goodnovel Chapter 1219: Abyssal Demon Creatures
Chapter 1219: Abyssal Demon Creatures
The Eternal True Body of the Beihai True Lord looked extremely old, with gray hair, a frail physique, and although it stood a hundred zhang tall, it didn’t impart a sense of might but instead revealed an appearance of withering age.
Typically, after activating the Eternal True Body, one’s physical attack and defense attributes would be enhanced in all aspects; however, the Beihai True Lord’s defense actually weakened after transforming into the Eternal True Body. This is nothing short of bizarre.
Though his physical defense was diminished, his cultivation increased significantly, and due to this give and take, the weakened defense was entirely shifted to his Rain Intent attack.
In the true form, the Beihai True Lord’s Rain Intent was vast, exceeding Ning Fan’s by six-tenths! Seeing Ning Fan wanting to engage in close combat, the Beihai True Lord swiftly retreated, always maintaining a distance of over a thousand zhang from Ning Fan.
Why maintain a distance of over a thousand zhang? Even the Beihai True Lord couldn’t say, as this was an instinct, a feeling. As a Rain Master, he excelled at perception, faintly sensing a danger from approaching within a thousand zhang of Ning Fan, as if once stepping into that range, he would be secretly attacked by some yet unused divine ability of Ning Fan, not merely fearing a confrontation in bodily skills...
Seeing the Beihai True Lord always maintain a distance from his thousand zhang, Ning Fan sighed silently, knowing that the hope to ambush him with the Cross Halo had become unrealistic, so he stopped pursuing the Beihai True Lord and activated the Cross Halo right before his eyes.
In this way, he was in his strongest state, with the Cross Halo enhancing him, his mana seemingly inexhaustible, making others dare not get close to him!
With Ning Fan not pursuing, the Beihai True Lord stopped fleeing as well, displaying a deep surprise as he looked at the Cross Halo.
He suspected that Ning Fan was hiding something, but he hadn’t expected it to be such an impressive and strange halo!
"Is this the Saint’s Ring?! No, that’s not right, it’s just somewhat similar. Indeed, this boy’s thousand zhang is a forbidden zone, not to be trodden upon. Truly a terrifying lad, clearly merely an Immortal King, yet possessing so many methods! However, this old man isn’t one to be trifled with either!"
Dao Weapon, The Treasury of Rain!
With a thought from the Beihai True Lord, a giant rain portal opened up in the sky. Inside the rain portal, golden light flickered with piles of unknown treasures, remarkably forming a treasury. This treasury was no other than the Dao Weapon the Beihai True Lord had been refining for years!
This Dao Weapon didn’t take the form of a blade but was an exceedingly rare type of Odd Door Dao Weapon, which the Beihai True Lord had thus treasured and cultivated for years.
The Treasury could devour others’ Dao Weapons, integrating them into itself, and due to this, the Beihai True Lord had schemed against countless Rain cultivators in his life, swallowing numerous Rain Element Dao Weapons. Once the Treasury was opened, over ten thousand Dao Weapons rushed out oppressively with rain light, covering the sky and earth.
The levels of these Dao Weapons varied, with the lowest being the power of Acquired Immortal Treasures; the mightiest among them could even contend with some Innate Inferior Grade Treasures. A single Dao Weapon may not be much, but when gathered in such numbers, it truly embodied the momentum of devouring the world!
Unfortunately, despite the powerful aura of these Dao Weapons, none could hit Ning Fan.
Once these Dao Weapons entered the range of the Cross Halo, they would be locked in place, unable to advance; occasionally, a few could compare to Innate Treasures and could tear through the lock slowly, but even they lost most of their power under the interference of the lock, leaving them with less than one-tenth of their original power when they reached Ning Fan.
Ning Fan’s Cross Halo became even stronger, naturally because his recent mana surge had also greatly enhanced the Cross Halo.
