Impressive Battle Record, Unfavorable News

"Any battle involves bloodshed!" Yang Ning said.

"So, we should avoid fighting?" Su Xiao asked.

"No!" Yang Ning shook his head. "It's not about avoiding battle, but about avoiding direct combat. We need to set up the battlefield in a place where we can threaten the enemy but not ourselves, like right now!"

"Our opponents are five kilometers away; they can't even see us. So we're the ones attacking them, not the other way around. They don't even know where to retaliate!"

"I call this 'beyond visual range combat'!"

Yang Ning had already thought of doing this when he obtained his first Spirit Artifact. After all, a flying Spirit Artifact was practically a transport plane, wasn't it?

However, there were too few Spirit Artifact back then, so it wasn't very fun to play.

Now that Yang Ning has obtained the Snow Soul Rhombus Crystal Bracelet, which is Spirit Artifact composed of 32 pieces, it's like 32 bombers!

"Wow, that's amazing!" Su Xiao's eyes widened in disbelief. Such a fighting philosophy?

The combat style of controlling flying swords to repel enemies from thousands of miles away is a concept from Earth's fantasy novels; it doesn't exist in the Taiheng Realm.

Looking at the design concepts of Spirit Artifact like the Moon Golden Wheel and the Hu Feng Hao, you can tell that they are more inclined towards face-to-face, close-to-mid-range combat.

The reason for this might be that the distance of Spiritual Manifestation is not as far as Yang Ning's; for ordinary people, it's only one or two meters, or even five or six meters.

Yang Ning's Spiritual Manifestation can reach a distance of hundreds of kilometers, which is due to the integration of Electromagnetic Wave waves into the Spiritual Manifestation.

If we trace it back to its roots, we must go back to the origins of cultivation in Taiheng, specifically the Dragon Clan.

Since dragons are not ranged mages, the Taiheng people, who inherited the dragons' Immortal Method, are also not ranged mages.

"But is this thing really that powerful?" Su Xiao looked at the white jade ball that Yang Ning was hanging on the Snow Soul Rhombus Crystal Bracelet. How did this thing attack people? Was it smashed?

"Don't underestimate this ball; it contains Explosive Flame Talisman!" Yang Ning said.

"Explosive Flame Talisman?" Su Xiao was taken aback, and even more puzzled.

The Explosive Flame Talisman, also known as the Fireball Talisman, is a beginner-level talisman that releases a huge fireball to attack enemies. The fireball explodes upon reaching its destination.

Depending on the skill level of the talisman artist, the diameter of the fireball can range from 10 centimeters to five or six meters.

Because it involves a lot of basic knowledge about talisman making, yet is not complicated to make, it is the first type of talisman many talisman masters learn, and it is also a classic talisman.

As more people learned how to use it, countless others researched and developed the Explosive Flame Talisman, creating numerous product series such as the Chain Explosive Flame Talisman, the Great Explosive Flame Talisman, and the Fierce Explosive Flame Talisman, making the Explosive Flame Talisman increasingly powerful.

With more people knowing how to make them, the Explosive Flame Talisman became so abundant and cheap that even a cultivator could afford it.

With more people using it, they naturally learned how to counter it. Anyone could dodge the Explosive Flame Talisman, causing its Explosive Flame Talisman rate to plummet, leading to the saying that the Explosive Flame Talisman equals Talisman of No Killing.

In short, the stronger the Explosive Flame Talisman, the weaker it is.

In Su Xiao's opinion, the Explosive Flame Talisman couldn't hit anyone, so why use Explosive Flame Talisman?

"The Explosive Flame Talisman's destructive power is not the problem; the problem lies in its accuracy!" Yang Ning said. "In other words, if you knew I was going to use the Explosive Flame Talisman, you would dodge in advance. But now that I've put the Explosive Flame Talisman in a jade bead, you won't know I'm using Explosive Flame Talisman, right?"

"Huh?" Su Xiao was bewildered. Could this really be done?

"But can't they use Spiritual Manifestation to scan what's inside?"

