Chapter 1189: Chapter 1189: The First Nascent Soul in All Eternity!

After soaring through the lengthy underground passage, Ning Fan and his group successfully entered the second level of the Light Ancestor Abyss.

Compared to the first level, the second level was even hotter with more Light Ants gathered, and the terrain was very different. There were not many Fusang Tree forests in the second level, and the earth almost showed no signs of vegetation. As far as the eye could see, it was all dried, cracked Dao Soil, stretching endlessly.

The ancestors of the Light Clan once cultivated Dao Soil here and established an Immortal Kingdom, but unfortunately, these Dao Soil fields have been barren for countless ages. The fertility of the Dao Soil had long dissipated, turning them into ordinary soil with no value.

The magnetic force of the second level was extremely strong, greatly interfering with spirit sense, to the point where even the Treasure-searching Compass could not be used precisely due to the interference.

"Four light spots? No, five light spots? Uh, it actually turned into three light spots... What a hassle! I did not expect the Treasure-searching Compass to be interfered with to such an extent. After entering the second level, the magnetic power has obviously become abnormally strong..." Ning Fan’s expression was somewhat solemn.

He initially intended to use the Treasure-searching Compass to check how many Light Ant experts above the Immortal Emperor level were in this layer, but unexpectedly, the compass couldn’t provide accurate data.

It must be noted that even in the Boundary River, Ning Fan could use the Treasure-searching Compass at will, but it was not usable in the second level of the abyss. There is only one explanation: the magnetic interference of the second level of the abyss has surpassed the Boundary River...

"Hmm? There’s movement in that direction..." Ning Fan seemed to sense something and looked towards a certain direction in the second level.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He saw in the distant earth two massive auras fiercely colliding. Those were two Immortal Emperor-level existences fighting fiercely, and the waves of their duel swept all the way to the place where Ning Fan and others were, stirring up the dust all around.

"Brother Ning, it seems there are two Immortal Emperors fighting in that direction. Should we avoid it, or go have a look?" Aflo asked nonchalantly, clearly uninterested in the fight in the distance.

"Strange, two Immortal Emperors of the Light Ant Clan are fighting, and one of them seems to be killing the other... This matter has nothing to do with us, so there’s no need to go and interfere. The person I’m looking for is not in this layer. Let’s take a shortcut to the third layer." Ning Fan looked at the approximate measurement results from the Treasure-searching Compass with some surprise.

He initially thought it was some North Heavenly Immortal Emperor fighting with a Light Ant Immortal Emperor, but it turned out to be Light Ant Clan Immortal Emperors fighting amongst themselves...

It seems that the Light Ant Clan was not that united internally...

"Master, don’t you think the scent of those two dueling Immortal Emperors smells very delicious, like it would be great to eat... gur gur gur..."

Black Evil Sect was actually enticed by the aura of these two Light Ant Immortal Emperors, causing it to feel a bit hungry, with its stomach making gurgling sounds...

"I-I apologize, master. Black Evil Sect was too rude! Black Evil Sect did not intentionally make this weird sound! Black Evil Sect should die for its crimes, please punish me!"

Always expressionless, Black Evil Sect’s face turned a deep red now and was extremely nervous, fearing that Ning Fan would be angered by its rude act.

"Silly girl, you’re just hungry, it seems that these Light Ants are indeed a rare delicacy for your Jiuli Clan..." Ning Fan laughed and rubbed Black Evil Sect’s little head to comfort it.

The Light Ant Clan was not a demon but belonged to the Dao Soul Clans. Ordinary cultivators would have difficulty noticing this, but Ning Fan had encountered many Dao Soul Clans before, so how could this escape him?

Black Evil Sect was a Jiuli, ranked fourth among the Myriad Dao-Soul Clans. The Jiuli Clan naturally liked hunting and eating other Dao Soul Clans; it was in their predator instinct. It wasn’t surprising Black Evil Sect wanted to eat strong figures of the Light Ant Clan. What surprised Ning Fan was that Black Evil Sect would actually be enticed by the scent of the Light Ant Clan to make her stomach gurgle—such a thing was indeed a first.