With the Reverse Sea Sword in hand, Ning Fan casually shattered those few Dao Weapons on par with Innate Treasures; he then spat out a Flame Thunderfire Sea, reducing over ten thousand weak Dao Weapons to ashes within a few breaths.
"What kind of Halo Divine Ability is this? How is it so powerful! With this Halo, this boy essentially has an extra layer of invisible defense. Within a thousand zhang, even weaker Treasures can’t get near him!"
The destruction of the ten thousand Dao Weapons meant they required time to be repaired, seemingly rendering them temporarily useless.
However, as the Beihai True Lord silently recited a mantra, the shattered remains and ashes of the Dao Weapons scattered into raindrops; as they spread across the sky, they formed an immense killing array map of thousands of zhang. The map had nine gates, six platforms, with the transformations of Rain Birth and Rain Death hidden within. Ning Fan’s position was precisely the center of the killing array—the location of Rain Death, not a half-step more, not a half-step less!
"Indeed, this man is resourceful and good at calculations; seemingly innocuous attacks are often preparation for the next strike..." Ning Fan appeared unsurprised by the emergence of the killing array. With a step of his Golden Flame Giant Body, a burning golden flame footprint was instantly engraved at the center of the killing array.
In an instant, all the rapidly converging atmospheric forces of the array collapsed abruptly, with countless golden cracks spreading like a web from the center throughout the entire map, ultimately collapsing.
A seemingly well-formed killing array was ultimately shattered by a single step from Ning Fan!
The Beihai True Lord’s expression turned even more unpleasant.
Even a Second-grade Quasi-Saint couldn’t easily break this killing array, and he could see that Ning Fan broke this array not through his cultivation, but by using some special method to shatter the great force of the array, breaking a point to destroy the entire pattern.
"Able to use Sealing the Heavens Art and control the grand force, could this boy be a descendant of the Ancestral Emperor from Eastern Heaven! But as far as I know, the Eastern Ancestor’s lineage has long ceased, how could this kind of outstanding individual emerge... I wonder which force has cultivated such a Heaven-Reversed Immortal King, perhaps a secret clan?"
Realizing that in offending Ning Fan, he might also be offending some secret clan, the Beihai True Lord’s heart sank, yet he understood there’s no turning back once the bow is drawn.
Titled Technique, Art of the Rain Marsh!
Unexpectedly, at the place where Ning Fan had shattered the array, rainwater spewed out suddenly, instantaneously forming a rain marsh.
This technique was a backup of the killing array, even if someone could break the array, they would get caught in the marsh due to the lingering force unretracted during the breaking.
"To think there’s a backup, how many moves ahead did this old thief calculate..."
Ning Fan showed a slightly solemn expression. His step used to shatter the killing array was quite forceful, his remaining force hard to retract, leaving his entire right foot stuck in the rain marsh, unable to be pulled out.
This marsh couldn’t be escaped through brute force; the more one struggled, the deeper they sank. In just a few breaths, half of Ning Fan’s true form was trapped in the mire.
It seemed the Beihai True Lord had reared some creatures in the marsh, and Ning Fan felt constant biting and blood-sucking pain from the part of his true form submerged in it, the feeling akin to being bitten by hundreds or thousands of leeches at once, the poison spreading through Ning Fan’s body, gradually paralyzing and... withering him.
Withering?
How could it be withering?
Witnessing Ning Fan’s Eternal True Body turning into a withered tree, the Beihai True Lord’s face changed drastically!
This boy wasn’t even fighting him with his true body!
He was actually using a body double!
"Impossible! Since I arrived here, this boy had no chance to switch his true body for a body double, could it be that he had set up such an arrangement before I came? He’s been using a body double to fight me all along, how audacious! Yet this boy’s Wood Element level is so high, even though I excel at perception, I didn’t notice a thing about his Wood Element body double!"
The Beihai True Lord guessed correctly, Ning Fan had replaced his true body with his body double from the very beginning, hiding his true body in the Xuan Yin Treasure, secretly watching everything through his body double’s eyes.
