Chapter 1312: When Great Winds Rise, Immortal Clouds Threaten Rain!
Chapter 1312: Chapter 1312: When Great Winds Rise, Immortal Clouds Threaten Rain!
The Wang Zhi before him was the same one Ning Fan had encountered before.
This similarity was not another possibility from a parallel space-time, but truly the same wheel and body.
Yet, for some reason, the Wang Zhi he encountered this time was just a mortal, without the cultivation that reached the heavens and earth.
Though he was mortal, he somehow comprehended the Longevity Technique. Though mortal, he could achieve immortality, with no increase or decrease to his lifespan, and himself not suffering from Immeasurable Catastrophe or Infinite disturbances.
This truly defied the heavens.
In the world, there exist those with longevity seed, and there are ascetics who enter the Dao from mortals, but the so-called longevity seed and masters, in reality, are still within tribulations, subjected to the disturbance of Tribulation of Measure. Though named longevity, it still has an end, unless they can become saints.
However, Wang Zhi mysteriously found another path. If one had to describe him with a word, Ning Fan would call him a mortal saint or a saint of the human world.
It was unknown whether Wang Zhi’s method of cultivating the human path was self-created or taught by a senior expert.
Ning Fan was also unsure why, in his cultivation journey, he had never heard of the human path cultivation method, yet felt inexplicably familiar with it...
Moreover, since Wang Zhi was a mortal saint, why did he eventually possess profound cultivation, but instead lost the ax...
Could it be...
This ax indeed looked familiar to Ning Fan; it was quite similar to the Shanhai Axe held by a certain Lord of the Clouds he observed.
But the ax before him was just a mundane ax... Though a mundane ax, it bore the same human path aura, causing the ax to gradually undergo a certain transformation.
What a pity.
Wang Zhi was mistaken.
I didn’t come here too late, but too early...
So he bid farewell to Wang Zhi and went alone to the Five Finger Immortal Mountain called Witch Mountain.
Wang Zhi wished to persuade him again but was suddenly plagued by an inconceivable force, forgetting everything.
When he looked at Ning Fan again, his thoughts became muddled, very confused.
"Who is that person? Why is he going to Witch Mountain? Should I stop him? But what if he is the master of Witch Mountain?"
"Yes, I remember now! He is, of course, the master of Witch Mountain! Among the immortals who played chess back then, wasn’t he the leader? So I have entered Witch Mountain before, and the one who granted me longevity was indeed this immortal..."
"But why is he not himself at this moment... is it too late or too early?"
"But in any case, he is returning to his own abode, so I don’t need to advise him..."
Thus, he respectfully bowed towards the departing Ning Fan, as if in gratitude for the past bestowed teachings.
But then, an inconceivable force wiped away all thoughts, along with some vaguely remembered yet forgotten dao connection.
Who am I...
Where am I...
What should I do...
Wang Zhi touched his head, but couldn’t grasp anything...
...
Ning Fan then entered Witch Mountain.
After walking about five or six miles, endless Immortal Clouds suddenly emanated from Witch Mountain. This cloud contained tiny traces of inconceivable power; any ordinary person in contact would immediately lose their memory.
It could not hinder Ning Fan, naturally.
Despite this, as Ning Fan parted through the clouds, he still felt something.
He had just begun to comprehend some methods to turn the inconceivable into clouds to manifest Divine Skills but had not yet truly perfected it. Yet the Cloud Technique here was already so mature and complete... he feared there was a considerable reincarnation distance between himself and the clouds here...
Clearing the clouds, Ning Fan instead witnessed a mirage appearing after the fog had dispersed.
This was not an illusion of Witch Mountain, but rather Manzhi forcibly adding a scene using a bronze gear, attempting to entrap Ning Fan’s path forward with illusions.
Meanwhile, a somewhat provoking voice of Manzhi was heard.
[Hey, why don’t you understand? Secrets are secrets because they bring pain to people. You will hurt, I will hurt, so why hurt each other? If you wish to stop here, I can be very merciful and use this illusion to trap you in a thousand lives, sparing you from the destined death of the Five Spirits Chessboard’s Demon Suppressing Bone. How about it? Let’s call it a truce between us? It’s a pity that if you had wished to be this old man’s puppet from the start, being trapped for fewer hundreds of lives would’ve sufficed, yet you wished to stir more cause and effect. What a pity, pity...]
