novelhk Chapter 1217: Battle of Tian Tu
Chapter 1217: Battle of Tian Tu
Ning Fan was unaware of just how many people had set their eyes on him at this moment.
Honestly, he wasn’t particularly interested in the so-called Heavenly Map rewards. Was he lacking in cultivation techniques or divine skills? Was he short of magical treasures? Not really. He hadn’t even fully learned the powerful divine skills he had acquired, and he had a pile of magical treasures with no use for them. He did lack some expensive pills and Dao Fruits to enhance his cultivation, but they weren’t absolutely necessary.
He wasn’t focused on the Heavenly Map rewards.
But that wasn’t a reason for others to seize what was his!
He was a disciple taught by the old monster! As the Sect Leader of the Black Evil Sect, he was always the one taking from others, never the one being taken from!
Cold light flickered in Ning Fan’s eyes as he stared at the Control Position Sky Map above Yellow Cloud Valley, awaiting what was to happen next.
In the mid-air, the light of the Control Position Sky Map grew increasingly bright, and the contents of the picture became richer. Besides the Rain Immortal Father, scenes of mountains, water, and pavilions began to appear.
As the brilliance reached its peak, Ning Fan suddenly felt an immense suction force emerge, pulling his entire being into the map!
Strangely, the map seemed to only have an immense suction force for him personally, having no effect on an outsider like the Slime Monster.
"Hero Brother!" The Slime Monster was greatly alarmed. She had only a vague understanding of the Control Position Sky Map and didn’t comprehend what was happening. Seeing Ning Fan being sucked away by the map, she assumed Ning Fan was in danger.
Ignoring her own safety, she flew toward the Control Position Sky Map, trying to rush inside to save Ning Fan. However, she couldn’t get through and was instead almost shattered by the vast immortal spirit aura from the map, spewing a Blood Arrow and falling from the sky.
"Hero Brother, don’t let anything happen to you... It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t been recklessly bathing here, you wouldn’t have accidentally drunk my bathwater, causing a breakthrough in Control Position and attracting disaster." The Slime Monster cried, turning into a tearful mess.
She didn’t understand what was happening!
She only knew that every attempt to approach the Control Position Sky Map resulted in severe injuries, and Ning Fan, having been sucked into the map entirely, must be even more gravely injured, trapped within it!
Clearly, she didn’t possess the cultivation to rescue Ning Fan. Given her severe injuries from the map, even an Ancient Great Cultivator might find it impossible to handle.
"Master! I must find Master, surely he will have a way!"
The Slime Monster didn’t bother wiping the blood stains from her mud face, hurrying out of Yellow Cloud Valley to seek help from the All-Knowing Elder.
Initially, upon hearing Ning Fan was in trouble, the All-Knowing Elder’s eyes turned wild, abandoning the pile of immortal materials.
But, upon the Slime Monster explaining the situation, saying that Ning Fan had been sucked into the Control Position Sky Map, the All-Knowing Elder’s rage subsided, and he recovered his calm demeanor, rolling his eyes at the Slime Monster.
"Oh Feng Zhao, oh Feng Zhao, I’ve always told you to read more books, yet you never listen. Your Hero Brother isn’t in any trouble, he’s doing well! If luck is with him, he might even get three gifts; if he’s unlucky, he may just lose some treasures without any life-threatening danger. Now, I have serious matters to attend to. Don’t disturb me again until I’ve disposed of this rubbish! Off you go!"
"But Master..."
The Slime Monster wanted to say more but suddenly felt a pain in her muddy face.
It turned out that the All-Knowing Elder had thrown a tattered old book at her face.
This old book seemed ancient, stained with oil, vegetable juice, and dried grains of rice, as if someone had used it as a dining table mat.
"Go! Read this book thoroughly, and you won’t worry about that boy anymore! After you finish reading, when that boy comes out from the map, teach him to read it, too. I’m really speechless with you loose cultivators, daring to cultivate a complete control position without understanding a thing, peeking at the Source Stream of Dao..."
The Slime Monster bowed her head in frustration, glancing at the oil-stained, tattered book. It hurt being hit by it!
Amidst the oils stains, she barely made out the title of the battered book, and she was shocked.
"Dao Scripture"!
No, no, no, no way, wasn’t the Dao Scripture supposed to be a treasure under the control of a Fourth Step Immortal Emperor! How could Master have a Dao Scripture, and how could he allow a junior cultivator like her to view such a precious scripture!
"Master, don’t joke around. The Dao Scripture belongs to the Fourth Step. Without the writer’s permission, no one can view it. The Dao it records cannot be cultivated by anyone else, as it’s exclusive to the writer. I don’t even know who the writer is nor have obtained his Fourth Step permission. Even if I open this book, perhaps all I’ll see is blank paper, much like a Wordless Heavenly Scripture..." The Slime Monster felt the Dao Scripture in her hands heavy, unbearably hot.
"Rest assured, this isn’t the true Dao Scripture, but a Faux Dao Sutra. The writer isn’t even a Fourth Step Immortal Emperor, one step away from a breakthrough, yet he refuses to take that step, not even if the main sect forces him, nor if his adopted son begs him. Therefore... this is essentially a Faux Dao Sutra, not as valuable as you imagine, nor is it a Wordless Heavenly Scripture..." The All-Knowing Elder turned away, the Slime Monster couldn’t see his expression, yet she detected a tone of sorrow and loneliness in his voice.