Ning Fan was becoming more adept at using the Dryad double; whereas before, it was difficult for him to employ various divine abilities through the double, now he could barely manage it—of course, most divine abilities manifested through the double did not match the power of the true body, except for Wood Element abilities, which were nearly identical, being the forte of the Dryad double.
"No wonder your marsh could extinguish my body double, it turns out, this marsh... is your Titled Void!"
Titled Void was akin to the Palatial Void of Control Position cultivators. Counting Ancestor Leize’s Titled Void, this was Ning Fan’s second time witnessing it.
This marsh was incredibly formidable, wiping out Ning Fan’s Dryad double’s prowess in less than ten breaths. Although the fragility of the Dryad double contributed, it sufficiently demonstrated the danger of this technique.
Fortunately, it was the double that was attacked by this technique, not the true body, leaving Ning Fan unharmed.
At the moment the Beihai True Lord realized this, Ning Fan’s true body suddenly emerged, with a merciless expression on his Golden Flame Giant Body, he precisely struck the void seal of the rain marsh with the Reverse Sea Sword.
This was owing to the double having fallen into the marsh, hence he knew the location of the marsh’s void seal.
Crack!
The void seal was damaged, and the surface of the rain marsh immediately cracked with countless void fissures, though not thoroughly destroyed, it still suffered significant injury.
The place Ning Fan’s sword touched even had countless Divine Status seeds embedded into the rain marsh’s interior!
The power of the Reverse Sea Sword is not enough to severely damage the Titled Void in one strike, but these divine seeds are different!
They greedily absorbed the water from the Rain Marsh, almost plundering; they took root and sprouted within the swamp, countless giant trees rooted in the marsh, growing out of it, forming a towering forest on the marsh’s surface!
This is a clash of Dao versus Dao!
This is a battle between divinity and title rank!
The divine status is three levels higher than the title rank; their battle is like a Nascent Soul cultivator bullying an Opening Vein cultivator, a completely one-sided crush.
Moreover, due to wood’s suppression over water, this crush became even more thorough. Even the Rain Master Void, which the Reverse Sea Sword couldn’t heavily damage, began to collapse in large areas under the absorption and devouring of the divine forest!
"How dare you!" The North Sea True Lord roared, charging towards the Rain Marsh, slashing out countless Rain Slash Strikes, cutting down the divine forest piece by piece.
But it could not be cut down completely! These divine trees used the Rain Master Titled Void as nutrients, reproducing at an alarming speed! The time it took for the North Sea True Lord to cut down one tree was enough for the divine forest to regrow a hundred, a thousand trees!
He simply had no power to stop the destruction of the Titled Void by the divine forest!
He could only watch as his Titled Void was slowly consumed by Ning Fan’s divine forest!
As Ning Fan controlled countless giant trees to attack, he had to retreat far from the Rain Marsh, not daring to easily approach.
At this moment, the devouring by the divine forest in the Rain Marsh was completely different in nature from the previous absorption of the giant tortoise’s water power!
The giant tortoise’s physical body was absorbed, what was taken was the water elemental mana. Although the mana was temporarily gone, it could be easily recovered through meditation later.
But for him? What was absorbed was the purest power of the title! It was the source power of the Rain Master Title! Once lost, it couldn’t regenerate, it could only be re-cultivated later!
Fortunately, this time he only came alone, and it wasn’t his entire Titled Void that was destroyed, just one-sixth of it.
But even this could be considered a severe loss!
Crack, crack, crack.
The cracks in the void of the Rain Marsh grew increasingly numerous, and finally, the marsh completely dried up, turning into a pool of dry mud.
Numerous strange celestial insects resembling leeches broke through the dry mud and crawled out, each one in panic.
But as soon as those celestial insects just climbed out, they were pierced by the roots of the trees that also emerged from the mud, each one drained dry and lifeless...
Thus, the portion of the Titled Void power carried by the North Sea True Lord was completely exhausted.
