Book 6, Breaking Through the Cocoon, Becoming a Butterfly, Chapter 20, Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal

“Nong Zidao disappeared?” Ji Ning frowned.

The other five Zifu Disciples were utterly terrified as well. Ning, with the assistance of the grand formation, was absolutely at the Wanxiang Adept level of power. The five of them weren’t even enough to join into a formation of their own.

“Ji Ning, please spare our lives.”

“I offer to you all of the magic treasures that I am carrying. My clan will also offer up magic treasures in exchange for my life.”

“Ji Ning…”

The five of them were all begging, without any hint of a martial spirit.

Ning swept the five of them with his gaze.

“Ji Ning.” A voice suddenly rang out by his ears. “We’ve destroyed these two groups of Zifu Disciples, but two more days will pass before the Grand Xia Dynasty arrives…within these two days, more disciples of Snowdragon Mountain might arrive. There is no way for us to watch over and guard these people. Kill them all. As for those two Zifu-level Diremonsters, if you are able to make them submit, do so. If not, kill them!”

Ning nodded.

The Patriarch’s words were reasonable.

“All of you, accept death.” Ning looked at them and spoke calmly.

In front of his body, that flashing sword light suddenly transformed into a line of rainwater and flew towards them. It was immediately followed by yet another flash of sword light.

These were all only at the eighth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]!

“Ji Ning, Snowdragon Mountain will definitely avenge us.”

“Ji Ning, you will die a miserable death!”

These five seemed to have gone berserk. All of them wanted to go all out, but given that they weren’t able to join in a formation, even though they threw out some powerful Dao-seals…upon encountering that curtain of water, they immediately exploded, unable to touch Ning at all.

Within a few moments, all five of them perished.

“Do you two spirit-beasts submit?” Ning swept his gaze towards the still-living Landwyrm and Fairy Crane.

The Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane looked at each other, and then the Landwyrm transformed into a large, azure-armored man, while the Fairy Crane transformed into a white-robed maiden. The azure-armored man and the white-robed maiden all immediately fell to their knees. “We are willing to submit!”

Although Zifu-level Diremonsters were incomparably arrogant and hard to tame, when they were faced with only two options, to perish or to submit…they would generally submit, especially when the opponent’s power completely surpassed their own.

“Follow me.” Ning’s gaze flashed, and the falling rain disappeared. Immediately afterwards, a surge of blazing fire swept out, rendering the corpses of the five Zifu Disciples into ash, leaving behind only their magic treasures, which Ning easily collected.

“Yes.” The Landwyrm and the Celestial Crane all followed after Ning.

Soon, they passed through the layers of black fog and arrived in front of Ji Ninefire.

“Eh?” Ning was surprised. In front of him, aside from the Patriarch and his father, Ji Truekeep, Granny Shadow, and Ah Xing had all arrived as well.

“I asked them to come.” Ninefire laughed. “Both groups of Zifu Disciples are dead. For now, we have no opponents, so I had them all come over.”

“Ji Ning. Formidable.” Truekeep’s eyes were shining.

“Formidable, formidable.” Old servantAh Xing’s face was filled with delight as well.

Granny Shadow laughed and nodded as well.

All of them were very happy.

This was because, in just two or three short days worth of time, Snowdragon Mountain would only be able to invite some Zifu Disciples from nearby regions to come over…and as for the main Snowdragon Mountain Sect, it was simply too far away. There was no way they would be able to make it over in two or three short days. Having killed eighteen Zifu Disciples and tamed two spirit-beasts, the threat level had dropped dramatically.

“Unfortunately, we allowed Nong Zidao to flee.” Patriarch Ninefire shook his head.

“Patriarch, how did he escape? Why did he suddenly disappear?” Ning asked hurriedly. Granny Shadow and the others all looked towards the Patriarch as well. They had just gathered together, and so they hadn’t had a chance to ask about these things in detail.

Ninefire shook his head. “I don’t know either. He simply disappeared. There’s no trace of him in the entire formation. However, if we ask his spirit-beast, I imagine it will know.”