"That's why I used jade beads, not metal, so they can detect them!" Yang Ning said. "As for the material inside the jade beads, it's similar to the main material used to make talismans. When they scan it with their spiritual senses, it's all plant fiber. What can they possibly deduce?"

"Amazing!" Su Xiao already knew about Yang Ning's wisdom, but she didn't expect that this wisdom was not only reflected in cultivation and the development of Cultivation Method, but also in his skill in using talismans!

Compared to Yang Ning, the other disciples in the sect seemed quite ordinary. Let alone doing anything groundbreaking, they couldn't even learn the normal Cultivation Method taught by the Tian Heng Sect!

As Su Xiao said this, she instinctively distanced herself from the situation. After all, if the person I love is capable, doesn't that mean I'm capable too?

Yang Ning still had some crucial points he hadn't mentioned.

As a time traveler and an engineering student, he had already considered making guns when he embarked on the path of weapon forging!

But guns are easy to manufacture; bullets are difficult.

Gunpowder is relatively easy to produce, but the chemical raw materials needed for propellants, such as mercuric fulminate, require extraction through complex chemical experiments.

Yang Ning had originally planned to simply not fire bullets, relying entirely on injecting Nightmare Energy, which would then make the Machine Soul happy and create something from nothing.

It wasn't until I went to Black Soul Peak that I discovered rune technology and found a product called Explosive Flame Talisman in the talisman shop of the Artifact Forging Master Association.

The Explosive Flame Talisman —a single sheet of paper launches a massive fireball four meters in diameter; isn't that the perfect propellant?

Yang Ning had the talisman master modify the Explosive Flame Talisman, sacrificing the distance the Explosive Flame Talisman traveled after activation, and instead making the Explosive Flame Talisman explode immediately after activation, without launching any more fireballs.

In this way, the Exploding Explosive Flame Talisman was transformed into the Detonation Talisman from Naruto.

Then, by stuffing this Explosive Flame Talisman into a sealed space like a bullet casing, the Explosive Flame Talisman can act as propellant to launch the bullet.

The American Style Iaido used by Yang Ning to kill the Soul Chasing Spear was made using bullets manufactured in this way.

The firearms created in this way are not only functional, but also don't remind people of modern weapons. After all, I'm using legitimate talismans, just in a different way than others.

With gunpowder, cannonballs could naturally be produced. The white jade beads that Yang Ning made were not cannonballs, but more like hand grenades.

Hand grenades should normally be made of metal, with patterns printed on them to facilitate fragmentation.

However, Yang Ning discovered that metal is a Faraday cage; if the distance is too far, it will interfere with the effect of Spiritual Manifestation, making it difficult to activate the talisman.

After all, talismans need to be activated through Spiritual Manifestation and Qi and Blood.

Of course, it can also be set to physical excitation, such as impact, but the Qi and Blood Field can slow down the flight speed of an object, like Tai Chi.

What if someone catches it without getting hurt?

Furthermore, physical excitation requires the installation of many complex components.

Since Yang Ning already had Nightmare Energy to inject, he abandoned the physical activation method. This design would be more suitable for him after his Spiritual Manifestation.

Because his Spiritual Manifestation is over a great distance.

So he changed the material to white jade, a type of stone that is found all over Thunder Cliff.

These stones, constantly struck by lightning, have a density and hardness comparable to metal.

Yang Ning used ultrasonic waves to cut countless tiny slits inside the jade bead, then stuffed in several Explosive Flame Talisman. The combined power of the Explosive Flame Talisman and the shattering of the white jade fragments made the destructive force no less than that of a 155mm howitzer!

Now, the disciples of the Myriad Saints Alliance are facing a barrage of howitzer shells fired at 240 m/s, with a kill radius of 20 to 35 meters!

Even Yang Ning would have a headache facing this level of bombardment, because the Purple Gold Coiling Dragon Body is an active skill that consumes a lot of energy to activate. He can only maintain it for five minutes at most before he has to run away.

What's more, what about the disciples of the Myriad Saints Alliance who haven't practiced the Purple Gold Coiling Dragon Body?