Back when encountering the Dao Carp Race and Ancestral Thunder Sparrow Clan, Little Kitten didn’t lose her composure like this. If the timing were not wrong, Ning Fan wouldn’t mind capturing those dueling Light Ant Clan Immortal Emperors to feed Little Kitten, which would also serve to eliminate pests for the Light Clan.

"Next time, next time I’ll catch Light Ants for you to eat, but not now, we need to hurry..." Ning Fan affectionately patted Black Evil Sect’s little head.

"It’s not, really it’s not, Black Evil Sect doesn’t want to eat Light Ants, it’s just my stomach making noises... Please believe me, master!" Black Evil Sect became even more embarrassed but still insisted, her proud expression quite amusing to Ning Fan.

This Little Kitten is becoming more and more like an ordinary little girl, truly adorable. This is just right; calling out to kill and die, master insults servant dies—is too rigid.

...

Ning Fan and his party chose their direction and headed towards the third layer.

In the distance, two Glowing Ant Tribe Immortal Emperors were still fighting.

One of the Immortal Emperors was at the Eight Tribulations cultivation, while the other was only at the Sixth Tribulations. The Eight Tribulations Immortal Emperor maintained a gigantic insect form, firing light bullets from his mouth, attacking the Sixth Tribulations Immortal Emperor.

The Sixth Tribulations Immortal Emperor transformed into a human figure, a young man clad in blue armor, already beaten almost to death by the Eight Tribulations Immortal Emperor, yet still desperately holding on.

"Trash! Someone of your level can be the fourth-ranked expert under Princess Huahuo’s command? Looks like Princess Huahuo is still the same as before, with no one useful, haha! I want to see, in this Ant Queen competition, what your Princess Huahuo will use to compete with our Lord Lianpeng! Relying only on Ke Bixiong, a Half-Saint? You must know our Lord Lianpeng has three Half-Saints and nine Immortal Emperors under his command!"

The Eight Tribulations Immortal Emperor opened his giant mouth, spraying out a thousand white lotuses towards the Sixth Tribulations Immortal Emperor.

Seeing the thousand lotuses overhead, the Sixth Tribulations Immortal Emperor’s face changed dramatically, no longer holding on, he turned to flee, but it was already too late.

The thousand white lotuses, whose powers were unknown, swept in an instant, hitting him. As the thousand lotuses brushed past, the Sixth Tribulations Immortal Emperor let out a miserable scream, reduced to ashes in an instant.

"Hmph! The trash indeed didn’t even burst out a core upon death. Had I known, I wouldn’t have used the [Saintly Tribloom], gifted by Lord Lianpeng. It’s a precious item, used once less..."

The Eight Tribulations giant ant felt a great loss, with a rumble, burrowed underground, its whereabouts unknown.

...

Different from the first layer, the nearest entrance connecting the second and third layers had no strong Glowing Ants guarding it. Thus, Ning Fan entered the third layer almost effortlessly.

Then it was the fourth layer, the fifth layer... All the way, apart from encounters with some low-level Glowing Ants, they didn’t encounter any Half-Saint ant generals.

The further down they went, the more terrifying the geomagnetic force became, causing the Treasure-searching Compass to become almost entirely unusable, and even the spirit sense couldn’t spread to the Tian Ling.

Going further down, not only did the geomagnetic force increase, but the temperature multiplied several times.

Unlike the previous five layers, the sixth layer of the Abyssal Netherworld was an endless light desert. Strangely, after entering the sixth layer, not a single Glowing Ant was visible on the ground, only wind and sand.

Ning Fan could faintly determine that Bei Xiao Man was in this layer, but he couldn’t pinpoint where in the vast desert she was.

Unable to sense too far! Even someone as strong as Ning Fan, upon reaching the sixth layer, could only rely on his eyesight. Yet, mirages were everywhere in this desert, and Ning Fan soon completely lost his bearings.

"Brother Ning, this desert isn’t a place for humans! It’s one thing that our senses are restricted, but the key is that the origin fire here is too violent! Who are you looking for, what cultivation do they have? Even a Quasi-Saint fire cultivator or light cultivator wouldn’t choose such a place for training..." Aflo, who belonged to the Shui Clan, found it extremely uncomfortable in the hellish hot environment while flying.