The eyes of Ning and the others lit up. Right. Ask the spirit-beast.

“Fairy Crane.” Ninefire looked at the white-robed maiden. “How did Nong Zidao escape?”

The white-robed woman said respectfully, “My former owner was skilled in formations. He was valued by his master, and so was given a ‘Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal’. This Dao-seal, upon being used, will instantly allow one to teleport to any location within ten thousand kilometers.”

“A Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal?” Ning and the others looked at each other.

Ning quietly memorized this name. It seemed as though this Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal was the same thing as his so-called ‘Traceless Talisman’. The Traceless Talisman had been acquired in a fortuitous encounter by an ancestor of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, who had used up two, leaving only one behind. Because it allowed one to teleport within ten thousand kilometers without a trace, it had been named the ‘Traceless Talisman’.

“Patriarch, what should we do with these two spirit-beasts?” Ning looked at Ninefire. The other five all looked at each other as well.

“Ji Ning, are you willing to accept them?” Ninefire asked Ning.

Ning looked at the Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane. Zifu-level spirit-beasts were very precious. Ordinary Zifu Disciples wouldn’t be able to acquire them, but in truth…Ning didn’t care about these two Zifu spirit-beasts. If Ning took some time to focus on his insights, in anywhere from a few hours to a few days, he would break through to the seventh level, as a Fiendgod Body Refiner.

In but a few years, he would reach the ninth level as an Fiendgod Body Refiner of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]! By then, Zifu-level spirit-beasts would truly be useless to him; in fact, they would slow him down.

“I have no need.” Ning shook his head.

“Since that’s the case…” Ninefire nodded. “Then I will temporarily accept them. After we overcome this tribulation, I will then divide them up.”

“Fine.”

“That’s what we’ll do, then.”

Truekeep, Granny Shadow, Yichuan, and the others all nodded without any debate. It was too early to discuss who the spirit-beasts would go to. Nobody knew which of them would survive this tribulation.

“These are the magic treasures left behind by that Jadechild.” Ning waved his hand, and a large amount of magic treasures immediately appeared on the ground. “Everyone, take a look and see which are useful. If you find any flying swords…various elders, please help me prepare them for binding. I need to find a place to train; just now, in battle, I gained some slight insights.”

“Alright. Leave it to us.” Ninefire and the others didn’t hesitate at all.

“Right.” Ning’s body flickered as he immediately departed at high speed.

The Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane, in the form of the azure-armored warrior and the white-robed maiden, were both rather disappointed. In truth, they desired to become Ning’s spirit-beasts.

First of all, they bore no hatred for Ning, as the Landwyrm had, for example, been forcibly subdued by Jadechild in the past. Although the Fairy Crane did have a close relationship with Nong Zidao, since Zidao had given her up and fled for his life, it could be said that the karmic binds between them had come to an end.

Secondly, Ning was only sixteen years old. A monster like this would have unlimited potential; if they followed a master like him, their own future would be bright as well.

Unfortunately, Ning wasn’t willing to accept them.

…..

Ning was seated in the lotus position within the mountainous forests, surrounded by dark energy.

“Yin and Yang transform, endlessly engendering each other.” Ning murmured to himself, then closed his eyes and began to meditate on it. Prior to this, when he had analyzing the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], he had come to a realization…that all of the great Daos of the world were, in truth, similar. Formations, swordplay, magic, divine abilities…they all contained the ‘Dao’.

The Dao was the same. Only, the paths of the Dao were different.

Ning understood this principle…and so naturally, it now became much easier for him to break through, from the sixth to the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].

“Yin and Yang transform!” Ning, his eyes closed, began to activate the divine power in his body…

In midair, a thousand kilometers away from Snowdragon City, space suddenly rippled, and a figure appeared out of nowhere. It was a fur-clad Nong Zidao.

Nong Zidao’s eyes were filled with grief.

“If you encounter a formation, be cautious. Be cautious.” Nong Zidao let out a soft sigh. “This is the most simple of principles, but we disciples of Snowdragon Mountain had all forgotten about it.”