Matvey, equally bewildered by the incoming shells, instinctively shouted, "Everyone, gather together!"

There's nothing wrong with this order. In the Cultivation World, it's common sense that when encountering a powerful opponent, the weaker ones concentrate their Qi and Blood or Law Power to fight back. Moreover, Supreme-grade Mortal Artifact can combine the Qi and Blood of many people to enhance its defense!

But that depends on what you're facing. If you're facing a person with limited Law Power, and you can withstand all of their attacks, you might actually have a chance to survive.

But now you're facing artillery shells. Firing these things doesn't consume anything at all. As long as logistics keep up, you can keep firing them!

And what do artillery shells love most? They love it when the enemy is clustered together!

"Buzz!" Someone took out Supreme-grade Mortal Artifact shield. This thing was very precious even to a cultivator at the Ninth Level of Body Refinement, but they were all elites and naturally did not lack money.

The white jade bead struck the shield and then exploded violently. The boy holding the shield felt a tightness in his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"How is it?" someone nearby quickly asked.

"What incredible power!" the boy exclaimed. "The Qi and Blood attached to my shield was instantly blasted away!"

He vomited blood due to a shock in his Qi and Blood and qi, but his injuries were not actually serious.

But this is only the first one!

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

After several shots of the white jade beads, the boy finally couldn't hold on any longer, and several people nearby quickly placed their hands on him, using their own Qi and Blood to resist.

Even those who were previously at Qi Ingestion with each other and engaged in internal strife united in the face of such difficulties.

But is it useful?

A person's Qi and Blood are limited, while Yang Ning's white jade beads...

He made 60,000.

The main problem is that the process is too simple; it's just processing stone.

The talismans were purchased from the Artifact Forging Master Association.

He wanted the lowest grade of Explosive Flame Talisman; a skilled talisman master could draw thousands of those in a day.

As for why we're doing so much, don't ask. The answer is simply a fear of insufficient firepower.

Yang Ning did all of this in preparation for the Mountain River Ranking.

He had done his research beforehand and found that, apart from having to step onto the arena and having a restricted venue, the Mountain River Ranking Challenge did not restrict any fighting methods.

This includes Cultivation Method, Spirit Artifact, magical beasts, and talismans.

That naturally doesn't include hand grenades.

I just didn't expect there to be an outer sect trial before the Mountain River Ranking, so I might as well test its effectiveness here first.

As expected of a cultivator, the shield, which was only 2 centimeters thick, was blown apart by the Qi and Blood and qi of a cultivator in the Body Refinement Realm for half a minute, and it took more than forty shells to destroy it.

A second shield?

Sorry, the shields are still there, but there are no more people who can deal Qi and Blood. In order to maintain the shields, everyone has dealt as much Qi and Blood as possible!

But the shelling continued!

"Stop holding back, use all your cards!" Matvey shouted.

As soon as the words were spoken, two figures flew out from under the shield like phantoms.

The Myriad Saints Alliance discovered that other sects would also send large numbers of people into the Great Tai Array, so they ordered their disciples to stick together after entering and absolutely not to go alone.

But in the current situation, continuing to stick together is tantamount to suicide.

Matvey's eyes widened in fury. "Damn it, even at this point, you still have a trick up your sleeve!"

Running so fast, it's obvious he didn't exert himself while carrying the shells!

The two who ran away didn't care. "We're disciples of the Myriad Saints Alliance. It's our duty to betray our teammates. It would be strange if we didn't run away!"

They turned their heads to look at the shells still being rained down from the sky, and a sense of schadenfreude rose within them.

Schadenfreude is human nature; seeing that the shells only hit their teammates and not them, the two were immediately glad they ran fast!

The next second, the Snow Crystal, which had just dropped a cannonball, did not return to base. Instead, it spun in the air and flew towards the two of them.

"What?" The two were immediately dumbfounded. Why don't you bomb them? What are you doing here?

The two turned and ran, but how could human speed outrun Spirit Artifact?

In just three seconds, the Snow Soul Rhombus Crystal Bracelet pierced through the throats of both of them.