"I’m not looking for a Quasi-Saint, just a young girl in the first step of cultivation... Maybe not even the first step, that was just her cultivation from years ago. With the help of the Yishi Palace’s Lost World Tower, she might have already stepped into the second step and become a Fate Immortal, I wouldn’t be surprised... I wonder if she’s still as spoiled as before, or has she learned some manners..." Ning Fan laughed.

"A Fate Immortal? Even if she is a Fate Immortal, she shouldn’t come to such a place for training... But, it really is typical of Brother Ning to come to such a dangerous place looking for a woman..." Aflo laughed softly behind her hand. Having lived in the Xuan Yin Treasure for quite some time, she had a very direct understanding of Ning Fan’s number of women. She had also personally experienced Ning Fan’s various teasing behaviors, so she inwardly deemed Ning Fan as amorous, naturally not finding such things strange.

"I’m also puzzled why Mistress Xiao Man would choose such a dangerous place for training, but she must have her reasons. Hmm? Something is approaching..."

Ning Fan’s gaze suddenly changed, he stopped flying, protecting Black Evil Sect, Aflo, and Destroying Path Thunder Infant behind him.

The geomagnetic force in the sixth layer limited all of Ning Fan’s senses, but his instincts trained through countless life and death experiences still vaguely sensed something with killing intent locked onto them.

There’s something here in the sixth layer that sensed their entry and is quickly approaching them!

Aflo, who was originally laughing softly behind her hand, suddenly changed her charming face, starting to guard against possible enemy attacks around. She trusted Ning Fan’s senses absolutely; since Ning Fan said something was approaching, it certainly wasn’t a joke...

Therefore, everyone fell silent, waiting for the enemy ambush as if they were facing a great enemy, but after waiting for a long time, the enemy did not attack.

After a while, the sense of crisis deep within Ning Fan finally disappeared, and he said in a deep voice, "That person has left... But don’t assume they won’t come back. Stay close to me, don’t fall behind..."

Ning Fan ceased his idle chat with Aflo; at this moment, his perception was severely restricted, and he had to focus his attention on guarding against potential dangers.

The group flew silently in the desert for half an hour, when suddenly, Ning Fan gestured, stopping everyone.

"Be careful, that person wants to approach us again..."

This time, the mysterious foe waited for an entire hour, realizing there was no opportunity to strike, and left again.

"Gone again... However, this person might not give up; they are waiting for the right moment. Once we show any sign of relaxation, they will undoubtedly launch an attack from the shadows..."

After flying for another half an hour, the mysterious enemy approached for the third time!

Just as before, seeing Ning Fan and the others highly vigilant, that person left once again.

...

On the far side of the desert, at a place beyond eyesight’s reach, there was an oasis.

This oasis was originally deserted; suddenly, a flash of light appeared, revealing a towering gray-haired man resembling an iron tower.

This was a devious Half-Saint, a master of the Light Ant Clan who had transformed into human form, dressed in shiny black iron armor, known as the Iron General within the Light Ant Clan.

At this moment, Iron General’s face was filled with a sinister look. He had attempted to ambush Ning Fan’s group three times but was thwarted every time by Ning Fan.

"Damn it! Those outsiders are not Light Ants; they shouldn’t be able to adapt to the geomagnetic interference here, so how did that kid discover me! He found me three times in a row, which can’t be a coincidence! Even the Nascent Soul Half-Saint Thunder Infant brought by him didn’t discover me, yet this kid could accomplish this... His displayed cultivation is merely at the Immortal Venerable level, but being repeatedly able to detect my approach, he can’t possibly be just any Immortal Venerable! Could this child actually be disguising his cultivation as a Quasi-Saint? Hmph, it has to be!"

"I’ll try one last time! If I still can’t manage an ambush, I’ll go on the offensive! Even if this kid is truly a Quasi-Saint, it’s nothing to fear! A Quasi-Saint is even better! I intend to kill a Quasi-Saint! Offering his flesh and blood to Lady Yin Mu is definitely a significant achievement!"

Iron General snorted, his figure flickered, and transformed into a ray of light that disappeared.