If you encounter a formation, be cautious. This was something all Immortal practitioners knew.

This was because formations were intricate and marvelous. No one could know what was within a formation, and upon entering it, one wouldn’t even be able to flee! For example, the Wanxiang Adept, Adept Mu Xiao, knew that Bei Zishan was hidden within the formation, but because Bei Zishan had set up a formation, Adept Mu Xiao had chosen to instead wait patiently outside, rather than enter the formation.

But these disciples of Snowdragon Mountain had truly held their foes in too little regard.

Although they knew that upon encountering a formation, they should be cautious, they hadn’t held the Ji clan in any regard at all. The Ji clan was nothing more than a local clan, and they had an understanding of the Ji clan’s power. They didn’t believe that the Ji clan would be capable of any powerful formations at all. In addition, they had Jadechild as well as a formations expert, Nong Zidao. They also had nearly twenty comrades…

Their power was simply too great.

They believed that they would completely dominate and crush a puny clan like the Ji clan. Because of their over-confidence, they had underestimated their foes, and so had become trapped in the formation, with no way to escape!

Jadechild. Even with the assistance of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, Ning was only on par with Jadechild in power; Jadechild had only died after all of his divine power had been exhausted, rendering him unable to use his divine ability. If they had fought outside the formation, upon seeing that the situation was turning grim, he could’ve fled. But within the formation, there was no place to run!

“If you encounter a formation, be cautious. But if we didn’t enter…should we have simply allowed the Ji clan to delay? Watch as the Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty came?” Nong Zidao shook his head and sighed.

“Formations…Ji Ning…”

“The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, and a monster who gained insight into a Dao Domain at age sixteen. For me to encounter both these things in such a puny little local clan? My defeat was not an injust one!” A flying ship appeared beneath Nong Zidao’s feet, which immediately tore through the skies, flying at high speed towards Snowdragon City.

“No matter what, I have to go warn my other comrades, who are probably heading this way as well.” Nong Zidao mused.

Of the first group of Zifu Disciples, the sole survivor was Nong Zidao.

If he didn’t go warn the newcomers, in the future, when the main sect investigated this matter, he, Nong Zidao, would be censured.

……….

Moments later.

A distant city appeared within his field of vision.

“Eh?” Nong Zidao, atop the ship, saw that there were people in the air above the distant city.

That person flew over, as fast as a ray of light.

“Dong Fanyu?” Nong Zidao immediately recognized this old man.

“Senior apprentice-brother Zidao.” Dong Fanyu, upon seeing Nong Zidao, immediately asked impatiently, “I heard that you, senior apprentice-brother Zidao, along with senior apprentice-brother Jadechild and a group of others all went to Oxhorn Mountain. Why have you come here, senior apprentice-brother Zidao? Also…the life-tablets of quite a few people who headed to Oxhorn Mountain have shattered. Even the life-tablet of my own Dong clan’s Patriarch, Dong Ziqi, has shattered. What happened at Oxhorn Mountain?”

Nong Zidao shook his head. “I feel ashamed. Aside from myself, every single one of our fellow disciples who went to Oxhorn Mountain perished.”

“What?! All perished?!” Dong Fanyu was shocked. “So many fellow disciples all, all…”

“Aside from me, all of them died.” Nong Zidao sighed. “I’ve come to warn you that Oxhorn Mountain is incredibly perilous. No matter what, do not enter. I don’t want any other fellow disciples to suffer.”

Dong Fanyu said frantically, “Can’t be entered? But just now, Wanxiang Adept, Adept Xu Li, personally led a group of Zifu Disicples to head towards Oxhorn Mountain.”

Book 6, Breaking Through the Cocoon, Becoming a Butterfly, Chapter 21, [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] – Stage Seven

“Adept Xu Li?” Nong Zidao was shocked. As a valued, intensively trained disciple of Snowdragon Mountain, Nong Zidao naturally was quite familiar with Adept Xu. He knew that Adept Xu wasn’t too skilled in the Dao of formations. Actually, the vast majority of Immortal practitioners with great potential were unskilled in formations; they would focus their efforts on training, on gaining insights into the Dao, on magic treasures, and on magic spells.

