Luo Sen had never thought that a dignified Mid Divine Transformation Realm expert like him would one day run away like a stray dog.
When Luo Sen returned to the Ying State Immortal Island, the cultivators of the Alliance of Ming Assassins patrolling the island were stunned upon seeing him in such a state.
Am I hallucinating?
Who would’ve thought that Luo Sen, an expert who is ranked within the top fifty on the ‘Board of Devils’ of the Internal Endless Sea, would be running away for his life in such a terrible state?
“Lord Luo Sen, what exactly happened!?”
“There is no time to explain. Quickly activate the protective grand formation!”
Luo Sen descended to the Ying State Immortal Island and stashed his gunny sack which was filled with women, letting out a faint sigh.
Finally, I managed to come back alive. Now, I should go find Purple Gu and the others directly to discuss a strategy.
Ying State Immortal Island was an island of sword cultivators.
‘Ten Sects and Three Islands’. ‘Ten Sects’ was a collective name of the top ten sects on this island while the ‘Three Islands’ was three forces made up of rogue cultivators. Just like Penglai Immortal Island, even if there was the Lost World Palace there, all the cultivators on the entire island were, in fact, like a bucket of loose sand.
However, compared to Penglai Immortal Island, Ying State Immortal Island had one unique advantage.
Penglai Immortal Island was an island that was formed by the corpse of a humongous sea turtle.
Ying State Immortal Island, on the other hand, was formed by a massive sword of an ancient cultivator.
This sword wasn’t as prestigious as the Four Heavens Suppressing Swords. Its power was almost completely depleted after remaining there for a long period of time, becoming just an ancient relic. However, since this island was formed from a sword, it possessed a special kind of spiritual sword qi which allowed sword cultivators to cultivate.
Although the spiritual sword qi here could not even compare to one tenth of the spiritual sword qi of the Sword Island in the Internal Endless Sea, it was still able to attract some rogue cultivators who practiced the Dao of Sword to come and seek refuge in this place.
When Purple Gu successfully convinced the lord of Ying State Immortal Island to establish the Alliance of Ming Assassins, he gave an order to banish all the rogue cultivators who refused to join the alliance!
Thus, a lot of rogue cultivators had no choice but to join the alliance so that they could continue to cultivate on this island.
This spiritual sword qi was the unique advantage that only Ying State Immortal Island had. It allowed the island to gather large groups of cultivators with ease. This kind of advantage was not something the Penglai Immortal Island could imitate.
Aside from that, the island was also rich in a type of rare tree which was called the Sword Tree. Its wood was even harder than many rare spiritual minerals.
There were a total four thousand and seven hundred sword mountains on the island. And it had been rumored that each and every one of those mountains were filled with sword qi that a Nascent Soul Realm sword cultivator had condensed in his entire lifetime.
All four thousand and seven hundred sword mountains stood up straight and pierced through the clouds with each of them revealing vigorous sword qi. Moreover, by the look of the terrain and their positions, those mountains seemed to be interconnected, making them look like formation eyes which form a peerless Peak Divine Transformation Realm sword formation.
It was named as…’Eastern Profound Sword Formation’ and was built by the lord of Ying State Immortal Island – ‘Dong Xuanzi’ with his own hand!
Dong Xuanzi was also a sword cultivator. Well, to put it precisely, most of the cultivators that were willing to join the Alliance of Ming Assassins were sword cultivators.
At the centre of the four thousand and seven hundred sword mountains stood a large and magnificent sword palace which towered above the rest.
Within the palace, sixteen Divine Transformation Realm experts were sitting on their respective seats.
Having sixteen Divine Transformation Realm experts gathered together in the same room was something that was rarely seen even at the Internal Endless Sea.
The person who was sitting on the top seat was a blind old man. His face looked fierce and ruthless. He was holding a golden sword with both of his hands. This man was none other than Dong Xuanzi, an Early Divine Transformation Realm expert.
Meanwhile, the three people who occupied the seats beside him were Divine Transformation Realm experts from the Demon Sealing Sect. Two of them were at the Mid Divine Transformation Realm, while the other one was Purple Gu who was currently at the Early Divine Transformation Realm.