And unlike before, when devouring the giant tortoise’s mana, this time the divine forest’s absorption of the Titled Void actually fed back a large amount of titled power to Ning Fan’s body.
For Ning Fan, who had just broken through the Middle Realm of Control Position, these same-source Rain Titled powers were an immense supplement.
It solidified one-sixth of his Rain Control Position’s Palatial Void directly!
It added a little bit of the Rain Master Titled power out of nowhere into his Rain Control Position’s power.
He clearly hadn’t practiced the Rain Master Title, yet at this moment, he directly grasped a trace of the titled power!
Though this titled power wasn’t much, it could be cultivated as seeds. With proper development, Ning Fan would have a good chance of cultivating an additional Rain Master Title on top of his Rain Control Position!
"Are you still going to fight? Your losses will only increase. There’s still time to flee..." Ning Fan deliberately taunted, attempting to distract the North Sea True Lord’s mind, yet secretly aligning with the great momentum to seal the sky and lock the earth, cutting off all escape routes for the North Sea True Lord.
"Flee? Hahaha, why should I flee? On what grounds should I flee! You took my Rain Dragon, damaged my Titled Void, if I don’t kill you, I swear I’m not human!"
The North Sea True Lord seemed utterly infuriated. His eyes were bloodshot, shouting all kinds of threats to dismember Ning Fan; he raised his hand and slashed out billions of Rain Sword Beams, which converged to finally form an ancient statue with a sword in hand and three heads and eight arms.
This was a Rain Master Divine Effigy summoned through the ancient god’s sealing art!
This effigy had been summoned by Fu Suchen before, but what realm was Fu Suchen in? The effigy he summoned was far less formidable than the North Sea True Lord’s.
The Rain Master Divine Effigy summoned by the North Sea True Lord held the mana of a full eighteen thousand tribulations! This was the result of his spirit sense descent; if his true self were present, the Rain Master Divine Effigy could directly erupt with a Second-Grade Quasi-Saint cultivation!
Upon the effigy’s appearance, the North Sea True Lord immediately joined forces with it to surround Ning Fan, recklessly launching various water-element secret techniques at him!
The North Sea True Lord’s spirit sense was of Quasi-Saint cultivation, as was the Rain Master Divine Effigy, and the two had cooperated countless times, with seamless harmony. This joint effort wasn’t a simple one plus one, as their smooth attack and defense complementing each other provided enough power to contend against a Second-Grade Quasi-Saint!
Indeed, once caught in the siege, Ning Fan immediately became defensively biased, appearing extremely strained in his response.
"It seems that old North Sea has truly gone mad, even summoning the Rain Master Divine Effigy..." The Eight Cold Buddhas’ expression was extraordinarily solemn; he knew well how powerful the Rain Master Divine Effigy was. Seeing Ning Fan besieged by two Quasi-Saints, risking potential mishaps, he couldn’t sit still, immediately wanting to abandon the three treasures under his watch to aid Ning Fan.
But just then, Ning Fan’s voice came over.
"Watch out! The Old Sea Thief is on your left!"
Almost when Ning Fan’s voice transmitted, in the emptiness to the left of the Eight Cold Buddhas, the world’s rainwater suddenly converged, revealing the body of the North Sea True Lord.
The "North Sea True Lord" that was jointly attacking with the effigy, accidentally took a blow from Ning Fan’s sword, scattering into countless illusory light points, disappearing.
Illusory art!
It turned out that at the same time the North Sea True Lord was summoning the effigy, he used an illusory art, replacing himself with an illusion in the siege against Ning Fan, while stealthily advancing to the side of the Eight Cold Buddhas, intending to steal Ning Fan’s three treasures!
He deliberately pretended to hate Ning Fan to the point of madness, but internally he had already judged, knowing that after losing part of his titled power, he was by no means Ning Fan’s opponent today.
Ultimately, he decided to escape.
Of course, escaping didn’t mean fleeing empty-handed!
Ning Fan had taken his Rain Dragon and his Titled Void, so he would steal Ning Fan’s treasures to make up for his losses!