“How long ago did the Adept head there?” Nong Zidao hurriedly asked.

“Just a while ago, in less than the amount of time needed to brew tea. Adept Xu left just before you arrived, senior apprentice-brother Zidao.” Dong Fanyu said hurriedly.

Nong Zidao, shocked, immediately instructed: “Remember, if there are any other Zifu Disciples who arrive here, they can go to Oxhorn Mountain, but you must warn them…they are definitely not permitted to casually enter the grand formation of Oxhorn Mountain. That is the place where senior apprentice-brother Jadechild perished.”

“I will definitely inform the other fellow disciples.” Dong Fanyu immediately said.

“Right.” Nong Zidao had no time to speak any further; he immediately boarded his flying ship and flew through the skies, heading once more to Oxhorn Mountain.

……….

Oxhorn Mountain.

Ji Ninefire and the others paid attention to the region outside the grand formation while simultaneously binding the magic treasures. From their viewpoint on up high, they were able to see through the thin mist to the distant, desolate wilderness.

“All of the Zifu Disciples from the earlier group, aside from Nong Zidao, have perished. Our Ji clan even ended up acquiring two additional Zifu-level spirit-beasts.” Ji Truekeep was currently working on binding a flying sword, then said with a satisfied look on his face, “The Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain only had a few Zifu Disciples to begin with. With so many dead, I imagine there won’t be any other formidable figures who will come.”

“Yes.” Ninefire nodded with a satisfied smile as well.

“Our Ji clan now has hope.” Granny Shadow sighed in her hoarse voice as well.

From a logical standpoint, their expectations were correct.

The Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty would be able to arrive in two days. The Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain simply wouldn’t be able to invite some more distant branches to assist in time. In addition, at most, forty or fifty Zifu Disciples could be invited over from the surrounding areas, and amongst them, the most powerful and famous were Jadechild and Nong Zidao! One had perished, while the other had fled; who else would dare to enter?

The only choice was to report back to the main sect, but the main sect was too far away. Most likely, the Ji clan would receive protection from the Grand Xia Dynasty well before the main sect had even received word of this matter.

“We are fortunate to have Ji Ning.” Ninefire sighed as he glanced at the nearby Ji Yichuan. “Yichuan. You have a good son.”

Yichuan couldn’t help but smile as well. With a son like Ning, how could he not be proud?

“Once this tribulation is over,” Granny Shadow said hoarsely, “Ji Ning will definitely leave our Ji clan and go out to adventure. Give his monstrous talents…I imagine that he should be able to take refuge within one of the great powers. By then, why would we need to fear Snowdragon Mountain?”

“Ji Ning’s future is unlimited!” Ji Truekeep sighed emotionally as well.

These were all the elites of the Ji clan, but compared to Ning…they felt a vast gap between them.

“Someone is coming.” Ninefire suddenly shouted.

“What?!”

Instantly, a great commotion. All of them turned to stare through the sparse black fog, only to see a boat sail through the skies towards their direction, with quite a few Immortal practitioners gathered together atop it.

“Who is it?”

“I haven’t seen any of them. Don’t recognize them.”

“I recognize one of them. That short old fellow is an Immortal practitioner of the Huan clan. The two of us have met once, but I don’t know his name.” Ninefire and the others could see a total of eight Zifu Disciples atop the boat, but they didn’t know the names of any of them. Only Ninefire was able to recognize a single one of them.

Truekeep immediately asked, “What should we do? Should we go call for Ji Ning?”

“Ji Ning is currently training within the formation.” Ninefire shook his head. “In addition, only eight have come. No need to be impatient.”

……..

The flying boat descended towards the ground, the vanished. The eight figures atop the boat disembarked. Not too far away, they saw a wood golem standing atop the ground. The eyes of the wood golem flashed with a green light as it looked towards them with curiosity.