Other than the four of them, there were Divine Transformation Realm cultivators from other forces. There was a mixture of Early and Mid Divine Transformation Realm cultivators and all of them were cultivators from the Internal Endless Sea.
This batch of experts from the Internal Endless Sea were usually snobbish and despised the Divine Transformation Realm cultivators of the External Endless Sea. Even Zhou Ming who overpowered every force in the External Endless Sea was also just a cultivator with a moderate level of strength in their eyes.
To them, it seemed to be unnecessary to invite so many Divine Transformation Realm cultivators just to assassinate one Zhou Ming.
As a matter of fact, every one of them obviously knew that Purple Gu established the Alliance of Ming Assassins to seek personal vengeance on Zhou Ming and kill him. Meanwhile, the true reason he did so was to take the opportunity to create another force representing the Demon Sealing Sect to take control of the External Endless Sea.
Didn’t the Giant Devil Sect establish the Pleasure Devil Island as their subordinate force? Very well then. My Demon Sealing Sect shall establish a Ying State Immortal Island and take in a dozen Divine Transformation Realm cultivators. With that strength, we can completely control the External Endless Sea!
In order to get support from others, Purple Gu deliberately used the idea of assassinating Zhou Ming to set up the name of the alliance.
‘Ming Assassins’ clearly meant to assassinate Zhou Ming. Since Zhou Ming’s enemies were all over the External Endless Sea, using this name for the alliance would definitely win over his enemies and attract them to join. Then, I can make use of all of their strength.
But what was totally out of Purple Gu’s expectations was that even though he had used the slogan of ‘Killing Zhou Ming’, only a few third-rated forces of the External Endless Sea were willing to join the alliance.
The other forces which were slightly more powerful did not dare exact revenge on Zhou Ming. This was because the stronger the cultivator, the more understanding they had about how dreadful Zhou Ming was.
Without any choice, Purple Gu could only change his strategy by offering benefits and bribery. His method was rather practical as it had attracted quite a number of forces to join him. The ‘Profound Virtue Island’ was also one of the forces which joined the alliance for benefits.
Therefore, fundamentally speaking, Purple Gu had never put Zhou Ming in his eyes. Killing Zhou Ming was just an excuse.
However, Zhou Ming had really returned!
Purple Gu never thought that Zhou Ming would eventually return to the External Endless Sea after he had gone missing for twenty years. This time, he had even attained the Divine Transformation Realm.
When he thought of how cruel Zhou Ming was, he knew that the latter would definitely find trouble with the alliance. However, Purple Gu did not intend to give up what he had been doing. Thus, he directly sent Wang Kun, Yu Ge and Luo Sen to assassinate Zhou Ming at the Pleasure Devil Island.
At the same time, he also warned the three of them not to kill anyone on the Pleasure Devil Island. After all, the Pleasure Devil Island was also a force under the Giant Devil Sect. With Purple Gu’s identity, he did not dare to offend the Giant Devil Sect.
“Fellow Daoist Purple Gu, you actually sent out three Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts just to assassinate a mere Zhou Ming. It seems rather unnecessary, don’t you think…?” Dong Xuanzi asked with a frown.
“A mere Zhou Ming!? Fellow Daoist Dong Xuan better not look down on Zhou Ming. You have never seen how powerful he was before with your own eyes. Despite being just a Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, he managed to kill Evil Light Monk of the Black Buddha Sect on the Pleasure Devil Island with a single finger! Now, Zhou Ming had attained the Divine Transformation Realm. His combat power will definitely rise again. I’m afraid even ordinary Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivators won’t be his match.”
Purple Gu’s gaze was solemn. He had never looked down on Ning Fan.
However, what he had said immediately made an Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivator coldly chuckle.
“So what if he had killed Evil Light? Evil Light was just the weakest among us Divine Transformation Realm cultivators. It’s not surprising that Zhou Ming managed to kill Evil Light stealthily if he had Half-Step Divine Transformation Realm combat power at that time. You need to understand that the Divine Transformation Realm is totally different from the Nascent Soul Realm. Each level in this cultivation realm is difficult to advance into. Not to mention that this Zhou Ming had just attained the Divine Transformation Realm, as long as he is not at the Mid Divine Transformation Realm, then he definitely won’t be a match for a Mid Divine Transformation Realm expert, even if he has cultivated hard for one hundred years more!”