Ning Fan did not pay attention to Manzhi.
For the illusion before him was exceedingly dangerous, a slight mistake, and he would sink into it, trapped here forever!
The mountain path of Witch Mountain had now turned into countless crisscrossing stone paths!
The stone path follows the number twelve and intertwines into a gigantic array map, with a stone seat in each of the twelve positions.
Within each stone seat, numerous divination techniques are sealed, making it difficult to discern the means inside.
On each stone seat sits a six-meter-high wooden figure, all of whom are familiar faces to Ning Fan!
The first eleven wooden figures are the disciples of Manzhi, including the Baixi Great Emperor, who Ning Fan had slain among the Northern Barbarian Vastness, yet now appear as wooden figures in illusions.
On the twelfth stone seat, surprisingly, sits the wooden figure of the Great Ancestor of the Dabei Clan—Saint Nan Yao!
Countless palm-sized little wooden figures wander aimlessly like zombies within the illusionary array, unable to be freed.
Among them, Ning Fan finds many rather familiar, as they are people he had slain while clashing with Manzhi, but due to their insignificance, Ning Fan does not recall them all.
The wooden figures chant ancient scriptures mindlessly, converging into a rushing torrent of chanting voices.
This is Illusory Art, Ten Thousand Chants Decay!
This art claims to be the strongest illusion in the world, yet Ten Thousand Chants is far from its ultimate form.
At just the level of Ten Thousand Chants, Ning Fan is no longer afraid, yet must still face it with full effort.
His Third Realm of Tianren does allow him to pierce illusions, and upon entering the Annihilation Realm, he annihilates the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness.
Under the emptiness of the five aggregates, Ning Fan becomes increasingly uninfluenced by illusions, even having the strength to wield illusion rebound.
To rebound an illusion requires deciphering the opponent’s spell; Ning Fan, having encountered Ten Thousand Chants Decay before, thus achieves this.
In an instant, the illusionary array in Ning Fan’s eyes disappeared, and the wooden figures transformed into Black Flame, gradually returning to silence.
Before Manzhi’s eyes appeared the rebounded illusionary array, but he was well-prepared, unmoved by mere Ten Thousand Chants, and thus took out a Rain Flower from his sleeve, with a point from the flower, all chants extinguished.
[How does Ten Thousand Chants respect a single word, when a single word ends all life in silence. How does silence extinguish the remaining fire, when flames roar chaotically in the world.]
Manzhi’s voice suddenly arose, his words cryptic, seemingly lamenting that Ning Fan did not, as he had hoped, break free from karma and accept his goodwill of suppression for thousands of lifetimes.
He is indeed the greatest kindly man in the world, having rescued countless lives since the Primordial Desolate Era, yet none believe him. Alas, people always prefer to believe what they want, making virtue hard to practice...
If so, the old man shall abandon the obsession to help, respecting others’ destinies!
Just as he had done countless times before.
Thus, Manzhi withdrew his infinite stratagems laid upon Witch Mountain.
But with his stratagems gone, the bronze gear known as "口口口口" now becomes excessively perilous without suppression.
See, the old man truly is a good person!
Someone nears a cliff to fall; the old man kicks them away from death, yet they blame him for fracturing their bones instead, how laughable!
"But couldn’t you simply hold them, rather than kick?"
Ning Fan’s voice at this moment directly reverberated within Manzhi’s heart.
Manzhi furrowed his brow, realizing Ning Fan had once again used the Five-tone Harmony to resonate with the poison of the Star Sky Silkworm, and through the silkworm, resonated his poison!
This lad can achieve such a feat! The old man has never heard of Five-tone Harmony resonating with multiple sounds!
This matter exceeds common knowledge, which is why Manzhi failed to notice, but his penchant for worst-case scenarios meant his precautionary measures against prying eyes were now useful.
Taiyi Wheel, Extinguish Ten Spirit Perceptions!
