth and his two Stargod clones simultaneously attacked the Ninedust Sectlord.
The furious Ninedust Sectlord charged forwards as well, his longstaff lashing directly outwards. His attack looked simple, but it possessed unstoppable power! The red-robed youth dodged slightly, using his palms to brush aside the attack, but the Ninedust Sectlord’s longstaff suddenly twisted and swept outwards to both sides of him, simultaneously striking at the red-robed youth and the two Stargod clones at the same time.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two sides exchanged just a few dozen stances before one of the Stargod clones managed to land a palm-strike directly against the Ninedust Sectlord’s chest, knocking him flying backwards. The Ninedust Sectlord’s chest had partially dissolved into a stream of water before quickly reforming. Although he didn’t have a killer attack like the Stargod clone technique, his invulnerable aquaform was a far stronger supreme defensive technique than Snowjoy possessed.
“He can’t hurt me, but his true body combined with the two Stargod clones can tie me down.” The Ninedust Sectlord gritted his teeth, then struck out with his right hand and produced that strange formation-diagram within his palm.
Rumble! The formation-diagram in his palm immediately flew out and expanded in size to cover an area of ten million kilometers. The enormous formation-diagram was shaped like a square within a circle and filled with layers of flowing barriers. Thousands of layers of formations continuously overlapped with each other.
“A trap formation?” The red-robed youth, who had been extremely confident this entire time, suddenly turned tense. A look of stunned anger appeared on his face.
“Let’s go!” The Ninedust Sectlord immediately pulled Ning with him in a frantic retreat, the layers of formations parting in front of them. Swoosh! They entered the black vessel, then quickly fled at maximum speed.
“Stop running! Stop running!” Trapped within the enormous formation, the red-robed youth was able to do nothing besides roar angrily. He had been so close… so close! The Voidsea Jadeseal had been within reach, but this trap formation had cut off his chances.
“Break! BREAK!” The red-robed youth furiously assaulted the trap formation. He wasn’t that skilled in the art of formations, and when he saw that this one was composed of thousands of layers of barriers he knew that breaching it through raw force was the only chance he had! He had to continuously consume the power within the formation. Only when its power was depleted would he have a chance to escape.
However… he had no idea that this was something left behind by a Hegemon of the Ancient cultivators! This formation was an incredibly strong one. He was trapped in it for a full hour before managing to escape. By then, Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord had fled far, far away.
……
“The situation looks pretty bad.”
“The Ninedust Sectlord has a trap formation of incredible power.”
“Daolord Snowjoy’s stuck inside it.”
Word quickly spread, and the many Daolords converging on this area began to grow anxious. It took them time to slowly fly through the ninth layer, making it difficult for any group to intercept another group. They had been extremely lucky to have a supreme Daolord manage to intercept Ning’s squad, but who would’ve thought that the Ninedust Sectlord would be able to use a trap formation against him and escape with ease?
……
Flee, flee, flee! Ning’s group continued to frantically flee at maximum speed. Both Ning and Ninedust knew that using a trap formation against such an opponent was an excellent ploy, but Ninedust’s formation treasure could only be slowly recharged through the usage of ten million cubes of chaos jewels! They didn’t really care about money at a time like this, but it would take two or three days for the recharging process to be completed.
Another month went by in the blink of an eye. Daolord Snowjoy was once more in hot pursuit of them, but wouldn’t be able to catch up. For now, the group didn’t encounter a second supreme Daolord.
“It’s only been a month. Based on the path in front of us, we’ll still need another two years before we can escape the ninth layer. I hope things will progress smoothly.” Ning, Ninedust, and Badlands were all standing aboard the deck of the black vessel.
Daolord Badlands suddenly frowned. He repeatedly engaged in his Numerancy calculations, only to shake his head again and again.
“What’s wrong?” Ning and Ninedust asked.
“Things are becoming increasingly dangerous!” Badlands explained, “My calculations are telling me that the situation is going to worsen no matter which way we go!”
Ninedust snickered, “They know where we are and are surrounding us from all sides. Of course things are only going to become increasingly dangerous! Our only chance is for us to escape the ninth layer. But… if they are going to try and stop us, they need to prepare to die!”
“Someone’s coming.” Ning stared towards the front.
“Eh?” Ninedust turned to stare forwards as well. A golden streak of light suddenly appeared off in the distance… and the faces of both Ning and Ninedust instantly changed.
“Fellow Daoist Darknorth. Long time no see.” A golden-armored, golden-haired man stood off in the distance, a brilliant smile on his face and violet light shimmering in his eyes. “You’ve improved quite quickly!”
“Daolord Shaka.” Ning had an ugly look on his face. When Kongsan had failed in his attempt to kill Ning, Kongsan had asked Daolord Shaka to help out. Ning had been forced to use his Hegemon Dao-seal to survive!
The Sword Hegemon’s Dao-seal was incredibly powerful. It had slaughtered Kongsan outright! Daolord Shaka, however, had managed to survive and escape thanks to using a valuable life-preserving treasure.
“You actually dare to bar my path? Aren’t you worried that I might hit you with a second seal?” Ning said coldly.
“Ahaha!” Daolord Shaka laughed loudly. He naturally had never forgotten the terrifying scene from a few years back. “Are you really trying to tell me you had TWO such treasures? And even if you do have a second one, so what? I knew just how dangerous this trip to the Waveshift Realm would be and so I paid an incredibly heavy price to procure a protective treasure. Even if you use a second Dao-seal, I’ll still be able to escape.”