“A golem.” Lu Huang said hurriedly. “Master-uncle, I will go take a look.”

Lu Huang immediately moved forward a few steps, but before he said anything, the wood golem spoke out: “Are you disciples of Snowdragon Mountain?”

“Yes.” Lu Huang nodded as he spoke, while Adept Xu and the others walked over as well. The wood golem said, quite obediently, “Per the orders of my master, Nong Zidao, I am here awaiting the arrival of disciples of Snowdragon Mountain. I am here to let you all know that my master, Nong Zidao, along with Jadechild, eighteen other Zifu Disciples, and two Zifu-level spirit-beasts have all entered the grand formation.”

“Do you have any other information?” Adept Xu Li asked.

“I know nothing else.” The wood golem shook its head.

“Has anyone emerged?” Adept Xu Li frowned as he spoke. “Did you feel the ground shake?”

The wood golem said, “Nobody has emerged. Prior to this, I felt the ground shake multiple times, but now, I don’t feel the ground shaking whatsoever.”

The faces of Adept Xu Li and the rest of the eight all changed. Some formations were able to completely block out sound, but it was extremely hard to block out the vibrations created from a battle, which would pass through the earth and the mud to the outside world. It was unheard of, at least, for Mortal-ranked formations to be able to block out ground vibrations.

“The first few ground vibrations indicate that they battled multiple times. But for there to be no further vibrations at all…and given that based on the information we received, the life-tablets of many Zifu Disciples, including Dong Ziqi, are shattered…” Adept Xu Li said in a soft voice, “The most likely possibility is that all of them are dead.”

“Adept, what should we do?” The others all looked towards Adept Xu Li.

Of the seven, some had run into Adept Xu Li on the road, while others had been waiting at Snowdragon City.

Prior to this, nineteen Zifu Disciples and two Zifu-level spirit-beasts had silently, soundlessly disappeared within this formation.

“We can’t enter it casually.” Adept Xu Li said in a soft voice. “Nong Zidao is extremely skilled in formations. Even I am inferior to him. As for Jadechild, he has a divine ability and thus astonishingly great combat power, as well as tremendously strong lifeforce as a Fiendgod Body Refiner…the two of them joined forces to enter, and yet there is no word of them. No matter what, we cannot enter the formation casually.”

The other seven all nodded in agreement.

“Let me try to forcibly break the formation first and see if I can destroy it.” Adept Xu Li glanced at the distant Oxhorn Mountain. He waved his hand, and a large seal appeared within his palm. This large seal flew out from his palm, then rapidly increased in size, quickly becoming an enormous seal that was more than three hundred meters long. It hung there, high above Oxhorn Mountain.

“Descend!”

Adept Xu Li pointed into the distance.

Instantly, the surrounding world seemed to change colors. The brilliant sunlight seemed to instantly disappear as the surrounding world turned pitch-black. Within the pitch-black skies, there were even many flashing stars, and amongst the stars there was an enormous, brilliant moon. Within the moon, a giant palm formed from moonlight emerged, which clasped that giant, three hundred meter seal.

And then, it smashed that seal downwards to the ground!

Bang!

It smashed directly atop the black fog surrounding the base of Oxhorn Mountain. The surrounding earth trembled violently, and then the giant moonlight hand lifted up again, raising the enormous seal once more.

……..

When Ninefire and the others saw the world itself change through the Manifestation, the looks on their faces changed as well. The brilliant light of the sun had been transformed into a constellation of stars in the night sky. They all called out in shock, “A Wanxiang Adept!”

“How could a Wanxiang Adept be here? The Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain is nothing more than a branch. These branches only have Zifu Disciples. How could a Wanxiang Adept have come? Wanxiang Adepts are the core of Snowdragon Mountain. How could they have appeared here?” Truekeep stared, wide-eyed.

Every member of the Ji clan was completely shocked.

They didn’t dare believe it.