He concealed his aura to the utmost!

He hid his killing intent to the utmost!

With patience, he slowly approached Ning Fan’s group. This attack was virtually flawless, near perfect, that even weaker Quasi-Saints on the Sixth Layer couldn’t detect such an ambush.

Yet, he was still spotted by Ning Fan’s abnormal perception!

"Careful! That person is here again!"

Once more, Ning Fan shielded the group behind him, his eyes glinting coldly. Being repeatedly targeted by an enemy, he naturally couldn’t suppress his anger.

Upon realizing the fourth ambush was detected, Iron General could no longer withstand the frustration, transformed into a ray of light, burst out from the ground, exposing his form, and charged directly at Ning Fan and the others, bulldozing forward like a wild bear.

"Eh? Just a Half-Saint dare to launch a frontal attack on us, truly foolish! Master, worry not, watch how the Silver Bone realm girl handles this person!"

Before Ning Fan could give an order, the eager-to-perform Thunder Infant already took action, welcoming the Iron General. As she unleashed a terrifying thunderous power that would make ordinary Half-Saints pale, enveloping the heavens and earth within her lightning power.

Unfortunately, those thunders seemed not to be a frightening thing in Iron General’s eyes. He neither dodged nor defended, instead, he directly charged into the sky full of lightning dissolution.

Such behavior, if performed by an ordinary Era of Decline Half-Saint, would absolutely be suicidal, but this person used his physique to disperse Thunder Infant’s overwhelming lightning power.

"Wha-what! This person only has Half-Saint level cultivation, yet his physical defense is astonishingly strong!" Thunder Infant regretted rushing out for merits, realizing she accidentally kicked an iron board; the strength of this Light Ant Clan Half-Saint clearly surpassed hers.

She needed assistance!

"Is this all the strength you have? The Thunder Infant, ranked ninety-fifth among the Myriad Dao-Soul Clans, is merely so; utterly incomparable with our Light Ant Clan ranked eleventh!"

Iron General laughed loudly, refusing to use any flashy tactics, directly using his iron fists to draw near, punching Thunder Infant right on.

After a dozen rounds, Thunder Infant was left with many injuries, having fully fallen into a disadvantage, lamenting in her heart.

"Brother Ning, I’ll assist!" Aflo realized Iron General’s power and was about to join the battle, but Black Evil Sect made the move first.

She was furious, extremely enraged!

Thunder Infant was a pet captured for her Master, was Master’s possession!

This Iron General dared to harm the Master’s possession, unforgivable!

"Humph? Where does a Dao-Soul Cat Demon come from? With just Emperor Grade Five Essence strength, you dare to charge at me, truly courting death!"

Iron General disdainfully snorted. At face value, Black Evil Sect seemed to possess the strength of a Five Tribulations Immortal King, this level of power certainly couldn’t attract his attention.

He didn’t even bother to use any divine skills, after punching Thunder Infant away, his other fist directly aimed at Black Evil Sect’s Tian Ling.

He intended to kill Black Evil Sect with one punch!

If it were an ordinary Five Tribulations Immortal King, taking a blow from him would lead to severe injury if not death, but was Black Evil Sect any ordinary Five Tribulations Immortal King?

Once she goes berserk, she could slaughter even Quasi-Saint level Dao Carp Race members! Her methods couldn’t be gauged by cultivation!

"Seventh of the Nine-Tailed, Cat-speed!"

Black Evil Sect unleashed the first of the Nine Great Divine Skills belonging to the Royal Jiuli Clan.

This was her first time using such a Jiuli mystical power before Ning Fan. Among the nine kinds of Jiuli mystical powers, this was the least consuming.

The instant Cat-speed activated, Black Evil Sect’s speed seemed to unlock a floodgate, skyrocketing a hundredfold, a thousandfold without stop!

Her speed was originally absurdly fast; what does it mean to increase a hundredfold thousandfold further? That was a level Ning Fan’s current extreme speed couldn’t reach!

Naturally, Iron General’s iron punch hit only air, shattering heavens, countless layers of the void, yet couldn’t harm Black Evil Sect even slightly.