"Faux Dao Sutra? What’s that? I’ve never heard of such a term before." The Slime Monster was confused.
"..." The All-Knowing Elder remained silent without explaining what a Faux Dao Sutra was, suddenly turning around with a look of bewilderment.
"...Who am I... What is a Faux Dao Sutra..."
"..." The Slime Monster was speechless, she knew her master was having another episode, and further questioning would yield no answers.
She flipped through the Faux Dao Sutra, confirming it wasn’t a Wordless Heavenly Scripture, not the Dao Scripture of the Fourth Step.
The book contained no records of divine skills or cultivation techniques, only scattered insights and cultivation theories. Previously, books always gave the Slime Monster a headache, and flipping through this now, she found it dull.
Boring as it may be, she finally understood from a few words in the book what Ning Fan was experiencing.
"So the Position Sky Map won’t endanger Hero Brother’s life. Now I can rest easy..." The Slime Monster let out a sigh of relief, closed the Faux Dao Sutra, and ran back to Yellow Cloud Valley, waiting for Ning Fan to emerge from the Sky Map.
Reading the book, she found it uninteresting as expected. She decided it was better to leave it for Hero Brother to read...
Long after the Slime Monster left, the All-Knowing Elder suddenly put down the Immortal Material he was tinkering with, looked up, and gazed toward the direction of Yellow Cloud Valley.
Saying that he wouldn’t care about Ning Fan’s Sky Map affair, in truth, he still couldn’t let go...
"No one should be able to snatch things from that kid, but if by some chance... Humph! Whoever dares to give my junior brother a chance, I’ll give them ten thousand, let them die ten thousand times!"
...
Inside the Position Sky Map, there was a world evolved from Immortal Spirit Qi, incredibly realistic.
Ning Fan was pulled into the Sky Map’s interior without any panic, as he had the Ant Lord providing real-time explanations in his divine sense, knowing there wasn’t much danger in this matter.
The rewards of the Sky Map were to be carried out inside the Sky Map, which unrelated people could not enter, and naturally would not interfere. Those who could come here to snatch Ning Fan’s rewards would only be people connected with the Rain Control Position.
Within the Sky Map realm, there was an everlasting drizzle; between the mountains and waters, a towering statue of a giant Immortal stood permanently.
The Rain Immortal Father!
That statue was not made from soil or gold and stone, but crafted from rainwater. As high as the heavens were, so was the rain image!
The rain image took the shape of a meditative elder sitting cross-legged, eyes closed. But when Ning Fan approached within a thousand zhang, the rain image suddenly emitted a rumbling sound and opened its eyes. Those eyes were devoid of joy or sorrow, devoid of spirit or intellect, and scanned Ning Fan emptily.
It was an empty gaze with no sign of life. Clearly, the owner of the rain image, the initial Rain Immortal Father, had long since fallen, leaving only the rain image in existence.
"Spirit... and yet, the Father God... but spirit, what is it..." The rain image spoke in confusion, uttering words it did not understand.
It was not the true Rain Immortal Father; the real Rain Immortal Father had perished in the long river of time. It saw through Ning Fan’s divine identity but did not remember what that identity represented or signified.
The Immortal Spirit Clan and the Divine Spirit Clan are incompatible as water and fire. If it knew that Ning Fan before it was the top enemy of the Immortal Spirit Clan, it definitely wouldn’t bestow any rewards on Ning Fan.
Fortunately, it didn’t know.
Precisely because it didn’t know, the Position Sky Map descended, it manifested here.
Unknowing as it was, however... it instinctively found Ning Fan displeasing.
Having his identity exposed, Ning Fan initially worried that some changes might occur, but seeing that the rain image, apart from initially revealing his identity, didn’t show much hostility, he temporarily relaxed and decided to observe quietly.
"So going forward, should I just do nothing and wait for it to bestow rewards on me?" Ning Fan asked the Ant Lord in his divine sense.
"Yes. The Sky Map rewards consist of hundreds of grades, first being the highest and hundredth the lowest. There are also hundreds of different containers like boxes, bottles, chests, caskets, urns, baskets, pots, and cases used to store different treasures. The type of container determines the kind of treasure inside. With your potential, you might get something above the fifty level, but even if you get such level treasures, don’t be in a hurry to open them later..." At this point, the Ant Lord paused and bit its teeth fiercely.
"Why?"
"Hmph! Didn’t you earn a big merit from my palace earlier? It’ll come in handy soon... How annoying! If it weren’t for our mutual understanding, I wouldn’t have told you how to use that merit!" Mentioning merit agitated the Ant Lord. Had it known these merits would ultimately benefit Ning Fan, it wouldn’t have been so frugal!
As Ning Fan was about to inquire further about using merit, an abrupt change occurred!
Just then, the rain image began chanting an ancient scripture, then radiated splendid light all over, and afterward, the rain in the world rapidly converged towards Ning Fan’s location, gathering into three huge water balls!
The three water balls whirled in mid-air, spinning and condensing, eventually transforming into different shapes, and at the same time, the rain image disappeared!
