The Battle of Manfeng Mountain

The Battle of Manfeng Mountain

Clack.

Inside the carriage, a black stone fell, its sound not particularly loud.

The scholar known as the Top Scholar glanced at the black stone opposite him, then pinched up a white one with a sharp gaze and placed it aggressively.

Ning Taiyi silently watched that killing move, which sought to destroy the entire great dragon. He said nothing, merely slowly taking a black stone from the bowl and rolling it between his fingers.

He was looking at the board.

But the scholar was looking at him.

He raised his head and met the scholar's eyes.

In that glance, Ning Taiyi frowned, while the scholar's eyes brimmed with vigor and spirit, carrying an ascending, pressing force.

Just then, a child's voice came from outside the carriage.

"Grandpa! Great-Granduncle~~"

Ning Taiyi's expression stirred.

These were children of Ning Manor, but none bore the surname Ning.

He had gradually brought these children into Ning Manor. Some had arrived with women and servants in tow.

First Madam of Ning Manor had asked him where these people came from.

Ning Taiyi said they were descendants of friends he had made in his youth. They had suffered outside, some even unable to go on living, and he had taken pity on them. Once he found them, he had brought them back.

First Madam asked what sort of friends they had been.

Ning Taiyi said they had been friends who had shared life and death with him.

First Madam asked again, since they were your friends, why were their descendants unable to survive?

Ning Taiyi said those friends had died for him, many, many years ago.

First Madam believed in Buddha and was kind-hearted, so she allowed them all to remain.

And Ning Taiyi had not lied. After traveling all this way, how could there have been no friends who died for him along the road? Back then, they had parted in haste; when he saw them again, there were only ruined walls and broken remnants, their descendants struggling to live.

He brought back the descendants of those old friends. Those people branched out and multiplied, together forming the vast Ning family. Naturally, these children were deeply grateful to him and close to him. So whenever they learned he had returned, they would happily come looking for him. In the past, he would often play with them.

"Great-Granduncle!"

The child stopped outside the carriage.

Soon after, a woman hurried over and dragged the child away. At the same time, she repeatedly apologized to the soldiers outside, saying again and again, "The child doesn't know any better."

The scholar glanced at Ning Taiyi, his gaze falling upon the black stone in Ning Taiyi's fingers, then sweeping over that great dragon below. Suddenly, he said lightly, "Mr. Taiyi has grown old after all. Within three moves, this great dragon will be mine."

Ning Taiyi remained silent.

He could tell that the Top Scholar's skill at Go was exceedingly high.

Though he appeared calm now, his thoughts were in turmoil. He truly was no match for him.

The scholar said, "There is actually another way to ensure the great dragon is not lost."

Ning Taiyi's brow twitched. Then he closed his eyes, every nerve in his body drawn tight.

Of course he knew what the scholar meant.

The scholar meant that as long as the people outside the board admitted defeat, the stones on the board could still be preserved.

The scholar wanted him to stop all unnecessary moves and immediately recall Ugly Slave.

The wheel of fortune turned. The Ning family had already reached its end.

If he continued playing, the scholar would show no mercy.

For Ning Taiyi, whether or not to place this stone had become the most difficult choice of his life.

Yet he thought of something even more terrifying.

The Top Scholar was meticulous in thought and decisive in action. He had made only one extra move, yet the Top Scholar had acted with thunderous speed and directly summoned people from General Qin's residence.

Then... the Top Scholar already knew the problem lay at Manfeng Mountain.

Could he possibly have made no arrangements at Manfeng Mountain?

His handover with the Top Scholar had been decided half a year ago. Then in these past six months... would cultivators not have gone to pledge themselves to a man destined to become a prefect?

Not good!!

Ning Taiyi was suddenly alarmed.

He had miscalculated. He had underestimated the Top Scholar!

Or rather, he had never imagined the Top Scholar would be so decisive!

Who threw all their strength into suppression the moment they glimpsed the first signs? Shouldn't one test the waters first?

Suddenly—

A bitter smile appeared on his face. He realized it was not that he had underestimated the Top Scholar.

He had simply grown old.

In this world, who did not calculate every move to the utmost?

That was one's wealth and life, power and glory—who would dare not calculate every move to the utmost?

Top Scholar smiled. "Well, Mister Taiyi, are we still playing this game? How about this: I'll tap this white stone ten times. After ten taps, Mister can make up his mind."

As he spoke, he picked up a white stone and lightly tapped it against the edge outside the board.

[Yin Wind Ox]

Fate: Ordinary Branch. Constitution: 3.5.