“Quick, everyone, go to your locations in your sub-formations.” Ninefire hurriedly ordered. “If that Wanxiang Adept thinks he can destroy our formation from outside just by using a giant seal, he is dreaming. At such a great distance…even a Wanxiang Adept is only able to at most unleash a tenth of his full power. Against power at this level, if we join forces and rely on the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, we can definitely fight back.”

“Should we call for Ji Ning?” Granny Shadow asked.

“No need. Landwyrm, follow my orders and head towards the north.” Ninefire gave the order. “For now, you will temporarily serve as the center for the Dragontail Formation of our Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.”

“Yes.” The azure-armored warrior replied.

Monsters initially trained in monstrous power, but upon establishing their Zifu, the body in their energy would also become the elemental energy of the Zifu. This Landwyrm was at the peak Zifu-level…his elemental energy was even more powerful than Ji Ning’s!”

………

“Descend!” From far away, Adept Xu Li pointed yet again.

The giant moonlight hand, clutching that great seal, once more smashed downwards towards Oxhorn Mountain. But this time, a draconic roar suddenly rang out, and an enormous black draconic tail swept out. The draconic tail was tremendous in size as well, and as it emerged from the black fog, it clashed directly against the downwards smashing seal.

Bang!

The giant seal smashed against the giant draconic tail. The draconic tail trembled slightly, but was able to hold on.

“A black draconic tail?” Adept Xu Li frowned. “And it’s actually able to block my Manifestation…”

There were limits to the distance at which an Immortal practitioner could use magic treasures to attack. The farther away they attacked from, the lower the power would be. Wanxiang Adepts could rely on their ‘Myriad Manifestations’ to launch long-distance attacks, but naturally, the power would be much lower than if they attacked in close-quarters combat. For example, when Adept Mu Xiao had wanted to prevent Bei Zishan from escaping, he had been able to, from an extremely great distance, generate his Manifestation to capture the bug-body of Bei Zishan.

“What formation is this?” Adept Xu Li frowned. “A few mere Zifu Disciples, by relying on this formation, are able to block my Manifestation. This formation…”

Despite his knowledge, even he wasn’t able to recognize this formation.

The seven nearby Zifu Disciples had looks of confusion and nervousness on their faces. That draconic tail that had emerged from the fog…what formation was this?

…..

Ninefire and the others, by relying on the Netherwyrm created by the formation, had resisted the smashing blow of the giant seal. Still, they felt that doing so was quite an onerous task.

“I wonder how Ji Ning’s training is progressing. He might be at a critical moment.” Ninefire, frantic, wanted to summon Ning, but he was also worried that he would disrupt Ning’s meditations.

……

Within the formation. Dark energy was flowing everywhere.

Ning sat there in the lotus position, completely absorbed in the intricate mysteries of Yin and Yang transforming. He continuously experimented, gaining a greater and greater comprehension, having reached a level of completely losing himself in his training. He didn’t even notice the tremors caused earlier by the giant seal smashing against the ground. As for Ninefire and the others, the giant Netherwyrm they were controlling was in the area surrounding Ning, protecting him.

“Yin cannot be without Yang.”

“Yang cannot be without Yin.”

“Even the most powerful of dragons has regrets. After every peak, there is a valley…”

“Only when Yin and Yang transform into each other can they endlessly engender each other in a cycle.” Ning suddenly understood.

The Divine Sun Tattoo and the Divine Moon Tattoo on his back suddenly lit up. He could sense, from an unfathomably distance, separated by untold numbers of planes, those two giant stars. The Lunar Star and the Solar Star. They each immediately sent down surges of Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire, which pierced through countless planes and countless voids, descending directly upon Ning.

“Rumble…” “Rumble…” The surrounding area instantly became transformed into a world of fire and water.

Enormous petals of fire and water transformed into the bud of a flower, completely covering Ning within. With the Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire as the core, a tremendous amount of fire and water appeared, forming a gigantic flower that completely surrounded Ning, who was now like the stamen within the flower.

Even the distant Adept Xu Li and his group of Zifu Disciples could see, from far away, an enormous flower emerge from within the dark fog, as the tips of the petals just barely stretched out above the black fog.