"Do as you will..." These were the last words of the rain image before disappearing, with a slightly mocking tone buried within.
Ning Fan frowned and looked towards the three rewards, all of which had descriptive texts marked on them.
The first water ball transformed into a "Cursed Wooden Box," treasure level ninety-eight!
The second water ball transformed into a "Latrine-Fallen Blueprint Bag," treasure level ninety-six!
The third water ball transformed into a "Stinking Urine Pot," treasure level one hundred!
The wooden box, blueprint bag, and urine pot themselves weren’t the rewards, but the contents inside were! However, with such low treasure levels, the contents were obviously not valuable... No, even without looking at the treasure levels, Ning Fan knew these rewards weren’t good!
Talk about it! With curses, latrines, and urine pots, even a fool knows these rewards are junk!
"Hahahahahahaha..." The Ant Lord burst out laughing.
Why are you laughing?
Of course, I’m relishing in your misfortune!
The Ant Lord has lived for so long and has seen many people receive the rewards of the Heavenly Map, but no one’s reward was ever as low as Ning Fan’s.
The reward Ning Fan received is absolutely abnormal! No, calling it abnormal is too inappropriate; this is clearly meant to be a joke!
The Rain Immortal Father must really dislike Ning Fan to bestow such a lowly reward!
A cursed wooden box?
One must know that among the Heavenly Map rewards, wooden boxes are often used to hold various immortal materials. Could this box contain materials meant for crafting cursed weapons? Weapons like demon swords and demon blades that harm their wielder? Or perhaps something that damages the user ten times over with each strike? Haha, it’s really amusing!
A blueprint bag that fell into a latrine?
Just hearing it creates such a vivid image! The blueprints inside must be covered in filth. I wonder if when the little ant Ning pulls out these blueprints, he’ll find his hands sticky! By the way, what do these blueprints depict? Could they be designs for a toilet? Haha, who knows? After all, they were found in a latrine!
The funniest thing is... there’s even a urine pot!
Could it really be filled with urine? Even if it contained the urine of a Fourth Step Immortal Emperor, it wouldn’t be valuable! What’s the use of urine? Could it possibly be drinkable? Haha, it seems it is drinkable! Isn’t there a belief that a child’s urine is very nourishing? If there really exists a Fourth Step child’s urine in this world, it would be incredibly nourishing! The little ant Ning has hit the jackpot!
"I suspect that even though the Rain Image doesn’t remember what a deity signifies, it still instinctively dislikes you, which is why it gave you such a reward. Turns out, it’s not just me who doesn’t like you. There are others who feel the same way!" the Ant Lord exclaimed with schadenfreude.
"..."
"Don’t be angry. If you get angry, I would feel very sorry for you." No, in reality, the angrier you get, the happier I am!
"... I’m not angry. We are of one mind. I’ve already seen one of the uses of merit from your thoughts, so why should I be more upset?"
Getting three trash rewards, Ning Fan could not possibly have no words.
Fortunately, he and the Ant Lord were of one mind. Even if the Ant Lord hadn’t finished speaking, he already understood what she meant about the usage of merit.
The Heavenly Map’s rewards are not about accepting whatever is given to you.
This is true for ordinary people.
But there exists a type of person who can cheat!
Cheat with what?
Cheat with the merit of a saint!
True realm cultivators who uphold the way of heaven can be cloaked in merit, which has countless uses, almost omnipotent, even forcibly enhancing the level of treasures from Heavenly Map rewards.
There is no way around it; merit represents privilege! It can even forcibly elevate someone without the qualifications to become a saint into a Merit Saint!
It’s just that domineering!
It’s just that privileged!
It’s just that unrestrained!
"Damn! If you have the guts, don’t cheat with my merits! If you have the guts, just take home the urine pot the Rain Image gave you and worship it!" the Ant Lord cursed in hate.
"If I can cheat, why not cheat? Although I’m not interested in Heavenly Map rewards, I dislike your schadenfreude even more. As expected, as soon as you heard I was going to spend your merit recklessly, you felt anxious. We’re quite alike, both little men delighting in other’s misfortunes. When I’m down, you feel proud; when you’re angry, I actually feel quite happy," Ning Fan chuckled.
"Don’t be too smug! Even if you use my merits to forcibly upgrade the treasure level of the Heavenly Map reward, it only benefits others! Don’t forget, later others will come to snatch your treasures, and you may not be able to protect them, so why waste the merits?" the Ant Lord retorted angrily.
"Whether I choose to use the merits is not for you to decide."
Ning Fan ignored the Ant Lord’s curses, taking out the Heaven-Opening Jade Scroll and casting a spell upon it.
In an instant, a burst of golden light shot out from the jade scroll, transforming into countless grains of light, falling onto the wooden box reward.
The original 11,800 points of saint merit instantly reduced by 1 point.
As the golden light dispersed, the curse on the wooden box gradually disappeared, and the quality of the box began to change.
The level of the treasure in the box increased!
The cursed wooden box turned into a [Damaged Fine Iron Box], its treasure level rising to Rank 97!
Opening it would yield a whole box of low-grade fine iron! Well, fine iron is only immortal material for crafting low-grade magical treasures, which are useless to Ning Fan, so just level it up again!