Yin Wind Fiend: Summon yin winds, sweep forth Sha Qi, melt bone and corrode flesh.

Ning Xuan swiftly scanned the key words on the Heavenly Demon Scroll, then without the slightest hesitation replaced [Mountain Crashing Bear] with [Yin Wind Ox].

His constitution also rose from 4.7 to 5.0.

The instant the change was complete, golden light filled his vision.

A glance from the corner of his eye revealed that Ugly Slave had, at some unknown point, sat down cross-legged, looking as though his spirit had wandered beyond the world.

The great golden seal that had appeared above his head began to smash down.

Each smash felled a swath.

Ning Xuan asked himself: even if he charged in with his blade, he could kill no more than two or three with a single stroke.

Yet each strike of that great seal covered a vast area, as large as the reception halls of two wealthy households.

Boom!!

In an instant, more than twenty lesser demons standing close together collapsed straight to the ground.

These lesser demons were not dead. Their eyes could even remain open.

But though their eyes were open, they could not move at all. All strength had left them, and they could only await slaughter.

Fortunately, the great seal did not strike very quickly. It had the slow, steady rhythm of a blacksmith swinging a hammer.

In the gaps between each swing, there was enough time for some of the faster demons to flee—or launch a sneak attack.

After all, anyone with eyes could see that the Celestial Master wielding the great seal was not powerful in himself.

Boom!

Another blow, and another swath of lesser demons fell.

At last, those remaining reacted.

First, their Great King had been killed in a single blow. Then came this crushing attack, sweeping through them like dead leaves before a gale.

The lesser demons were like monkeys scattering when the tree fell, fleeing in panic in every direction.

The great seal pursued them, crashing down after them.

Yet Ning Xuan was in no hurry to chase after and kill the lesser demons that had fallen. Instead, he remained at Ugly Slave's side without taking a single step away.

The lesser demons fled, racing away as fast as they could.

Then, a wind suddenly rose in the distance.

A gust of black wind blurred the vision. Suddenly, within it emerged a huge, terrifying sheep's head. It floated in midair, flickering in and out of sight, ethereal and uncanny. The moment it appeared, it abruptly flashed forward, seeming to teleport dozens of zhang and close in.

However, Ning Xuan's constitution was now extremely strong, and so was his perception of qi and blood. His constitution clearly overwhelmed that of the sheep-headed demon within the black wind, so he was not deceived by it.

He clearly sensed that the sheep-headed demon that had advanced dozens of zhang in an instant was merely an illusion. The real sheep-headed demon was still dozens of zhang away.

This sort of ghostly thing was what Celestial Masters feared most.

With demon qi muddling everything, a Celestial Master simply could not distinguish truth from falsehood in demonic arts.

But Ning Xuan had no time to speak. He moved.

The Beast-Slaying Longsword, still stained with the ox demon's blood, swept in a half-arc before delivering a broad, direct slash toward a patch of air somewhere behind Ugly Slave.

There was clearly nothing in that air, yet his blade still cut toward it with blazing speed.

Just as it struck—

A piercing metallic hum rang out.

Clang!!!

A transparent outline appeared in the air behind Ugly Slave.

It was a strange white ape, tall and massive, snow-white from head to toe, its fur five inches long. Its face was deathly pale, its eyes brimming with wickedness and lechery. The metal staff in its hand was pressed against Ning Xuan's blade.

The Sheep Demon drew attention; the Monkey Demon launched the sneak attack.

The Monkey Demon twisted its neck and stared fixedly at Ning Xuan with evil eyes. Smacking its lips, it said, "How rare."

Before its words had even faded, Ugly Slave was no slower.

The golden seal in the sky immediately shifted over and smashed viciously down toward the Monkey Demon.

The Monkey Demon let out a strange cry. Its tail lashed against the ground like a long whip, cracking out a forceful snap, while it fiercely pressed down with the staff in its hand. The two forces sent it swiftly shooting backward. With a flicker of its body, it was about to vanish into the air.

Ugly Slave, seated cross-legged with a grim ghost mask, pressed two fingers together and said coldly, "Suppress!"

The great seal instantly unfurled, growing larger and larger until it became a golden mountain.

The golden mountain pressed down upon the Monkey Demon.

With nowhere to dodge, terror filled the Monkey Demon's eyes. It shrieked, then cried out again and again, "Why aren't you making a move?! Why aren't you making a move!!!"

Ning Xuan's gaze slanted slightly. The enormous sheep's head within the black wind teleported over once more.

Fake.

He made his judgment.

It came again.