Then, instead of returning, it circled around the disciples of the Myriad Saints Alliance.

Matvey wanted to curse him for deserving it, but then he realized that since he couldn't even escape, wasn't he destined to die here?

"Is there anything else?" Matvey asked.

"I have this too!" A person pulled out a magical Spirit Artifact shaped like a fan, composed of six blades.

"Six Rulers Flying Kill?" Matvey exclaimed in surprise, "How come you even brought your lineage's Spirit Artifact in here?"

Su Xiao believed that every disciple of the Myriad Saints Alliance should possess a Spirit Artifact, which was based on the situation of the disciples of the Tianyi Sect Myriad Saints Alliance.

When disciples of the Tianyi Sect go on missions, their elders are not stingy in lending them Spirit Artifact to protect them. But with the Myriad Saints Alliance, if a disciple dies, so be it; they can just take him in again.

If the Spirit Artifact is lost, then I have truly lost something!

One views disciples as a means of inheritance and the next generation, while the other treats them as consumables.

Where can I get consumables for my Spirit Artifact?

So, the 16 members of the Myriad Saints Alliance really only have one Spirit Artifact!

It's an offensive magical Spirit Artifact!

The disciple tentatively placed the Six Rulers Flying Kill on his head and then spun it at high speed.

As a result, the Spirit Artifact was no match for the shockwave from the explosion, and the Six Rulers Flying Kill cut the stone that passed through it into pieces. However, because the artifact was too sharp, the fragments did not slow down at all and still crashed into the disciples of the Myriad Saints Alliance, causing screams of agony.

"We have to fight back!" someone shouted.

Matvey was speechless. "Do you think I don't know how to fight back? But the enemy is five kilometers away. We can't even get out of this crater. How are we supposed to fight?"

He silently took out a black flag from his Storage Bag and waved it.

It means, surrender!

Yang Ning, choosing not to accept the bombs, but instead continued throwing them.

Yang Ning only stopped after the relentless bombardment continued for another three minutes.

"How was it? Are you done?" Su Xiao asked curiously, seeing the Snow Soul Crystal Fahrenheit group surrounding Yang Ning.

"Okay!" Yang Ning nodded. "Come on, let's go take a look!"

"Good!" Su Xiao was really curious about how the battle had progressed. After all, all she could see were one Snow Soul Crystal after another flying out carrying cannonballs, and then she could hear a thunderous roar from the other side.

The situation on the battlefield, however, is invisible.

Before long, the two arrived at the edge of the battlefield and saw the sand below, which had changed color, as well as limbs and broken weapons scattered all over the ground.

"This!" Su Xiao's pupils shrank, first surprised by the effect of the bombing, then overjoyed.

This is a fighting style invented by the person I love!

The more skilled he was, and the more steady his fighting style, the more proud Su Xiao felt.

Of course, this is also because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Even if Yang Ning had used swords and hand-to-hand combat instead of cannonballs, Su Xiao's praise might have turned into him being a man of great spirit and as brave as iron.

As for the discomfort caused by seeing a dead body?

Stop joking. Su Xiao is no saint. She has killed many people herself, and commanding her subordinates to kill enemies is commonplace for her.

Not to mention that the one they killed was a minor demon from the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance.

"These white jade beads are simply invincible! With these things, wouldn't we be able to roam freely within the Heavenly Heng Grand Formation?" Su Xiao asked excitedly, "I feel like we could even blow up that Xuantian Sect!"

After all, although the Xuantian Sect is strong, their fighting methods are still within the realm of comprehension.

"It's also because no one has ever seen this fighting style before!" Yang Ning said, "Once everyone has seen and understood it, the White Jade Bead's destructive power won't be so great!"

"I understand, we need to eliminate them completely, right?" Su Xiao nodded emphatically. "There are actually survivors, I'll handle them!"

Yang Ning was speechless and quickly pulled Su Xiao: "Let's ask what's going on first. Why did the Myriad Saints Alliance send out so many people all at once!"