Use 1 more point of saint merit!
The damaged fine iron box turned into a damaged mithril box, treasure level 96!
Level up again!
A battered steel box! Rank 95!
Level up again!
A plain immortal jade box!
Level up again!
A dull Dao crystal box!
Level up again!
A dazzling solar stone box!
Level up again!
Level up again!
Level up again!
Initially, upgrading the treasure chest level only required 1 point of saint merit.
But once the level of the treasure rose to Rank 70, it cost 2 points of merit to upgrade each time.
After Rank 60, upgrading once required 5 points of merit.
After Rank 50, it was 10 points of merit.
After Rank 40, 20 points of merit.
After Rank 30, 50 points of merit.
After Rank 20, 100 points of merit.
After Rank 10, upgrading a treasure level required 2000 merits per level.
Spending nearly 2,000 points of merit, Ning Fan upgraded the first reward to Rank 10. Further upgrading would be too costly, and Ning Fan did not intend to spend all the saint merits he had. Who knows if there will be another situation like this one where special privileges are needed?
Speaking of which, where is that cursed wooden box now? There’s only a [Boundless Blessing Sky Path Box] left!
As per his method, Ning Fan spent another 2,000 merits to upgrade the toilet-fallen blueprint bag to a Rank 10 treasure—[Exquisite Craftsmanship Blueprint Bag]!
Spending another 2,000 merits, the stinking urine pot was upgraded to [Rain Giant’s Jade Liquor Pot]!
The Heaven-Opening Jade Scroll’s remaining merit was over 5,800 points. Due to having no concrete concept of merit, Ning Fan was very generous with his usage and did not feel any pain in spending it. Even saving some merit was just for unforeseen future needs, not because he was reluctant to use it.
As for the upgraded results, Ning Fan was quite satisfied. Originally, he wasn’t interested in the Heavenly Map rewards, but now, he was a bit interested.
Inside that Heaven’s Dao Box seems to be some kind of immortal material, exuding a slight aura of innate superior grade, perhaps materials for crafting an innate superior magical treasure?
Inside that blueprint bag, there was a surge of fierce demon energy moving, its reason unknown, nor was it known what blueprints it contained.
Inside that jade liquor pot, it was unbeknownst what powerful liquor it contained, but just a whiff of its fragrance caused Ning Fan’s Rain Control Position to progress slightly, surprisingly some sort of immortal wine that enhances Rain Control Position Power!
Materials and blueprints aside, that immortal wine was an absolute necessity for Ning Fan, greatly beneficial to him just after breaking through to the Middle Realm of Hand Position.
Ning Fan attempted to open the Heaven’s Dao Box, blueprint bag, and jade liquor pot but found it extremely difficult to open them. It turns out that the higher the level of the treasure box, the stronger the restrictions, making it impossible to open them quickly. Even with his cultivation, it would take quite some time.
Ning Fan tried to directly place the three items into his storage pouch, only to find it impossible. This scene resembled the situation where he couldn’t collect them until the enemy arrived. Only after the enemy appeared would the Position Sky Map allow the collection of treasures.
Indeed, it seems he must wait for the coming foes.
Ning Fan’s eyes gleamed momentarily, then he sat cross-legged on the ground nonchalantly, guarding the three treasures.
Not knowing how long he waited, suddenly there was a spatial fluctuation in the Heavenly Map World, followed by an emergence of the ritual formation patterns, filling the heavens and earth.
The moment those patterns fully completed, a piercing dragon roar echoed across the heavens, and a giant dragon formed of azure rainwater broke through the realm from within the formation light!
This Rain Dragon is enormous, with an azure Dragon Pearl held in its mouth. Just that Dragon Pearl alone is as massive as an Emperor-rank Cultivation Star, not to mention the entire dragon body!
Ning Fan’s gaze grew slightly serious; this Rain Dragon exerted immense pressure on him, but the pressure source was not from the dragon’s body, but from the top of the dragon’s head, where an elder stood with squinting eyes and a half-smile.
The elder’s presence was illusory, formed entirely of rainwater, merging completely with it, inseparable. In just this aspect alone, Ning Fan’s current rain cultivations were still far inferior to the elder.
"I wonder which Daoist called down the Rain Control Position Heavenly Map; I, Daoist Beihai True Lord, especially came to this realm to congratulate the Daoist for reaching the Control Position!"
The elder’s words sounded polite, yet his gaze was anything but courteous, containing cold, fierce glimmers, clearly coming with ill intent rather than to offer felicitations!
Beihai True Lord followed the guidance from the Heavenly Map to split his spirit sense and descend here, a process akin to point-to-point teleportation. He didn’t know precisely where he had arrived; he only vaguely sensed that the place was still within the realm of Beitian, not another interface.
"Which means, the old monster who cultivated the Rain Control Position and called down the Heavenly Map is, like me, a Beitian Cultivator? Strange, I never knew there was another old monster of the same rank in Beitian cultivating rain like me. Fish Master’s Dao is indeed related to rain, yet despite his strength, he has been unable to achieve Control Position for certain reasons. The one who cultivated the Rain Control Position shouldn’t be him, but then who is it?"
Beihai True Lord came riding the dragon, standing on its head, his gaze sweeping slowly downward.
