Yellow Springs' Clone

Ji Tian's heart stirred, and he felt himself sink into an endless quagmire.

"Cackle, cackle! This is the grave I prepared for you. Die!"

An endless flow of yellow mud descended from the sky. The clumps of earth gathered into a ten-thousand-zhang mountain and crashed down toward Ji Tian.

Seeing a mountain-like mass of yellow earth slowly descending above him, the Demonic Dragon roared and swept its tail toward it.

Its enormous tail, scales glinting, slammed directly into the mountain.

A thunderous crash rang out. Yellow clods flew everywhere, but blood poured from the Demonic Dragon's tail. The tremendous force smashed it into the ground, leaving a ten-thousand-zhang crater. Falling yellow earth quickly filled the crater, turning it into a quagmire. The yellow mud churned, continually enveloping the Demonic Dragon as it sank into the mire.

"Roar!"

With a dragon's cry, the Demonic Dragon's head sprang up from the pit full of yellow mud. But its entire body was trapped in the mire, and the yellow Corpse Water kept corroding its scales.

The Demonic Dragon released the power of its primordial spirit, wrapping it around its whole body to protect itself.

Ji Tian floated in the air and swept one arm. A phantom hand reached into the quagmire and yanked the Demonic Dragon out.

The Demonic Dragon spat out a mouthful of true water in fury. Water Control had been one of its innate spells in life. Since Yin Energy had been added to it, a frigid aura spread through the air. This true water, infused with Yin Energy, froze anything it touched.

The churning quagmire froze in an instant, forming a layer of ice. The Demonic Dragon raised its sharp claws and struck the frozen surface.

With a crack, the ice and earth fractured like glass, cracks spreading from the point where its claws struck. The Demonic Dragon circulated its primordial spirit and expelled a surge of its power. The ice shattered into countless pieces, which the force hurled high into the air.

As the yellow mud broke apart, an earthen-yellow mud sword slashed toward Ji Tian in the sky.

Ji Tian's figure shifted and merged with the world around him. This was a characteristic of the Void Transformation Stage—a divine ability.

"I didn't realize you'd reached the Void Transformation Stage. Seems I underestimated you." The figure appeared in midair and taunted him.

Ji Tian condensed a black longsword in his hand and slashed at the figure.

The figure held a yellow longsword and slashed at Ji Tian in turn.

The two sword auras collided in midair, unleashing a powerful shock wave. The ground cracked, the mountains split, and rocks filled the sky.

Ji Tian brushed the dust from his clothes, stirred his sea of consciousness, and pointed a finger. Spiritual energy surged, forming a black vortex.

"Death Spirit Technique!"

The shadow laughed. "That's a petty trick. I'll give you credit for pulling it off once, but it's not remotely original."

The shadow moved, reached into its own body, grabbed a mass of Death Qi, and swallowed it.

"I was careless last time and let you get the better of me. I'm the very embodiment of death."

Ji Tian replied coldly, "Then I'll let you taste death." He charged at the shadow with his sword, swinging it nine times in succession.

Killing Qi gathered together, forming a force capable of Sky Opening, its killing intent reaching the heavens.

"Kill!"

The shadow taunted him. "That's all you've got? Not worth watching. If you could fuse eighty-one streams of Killing Qi, that might be worth seeing. Hahaha!"

"Ten Directions Absolute Kill!"

Ji Tian's arm trembled as he swung along a strange trajectory, unleashing stream after stream of Killing Qi. His movements grew faster and faster. By the time he struck the final few blows, his arm's trajectory had vanished, leaving only a blur.

The Killing Qi filling the sky condensed into tiny swords, attacking the shadow from every direction. Sword auras howled, Killing Qi seethed, and a frigid force enveloped the sky like the end of the world. Black swords blanketed the entire sky.

The Demonic Cloud overhead churned mercilessly, completely merging with the Killing Qi.

The shadow watched the oncoming Killing Qi with a grave expression. "That's interesting. You used this move when you fought the Raging Ape, too, but it seems stronger now. Still, it's nothing to worry about." The shadow flickered, and eighty yellow giants appeared in the sky, each wielding a massive yellow greatsword.

"Overwhelming force defeats all skill!" The eighty giants swung their swords at once. Their sword auras gathered together, like a giant wielding a greatsword to cleave a lake in half. An invisible shock wave instantly shredded the sword auras Ji Tian had unleashed.

Although the shadow blocked this deadly strike, several of its clones were destroyed by the sword aura.

The shadow roared and gathered the scattered fragments of Spiritual Sense into its main body.

"Gathering Yin Demonic Array!"

Eighty figures appeared in the sky. Streams of yellow energy burst from their bodies and gathered overhead, forming a vast array. Yellow energy billowed through it, filled with Yin Energy and Killing Qi. A mysterious force arose within the array, drawing in the endless Demonic Qi of the Netherworld Land and enveloping Ji Tian.