This expert’s words made the other old monsters nod their heads in agreement. However, a monk in black robes was rather dissatisfied with what he had said.
That black monk was clearly practicing the Buddha techniques yet his presence emanated a massive amount of devil qi. He looked like a skeleton and he had a black sword strapped on his back. Surprisingly, he possessed a Mid Divine Transformation Realm cultivation base.
“Hmph! No matter how weak Evil Light was, he was still a member of my Black Buddha Sect. Anyone who hurt Evil Light shall die!”
This black monk was actually the sect master of the Black Buddha Sect. He was Xie Gu who was also known as the ‘Sword Monk’. He was a Mid Divine Transformation Realm cultivator!
As soon as he opened his mouth, that Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivator who made fun of Evil Light immediately kept his mouth shut.
“Hehe, all of you, please stop arguing… It was all thanks to all of you that the Alliance of Ming Assassins can be established. We, the Demon Sealing Sect, will remember your kind deed deeply in our hearts. There are seventeen Peak Fifth Revolution pills here. They are the ‘Intent Separation Pill’. When Luo Sen, Liu Xuan and the other two daoists return, I will then distribute these pills to all my fellow daoists!”
Seeing that the atmosphere became silent, Purple Gu chuckled and stood up to snap his fingers. Immediately, two ladies in purple robes entered the hall while carrying a wooden box.
These two ladies weren’t living humans. Instead, they were condensed by seventeen thousand poisonous worms. These worms were called ‘Purple Bites’.
Including Luo Sen, Liu Xuan and the other two experts, there were a total of twenty Divine Transformation Realm experts in the alliance. Other than the three members of the Demon Sealing Sect including Purple Gu, all the others were invited people he invited.
And the price he promised them was an ‘Intent Separation Pill’ for each of the Early Divine Transformation Realm experts. As for Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts, they would not only get one ‘Intent Separation Pill’, but also an extra one hundred million immortal jades.
This ‘Intent Separation Pill’ was a precious thing. It was a pill that was collected by the Demon Sealing Sect from a ruin. There were only seventeen of them.
The effect of this pill was to improve a sword cultivator’s sword intent and it had a tiny chance of helping cultivators condense their sword consciousness and sword sense.
However, the pill recipe of this pill was already lost in ancient times. Being able to have these pills in this era was extremely rare.
If it was not because the Demon Sealing Sect had no sword cultivators, Purple Gu would never have taken out these pills to entice other experts.
“Intent Separation Pill!”
Each and every one of the old monsters there were sword cultivators. Thus, it was natural for all of them to be keen on having that pill.
There were a total of seventeen Divine Transformation Realm sword cultivators within the alliance. However, only five of them had successfully condensed their sword intent.
Sword cultivators who had yet to condense their sword intent could create their own sword intent with the help of this pill.
As for those sword cultivators who already have their own sword intent, they could use this pill to enhance it. Moreover, they would have a slight chance to successfully condense their sword consciousness and sword sense.
It was no surprise that this batch of experts would be willing to join a mere force of the External Endless Sea with this pill as a reward.
The eyes of the experts in the hall burned with fervor as they stared at the box that contained those pills.
Whiffs of fragrance from the pills came out from the wooden box. By just smelling a trace of that scent, all of the experts present felt that their comprehension of the Dao of Sword had improved a lot.
Now, they only needed to wait for Wang Kun, Luo Sen, Yu Ge and Liu Xuan to return and they could then take a share of the pills.
At this moment, however, the sword mountains of the whole Ying State Immortal Island suddenly trembled as vigorous sword qi spread everywhere. Undoubtedly, it was caused by the activation of the ‘Eastern Profound Sword Formation’.
“Why did the sword formation activate…?”
Each and every one of the Divine Transformation Realm old monsters looked at Dong Xuanzi with confusion. However, even Dong Xuanzi was unable to understand what had just happened.
Before he could make his way out of the sword palace to find out what was going on, a flurried and embarrassed figure walked into the sword palace. That person was Luo Sen.
Luo Sen’s body which was fat like it was made up of a mountain of meat was now covered with scars. Without a doubt, he got these injuries while he was being pursued by Ning Fan.
