novelraw Chapter 678: With Me Here, You Step Back!
Chapter 678: With Me Here, You Step Back!
A middle-aged rogue Immortal clad in alchemist robes appeared, his face gaunt, his smile sharp and devoid of compassion.
He hailed from the Pill Sect; his name was Chang Shan. He entered the Heavenly Court to capture ghosts and to bring back the Bright Sparrow.
Chang Shan looked at the Bright Sparrow behind Ning Fan, licked his lips, then glanced at Ning Fan and sneered in silence.
The reason he gave Ning Fan three breaths to consider, rather than acting directly, was merely a slight apprehension towards Ning Fan’s rogue devil.
Besides the rogue devil being somewhat difficult to deal with, there was no one else in this place that Chang Shan deemed worthy of notice.
If the rogue devil weren’t here, Chang Shan was confident he could slaughter everyone present within ten breaths.
Even with the rogue devil, Chang Shan had ways to kill everyone here, including the rogue devil, though it would require some of his trump cards.
Unless necessary, Chang Shan didn’t want to rashly use his trump cards.
If Ning Fan knew what was good for him and handed over the Bright Sparrow, it would save Chang Shan a lot of trouble, sparing him from a big fight.
"People from the Pill Sect..." Ning Fan’s face was as calm as still water.
Years ago, it was the Sect Master of the Pill Sect who plotted against the Bright Sparrow. It was clear that this Chang Shan was sent by the Sect Master.
If this person couldn’t take the Bright Sparrow, he wouldn’t stop at anything. Ning Fan, no matter what, would never push the Bright Sparrow into the fire pit, handing her over to him.
"Cookie Brother..." For the first time in her life, Bright Sparrow showed a scared expression.
Not fear of Chang Shan, but fear of the Pill Sect, fear of the Pill Sect’s Sect Master.
The fear came from deep within her soul.
She was a demon created by the Sect Master of the Pill Sect. It was as if there was a voice within her soul bewitching her not to disobey the Pill Sect.
"Don’t be afraid, I’m here. Lux Xiu, take these people and retreat. Big Head, take action!"
Ning Fan didn’t consider whether to hand over the Bright Sparrow; he directly used actions to tell Chang Shan his decision.
Lux Xiu and others retreated to the side with the newly joined Toad Beast and Elder Sui Ba.
The rogue devil proudly pointed at Bright Sparrow, spat at Chang Shan, and said, "Do you know who she is! She’s the mistress of my master, the lady of my lord! If my lord truly wimped out and gave the lady away, wouldn’t I, too, lose face!"
"If you want to take my lady, first ask for my fist!"
As soon as the rogue devil finished speaking, Chang Shan’s gaze suddenly turned cold, and his figure vanished from where he stood, appearing in front of the rogue devil, extending a finger towards him.
This fingertip instantly gave rise to countless virtual shadows of expensive pills.
All the pill shadows exploded at once, forming a destructive mana storm, engulfing the rogue devil within.
"You talk too much, full of flaws; you deserve to die," Chang Shan said disdainfully.
For a rogue devil, to be so lacking in wit, to brazenly spout nonsense in a confrontation, was truly laughable.
In a real life-or-death battle, who has time for idle chatter?
He didn’t see the rogue devil, as he was engulfed by the mana storm, reveal a cunning smile.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed in the sky, enough to instantly kill Fragmentation Eight Cultivators.
On the surface, it seemed the rogue devil had been ambushed by Chang Shan under no defense and was destined to die.
Suddenly, amidst the successive storms, a gigantic black mist skull appeared and swallowed Chang Shan whole.
Chang Shan’s gaze trembled, being swallowed by the rogue devil!
"Haha! You think I’d leave a flaw for you? Who do you think I am! Refine!"
The skull laughed heartily, coercing the demonic mist within, attempting to refine and obliterate Chang Shan in one go.
"Underestimated you... Extinguishing Demon Pill..."
Inside the skull’s mouth, Chang Shan took out a golden pill and consumed it.
It was a Seventh Revolution peak pill known as the Extinguishing Demon Pill.