Still fake.

He made the same judgment.

Yet the third time, he moved.

Because within that billowing black wind, the Sheep Demon had truly come.

He stepped on the ground, not looking at the Monkey Demon.

Big Brother's strength far exceeded anything he had imagined. In today's battle, it was as though Big Brother had pinned all the demons to the ground and let him chop them at will, one stroke at a time.

This made him even more certain of how unfathomably deep the imperial dynasty's foundations were.

Demons were certainly terrifying, but the imperial dynasty was even more terrifying.

A demon-restricted land like Manfeng Mountain turned out to be nothing more than a prefecture-level contest of strength. It was not that they would not act, nor that they could not act, but that the time to act had not yet come.

Once it did, they could wipe them out with such crushing force, like dry weeds and rotten wood.

Today, Big Brother had only hurriedly brought him here to join the fray. If things had been properly arranged, there would have been scarcely any suspense at all.

Ordinary people were afraid, soldiers were tense, and thaumaturgists were worried. But Celestial Masters and true high officials had always known full well: everything remained as steady as Mount Tai; not the slightest foundation had been shaken.

As countless thoughts flashed through his mind, Ning Xuan's blade had already met the Sheep Demon before him.

But at that moment.

At that exact moment, he caught the scent of humans.

Not Big Brother's, but two additional people!

Those two were downwind. Otherwise, he should have smelled them long ago. Smelling them now meant that the two had already drawn very close.

The instant doubt arose in his heart, golden light appeared before his eyes.

Golden light rose in the distance, transforming into a great seal that flew straight toward him at tremendous speed, suppressing him from above.

The Sheep Demon screamed and left an afterimage in the black wind as it fled in panic.

What kind of joke was this? It already could not withstand one great seal, and now there was another?

Ning Xuan's blade slashed through empty air.

The next instant, the great seal fell—but not upon the Sheep Demon. It fell upon Ning Xuan!

Bang!

In a single blow, Ning Xuan was smashed senseless. Golden sparks burst before his eyes, and he felt as if his soul had been knocked out of him. His entire body went limp as he collapsed downward.

The seal pinned him beneath it.

On the other side, Ugly Slave's seal had also suppressed the Monkey Demon.

Though startled, the Sheep Demon was too terrified to linger and fled for its life.

Two figures appeared in the distance.

One wore a purple robe. The other was a burly man with a crazed expression, his eyes bulging with rage and bloodshot veins filling them.

The purple-robed Celestial Master sighed. "I had intended to pin him down and let the demons kill him. Daoist Boy, make your move."

The burly man did not hesitate. With a flick of his hand, he swiftly and skillfully removed a giant crossbow as tall as a man from his back. He drew it, then pulled the trigger at the colleague who had been knocked unconscious beneath the seal.

A crossbow bolt as thick as an arm shot out explosively!

Ugly Slave had only just suppressed the Monkey Demon and had no time to attack the burly man again.

Besides, the burly man had already fired the bolt.

Unable to spare attention to controlling the Celestial Master Seal any longer, he abruptly opened his eyes and roared, "NO!!"

Ning Xuan was the Ning family's hope.

The eyes behind the ghost mask instantly turned blood-red. The earth-escape technique required at least three breaths to activate; in the midst of battle, there was simply no time to use it.

He charged toward Ning Xuan, intending to block this bolt for him.

After confirming that Ning Xuan possessed the qualifications to become a general, Ning Xuan's importance had surpassed his own.

He could die. Ning Xuan could not!

Ning Xuan was constantly switching Heavenly Demon Scrolls.

After switching to the [Stealing Incense Rat] Heavenly Demon Scroll, his "Spirit" abruptly changed from "1" to "5.5".

When his Mental stat reached "5.5," he felt his Divine Soul snap back into his body.

Sure enough, the Celestial Master's attack was one that suppressed the Divine Soul.

He rose to his feet.

Under the horrified gazes of the burly man and the man in purple robes opposite him, he stood up, reached out, and caught the crossbow bolt that had shot toward him and already reached his face. Then, gripping its tail, he viciously stabbed it into his own chest.

Bang!!

Swallow Cry Force erupted, and the crossbow bolt shattered.

Ning Xuan threw back his head and let out a crazed laugh. "Hm hahahahaha!" The next instant, force surged through his palm, Swallow Cry Force shrieking madly as he hurled the Beast Slaying Saber with all his might.

The blade's shadow became a long rainbow.

It arrived in an instant.

One blade, two bodies.

The purple-robed man and the burly man in the distance were skewered together and flung high into the air.