Oppression, death, cold, and decay—these were the properties of the Gathering Yin Demonic Array. It embodied the aura of death. It gathered the Demonic Qi of heaven and earth to form Corpse Water, which corroded the body; Death Qi, which devoured vitality; and images of death that filled opponents with fear and divided their souls. Malevolent Qi confused their minds, allowing their souls to be refined. Killing Qi became the Death Devil Dao, harvesting the lives of its foes.

Ji Tian examined the array carefully. It seemed familiar to him. He strolled through it, studying it closely.

"So it blocks spiritual energy? What can the Death Qi in this array do to me?"

Ji Tian shook his black sword of Killing Qi and roared, "I see now. Your array is incomplete. If your true body had set it up, it would have been a peerless killing formation. As it is, it won't be difficult to break."

"Stop boasting and break it, then."

Ji Tian flung the longsword in his hand. It instantly transformed into a black mountain of swords, towering within the array. Endless Killing Qi gathered toward it. The mountain kept growing, absorbing Killing Qi faster and faster. It refined the Killing Qi into the power of slaughter, which flowed into Ji Tian's primordial spirit.

The mountain of swords ravenously absorbed the endless Killing Qi. Seeing this, the shadow hurriedly manipulated the array to stop the flow.

Ji Tian shook his head. "It's no use. Do you know what this mountain of swords really is? It's a spirit of slaughter, formed by heaven and earth. All Killing Qi is nourishment to it."

"Then I'll refine you with other kinds of Demonic Qi." The array shifted, and a fierce, murderous aura arose from nothing within it.

Ji Tian sneered and tossed out another mountain of swords, this one radiating a vicious aura.

"How is this possible? How can you control this kind of Demonic Qi?"

"Why shouldn't I be able to? What about the Death Qi in your array? I happen to be short of some."

The entire array curled in on itself and flew toward the horizon. It was terrifying. His opponent actually had a way to absorb this Yin-type Demonic Qi, and he was helping Ji Tian improve his cultivation. The man was far too dangerous. He would have to wait until his true body had fully taken shape before coming back to deal with him.

Ji Tian watched the Demonic Qi gradually disperse with some helplessness and murmured, "Did I scare him off?"

This array was originally meant to empower Undead Beings, so using it against Ji Tian had been a mistake from the start. And with one of the Spiritual Senses needed to set up the array missing, it had not operated smoothly. Otherwise, Ji Tian's Sword of Slaughter would not have had the chance to absorb the array's Killing Qi and use it for itself.

If that fellow had attacked him with Death Qi, it might have had some effect. But instead, he had used Malevolent Qi and Killing Qi.

The array had not been weak. Ji Tian had simply happened to be its natural counter.

The Demonic Dragon hid in a cave, secretly relieved. It was fortunate that the fellow hadn't opened with that sinister array. Otherwise, the flesh and blood it had worked so hard to gather would have been destroyed inside it.

Ji Tian pondered how he could form a spirit of Death Qi. Then he could refine the Death Qi in the Netherworld Land. He had been able to refine Malevolent Qi only because, by chance, he had formed a deity that merged with his resentment. His killing intent had fused with the deity, granting him the ability to refine Killing Qi.

What was Death Qi?

The Demonic Dragon roared at the Demonic Qi as it continued to dissipate, then spat out a mouthful of true water.

Ji Tian now wanted nothing more than to beat the inconsiderate Demonic Dragon senseless. He had been thinking, and it wouldn't stop roaring.

An idea struck him. Perhaps he should visit the deep pool.

Ji Tian gazed at the pool, its surface glimmering with a faint black light. It seemed to be the same bottomless, motionless dark water as ever. A thread of chill kept drifting from it, cold enough to seep into his bones.

He sent a strand of Spiritual Sense toward the pool. "Daoist friend, I've come to see you again."

After a long while, a strand of Spiritual Sense replied, "You finally came. I can barely keep that evil remnant soul suppressed anymore."

Ji Tian was taken aback, then understood. After all, this was a remnant soul of Pangu—and a useless one at that.

"Perfect. I'll help you subdue it." As he spoke, a strand of Spiritual Sense entered the pool. The remnant soul thrashed wildly, four silver chains binding it. Those restraints were formed by four small silver fish.

"Good. I'll help you."

"Soul Restraint Technique!" Ji Tian's Spiritual Sense transformed into two black chains that shot toward the remnant soul's sea of consciousness. A strange force surged into the remnant soul.

Ji Tian swept out both hands. A phantom altar appeared before him, and a blurry figure emerged atop it. He quickly formed one seal after another, sending the force along the chains.

"Bind!" A mass of black mist formed atop the altar, wrapped in chain after chain.

Ji Tian stirred his primordial spirit and pulled the mass of shadow into his sea of consciousness. His golden sea of consciousness instantly swallowed it.

Ji Tian began searching for the exact obsession that had allowed the shadow to form a body of Death Qi.