He wanted to see who had accomplished this task!
Until he looked, he didn’t realize, but once he did, he was greatly shocked!
"How can it be you! It’s impossible! When you defeated the Immortal Stone, you clearly weren’t in Rain Control Position; how is it that you’ve attained it now? How much time has even passed?"
It turned out that this supposed Beihai True Lord was shockingly the Water Sect Master!
"So you’re called Beihai True Lord? I thought calling you Water Sect Master would be more fitting."
Though Ning Fan was meeting the Water Sect Master for the first time, he identified him by sensing a trace from the Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella!
"Haha, calling me sect master, or Beihai, is merely a title; whichever Daoist calls me doesn’t matter. However, I am quite curious if I should call you Ning Fan or Ancient Great Cultivator Zhao Jian. Haha, what a righteous, unparalleled Zhao Jian! The world says you are an Ancient Great Cultivator, but I know you are only a little Immortal King cultivation! I know you have some skills, and normally wouldn’t wish to clash with you before the competition, but since we’ve met, only a fight remains!"
Beihai True Lord’s spirit scanned over the Heaven’s Dao Box and Blueprint Bag beneath, but these items didn’t pique his interest. But when his spirit scanned over the Jade Liquor Pot, he gasped in surprise.
This... this is actually Immortal Wine that enhances Rain Control Position! Though he cultivates the Seal Rank instead of Control Position, at his level, he has already touched upon the Source Stream of Dao and can utilize Dao Source power. As long as it’s of the same source, this item can significantly bolster his Rain Seal Rank power!
This item, he must have it! As for the other two items, he isn’t overly concerned; it’s good if he can seize them, but no harm if not. Ning Fan wasn’t aware, but he knew that besides him, in the entire Dreamland Realm, other water cultivators might be drawn by the Heavenly Map!
Those people might come too!
He might disregard Ning Fan alone, but if those individuals also appear, he’d have to make choices; otherwise, he might not stand a chance even to claim the Jade Liquor Pot!
"Luckily, I am in Beitian, closest to Ning Fan, hence the first to arrive! While others have yet to approach, I can seize the Jade Liquor Pot first; I’m sure Ning Fan, however bold, wouldn’t dare openly oppose me!"
Beihai True Lord didn’t intend to waste any time!
With a thought, he commanded the giant Rain Dragon to charge at the ground where Ning Fan stood! The force of the impact was as if an Emperor-rank Starfield was crashing down, the rain intent slicing like daggers, stinging Ning Fan’s face!
This scene greatly surprised Ning Fan; he thought that, after breaking through to Control Position, the gap in rain intent between him and Beihai True Lord wouldn’t be large, but didn’t expect the opponent’s rain intent was this formidable!
At least thirty percent stronger!
Unfortunately...
The opponent attacked with rain, yet was precisely restrained by one of his treasures!
"Your rain intent may be strong, but I possess the umbrella you’ve dreamed of for years! Relying solely on this rain intent is not enough to seize my belongings!"
Bang!
As Ning Fan’s words fell, the Rain Dragon crashed down, causing the entire Heavenly Map World to shake violently, the ground erupting into fragments.
Beihai True Lord’s eyes narrowed slightly; he didn’t believe Ning Fan could be harmed by this rain intent, after all, Ning Fan held the rain cultivation treasure he had long desired to retrieve!
Indeed...
Amongst the shattered continent, Ning Fan stood unharmed beneath an azure jade umbrella, effortlessly repelling all falling rain, with not a single drop getting close.
Behind him were all three treasures, completely intact!
Roar!
The Rain Dragon roared angrily, transforming the surrounding rain into countless Rain Immortal Swords, shooting toward Ning Fan.
However, not a single rain sword could even graze Ning Fan’s clothes!
Rain is just rain, even if it turns into a sword, it is still rain, ultimately it will be blocked by the umbrella.
The umbrella is the superior of rain, this is an absolute restraint!
"Hmph! To think that you just obtained the Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella not long ago, yet your harmony with the magical treasure is already so high, to the point you’ve become one with the umbrella. But it’s a pity you don’t know, this Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella has been the possession of my Water Sect for generations. Using my Water Sect’s item against me, don’t you think that’s too arrogant! Ice Rain Technique, Umbrella Sealing Command!"
With a cold laugh from the Beihai True Lord, a sudden change occurred. At this moment, countless rain patterns suddenly appeared on the surface of the Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella. Those patterns were clearly marked by rain drops when Ning Fan used the umbrella to block the rain!
Rain Dragon’s impact or Rain Immortal Sword, they were all feints. Marking these rain patterns on the umbrella was the true goal of Beihai True Lord.
"Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella, return now!"
With the command of Beihai True Lord, the Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella immediately broke free from Ning Fan’s grasp and flew back to him.
This person actually used the Umbrella Sealing Command to forcibly seize control of the Jade Umbrella from Ning Fan!
Ning Fan’s expression changed, looking quite shocked, seemingly not expecting that Beihai True Lord had such an ability.
Seeing Ning Fan showing a shocked expression, Beihai True Lord felt something amiss. Similarly adept at perception, he felt that Ning Fan’s shock seemed slightly fake, not genuinely heartfelt.
Could it be...