The instant he consumed the pill, Chang Shan’s body suddenly expanded to fifty thousand zhang, forcibly breaking through the skull’s giant mouth, escaping captivity.
The fifty thousand zhang tall Chang Shan, enveloped in golden light, transformed into golden armor, resembling a Venerated Ming!
The skull groaned, transformed into black mist and dissipated, then reformed as a Twin-Horned Giant Demon.
Blood trickled at the corner of its mouth, mingled with some golden light.
The rogue devil snorted coldly, transforming into a massive fifty thousand zhang form to confront Chang Shan from afar.
Ning Fan’s expression turned extremely serious instantly!
Extinguishing Demon Pill! An auxiliary type of pill! Its effect is to grant the consumer a glimmer of demon-extinguishing golden light for two hours!
When Chang Shan first appeared, his power was only slightly stronger than the rogue devil.
But after consuming the pill, his strength now surpassed the rogue devil by thirty percent!
When Pill Sect alchemists duel, they often consume large amounts of auxiliary pills to drastically increase their power.
Thinking alchemists beyond the Four Heavens are weak is a grave mistake.
"Void Technique, Divine Pill Rain."
Chang Shan sneered and pointed at the rogue devil, instantly causing innumerable golden rain droplets to fall from the sky.
Upon closer inspection, it was clear that every golden raindrop was a pill of no low grade!
The rogue devil looked at the sky full of pill rain, his eyes extremely serious, yet not showing any fear.
He had fought Destiny Immortals before, why would he fear someone like Chang Shan! Though, in that fate-immortal battle, he mostly sat on the sidelines...
Suffused with demonic qi, he injected it into his fists, and without another word, he shattered hundreds of golden raindrops with punch after punch.
"Pill Slash!"
Suddenly, Chang Shan’s gaze turned cold, and countless shattered golden rain droplets suddenly coalesced into a massive golden sword beam, slicing the rogue devil in half with unbelievable speed!
"The rogue devil... the rogue devil is dead!" Lux Xiu and others were pale with fright. This Chang Shan was unbelievably powerful, capable of slaying even a rogue devil!
"Nonsense! I, how could I possibly die so easily!"
The severed rogue devil suddenly scattered into demonic mist, then reformed into the giant demon form.
Though unwilling to yield, he was genuinely wounded by that Pill Slash.
"This pill jar is really powerful..." the rogue devil muttered to himself.
"Oh? Not dead even now? This rogue devil truly exceeded my expectations, much tougher than that one from the Burial Immortal Clan. Seems I’ll need to expend more pills to win. Suppressing Fire Pill, Duel Spell Pill..."
Chang Shan simultaneously took out and consumed two Seventh Revolution peak pills.
In an instant, his mana increased by thirty percent, and a fiery aura erupted within him!
Now he could almost overpower and defeat the rogue devil!
"Immortal Technique, Fire Refines the Starry Sky!"
Calmly, Chang Shan pointed, causing millions of miles of sky to blaze in an instant!
Hundreds of fiery meteors crashed down on the rogue devil, whose face changed dramatically!
If these meteors hit him, he’d either be incinerated to ashes or gravely injured!
"Damned pill jar, this is downright cheating! After popping pills, his strength far surpasses mine!"
Gritting his teeth, the rogue devil infused his fists with demonic qi and unleashed hundreds of punches into the sky.
This time, he only shattered half the meteors; for the rest, he had no strength to shatter.
"It’s bad! They’re gonna hit me!"
The rogue devil intended to transform into mist to lessen the blow, when suddenly, a golden sword light flashed before him: Ning Fan and the Bright Sparrow.
Without hesitation, Ning Fan raised a giant three-thousand-zhang stele!
The stele’s strike carried only a Pulverize Five’s power, yet it was inherently fire-resistant, fearing not such ordinary burning meteors.
The stele crashed down, reducing the meteors to powder!
With another change of his spirit sense, all the sea of fire within miles was absorbed into the stele.
Then, serenely, Ning Fan retracted the stele’s shadow, gazing gravely at Chang Shan, as if making a decision.
This Chang Shan was formidable; the rogue devil was no match...