His hair which was originally sparse became unkempt after much of it was cut by Ning Fan’s sword qi, making him look disheveled and worn out.
“How come Fellow Daoist Luo Sen is in such a state? Who hurt you? Where are Daoist Wang and Daoist Yu? And Daoist Liu Xuan, do you know where he is? We can’t reach him even though we used the message transmission flying swords.”
Dong Xuanzi’s face froze. He immediately rose up from his seat as he was unable to sit composedly like before.
Seeing Luo Sen in such a condition, Dong Xuanzi certainly realized that he encountered a huge problem. Therefore, he hurriedly asked him a series of questions.
Although he had many questions and doubts, he did not ask whether their mission was completed or not.
From Dong Xuanzi’s view, if three Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts cooperated to assassinate Zhou Ming and still failed…
The three of them better just get a beancurd and knock their heads to death with it…
“It’s complicated… and hard to explain in a few words… I have led Zhou Ming here… It was also me who ordered the guards to activate the formation.” Luo Sen had no idea how to explain all the things that had happened.
“Oh? Daoist Luo didn’t kill Zhou Ming and led him here instead? Mm, this is not bad either. I heard that this Zhou Ming has many secret techniques with him. If we can catch him alive and force him to tell us all of his secret techniques, it will definitely be a wonderful thing too…”
Dong Xuanzi nodded his head but he could never foresee that Luo Sen was hunted and chased back to the island by Zhou Ming.
When they heard Zhou Ming was coming, all the old monsters were exhilarated. Some of them were laughing evilly while some of them sneered coldly. As for Xie Gu, the monk in black robes, he pressed his sword and stood up. He gave a pat on Luo Sen’s shoulder with a grateful expression.
“Thank you so much, Daoist Luo!”
“What are you thanking me for…” Luo Sen’s mind was filled with confusion.
I have just led a wicked being to all of you here, but you guys are still thanking me for it? Are all of you out of your goddamn minds?
Luo Sen muttered inwardly.
“Daoist Luo has led Zhou Ming here just right. Now I can kill him with my own hands! I have had unresolved grudges against Zhou Ming for a long time. This time, I will cut off his head myself and none of you shall interfere!”
Xie Gu’s killing intent was stern and fearsome. In his mind, killing Ning Fan was just a trivial matter like snapping a finger.
After all, he wasn’t Evil Light. He was a Mid Divine Transformation Realm sword cultivator who had condensed his own sword intent! Why should he be afraid of Ning Fan, a mere cultivator who had just attained Divine Transformation Realm?!
“Since you’ve led Zhou Ming here, then why did you give the order to activate the formation? Are you trying to stop him outside the formation? Besides, where are Wang Kun, Yu Ge and Liu Xuan now?”
Purple Gu knitted his brows. He could faintly feel that something wasn’t right.
“Dead. All of them are dead…” A hint of fear rose within Luo Sen’s eyes.
“Dead? Who died?”
Each of the experts was confused by Luo Sen’s words.
Wasn’t he leading Zhou Ming to Ying State Immortal Island? Who’s dead? Zhou Ming is dead? Why would this Luo Sen speak so incoherently?
As everyone was busy asking questions, a huge noise of crushing waves was heard from afar.
At first, the noise was still very far away. But a few breaths later, the noise came closer and it seemed to be just right outside of Ying State Immortal Island.
All of a sudden, a rush of baleful qi surrounded Ying State Immortal Island in its entirety.
A deafening bang which shook heaven and earth was heard across the island, as if a heavy punch had just landed on the formation light. Right afterwards, the island started to vibrate uncontrollably. Even some of the sword mountains crumbled from the force of that punch.
The seventeen Divine Transformation Realm experts in the hall were panicking. Under the immense baleful qi. Even Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts could feel that they were like a small, lonely boat drifting amidst the boundless sea!
Outside the palace, hundreds of thousands of cultivators had already exclaimed in shock with their voices echoing into the palace!
The seventeen Divine Transformation Realm experts immediately flew out of the sword palace. All of them were in disbelief when they saw what was right in front of them.