Beihai True Lord glanced at the Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella flying back obediently, suddenly understanding something, his gaze both astonished and cold.
Though the Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella flew right in front of him, he didn’t reach out to catch it but suddenly made a move, flicking his fingers, instantly sending several Rain Slash Strikes shooting towards the Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella.
At the moment he attacked, the Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella also unleashed a fierce light, its surface Umbrella Sealing Command rain patterns shattered with a bang, and countless fine needles transformed from rain strings flew out from the umbrella, piercing towards Beihai True Lord.
Had Beihai True Lord been careless for just a moment, he would have been pierced by these rain needles. While these rain needles seemed not to have strong power, they were laced with a trace of Hand Position Poison. If truly pierced, it would certainly cause some trouble!
Fortunately, he was not careless at all.
All the rain needles and the Jade Umbrella were repelled by his few strikes. The light of the Jade Umbrella dimmed slightly as it flew back towards Ning Fan. Evidently, the Rain Slash Strikes casually unleashed by Beihai True Lord weren’t weak, slightly damaging even an Innate Mid-grade Treasure!
If this person attacked with full power, how formidable would that power be!
"It seems I underestimated you before. It’s the first time Old Monster encountered someone who could make the Umbrella Sealing Command fail. I truly don’t know what Demon Art you used on this umbrella to charm it into submission, daring even to defy my Water Sect’s command!" Beihai True Lord said coldly.
This time, he was genuinely angry!
He always knew the Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella was in Ning Fan’s hands, but he wasn’t in a rush to retrieve it, confident that with the Umbrella Sealing Command in hand, he could retrieve his old possession whenever he wished.
However, reality gave him a resounding slap!
Ning Fan somehow made the Umbrella Sealing Command ineffective!
Now, apart from truly killing Ning Fan, he couldn’t think of another way to perfectly reclaim the Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella!
Ning Fan could kill a Quasi-Saint. If not necessary, he was also unwilling to provoke another enemy, but for the sake of the Sky-Dueling Jade Umbrella... this time he truly harbored a killing intent towards Ning Fan!
Ning Fan remained silent, ignoring Beihai True Lord’s astonishment, but inwardly regretted. Such a good opportunity for a sneak attack was actually seen through by Beihai True Lord. This old guy was overly cautious, too much like a rabbit?
Compared to this person’s caution, Ning Fan could still accept his strength. After all, Beihai True Lord didn’t come in his true self, only a wisp of spirit sense, his strength about one-fifth of his true form, comparable to a middle-upper First Order Quasi-Saint. Ning Fan believed after a hard fight, he could also triumph, but the problem was, the arrival might not be just Beihai True Lord alone. If there were another master of Beihai True Lord’s level coming, things would be troublesome...
Both of them had the thought of quick battle, wanting to continue fighting, suddenly they stopped together.
They had to stop because others arrived. At this moment, if they let the clam and the snipe fight, wouldn’t it allow the fisherman to profit!
At this moment, the rain of the Heavenly Map World suddenly condensed into snowflakes and fell.
Amidst the swirling snowflakes, a golden figure flashed by and transformed into a giant Buddha, standing tall between heaven and earth!
That giant Buddha also came as a spirit sense, his spirit sense was not at all smaller than Beihai True Lord’s!
"Namo Amitabha, the Tian Tu’s rewards are for the fated, yet the fated ones have not all arrived. You two are busy fighting, isn’t that somewhat hasty? Oh? The first to arrive is Daoist Beihai? Could it be the one who attracted the Tian Tu is a Beitian Cultivator? Otherwise, the first to arrive should have been the highest-skilled True Martial Comrade among the Dreamland Water Cultivators!" The giant Buddha said a Buddha name, expressions compassionate.
But whether it was truly compassionate, even he probably didn’t believe it. If it were compassionate, why bother diving into this muddy water, only to add to one’s karma!
"Eight Cold Hells Buddha!" When Beihai True Lord saw who it was, his expression immediately turned a bit unpleasant.
In theory, the strength of the Eight Cold Hells Buddha is comparable to his, but who would have thought this Buddha cultivates not the Buddhist title but the Ice Control Position! Using rain to battle ice, the rain turning to snow in this realm is the outcome. Beihai True Lord knew well unless his Rain Seal Rank far surpassed the other’s Ice Control Position, otherwise, he would suffer somewhat whenever he faced this person.
"Rain, snow, ice..." there was not just Beihai True Lord coming, Ning Fan was already mentally prepared for this, so not too surprised.
What touched him was this person’s Dao of Ice and Snow. At this moment, Ning Fan seemed to see another reincarnation of the rain, another kind of destiny. Rain and clouds can be each other’s source and stream, rain and ice, and snow, seem as well... the three states of water are ice, water, and atmospheric vapor, aren’t they...
Originally, Ning Fan thought he saw the path to mastery of the Rain Control Position, thought he understood rain, but at this moment, he realized perhaps he did not truly understand rain; he only grasped the superficial aspects. Beyond those superficial aspects lies the true source of the rain. From that source, the rain can have countless lives, not necessarily becoming clouds, falling into the sea...
"Oh? Is this Daoist the person who brought down the Heavenly Map? Looks somewhat unfamiliar..." The Eight Cold Hells Buddha was gazing below at Ning Fan when his expression suddenly changed slightly.