Unfortunately, his illusion fooled the Eight Cold Buddhas, but not Ning Fan.
Fortunately, though warned by Ning Fan, the Eight Cold Buddhas reacted a step too slow, only managing to guard the Heaven’s Dao Box and the Blueprint Pouch.
In haste, he was blasted away by a streak of Sword Qi from the North Sea True Lord, robbed of the Jade Liquor Pot!
He got it! After paying a heavy price, he ultimately snatched the Jade Liquor Pot!
Just a whiff of wine aroma entering his nose made the North Sea True Lord feel as though the desiccated titled power he had lost was regenerating slightly; if he drank all the wine, he might fully recover the lost titled power and perhaps even gain additional improvement!
"Old North Sea Thief! Return the Jade Liquor Pot at once!" The Eight Cold Buddhas shouted angrily, appearing like a glaring Vajra due to his intense anger. Though he wasn’t injured by the North Sea True Lord’s sword qi, he was nonetheless blown away. It was too late to stop the North Sea True Lord from stealing a treasure, so he could only seek to remedy the error by reclaiming the Jade Liquor Pot.
"Hahaha!" The only response to the Eight Cold Buddha was the delighted laughter of Northern Sea True Lord.
How could he return the item he seized! With the Jade Liquor Pot in hand, Northern Sea True Lord did not linger, raising his hand to tear open the void and escape.
Since during his previous escape, he was locked by Ning Fan, this time around, the Rain Master Divine Effigy he summoned amicably launched an attack, entangling Ning Fan, giving him no chance to split his attention to lock him.
He summoned the Rain Master Divine Effigy not to kill Ning Fan; he clearly made this preparation for escape!
This escape was so perfect, as long as no accidents happened, this thread of his spirit sense could successfully flee...
But accidents still occurred!
Northern Sea True Lord wanted to tear open a path in the void, only to find... he couldn’t tear it open!
He thought his escape plan was flawless, but Ning Fan somehow detected it all, sealing the heavens and the earth one step ahead!
Such a lock wasn’t solid; normally, he only needed three to five breaths to break the seal and leave leisurely.
However, at this moment, he didn’t have three to five breaths to break free!
As soon as his escape plan failed, the Eight Cold Buddha chased after him, entangling him, giving him no time to tear open the seal!
"Damn! Damn it! Just one step away, just one step away from leaving this place!"
Northern Sea True Lord was truly infuriated this time.
The Rain Dragon was lost, the Titled Void was injured, and losing the spirit sense this time would make the loss truly irreparable!
Ning Fan, that brat, was merely an Immortal King, yet so cunning, how did every move he make get calculated by Ning Fan!
"Against this old thief, I really can’t afford any carelessness..."
Ning Fan silently rejoiced, fortunately, due to caution, he sealed the heavens and the earth one step ahead; otherwise, if Northern Sea True Lord really fled with the Jade Liquor Pot, it would be as uncomfortable as swallowing a fly.
"Daoist Eight Cold! Do you really intend to force me into a corner for this thread of spirit sense? Just for a mere unknown Immortal King brat, you want to forge a massive karmic bond with me, how unwise! As long as you spare me, help my spirit sense escape, I absolutely won’t hold any grudges today; I even wish to offer you a lavish gift! I recall you have been looking for the ’Three Lives Tuberose’, frankly speaking, I happened to obtain one earlier! Spare me, I’ll give you the Three Lives Tuberose, a mutually beneficial deal! I can swear a spirit sense oath, never to break my word! If I break this oath, let me perish miserably, form and spirit obliterated, soul forever lost beyond reincarnation!" Seeing the hard way didn’t work, Northern Sea True Lord resorted to the soft approach.
Unfortunately, he underestimated the Eight Cold Buddha’s dedication to Ning Fan, underestimated the Eight Cold Buddha’s faith in the word of Buddha.