Leveraging the power of the bronze gear, Manzhi successfully severed Ning Fan’s forced resonance—in fact, even without severing, Ning Fan couldn’t sustain this three-person resonance for long, given one was a Fourth Step deceased being Ning Fan treated as a signal base.
Manzhi should not act, for he did not know how long Ning Fan’s resonance could last, compelled to act in fear of Ning Fan uncovering further secrets within his Heart Realm.
The Seven-orifice Divine Heart, every orifice has a Heart Realm, the deepest part of one’s heart, the best place to hide secrets.
Just as Ning Fan hides numerous secrets within his Heart Realm, Manzhi does likewise.
Yet due to a mistaken move, a secret within Manzhi’s Heart Realm was gleaned by Ning Fan!
That is... the true name of the bronze gear!
This is a taboo even the Heaven-opening List cannot record, known only to a few in the Third World!
But now, Ning Fan becomes one of the informed!
"So this bronze wheel is named Taiyi Wheel..." Ning Fan mused.
Having never heard of such a Heaven-Opening Artifact, yet highly familiar with the term Taiyi, extremely common on the Cultivation Road.
Clearly a common term, once bestowed upon this bronze wheel, becomes a worldly taboo...
Although I do not know why, when Ning Fan recited this name silently, he indeed felt a strong and ominous aura of causality.
Indeed, the true name of certain things should not be recited recklessly. A single recitation may invite evil, a hundred may bring misfortune, a thousand might lead to decay, and if one recites a million or an infinite number, who knows what would happen...
"To me, knowing the name of this object brings harm, whereas ignorance is a form of fortune. If so, then Manzhi’s behavior seems very strange. If he truly wished to harm me, it would be more reasonable to disclose this name to me. Claiming he harbors no ill intent seems unlikely, for if I were slightly weaker, or if my calculations failed, I would have perished amidst his schemes, facing annihilation, without ever having the chance to become a puppet subdued by him... Manzhi is one I cannot fathom. Yet, while his thoughts remain unclear to me, I seem to be gradually perceiving the logic of his actions..."
"Nevertheless, in light of the current situation, clarifying this matter appears to be of no use, for my enemy is temporarily no longer Manzhi but has become this bronze wheel..."
Ning Fan no longer calls the bronze wheel by its true name but takes the name of Inconceivable to avoid summoning evil causality.
While traversing the Witch Mountain again, Ning Fan distinctly felt the feng shui pattern of this place becoming immensely perilous in the absence of Manzhi’s interference, with eight winds arising: Bright Void Wind, Clear Bright Wind, Scene Wind, Cool Wind, Open Wind, Zhihe Wind, Guangmo Wind, and Fusion Wind.
In an instant, each blade of grass and tree in this place seemed filled with murderous intent, and ominous threats appeared to be approaching relentlessly.
Indeed, using a flying kick to save someone—it’s truly a straightforward and comprehensible explanation...
But what does one do if they neither wish to fall into a cliff nor to be kicked to fractures?
Self-preservation is key.
[Self-preservation? But, can you truly accomplish it...]
A voice arose, neither belonging to Manzhi but seemingly originating from the supposedly deceased bronze wheel, which, due to Jiang Ming’s self-sacrifice, was granted a brief resurgence.
This voice intertwined with the sound of the wind, causing a figure enveloped in black flames to soar incredibly along the eight winds, overlooking Ning Fan akin to an ant.
The features of the figure were obscured to Ning Fan, just as Ning Fan’s identity remained hidden to the figure.
Nevertheless, Ning Fan managed to discern who the figure was!
Fundamentally because of the white hair adorning the figure, mirroring the distinctive aura of Lie Yukou!
Moreover, because the figure held a small mountain named North Pole, an object unmistakable to him...
"At the moment of attaining sanctity, a Taiyi Dream emerged, and if not severed, achieving perfect sanctity would be challenging... You are indeed the soul stealer of my Taiyi Dream."
Soul Stealing...
Ning Fan’s gaze fell upon North Pole Mountain, closing his eyes slowly.
Upon reopening them, torrential rain began to pour over Witch Mountain, as sad as it was furious.