"Master!" The rogue devil’s eyes widened, rescued by Ning Fan once again...
"Oh? You managed to withstand half of my Immortal Technique?" Chang Shan looked surprised, then sneered, "It seems you’re planning to join forces with this rogue devil. In that case, I must use my final card. I didn’t want to take this pill..."
Chang Shan took out an Eighth Revolution low-grade pill and swallowed it in one gulp.
The moment he took it, his body suddenly split apart into two!
Eighth Revolution low-grade, Shadow Splitting Pill! It can produce a shadow of equal strength from within the body to assist in battle!
This pill is effective even against a Fate Immortal!
But it also has a weakness...if the main body dies, the shadow will naturally perish, for it is not truly a second Primordial Spirit.
One Chang Shan became two Chang Shans.
One Chang Shan was enough to crush the rogue devil; with two Chang Shans here, who could survive!
Lu Xiu and the others showed looks of despair, expecting no way of escape today.
They hoped to defect to Chang Shan, but it was impossible, as they had been subjected to a Restrictive Spell by Ning Fan. If Ning Fan died, so would they. How could they speak of allegiance?
"Master, we can’t win... I have a Demonic Secret Art that can temporarily trigger Fate Immortal-level escape speed... I will help you all escape!"
The rogue devil gritted his teeth and telepathically communicated to Ning Fan.
If Ning Fan died, so would he. Naturally, he wanted Ning Fan to live a long life.
Ning Fan shook his head, rejecting the rogue devil’s suggestion.
No escape.
This person managed to track them down all the way here, probably with some means to trace the Bright Sparrow.
They could flee today, but once out of the Heavenly Court, the Pill Sect would continue its relentless pursuit.
Unless Ning Fan handed the Bright Sparrow over to the Pill Sect, this disaster would not abate! But Ning Fan would never do such a thing.
Moreover, he needed to go to the Thirty-Three Heavens; if he just fled the Heavenly Court like this, how could he resurrect Mu Weiliang?
He would not run!
Ning Fan’s eyes glinted with determination, as if making a firm resolve.
Wuxie had told him to risk everything to reach the Thirty-Three Heavens. Now, he had to risk it all.
He locked his killing intent on one of the two Chang Shans; that one was Chang Shan’s original self.
As long as he killed this one, the calamity would be averted!
"Oh? With that look, do you still wish to resist me?" Both Chang Shans’ eyes turned cold, intending to kill Ning Fan.
The next moment, both Chang Shans’ expressions drastically changed!
They saw Ning Fan wave his sleeve, and the Emperor Xia’s Sword was already in his hand.
He held the Hornless Ice Dragon Sword, and around him floated not golden Sword Intent, but layers of blood light.
His physical defense seemed about to disintegrate into dust, but his gaze was unrestrained madness!
An incredibly terrifying blood-colored sword light was brewing on Ning Fan’s sword.
Chang Shan didn’t know what swordsmanship Ning Fan was using.
He faintly felt that if this swordsmanship was executed, he would undoubtedly die!
"With his cultivations, it’s impossible for him to use such a terrifying swordsmanship! For him to use this swordsmanship, he must be paying a terrible price; he wants to perish together with me!"
"Just a Pill Devil, why go so far to protect a Pill Devil!"
"Wait...I remember! The Dismantlement Sect, it’s the Dismantlement Sect!"
Chang Shan’s face suddenly turned pale, and an extremely insane sword sect’s name flashed in his mind.
The Dismantlement Sect, a sword sect in the Western Heaven Immortal World, with a Sect Master whose cultivation is only in the Enlightenment Realm, but even a Shekong Cultivator dares not provoke the Dismantlement Sect!
The Dismantlement Sect’s Sect Master can, by dismantling his souls, condense sword light potent enough to cut down enemies beyond his level with a single strike!
Every time a realm war occurred, when the Four Heavens battled with the Land of Demons, the disciples of the Dismantlement Sect would be at the forefront, using almost suicidal attacks, self-destructing their physical defense to slash demon race powerhouses beyond their level!