The allure of the Three Lives Tuberose to the Eight Cold Buddha wasn’t light, but would he betray Buddha Ancestor, betray Yue Kun, for external possessions?
The Eight Cold Buddha sighed deeply, closing his eyes in pain, seemingly recalling some worldly affairs of the past, his expression revealing indescribable helplessness.
Upon reopening his eyes, he swept away all confusion, devoid of sadness or joy, anger or annoyance, silently committed, once again and again attempting to reclaim the Jade Liquor Pot.
"Hiss! What kind of demon art did Ning Fan employ on Eight Cold Buddha, causing him to abandon even the Three Lives Tuberose! Years ago, for the sake of obtaining one Three Lives Tuberose, Eight Cold Buddha did not hesitate to fall out with the current Lamp, yet now, he willingly gives up this flower..."
Seeing the soft way also failing, Northern Sea True Lord’s heart harbored desolation, knowing this thread of spirit sense might really be going to waste today.
Perhaps it was the heavens not wanting Northern Sea True Lord to perish, for Emperor Shuiyan suddenly broke through the True Martial Water Prison, escaping to life!
Turns out, as the giant tortoise was captured, the True Martial Water Prison lost its power source, its power weakened increasingly, eventually losing the power to restrain Emperor Shuiyan.
"Hahaha! Daoist, is it Northern Sea? Mind partnering with this emperor to divide these three treasures?"
Through the darkness there is another village!
Emperor Shuiyan, such a proud person, unexpectedly lowered his proud demeanor, proactively joining forces with Northern Sea True Lord.
Lowering pride was necessary! The suppression from Emotion Control was too strong, even with Tian Tu’s guidance, Emperor Shuiyan’s spirit sense couldn’t depart for long, at most after another incense stick, he’d have to return his spirit.
Time wasn’t on his side!
He must do something!
His spirit sense definitely couldn’t return empty-handed!
This was the escape opportunity he had waited eons for!
Upon hearing Emperor Shuiyan’s words, Northern Sea True Lord seemed to see a lifeline, rejoicing, "Hahaha! To join forces with Emperor Ancient Chaos, it is an honor for me, I wouldn’t mind!"
"Save me! Help me escape this wooden cage, and I’ll join forces with you too! I won’t eat you, just come save me! I can swear a spirit sense oath too! I’ll repay you!" Amazingly, the giant tortoise also requested a partnership.
To escape the wooden cage, he shamelessly sought aid from previous enemies.
Northern Sea True Lord and Emperor Shuiyan had both suffered a great loss at the hands of the giant tortoise. In their hearts, they naturally wished the giant tortoise were dead, would they agree to save him; but the fact remained they had common enemies, common goals now?
Emperor Shuiyan hesitated whether to save the giant tortoise, yet Northern Sea True Lord made a decision first, "Emperor Shuiyan Daoist, quickly save True Martial Comrade!"
Upon hearing, Emperor Shuiyan no longer hesitated, turned into a rushing stream breaking through the void, charging towards the wooden cage confining the giant tortoise.
At this moment, the Eight Cold Buddha was entangled with Northern Sea True Lord, while Ning Fan was tangled with the Rain Master Divine Effigy, on the surface, seemingly no one could stop Emperor Shuiyan from rescuing.
Seeing he was about to regain freedom, the giant tortoise laughed heartily, immensely pleased, and somewhat smug.
Everyone assumed he was stupid, thinking a dumb tortoise wouldn’t deceive, but it was all just a facade.
Spirit sense oath? That was nothing! What if it’s broken? Once free, the first thing he’d do was to ditch Emperor Shuiyan, Northern Sea True Lord, escaping alone! He was truly frightened by Ning Fan’s Mu Chi methods, having finally regained freedom, he wouldn’t risk another fight with Ning Fan, of course, he’d flee as far as possible.
Laughably, Emperor Shuiyan and Northern Sea True Lord, those two fools, were deceived by his spirit sense oath, genuinely willing to rescue him. Hahaha, weren’t these two even dumber than him?