“Forget him.” The Ninedust Sectlord frowned, then sent mentally, “Let’s leave. Don’t waste any time with him.”
“Let’s go.” Ning agreed with this idea. Swoosh! The black vessel instantly sped up to a hundred times the speed of light as the two completely ignored Daolord Shaka.
“Fleeing?” Daolord Shaka instantly sped up to over a hundred times the speed of light, waving his hand and sending a streak of golden light straight towards the black vessel.
“Fuck off!” The Ninedust Sectlord brandished his longstaff, smashing the streak of golden light aside.
“Hahaha…” Daolord Shaka smiled coldly as he flew closer and closer towards the black vessel. “You won’t be able to escape.” One golden feather after another flew out from him, numbering six in total. They all transformed into streaks of golden light that furiously assaulted the black vessel.
“Damn that Daolord Shaka.” The Ninedust Sectlord charged out of the black vessel, but Daolord Shaka was able to easily evade him thanks to his great speed. Shaka moved faster than a hundred times the speed of light; there was no way for Ninedust to catch up to him at all.
“Go!” The Ninedust Sectlord waved his right hand, causing that formation-diagram to fly out once more.
……
Time continued to slowly flow on.
In terms of raw power, Daolord Shaka actually wasn’t a match for Ninedust! However, he was simply too fast. Although he was trapped within the formation for a full hour, he managed to once more catch up to them in under a day! He refused to engage Ning and the others in close combat, simply launching repeated long-distance attacks from afar. This ensured that they would move very slowly, at less than half of their maximum speed.
Running and fighting at the same time… of course they would be much closer! Finally, they managed to recharge the formation treasure with chaos jewels and once more trapped Daolord Shaka, but a day later he once more caught up to them!
“They won’t be able to escape.”
“They aren’t going anywhere.”
All of the Heartforce Cultivators watching knew exactly what the situation was. Ever since Daolord Shaka had managed to catch up to Ning’s squad, they had been dramatically slowed down.
Another five days went by.
“Damn.” Just as Ning and Ninedust were once more dealing with Daolord Shaka, another figure suddenly appeared off in the distance and began to fly towards them. It was the red-robed youth, Daolord Snowjoy.
“You are finished!” Daolord Shaka roared with laughter.
“You won’t be able to escape.” Daolord Snowjoy walked towards them, a cold smile on his face.
Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance. They didn’t fear Shaka or Snowjoy despite the two both being supreme Daolords, but when these two joined forces they would be able to completely tie down Ning and Ninedust, making their escape even slower. Most likely, even more Daolords would begin to arrive! It must be remembered that thus far, not a single one of the top-ranked Daolords had arrived yet.
* * *
Book 32, Chapter 15 - Sectlord Timedream and the Kingfreak
Daolord Snowjoy slowly walked towards them through the skies as he made his way towards the black vessel. As for Daolord Shaka, he attacked from afar using his magic treasures, using his long-distance attacks to tie down Ji Ning and Ninedust.
“Keep moving while fighting. We can’t let ourselves get tied down by them like this,” the Ninedust Sectlord immediately said.
……
Ning remained in control of the black vessel, watching as Ninedust battled against Daolord Snowjo
y and Daolord Shaka by himself. This was a two-on-one fight, and Ninedust was at a distinct disadvantage.
“Ninedust…” Ning sighed. In truth, there really was no need for Ninedust to involve himself, as he wouldn’t gain anything from it at all. The Voidsea Jadeseal wouldn’t be his, regardless of whether they succeeded or failed!
“What should we do? I can’t get involved in a fight at their level. In the end, I’m still not strong enough.” Ning felt quite resigned as well. Both Daolord Snowjoy and Daolord Shaka were able to ignore the effects of his heartforce techniques! As for his close combat abilities, Daolord Snowjoy would be able to overcome and suppress him with just a single one of his Stargod clones.
“We’ve been completely bogged down. Things are going to get worse and worse from now on.” Ning was truly worried.
……
Far off in the distance, there were two figures riding a white vessel that was advancing towards Ning’s position at high speed. The first was an alien man who wore a crown and who was dressed in beautiful golden robes. This man had dark-red eyes and emanated the stately aura of a king. Ordinary Daolords would feel an uncontrollable urge to bow down and prostrate themselves before him. He was Sectlord Timedream! The most accomplished Heartforce Cultivator in all the Endless Territories!
Next to him stood a short, squat, and ugly man who carried an enormous scimitar on his back. He was known as the Kingfreak, and was ranked eighteen amongst the Daolords of the Endless Territories! Although he was ranked fairly low amongst the supreme first-tier Daolords, he was still one of them. No supreme Daolords could be underestimated, as they all had their own specialties.
“Sectlord, we’re closing in on them. We should be able to catch up in under two days,” the Kingfreak said in his hoarse voice.
“Excellent.” Sectlord Timedream’s lips crooked upwards slightly. “Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy have tied them down, but they won’t be able to kill Ninedust or Darknorth. As for Winesage and the others, they are still quite far away. Winesage will have to spend at least ten days before making it here. Hmph. By then, I would’ve acquired the Voidsea Jadeseal long ago.”