Thousands upon thousands of Dismantlement Sect disciples self-destructing, the horrific scene made Chang Shan deeply horrified.
He recognized it! Ning Fan’s swordsmanship bore a striking resemblance to that of the Dismantlement Sect!
Ning Fan was willing to destroy himself to perish together with him!
"With me here, you step back!"
A slightly displeased female voice suddenly rang in Ning Fan’s ears.
The scent of the woman wafted into Ning Fan’s sense, surprisingly familiar.
Her delicate hand touched Ning Fan’s sword-wielding hand, gently calming the chaotic Sword Qi within him.
She wore white, untouched by dust, her face veiled, and suddenly, she looked coldly at Chang Shan, sweeping her sleeves toward him.
Though the sleeves were soft, they suddenly stretched across countless distances, like a great mountain crashing down, shattering Chang Shan’s shadow with a single blow.
With a long sleeve move, her slender finger pointed, seemingly imbued with boundless might.
A seven-colored light struck Chang Shan’s chest, and his eyes suddenly changed dramatically!
The next instant, he was hit, spewing blood and flying back, looking in extreme horror at the woman in white.
"Kun...Kunlun Jade Pool! Damn, this kid actually has such a strong ally. In that case, I have no choice but to temporarily retreat and look for another opportunity..."
Chang Shan fiercely swallowed the blood in his throat, drew out a silver pill, and swallowed it swiftly.
In an instant, he transformed into a silver light, fleeing far away, his retreat speed infinitely close to that of a Fate Immortal, untouchable by anyone present.
He did not escape the Heavenly Court but sought a hidden spot to heal before planning against the Pill Devil again.
Perhaps he wasn’t the match for this woman in white, but if he could snatch away the Pill Devil unexpectedly and then escape, his calculations were good.
"Saved! Who is that fairy, so beautiful!" Lu Xiu and the others widened their eyes one by one.
From the woman in white, they felt a sacred beauty that brooks no offense.
Not to be desecrated, not to be insulted, possessing a natural authority set above the masses.
She stood like a lone figure, far from the world’s smoke and dust, beyond any man’s reach.
"Sisi? Aren’t you supposed to be in the Thirty-Three Heavens? How did you end up in the lower heaven realm?" Ning Fan was startled, looking at the woman in white beside him.
The woman was indeed Wuxie...she should have been in the Thirty-Three Heavens unsealing the Undying Tree, yet she appeared in the lower heaven realm...
"You have already stirred up chaos among the Burial Immortal Clan. If I didn’t come, what if you died at the hands of the Nine Ancestors and Eighteen Kings!" Wuxie’s tone was icy, carrying a sense of aloofness and distance.
This time, she had descended in a body double, but this time’s body double had a cultivation close to a Fate Immortal.
"You’re worried about me, so you came to help?" Ning Fan asked with a smile.
"Don’t misunderstand, I just don’t want you to die. After all, you are the key to resurrecting her. Aren’t you leaving? This time with me accompanying you, you should be able to reach the Thirty-Three Heavens sooner."
Wuxie’s tone seemed impatient, but her eyes harbored undeniable surprise.
She hadn’t expected that after just a few decades, Ning Fan had already broken through the Sixth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm...
"Huh? Who is this sister, another of Brother Cookie’s confidantes?" The Bright Sparrow looked at Ning Fan with a teasing smile.
"Don’t talk nonsense, I have nothing to do with him anymore."
Wuxie’s gaze turned frosty as she glanced at the Bright Sparrow, frowning slightly.
A Pill Devil physique, with Immemorial Evil Vein blood... the little girl was not simple...
That rogue devil from the Pill Sect had come to snatch this little girl?
Had he gotten involved with the Pill Sect again... truly a trouble magnet...
"Uh...is this also Master’s main lady? How could I have such a powerful main lady!" The rogue devil was shocked.
He knew how formidable Chang Shan was, yet such a formidable Chang Shan, after exhausting all means, was repelled with a wave of Wuxie’s hand.
And Wuxie seemed only a body double...
How powerful must her original self be!
The master was truly impressive, daring to have such a formidable woman in his collection! (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)