"An unexpected guest has arrived!" He and True Lord Beihai were both surprised, evidently the incoming person was not within their plans.
"Escaped! Actually escaped with a hint of spirit sense! Hahaha! Control Position boy, you miscalculated, your third mountain ultimately cannot crush me! Unfortunately, this hint of spirit sense can’t last long, only this one chance to escape using the Heavenly Map. Time is short, looks like I must act quickly!"
The one who appeared was a red-faced old man. Ning Fan immediately recognized whose spirit sense this was!
This was actually the spirit sense of Emperor Shuiyan!
He had seen this hint of Emperor Shuiyan’s spirit sense hiding inside the Water-Flooding Realm Bottle when he acquired it years ago.
The spirit sense back then claimed to be ranked eleventh among Emperor Shuiyan’s spirit senses, with cultivation only at the level of a Pinnacle Immortal King.
However, the current spirit sense of Emperor Shuiyan standing before him was different, far more formidable than before, with a Semi-Saint cultivation — yet compared to True Lord Beihai and the Eight Cold Hells Buddha, a Semi-Saint spirit sense seemed unthreatening, but that was merely surface level! For some reason, the sense of danger Emperor Shuiyan brought to Ning Fan was even stronger than the other two, truly strange!
"Hmm? Why does this kid carry the aura of the Water-Flooding Bottle?! Could it be, could it be..."
Emperor Shuiyan glanced at Ning Fan and his expression was both startled and delighted!
"Heaven assists me! To think that besides acquiring three treasures, I can recover the Water-Flooding Bottle! With this bottle in hand, my breakthrough against the third mountain’s suppression is within reach! Hahaha, Water-Flooding Bottle, Water-Flooding Bottle, haven’t you seen your master, return swiftly!"
Emperor Shuiyan was overjoyed, and with a decisive hand gesture, he attempted to forcibly summon the Water-Flooding Realm Bottle.
But the result was embarrassing...
The Water-Flooding Bottle had no response.
The Water-Flooding Bottle... had rebelled against its true master, and now only recognized Ning Fan as its master!
"Interesting indeed! What kind of demon art did you cast on my bottle, causing it to resolutely defy its master!" Emperor Shuiyan, having just arrived, tasted the surprise that True Lord Beihai had previously experienced, asking coldly.
Ning Fan naturally wouldn’t foolishly reveal that he obtained the bottle’s unwavering loyalty through conversation.
His expression was slightly troubled; although he had mentally prepared for many enemies to appear, when truly surrounded by three powerful foes, he felt unprecedented pressure.
Against each individual among the three spirit senses, he had a great chance of victory; engaging two would be difficult, facing three it would be concerning even to protect himself.
Judging from the tone of the Eight Cold Hells Buddha, the strongest water-based cultivator in the Land of Dreams had yet to arrive.
If that person appeared, keeping hold of the three treasures wouldn’t be easy, he might have to use some hidden cards...
"So it’s actually Emperor Shuiyan’s arrival, we juniors are honored to witness the splendor of an ancient Great Emperor, what fortune. Eight Cold Daoist, should we temporarily cease our quarrel? I know you’re not interested in the Jade Liquor Pot, your interest lies elsewhere. We could join forces, sweep away others before True Martial Daoist arrives, and afterwards divide all the treasures between us. Wouldn’t that be wonderful!" True Lord Beihai surprisingly suggested an alliance, but the intended ally was not Emperor Shuiyan, clearly dismissing the Semi-Saint spirit sense of Emperor Shuiyan!
"A great suggestion!" The Eight Cold Hells Buddha agreed, also not mentioning Emperor Shuiyan, evidently excluding him within his heart. No surprise, he was an ancient Buddha, and Emperor Shuiyan was an Ancient Demon Demon Ancestor, Buddha and demon have never coexisted, how could they ally?
"An alliance? Hahaha! Only the weak gather in groups; this Emperor prefers to walk a solitary path for ten thousand miles! It’s not just you youngsters here, even facing an army, this Emperor fears nothing!"
Emperor Shuiyan couldn’t be bothered talking nonsense with True Lord Beihai, Eight Cold Buddha, and with a vigorous motion of his hands, the entire Heavenly Map World suddenly submerged under overwhelming sea waves!
"This person clearly has only Semi-Saint cultivation, why does a casual strike yield such a powerful realm water attack! This is utterly unreasonable!" Both True Lord Beihai and Eight Cold Buddha had their expressions changed, realizing they underestimated Emperor Shuiyan’s true strength! Measuring the ancient Great Emperor’s power with modern cultivation standards, they were truly overconfident!
"Even without the Water-Flooding Bottle, Shuiyan’s spirit sense can unleash a flood that rivals that of the bottle! Should his true self arrive, wielding the Water-Flooding Bottle, wouldn’t the cumulative effect be even more terrifying!" Even more troubled, Ning Fan disregarded the unhealed state of the Water-Flooding Bottle and immediately summoned it, absorbing all the sea waves within a thousand-zhang radius to prevent any from approaching.
The Water-Flooding Bottle emitted continuous laments; despite its unrepaired state, it struggled against such an overwhelming water attack, increasingly damaged, its spiritual light dimming more and more.