In the center of the crater, a young man dressed in a black robe, his body reduced to half its original size, lay blankly on the ground, staring lifelessly at the sky.

Until Yang Ning and Su Xiao came to him.

"How should I address you, sir?" Yang Ning asked.

"Matvey!" Matvey glanced at Su Xiao beside Yang Ning and was immediately stunned. "She's still alive! That's the Flowing Sun Scorching Heart Poison!"

"This poison is indeed very potent; our antidotes are ineffective against it!" Yang Ning said earnestly, "That's why I used unconventional methods to get rid of the poison!"

"Could it be!" Matvey thought of those Cultivation Method that create miracles with life force; perhaps it was this?

If that's the case, it's not bad; at least they weren't all wiped out while the enemy suffered no damage.

"May I ask why you sent so many people in?" Yang Ning pointed around Matvey: "I see your cultivation levels are quite high, with some at the Ninth Level of Body Refinement Body Refinement Tenth Layer. You're probably not here to participate in the trial!"

"You know nothing?" Matvey retorted.

"Yes, we are all disciples participating in the trial!" Yang Ning pointed to Su Xiao and himself. "We were quite surprised to see so many of you all come!"

Matvey fell silent. He didn't know if this person was mocking him. To a disciple who had just participated in the trial at the Body Refinement Tenth Layer was no different from looking at a child.

They were wiped out by two kids?

How embarrassing!

"Or, should we keep it a secret?" Yang Ning asked curiously, seeing that Matvey didn't seem inclined to speak.

"There's nothing to keep secret, the whole world knows anyway!" Matvey said, "A disciple of the Myriad Saints Alliance named Xuantian Sect appeared in the trial grounds, and everyone suspects he's discovered the secret of the Purple Heart Stone!"

"Huh?" Yang Ning was taken aback. "Everyone, you mean?"

"All elders and sect leaders of all sects!"

Yang Ning was taken aback. "No, why? I admit that the Xuantian Sect is quite powerful, but it's not as exaggerated as being associated with obtaining the secret of the Purple Heart Stone!"

Su Xiao was also very anxious. She thought that only she and Yang Ning had discovered this secret, but now it turned out that everyone knew?

"Ha, what do you know!" Matvey curled his lip and said, "When he first entered the trial, he was just a little brat who had just entered the Ninth Level of Body Refinement. In just a few days, he was able to kill the four guards of Xue Xian, and he could fight against many opponents on Abundant Island. He even mastered the Soul Chasing True Intent!"

"This abnormal increase in cultivation level, you think he didn't obtain some secret? I don't believe it!"

Yang Ning was taken aback. So that's what you were thinking?

And you were right, the Xuantian Sect really did possess the secret of the Purple Heart Stone!

But why are you so perceptive? I've only killed a few more people and acted a little stronger, so why would it attract global attention?

In other cultivation novels, no matter how much trouble the protagonists cause, they never attract the attention of the highest levels; it's always the minor characters who come out to hunt them down. Why don't I get that kind of treatment?

Su Xiao was also somewhat dejected. This reasoning process was different from hers, mainly because she didn't know what kind of combat strength the Xuantian Sect had when they first entered.

However, if this link is filled, the possibility that the Xuantian Sect has mastered the secret of the Purple Heart Stone will be much greater!

This is not good news, because it means that the level of competition they face has suddenly become extremely high!

The standard for the trial is not simply to enter the Ninth Level of Body Refinement, but any Body Refinement Realm disciple who has never participated before can participate. However, there has been no progress for hundreds of years, so disciples with high cultivation levels are unwilling to come.

But once it's confirmed that someone has actually cracked this secret, all sects will send their most elite Outer Disciple to participate. At that time, they will face groups of people at the Body Refinement Tenth Layer, each with a Spirit Artifact in hand!

"Bai Qi, we..." Su Xiao looked at Yang Ning. Ever since she fell in love with Bai Qi, she had developed the habit of letting Bai Qi make the decisions in everything.

Yang Ning first wiped out Matvey with a single stroke, then collected all the Storage Bag before replying, "Let's go back to the ruins to discuss this!"

"Good!"