Unfortunately, the giant tortoise didn’t laugh for long before he couldn’t laugh anymore.
No one knew why, but suddenly he couldn’t move, countless tree roots burst from within him, those weren’t the roots of the Divine Tree of Essence, they were formed of light!
Light Tree!
No one noticed that, in this realm, Ning Fan had already placed a Light Tree, subtly merged with natural light, deceiving everyone!
The seeds of the Light Tree, as light shot into everyone’s eyes, invaded their bodies, with Ning Fan’s order, those seeds began to crazily root and sprout!
The giant tortoise got hit, Emperor Shuiyan got hit, Northern Sea True Lord also got hit, even the Rain Master Divine Effigy got hit!
Their bodies began to paralyze!
Their mana seemed to solidify, flowing with difficulty!
Emperor Shuiyan’s complexion drastically changed. At this moment, his physical body was paralyzed, and his flight lost the support of mana, causing him to fall straight from the sky, unable to fly to save the giant tortoise or even protect himself! Luckily, he was no ordinary person and somehow managed to forcibly suppress the light tree seeds within his body, barely regaining some mobility.
Beihai True Lord was in the same situation. Although he too had a way to suppress the light tree seeds within him, he was still paralyzed for a short moment. During that brief paralysis, the Jade Liquor Pot he’d painstakingly seized was taken back by the Eight Cold Buddhas.
Gained and then lost again!
He himself was further suppressed beneath the Eighteen Ice Mountains by the Eight Cold Buddhas!
"Namo Amitabha." The Eight Cold Buddhas heaved a sigh of relief upon regaining the Jade Liquor Pot, thinking to himself how close it was just now. If not for Ning Fan having the light tree as a backup plan, the giant tortoise might have been released by Emperor Shuiyan, which would have been troublesome. He didn’t believe that he and Ning Fan could protect their treasures against the union of the giant tortoise, Shuiyan, and Beihai.
The Eight Cold Buddhas sighed in relief.
Yet Ning Fan felt no relief!
A feeling of oppression, an indescribable oppression, made the air so heavy it was difficult to breathe!
Even though he had initiated a surprise attack with the light tree, he felt even more endangered.
It wasn’t that the ambush had failed, but that this time, the enemy was truly going to risk everything!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The Rain Master Divine Effigy suddenly lost power, unable to continue sustaining itself, shattering into fragments of rain.
Its divine effigy power seemed to have been taken by someone!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Eighteen Ice Mountains used to suppress Beihai True Lord suddenly collapsed one by one. Amidst the collapsing mountains and falling snow, a giant resembling Beihai True Lord, but much younger, emerged from beneath the mountains.
This wasn’t the elderly Beihai True Lord.
This was the middle-aged Beihai True Lord!
This was the second stage true form of Beihai True Lord!
"As an old man listening to rain beneath the monk’s hut, with hair already sprinkling white... As a middle-aged man listening to rain onboard a travel boat, hearing calls of migrating geese in the west wind... Haha, to think I’d be forced to use the second stage true form, Ning Fan, you little brat, Eight Cold bald monk, you’re quite good, quite good indeed! I thought you’d be a bit more surprised upon seeing me activate the second stage true form, but it seems you’re not surprised at all." The middle-aged Beihai True Lord said with a cold laugh, his true form no longer frail, but instead robust and brimming with inexhaustible strength!
In the second stage true form, Beihai True Lord’s Rain Intent had almost doubled Ning Fan’s, and his cultivation was just a step away from the second-grade Quasi-Saint!
"Namo Amitabha, Daoist friend, when you learned the second stage true form, who among us Quasi-Saints did not know? Why even talk of surprise?"
Though the Eight Cold Buddhas spoke of no surprise, his expression was quite solemn, clearly deeply apprehensive about Beihai True Lord’s second stage true form.
He also knew the second stage true form! He was about to activate his own second stage true form when suddenly his expression changed dramatically.