"So indeed, you came for this Primordial Spirit’s aura, although who stands behind you, which Reverse Saint it is, trying to obstruct my harmonization with light and dust. This rain seems to carry the aura of Endless Sea, are you a Big Dipper Immortal Cultivator? Or perhaps, a direct witness from the Big Dipper... But even if you are the Big Dipper Immortal Emperor, bound by the rules of Taiyi Dream, you can only match my cultivation level, thus what is there to fear..."
Ziwei Demon Monarch seemed to merely speak, yet a blood light abruptly sliced towards Ning Fan’s face, initiating a sneak attack without a word.
Ziwei Supreme Emperor Blade!
This skill was comprehended by Ziwei Demon Monarch in his past theft of Taiyi’s Dream, exceptionally potent as a Divine Skill.
The word ’Tai’ refers explicitly to Taiyi’s Dream.
Whereas the word ’Emperor’ is a discovery Ziwei Demon Monarch gained from a certain tomb, his greatest secret and trump card, absolutely undisclosed to anyone!
This was a skill exclusively for Immortal Emperors, unable to slay a genuine Immortal Emperor but proficient in eliminating those dishonest Immortal Emperor personas!
If any Reverse Saint dared challenge him with spirit sense personas, he would ensure their irreversible demise!
Thus, this Supreme Emperor Blade was deployed to initiate the ambush, yet ultimately it only passed through the entirety of Ning Fan’s world.
The last confrontation, dating back to the millennium blood battle within Northern Barbarians Kingdom.
But now, Ning Fan had utterly transformed.
His heart cleared from confusion, leaving only rage and lament.
His eyes witnessed all bitter fruits, remaining solely intentions of killing and persistence.
He undoubtedly faced the formidable Ziwei Demon Monarch, the moment before sanctifying that very Immortal Emperor of yore.
But what does it matter!
What you are confronting is none other than Nifan!
Ziwei Demon Monarch: "Such a comprehension of life and death, you indeed are from the Big Dipper! But why hasn’t the Supreme Emperor Blade become effective... Could my estimation be wrong... He ought to have come to impede me, yet why hasn’t he arrived... Could there be an equivalent technique, diminishing the effectiveness of the Supreme Emperor Blade... Then expose your true form!"
Ziwei Flower blooms Ziwei Star!
Ziwei Astrological System, activate!
Instantly entering the fourth layer of astrological warfare, Ziwei Demon Monarch’s battle power doubled, transcending time and space, arriving instantly, thundering with lightning law upon Ning Fan’s face.
Influenced by Taiyi’s Dream, his perception of Ning Fan would remain concealed, perceiving merely as a faceless figure.
But the so-called faceless is merely a mask born from Taiyi’s Dream merging with the Nine Reversal Dao!
He would tear off the opponent’s mask with his own hands!
Ning Fan’s life and death were extremely tricky, so he trapped Ning Fan’s Annihilation Realm in this area with the layout of Eight Winds, fixing it in the Life Realm, making it impossible for him to switch freely in the short term.
This strike will never miss!
But Ning Fan severed the hand with a single stroke of a Thunder Skill sword!
Even though the Ziwei Demon Monarch instantly activated the Hundred Flowers Gathering Peak defense technique to block the sword’s thunderous force, it failed to block the fires within!
The Ziwei Demon Monarch attacked extremely swiftly, but Ning Fan reacted even faster!
He too entered the Fourth Layer of Red Peony Star Number, which is the limit of the Life Realm, yet enough to double his combat power!
He also used the Chiwei Lightning Law, pouring the thundering flames in his heart into the Reverse Sea Sword, slicing through the arrogance and conceit of Ziwei Demon Monarch’s palm thunder with one stroke.
As for the Eight Winds arrangement used by the Ziwei Demon Monarch to trap him, it was already altered by him with Wind Dao Source.
In these Eight Winds, Nifan is the direction, Zhihe is the fortune and misfortune!
As if in response to Ziwei’s anticipation, the faceless Ning Fan revealed a ghostly mask and silver hair, but this was not Ning Fan’s intention, rather the legacy of Big Dipper Immortal Emperor.
He, Big Dipper, never hid his head and showed his tail!