"How’s that possible! What kind of Cat Demon is this, showing such explosive speed with Five Tribulations Immortal King’s power! Wait, I think I’ve heard of this mystical power before; she’s not a Cat Demon, she is, she is..."

"Seventh of the Nine-Tailed, Cat-sword!"

With Cat-speed activated, Black Evil Sect’s figure completely escaped Iron General’s perception, of course, such speed could not be sustained given her current cultivation, thus she must quickly resolve the battle.

She used the seventh transformation of the Jiuli, turning her entire body into a dark shining scimitar!

This scimitar is specifically meant to cut through the Dao Soul Clan! It slices through them like tofu!

When the Black Evil Sect had exerted the full power of the Cat-sword Mystical Powers, they easily beheaded a Quasi-Saint Dao Carp. Of course, given her current cultivation, to fully unleash the Cat-sword Mystical Powers would require a huge price. This time, she didn’t pay such a price, so the power wasn’t at its peak. Even so, with a flash of the blade, the Iron General’s head was already sent flying, blood splattering through the sky!

"Big Sister is mighty!" The Dao-Destroying Thunder Infant was almost moved to tears. Indeed, the Big Sister she recognized was truly formidable! The Iron General whom she couldn’t defeat was actually defeated by a single slash from Big Sister! So powerful!

"Is this the little cat you usually keep by your side? It’s actually this powerful!" Aflo was shocked by the Black Evil Sect’s fierce strength; such ferocity completely disregarded cultivation levels, an absolute suppression of the superior over the inferior!

"No, that person wasn’t injured at all, Black Evil Sect, come back!" Ning Fan shouted suddenly.

As expected! Despite the gruesome scene of the Iron General’s beheading, eerily, with his powers, the blood that had sprayed out astonishingly flew back into his neck, and the severed head returned to the neck, with the wound healing instantly.

This Saint-level power of the Light Ant Clan was too formidable, showcasing strength that completely crushed most other Half-Saints of the Era of Decline, utterly unharmed by the Cat-sword Mystical Powers!

He was a powerful being.

He was also an arrogant individual by nature.

If it were anyone else failing to kill him in one strike, once his head was back on, he would definitely taunt the opponent harshly.

But facing the Black Evil Sect, he couldn’t muster any arrogance, even though her strike didn’t injure him in the slightest.

"Royal, Royal Jiuli! You’re of the Royal Jiuli! Damn, this place is no longer safe! Such a monster!"

The Iron General’s figure flickered and turned into a stream of light, actually fleeing directly!

It wasn’t Black Evil Sect’s strength that scared him, but rather her identity!

If the opponent is a Royal Jiuli, one cannot measure the danger purely based on cultivation! As a lower-ranked Dao Soul Clan himself, facing the Royal Jiuli alone was tremendously disadvantageous!

The Light Ant Clan ranks eleventh among the Dao Soul Clans, it seems the gap between eleventh and fourth isn’t substantial, but only those truly standing atop the myriad Dao Soul Clans know the insurmountable chasm between eleven and four!

Moreover, he wasn’t even a royal Light Ant, while she was indeed Royal Jiuli!

Royal Jiuli obliterating human destiny over a casual disagreement, that is the most terrifying aspect!

"Think you can leave? I won’t let you get away that easily!"

Shing!

Ning Fan’s figure blurred, blocking the Iron General’s path.

In a panic, the Iron General no longer held back, using an iron fist to display the Saint Ant Sect’s secret physical technique, a punch that seemed world-shattering with unparalleled might!

This attack was terrifying; however, Ning Fan’s Divine Spirit Body wasn’t easily defeated either. Although his cultivation was limited, the might of his Divine Spirit Body remained; with a casual punch, the Ancient Demon Mountain-Shattering Strike met the Iron General head-on.

Boom!

At the moment of collision, Ning Fan and the Iron General were both knocked back a great distance, but neither was injured.

Ning Fan’s current Ancient Demon Mountain-Shattering Strike couldn’t harness its full power, yet it still left the Iron General in shock.

He was one of the Saint Ant Sect’s rare body-cultivation masters, yet he couldn’t comprehend the intricacy of Ning Fan’s physical technique at all; that moment’s explosive might seemed like a completely unseen approach in the physical cultivation realm...