Seeing this, Ning Fan felt deep remorse, though it was merely a bottle, after experiencing life and death, he couldn’t bear to worsen its condition. With the precedence of the God-Extinguishing Shield event, deep in his heart, he had long unconsciously viewed this bottle as a partner for life and death, naturally he couldn’t stand watching it get hurt.
Witnessing the Water-Flooding Bottle nearing destruction, Ning Fan was forced to retract it, causing the surrounding sea waves to rush towards him once more, as Emperor Shuiyan was riding the water, ignoring the impact while charging at Ning Fan!
Emperor Shuiyan was enveloped in eerie blood vapor, from the first stage of Ancestral Regression!
"Give me the treasures! Otherwise, die!"
Emperor Shuiyan spoke with an arrogant tone, completely disregarding Ning Fan!
Does he know who Ning Fan is? Does he care who Ning Fan is! Coming from Demon-Sealing Peak as a Demon Ancestor, none are unbridled, none are arrogant!
He has the power of Ancestral Regression, if provoked, he would fully regress, exterminating all the young ones here! Even Control Position couldn’t kill him back then, these few juniors are worthless!
Ning Fan’s eyes showed a hint of regret.
Over the years, he had relied on Emperor Shuiyan’s bottle several times to save his life. As the saying goes, drinking water, think of the source. He was not without some gratitude towards Emperor Shuiyan, but all that gratitude was erased the moment Emperor Shuiyan erupted with killing intent towards him.
It was the Flooded Bottle that helped him, not Emperor Shuiyan. He could treat the bottle as a comrade, but he could not bring himself to have any good feelings towards Emperor Shuiyan.
Since they were enemies, he would... show no mercy!
Boom!
Under the deep sea, amidst the raging undercurrent, Ning Fan summoned the Reverse Sea Sword and slashed towards Emperor Shuiyan, barely forcing him to retreat.
"Could this sword be..." Emperor Shuiyan stabilized his retreating figure and vaguely recognized the Reverse Sea Sword, instantly flying into a rage!
How could he not be angry!
Even without thinking much, he could understand how Ning Fan crafted the Reverse Sea Sword; it must have been using the Eternal Undying Rain from his Flooded Bottle!
That was his possession, all of it his, but in the end, it benefited Ning Fan. His intent to kill Ning Fan intensified a hundredfold, a thousandfold!
In the deep sea, another gaze noticed the aura of the Reverse Sea Sword.
It was the Eight Cold Hells Buddha!
Originally, he held hostility towards Ning Fan, but at the moment this sword appeared, he suddenly felt a sense of protection towards Ning Fan.
Why?
Because this was the Hunkun Holy Sect Upper Disciple Sword!
Hunkun is the ancestor of all Buddha cultivators in the world, the holy land in the hearts of all Buddha cultivators. To wield this sword, in the eyes of true Buddha cultivators, is akin to being... the true Buddha Ancestor!
And although the Eight Cold Hells Buddha is not a good-natured type, he prides himself on being a true Buddha cultivator! How could a true Buddha cultivator allow the Buddha Ancestor to be harmed by others!
He, Eight Cold, would not rob things today; he wouldn’t dare to rob the Buddha Ancestor’s treasures! If this matter were to spread, how could he continue in the Western Heaven? The goal changed, today he must... act to protect the Buddha!
And so...
When Emperor Shuiyan attacked Ning Fan again, the Eight Cold Hells Buddha suddenly shielded Ning Fan, making Ning Fan utterly bewildered.
"The Buddha Ancestor above! This disciple is late in protection, please forgive me!"
With that said, the Eight Cold Hells Buddha replaced Ning Fan, fighting together with Emperor Shuiyan!
The Northern Sea True Lord: "..."
He was utterly speechless, although he had known that temporary alliances in the cultivation world weren’t reliable, he hadn’t expected the Eight Cold Hells Buddha to betray him instantly and turn to "team up" with Ning Fan.
Ning Fan: "???"
Ning Fan was simply in utter bewilderment.
With his Communication with All Things ability, he could clearly sense others’ goodwill and malice.
He was stunned... Moments ago, the Eight Cold Buddha was openly hostile towards him, but now why did he suddenly change his heart, becoming full of admiration and reverence for him.
And why did they refer to him as... Buddha Ancestor...
Like Shuiyan, he too was an Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor, not even remotely connected with the Buddha Ancestor... Is this misunderstanding perhaps a bit too subtle...
Just as Eight Cold Buddha and Emperor Shuiyan engaged in fierce battle, the sea that Emperor Shuiyan had summoned suddenly began to diminish, as if being consumed by some creature!
In mere breaths, this sea of the Flooded Realm was drunk dry by that colossal creature!
Belch!
A turtle ten times larger than the Rain Dragon let out a burp louder than a Void Realm storm.
The stench it emitted directly blew Emperor Shuiyan and Eight Cold Buddha, who were in the midst of battle, tens of thousands of zhang away!
"You all fight slowly, I won’t disturb you and won’t snatch your things. I just drank my fill of water, now I will begin eating the Tian Tu! Let me forewarn you, I don’t care how you mess around, but if you try to snatch my Tian Tu eat, I will eat you all!"
The era of True Martial Great Emperor arrives!