He is not virtuous, yet not shameless enough. To reckon with a mere Ziwei junior, he doesn’t need to take the field personally.
He would cast down various ghost masks across distant time and space, and those who inherit his Dao fate will fulfill this task following the guidance of Endless. Even the Big Dipper Immortal Emperor doesn’t know who Endless will guide here, as the cause and effect submerged within Endless are too deep, even for him to see clearly...
Yet, the appearance of the ghostly mask and silver hair convinced Ziwei of his speculation being correct, the one blocking him was indeed a Big Dipper Immortal Cultivator, but unexpectedly not Big Dipper himself, truly beyond his expectations. The opponent... how arrogant!
Do they really think pulling just anyone from the Big Dipper Immortal Domain is enough to hinder my path to Dao.
"Beiji Yuan Magnetic Spirit Suppressing Technique!"
Seeing the opponent’s treasure sword so sharp, Ziwei Demon Monarch dared not approach further. After all, the purpose was already achieved by forcing the opponent’s mask to appear.
So he instantly distanced himself, simultaneously offering the North Pole Mountain as a protective artifact, while instantly regenerating his severed hand, he formed a seal with both hands, executing the seventh way not recorded in the Ziwei Sixfold Path!
And this truly was his strongest attack skill, yet it also provoked more of Ning Fan’s fury.
Only chopping Ziwei with the Thunder Fire Sword felt insufficient, so with the left hand holding the sword, the right hand wielded an umbrella, instantly a huge shadow of an umbrella, not only shattered the Spirit Suppressing Technique in one strike but continued with undiminished momentum, smashed through Ziwei Demon Monarch’s Hundred Flowers Defense, and crushed him into the mountain rock and soil.
The illusory constructs of Taiyi’s Dream originally possessed an indestructible nature, yet they still shattered the rocks, astonishing Ziwei Demon Monarch immensely.
And the Eight Wind Control that trapped his form and left him no room to dodge, also forced Ziwei to admit, though unwillingly, that his Ziwei Taoist method was utterly no secret in the opponent’s eyes, completely visible, whereas he knew nothing of the opponent, nor why he possessed the Big Dipper mask, Mixed Kung Sword, and Hong Jun Umbrella... Destinies clearly set a path of Harmonizing with Light and Dust, Big Dipper’s intervention was within destiny, but why did the latter two appear!
No one can break fate, that is the world’s common knowledge!
But when a chaotic fate is deliberately disturbed by someone, using what belongs to you to attack your own defenses, what then!
"Not good! He wants to seize my North Pole Mountain Spirit Suppression! If it is taken by him, I will forever lose the seventh path of Ziwei!"
In Ziwei Demon Monarch’s shocked and angry gaze, Ning Fan’s palm pressed on the North Pole Mountain, somehow appeasing all the malice and grievances of this mountain’s Spirit Suppressing Technique.
The mountain ceased to attack Ning Fan.
Just like how she can never bear to hurt her little butterfly...
"Hesitation is no longer an option, encountering this demon in my path, achieving perfect saint is now a mirage, then abandon perfection... Chiwei, though you were slain by me, I should, however, borrow your Dao method once more... Fusion of the Ziwei Six Paths with Chiwei Six Paths, that is the true number of twelve..."
An aura of Initial Saint suddenly emerged from within the Ziwei Demon Monarch.
This is an inevitable step, yet he has no choice.
This demon is merely an Immortal King, yet excessively strong, then do not blame him for dreaming to sainthood directly, using the Third Step to oppress the Second Step!
Taiyi’s Dream only restricts the realm upon entering the dream, hasn’t stipulated that the dreamer cannot have breakthroughs while dreaming!
Northern Barbarian Vastness had already descended, and now is the time to retrieve!
"Did I permit you to become a saint!"
Yet a ghostly masked figure ruthlessly stomped down, mercilessly smashing Ziwei Demon Monarch’s head into the soil, interrupting the opponent’s ultimate unleashing preparation.
If he allowed the opponent to unleash, Ning Fan also had no assurance of a guaranteed victory.
Therefore...
In my Eight Winds, you will have no opportunity!