"Damn! This kid is indeed unusual! In that moment of battle, I distinctly sensed the vast mana sealed within him, definitely surpassing ten thousand tribulations! Is this damned brat truly a Quasi-Saint with feigned cultivation! With a Quasi-Saint blocking my path and a Royal Jiuli seeking my life, am I supposed to perish here today? I refuse to accept this!"

The Iron General bellowed furiously, as though both angry and summoning something.

In the next instant, the nearby desert began to tremble violently, with countless low-level Light Ants emerging from the ground, transforming into light to merge into the Iron General’s body.

If the fusion succeeded, the Iron General’s power would most certainly soar, possibly breaking through the Half-Saint bottleneck and attaining Quasi-Saint cultivation in a short period. He was quite challenging to deal with now; should his cultivation advance further, he would be an absolute nemesis.

Thus, learning the lesson, Ning Fan did not intend to give the Iron General a chance to fuse with the Light Ants. Utilizing an Illusory Art, he had already launched it, pulling the Iron General and those crawling Light Ants into the spiritual world.

Illusory Art, Primordial Rainy Night!

Due to Ning Fan’s limited cultivation, the illusory art couldn’t exert its full power, unable to fully restrain the Iron General, who broke out of the illusion in no time.

But Ning Fan’s purpose of utilizing this technique wasn’t targeting the Iron General, but rather striking against those low-level Light Ants attempting to merge with him.

Even with limited power, the technique was highly effective in a mass extermination of low-level ants. Just one illusory art enveloped the sky and earth, eradicating hundreds of thousands or even millions of low-level Light Ants. This high-level conflict was never something for a low-level cultivator to meddle in, and the fallen Light Ants were living proof!

"Damn! I can’t merge now, in that case, I shall..."

The Iron General’s face looked exceptionally grim, about to employ some secret trump card when he suddenly froze, his expression becoming increasingly uncomfortable, showing an overly frightened face.

He hadn’t displayed such excessive fear even when facing the Royal Jiuli!

But at that moment, it indeed appeared!

At that moment, the sound of bells suddenly echoed throughout the world!

That bell sound, most powerful members of the Light Ant Clan were very familiar with, akin to a nightmare!

"How, how could this be! A foreign Quasi-Saint and a Royal Jiuli had already worn me down, and now there’s an old madman! Damn it! Wasn’t he suppressed beneath the twelfth layer by Lady Yin Mu, how did he escape! I can’t stay here any longer, I have to leave!"

The Iron General hesitated no further, spitting out a puppet figure.

As soon as this figure emerged, it grew with the wind, transforming into a puppet giant as tall as a mountain.

Unlike any puppet Ning Fan had seen before, this puppet was extremely unique, seemingly unable to operate independently, nor could it be controlled through conventional means like puppet strings...

This was a puppet crafted from the corpse of an Ancient Cultivator, and though it was extremely dilapidated, the aura it exuded frightened Ning Fan.

This was a Quasi-Saint puppet!

At the puppet’s Dantian position, there was an array room as though it was for masters to enter, controlling the puppet from the inside.

Although it was a Quasi-Saint puppet, it didn’t seem to be the durable type, appearing to be a special puppet with limited usage...

In an instant, the Iron General transformed into a stream of light, entering the array room within the puppet’s Dantian, and the next moment, the once lifeless puppet suddenly seemed to come alive, its gaze bright and ferocious!

"Humph! The situation’s too tough, I won’t stay here any longer, I’m leaving first! If you try to stop me again, I’ll use this puppet to settle the score with you!"

The puppet snorted coldly and turned to leave. This time, Ning Fan did not stop it.

The Iron General’s use of the quasi-Saint puppet gave Ning Fan a sense of danger almost as intense as that posed by masters like the Pure Yang Ancestral Master, a quasi-Saint in title.

Thus, Ning Fan wasn’t absolutely sure he could eliminate this person, and he was eager to save Bei Xiao Man. If he truly engaged in a prolonged battle here with the Iron General, even if victorious, it would cost him several days or more, and he didn’t have that kind of time to waste.