But this time, Beihai True Lord did more than just transform into the second stage true form.
His true form could become even younger! The Rain Intent could become even stronger!
His cultivation could still rise, step by step advancing toward the second stage realm!
"You actually achieved the third stage true form! It’s impossible!" This time, the Eight Cold Buddhas were genuinely shocked.
Even in the Real Realms, only an extremely few with exceptional talent could achieve the third stage true form; such a feat was as difficult as ascending to the sky for True Realm Cultivators, yet Beihai True Lord, under the guise of the Land of Dreams, had managed to achieve it―his aptitude could truly be called heaven-defying!
Under the third stage true form, a strand of Beihai True Lord’s spirit sense finally had the cultivation of a second-grade Quasi-Saint, and he was no longer in his middle-aged form, but had become a youth!
The youthful Beihai’s expression was extremely pained, as if the third stage true form was too much of a strain on him; within the suffering, there was also ecstasy, for all emotions were released in that moment!
He had been oppressed for too long! He had been oppressed by Ning Fan for too long!
Now he could finally strike with full force!
Since Ning Fan wouldn’t let his spirit sense escape, then he would stay! Forcefully activating the third stage true form would come at a huge cost to this strand of spirit sense, a cost he was willing to pay!
As he saw no hope for his spirit sense’s escape, he was going to abandon it and give Ning Fan a... blood-soaked lesson!
"Ning Fan, you little brat, today I’ll teach you what true power is at the second-grade Quasi-Saint level..."
Boom!
Beihai True Lord hadn’t even finished his boast when suddenly a mountain of Dao descended from the sky, causing him to spit out blood profusely, pressed directly beneath the mountain.
"..." The Eight Cold Buddhas were left dumbfounded.
The much-talked-about, heaven-defying third stage true form, and yet it was just unveiled when Ning Fan suppressed it.
What kind of mountain was this! One that could suppress even a second-grade Quasi-Saint who was not careful, was it really this heaven-defying?
"N-no way... This is, a Saintly Dao Mountain... You still held onto... such a trump card... You despicable... I refuse to accept it..." Beneath the Dao Mountain, Beihai True Lord spat out blood furiously, no longer able to sustain the third stage true form, his true form smashed back to its original state.
After all, this strand of his spirit sense didn’t truly have the second-grade cultivation, and the third stage true form, for a spirit sense, was still too daunting...
"Be careful! The source of my feeling of danger isn’t from Beihai!"
Ning Fan didn’t spare Beihai True Lord another glance.
His face showed faint unease, entirely focused on Emperor Shuiyan!
Indeed, facing Ant Lord’s pursuit back then, Ning Fan only felt no ability to resist, yet in the face of Emperor Shuiyan now, he felt a certain cold chill, his Demon Seal trembling with fear.
The fear wasn’t of Emperor Shuiyan himself, but of something else unknown...
When dealing with Beihai True Lord, Ning Fan didn’t plan to use the Dao Mountain, as he worried about exposing too many trump cards. After all, the opposing side only involved their spirit senses, and in the future, he would inevitably have to battle their true forms, so naturally, he needed to reserve some surprises just in case. But due to the changes surrounding Emperor Shuiyan, Ning Fan couldn’t care about that now, having no choice but to suppress Beihai True Lord with thunderous methods to free up all his attention for Emperor Shuiyan!
At this moment, blood lights were flickering around Emperor Shuiyan’s body in an awfully bizarre rhythm, that oscillation too abnormal, too sinister!
Emperor Shuiyan’s eyes grew emptier, deeper, the kind of abyss that seemed never-ending, more like something was slowly crawling out from the abyss of the Devil Dao!
Once the blood light fluctuation peaked, within Emperor Shuiyan’s body, another voice suddenly emerged, letting out an eerie laugh.
"Hehehehe... Yes, just like this, Shuiyan, oh Shuiyan, my good brother, let me out quickly, extinguish all celestial nature quickly, use... my power... you should know, alone you can accomplish nothing..."