A three thousand zhang*(3.33 m per zhang) tall giant in purple armor appeared before the island. He was carrying an island on his shoulder with one of his hands while smashing the formation light of the ‘Eastern Profound Sword Formation’ with the other one!
The strength of his punches were incredibly strong. Each time a punch landed on the formation light, there would certainly be at least ten sword mountains collapsing under that force.
Furthermore, the baleful qi being emanated by the purple-armored giant was extremely terrifying. No one knew exactly how many Divine Transformation Realm experts he had killed in his life!
The giant’s body had been recently stained with three new traces of baleful qi. They undoubtedly belonged to the three deceased experts: Wang Kun, Yu Ge and Liu Xuan!
“Who is he? He has killed three Divine Transformation Realm experts with two of them being at the Mid Divine Transformation Realm!”
“Who is this man? Ordinary Divine Transformation Realm experts like us are definitely not able to withstand the strength of his punch!”
“Who exactly is he!?”
Gazes of astonishment all fell on Luo Sen.
Luo Sen only made a wry smile.
“Just like what I’ve said before, I have led Zhou Ming here…”
When his voice fell, the other sixteen Divine Transformation Realm experts including Purple Gu felt their blood turn cold!
“What!? He is Zhou Ming!? This three thousand zhang* (3.33 m per zhang) tall giant in purple armor is actually Zhou Ming!?”
“This gigantic body was certainly not transformed into with the use of an illusory technique! Oh my God! How could Zhou Ming be just an Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivator? He is clearly at the Peak Divine Transformation Realm!”
“Luo Sen! Why did you lead such a fierce madman to Ying State Immortal Island? Are you trying to get us all killed!?”
Everyone was yelling angrily at Luo Sen.
Dong Xuanzi who previously did not put Ning Fan in his eyes was now completely dumbstruck with terror.
Xie Gu, who could not wait to kill Zhou Ming with his own hands earlier was now trembling while holding the black sword in his hands.
Each and every building which looked like a massive sword collapsed one after another as Ning Fan continued to attack.
The low-level cultivators of the alliance were instantly smashed into meat paste under the force of Ning Fan’s punch!
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
Even though this batch of Divine Transformation Realm cultivators had been tempered and moulded by countless seas of blood in their life, they had never seen such a crazy scene before.
A furious giant carrying an island on his shoulder emanating monstrous baleful qi was trying to sink another island!
Purple Gu only felt his scalp tingle as he saw the giant. He gradually recognized the giant’s qi and was certain that it was Ning Fan without doubt.
But Purple Gu had never imagined that Ning Fan who was just a Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator twenty years ago would be this powerful twenty years later!
Based on Purple Gu’s observation of Ning Fan, if it wasn’t because Luo Sen and the others had done something that provoked him, he would never reveal such a crazy look. In normal circumstances, even during robbing others for treasures, he would always be calm and indifferent.
“Luo Sen! What exactly have you done?! How did you offend this wicked being?!” Ironically, Purple Gu who had established the Alliance of Ming Assassins himself was now blaming Luo Sen for his own fault.
“Damn it! How on earth do I know what this Zhou Ming is being mad about! What I did was nothing more than slaughtering a mortal’s island…”
Before Luo Sen finished his words, their conversation was interrupted by a forceful sword intent.
The eyes of that purple-armored giant were burning with killing intent. An unrivalled sword intent rose around his body, soaring into the sky.
Under that ferocious sword intent, the five sword cultivators including Xie Gu who had condensed their sword intent felt a jolt running through their souls.
The four thousand and seven hundred sword mountains of Ying State Immortal Island began to tremble as if they were all afraid.
“Such a powerful sword intent! It can’t be wrong! This is the…’Immortal Entrapping Sword Intent’!”
Ning Fan paid no attention to the fearful looks of the members of the alliance. There was only one thought in his mind – flatten the entire Ying State Immortal Island!
The victims of Gusu Island needed a reason!
“If I die, you all survive! However, as long as I live, you all shall DIE!”
Ning Fan’s indifferent tone brought upon gusts of wind and storms on the island. A massacre was about to begin!
Unless Ning Fan dies today, nothing would remain within the territory of Ying State Immortal Island, not even a blade of grass!
After today, let’s see who else would dare to assassinate Zhou Ming!
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel.
Note:
–