Moreover, Ning Fan was very concerned about the mysterious sound of bells suddenly appearing all around. The instant the bells rang, it seemed some supreme presence was drawing near, posing far greater danger than the Iron General...

Given the circumstances, Ning Fan couldn’t afford to tangle with the Iron General now. What if the owner of the bells turned out to be an enemy? When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman stands to benefit, and that’s not a good thing, he needed to conserve some energy to confront any contingency...

"Strange, truly strange, this [Holy Sect Puppet] seems to have subtle differences compared to those I’ve seen in the past. Hm, it requires some studying... Brother Donkey, use the puppet hoof I modified for you to block this person!"

From the clouds, an old man’s voice suddenly rang out, slightly antiquated.

The moment the old man’s voice sounded, a colossal donkey hoof descended from the sky, kicking the Iron General puppet who was desperate to escape.

This was a bona fide quasi-Saint puppet!

Yet it was struck by the unknown origin donkey hoof, breaking through the puppet’s body, shattering the puppet’s heart location crystal core!

The Iron General spat blood, flying out of the puppet formation room, crashing heavily into the desert, forming a giant sand crater with a radius of several hundred miles. Once the Holy Sect puppet’s crystal core was broken, unless thoroughly repaired, it was rendered useless. Now he was in trouble!

He struggled to get up from the ground, wanting to continue fleeing, but it was already too late.

Just then, the shadow of the donkey flickered, and an old man sitting backward on a donkey appeared instantly before the Iron General, blocking his path.

Realizing he couldn’t escape the old man’s clutches after all, the Iron General’s expression changed drastically, but he still forced himself to stay calm, gritting his teeth and clasping his fists towards the old man.

"[All-Knowing Senior], please, sir, have mercy. I’ve already been researched by you several times; this time, let it go..."

"Mercy? Why is there a distinction between noble and low hands, strange, strange... Have I really researched you several times? Why does the old me have no impression of you? Did I delete the memory regarding you as junk? Anyway, why are you so afraid of me, an old Nascent Soul cultivator? Why call me senior, when I should be calling you senior... Oh, I initially wanted to study your Holy Sect puppet, but it’s just the donkey brother kicked the crystal core, and repairing it won’t be easy, losing its research value temporarily... Never mind, studying you will be just as sufficient..."

The old man casually confiscated the Iron General’s quasi-Saint puppet as a trophy. Witnessing this, the Iron General’s anger flared, but he dared not speak nor retrieve the puppet from the elder.

The old man put away the puppet and then took out a glass bottle from his storage pouch.

The bottle contained some yellow-green viscous liquid, not knowing what it was. When the Iron General saw the elder take out this bottle of unknown liquid, his face turned green with fear, without daring to show anger.

"How should I address this predecessor?" the elder inquired.

"Iron, Iron Mountain..."

"Constantly calling predecessor is too formal, I’ll overextend myself and call you Brother Iron. Brother Iron, look, it’s a Spirit enhancement concoction I’ve been researching recently. As I’m merely a Nascent Soul cultivator and haven’t cultivated Spirit, I’m not sure how effective this liquid is on Spirit enhancement. Brother Iron, you wouldn’t mind taking a sip to help me test its efficacy, right?"

"Senior, please stop joking! Everyone knows you’re the [Greatest Nascent Soul Cultivator of Ancient and Modern Times], confined to Nascent Soul indeed, yet even the ancient great cultivators couldn’t deal with you, can’t kill you! With your prowess, you could easily find a plethora of experimental material, why pick on me! I won’t drink it! The last time I drank your concoction, I lost twelve million years of Taoist cultivation live! This time you’d have to kill me before I drink it!" Iron General protested with a crestfallen face.

"Ah, this concoction is genuinely a good thing, not a poison, why don’t you believe me? Must I force-feed it to you? Brother Donkey, kindly transform into the Ding Chou puppet shape, assume a human form, hug this predecessor from behind, force open this predecessor’s mouth, for I must feed this predecessor the concoction."

The old man jumped down from the donkey’s back; its neck adorned with a large bell, appearing exceedingly comical. Upon closer inspection, it became evident that this donkey wasn’t living, but a puppet donkey fashioned entirely from puppet materials, the old man’s pride and joy.

As the old man gave the order, the puppet parts on the donkey began to misalign and transform. In an instant, it turned from a donkey into a man with a donkey’s head—a puppet soldier, exuding an aura close to a First Order Quasi-Saint.

Following the old man’s command, the donkey puppet tightly embraced the Iron General from behind and forced open the Iron General’s mouth.

The Iron General, unable to break free, was in tears and utterly subdued as the old man administered the drug, his expression like a young bride being humiliated.

Ten breaths later.

The once formidable Iron General, with a semi-Saint cultivation and an extremely dominant physical body, was foaming at the mouth, knocked unconscious by the old man’s potion. His cultivation plummeted significantly, dropping an estimated seventy to eighty million years of Taoist practice, proving that previous tales of the old man drugging and downgrading cultivation were not mere rumors; this concoction truly causes one’s cultivation to decline...

"Uh, did I mix up the potion’s components again? Sigh, it seems that this research data isn’t worth saving, better to just delete it..." The old man murmured to himself, suddenly rolling his eyes back, a cracking noise sounded in his head, and after a moment, his gaze returned to normal.

In such a blink of an eye, he astonishingly deleted a portion of his own memory.

Completely forgetting what he just experimented on the poor Iron General. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Uh? How did a half-saint with severely damaged cultivation end up knocked out here? And why are there signs of a struggle? Uh? How come my storage pouch contains a Holy Sect Puppet with its crystal core destroyed? Strange, strange... Did I do something outrageous again? Sigh, getting old makes me forgetful. I guess I deleted some useless memories again. Oh well, since it’s a memory I actively chose to erase, it must not have been important, no need to bother with this unconscious half-saint. Hmm? Seems like there’s some good research material over here..."

The old man’s gaze twitched, noticing Ning Fan’s group.

"Hiss! A Jiuli with royal blood, a true-blooded Dao-Destroying Thunder Infant, an ancestral-blooded Shark person, if I could capture these people for some experiments, my research on bloodline evolution potions would surely advance significantly! Hmm? Wait, what is this boy here? An ancient god? Ancient demon? Ancient chaos grand emperor? Taicang Calamity Spirit? Barbarian god? Hiss! There’s a divine status on him! It’s actually a divine spirit! Inconceivable! In my lifetime, I actually encounter a spirit with divine status!"

The old man’s eyes glowed green, his expression akin to a lecher seeing a naked beauty!

At this moment, his eyes were only on Ning Fan, no longer caring about any nonsense Jiuli royal blood, true-blooded Dao-Destroying Thunder Infant, and even heaven and earth ceased to exist—time and space seemed to freeze!

What an obsessed gaze!

This boy, he must have him, he must, for with him, countless whimsical experiments can be conducted!

"Senior, I wish to conduct an experiment with you, will you accompany me? As long as you come with me, I am willing to treat you like an ancestor!" The old man said enthusiastically, brooking no refusal.

"What if I refuse?" Ning Fan said solemnly. Towards this erratic elder, Ning Fan was absolutely wary. The sense of crisis this person brought was too strong! Comparable to figures like Blood God Geng Wu and Niu Manshan encountered before! What does this mean? What is this elder’s cultivation, what status does he hold, could he be an ancient great cultivator! If so, encountering him now is truly unfortunate!

"Refuse? Sigh, how can you refuse my kindness? Are you just like those ordinary people, hoping I let you go? Sigh, even if I agree to let you go, my Brother Donkey will not. Brother Donkey, this experimental material refuses to come with us, I feel so sad, like crying! What should we do!"

As soon as the old man finished, the human puppet with a donkey’s head, expressionless, charged at Ning Fan, answering with actions!

"Submit, or die!" The killing intent of the donkey puppet surged sky-high, its aura nearly reaching Quasi-Saint!

Ning Fan sighed slightly.

He wanted to seal his cultivation and purify his mana slowly!

But now, it seemed he would have to unseal his mana, for the enemy was too strong!

So be it, he would reseal his cultivation afterward!

"Multi-layered Soul-sealing, release!"