Chapter 28: The Battle of Manfeng Mountain

Thud.

In the carriage, a black piece fell, the sound not loud.

The scholar, who was the Zhuangyuan Lang, opposite him glanced at the black piece, his eyes sharp as he picked up a white piece and placed it down aggressively.

Ning Taiyi quietly looked at the piece that was full of killing intent and wanted to destroy the entire dragon, and did not speak, but slowly took out a black piece from the chess jar and rubbed it between his fingertips.

He was looking at the chessboard.

And the scholar was looking at him.

He raised his head and met the scholar’s gaze.

At this glance, Ning Taiyi frowned, while the scholar was full of vigor and had a sense of pressing urgency.

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

“Grandpa, Great Grandpa~~”

Ning Taiyi’s expression moved.

This was a child of the Ning residence, but not surnamed Ning.

These children were slowly brought into the Ning residence by him. Some of them even came with women and servants.

The first lady of the Ning residence asked him where these people came from.

Ning Taiyi said that they were the descendants of some friends he had made when he was young. They were suffering outside, and some of them were even on the verge of death. He felt pity for them, so he brought them over after finding them.

The first lady asked what kind of friends they were.

Ning Taiyi said that they were friends who had gone through life and death together.

The first lady asked again, since they were your friends, why were they on the verge of death?

Ning Taiyi said that that friend had died for him, and had been dead for many, many years.

The first lady believed in Buddhism and was kind-hearted, so she kept all these people.

And Ning Taiyi was not lying. How could he not have a few friends who had died for him along the way? After a hasty farewell, when they met again, it was a scene of ruins, and the descendants were struggling to survive.

He brought back these descendants of his former friends, and these people had also branched out and formed a huge Ning family. Of course, these children were also very grateful to him and close to him, so when they knew he was back, they would often happily come to find him. In the past, he would also play with these children.

“Great Grandpa!”

The child stopped outside the carriage.

And soon, a woman rushed over, pulled the child away, and at the same time apologized to the soldiers outside, repeatedly saying “the child is ignorant.”

The scholar glanced at Ning Taiyi, his gaze falling on the black piece held by Ning Taiyi, and then he scanned the dragon below, and suddenly said lightly, “Mr. Taiyi is old after all. Within three moves, this dragon will be taken by me.”

Ning Taiyi was silent.

He could see that the Zhuangyuan Lang’s skill in conversation was quite high.

He looked calm now, but his mind was in a mess, and he was indeed no match.

The scholar said, “Actually, there is another way to save the dragon.”

Ning Taiyi’s eyebrows twitched, and he immediately closed his eyes. His whole body’s nerves were tense.

Of course he knew what the scholar was talking about.

The scholar was saying that as long as the person outside the chess game admitted defeat, the pieces inside the chess game could still be preserved.

The scholar was asking him to stop all unnecessary actions and immediately withdraw Chou Nu.

The wheel of fortune turns, and the Ning family has come to an end.

If he continued to play, the scholar would not be merciful.

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

However, he thought of something even more terrifying.

This Zhuangyuan Lang was meticulous in his thinking and decisive in his actions. It was just that he had made a few extra moves, and the Zhuangyuan Lang had actually brought people from General Qin’s residence in a swift and decisive manner.

Then… the Zhuangyuan Lang already knew that the problem was in Manfeng Mountain.

Would he have no arrangements for Manfeng Mountain?

His handover with the Zhuangyuan Lang was decided half a year ago. In this half a year… would a person destined to become a prefect not have cultivators come to seek refuge?

‘Not good!!’

Ning Taiyi was suddenly startled.

He had miscalculated. He had underestimated the Zhuangyuan Lang!

Or rather, he had never thought that the Zhuangyuan Lang would be so decisive!

Who would suppress with all their might at the first sign of trouble? Shouldn’t they test the waters first?

Suddenly…

He showed a bitter smile. He realized that it was not that he had underestimated the Zhuangyuan Lang, but that he was old.

In this world, who wasn’t scheming?

That was their life and property, their power and glory. Who would dare not to scheme?

The Zhuangyuan Lang smiled and said, “How about it, Mr. Taiyi, are you still playing this game? How about this, I’ll tap this white piece ten times. After ten times, you can make a decision.”

As he spoke, he picked up the white piece and gently tapped it on the edge of the chessboard.

[Yin Wind Ox]

Life attribute, common family, constitution 3.5.

Yin Wind Evil: Summons yin wind, rolls up evil qi, corrodes bones and flesh.

Ning Xuan quickly scanned the core words on the Heavenly Demon Record, and then without hesitation, he replaced [Mountain-Crashing Bear] with [Yin Wind Ox].

His constitution also changed from 4.7 to 5.0.

And just as this change took place, his eyes were filled with golden light.

A glance to the side, and he saw that Chou Nu had sat down cross-legged at some point, with an expression of being detached from the world.

And the golden seal that appeared above his head began to… smash.

One smash, a large area.

Ning Xuan asked himself, if he were to charge and kill with his saber, he could at most kill two or three with one slash.

But this large seal smashed a large area with one smash, and that area was as large as the reception halls of two large households.

Bang!!

In an instant, more than twenty small demons standing densely together fell to the ground.

These fallen small demons were not dead. Their eyes could even still be open.

But even if they were open, they were motionless, completely without strength, and could only be slaughtered at will.

Fortunately, the speed at which this large seal smashed was not very fast, and it had a slow rhythm like a blacksmith swinging a hammer.

In the gap between each swing, it was enough for some fast demons to escape, or… to launch a sneak attack.

After all, any discerning person could see that this Heavenly Master who could control the large seal was not strong himself.

Bang!

Another smash, and a group of small demons fell.

The remaining ones finally reacted.

First, the great king was killed in one blow, and then there was this kind of crushing attack.

The small demons were like monkeys when a tree falls, and they began to flee in all directions in a sorry state.

The large seal chased after them and smashed them.

But Ning Xuan was not in a hurry to chase and kill those fallen small demons, but stayed by Chou Nu’s side without leaving.

The small demons ran, quickly moving away.

But in the distance, a wind suddenly rose.

A gust of black wind blew, blurring the vision. Suddenly, a huge, terrifying sheep’s head appeared in the black wind. The sheep’s head was suspended in mid-air, appearing and disappearing, ethereal and strange. As soon as it appeared, it suddenly flashed forward dozens of zhang, approaching.

However, Ning Xuan’s constitution was extremely strong now, and his perception of qi and blood was also extremely strong. His constitution clearly crushed the sheep-headed demon in the black wind, so… he was not confused by the black wind.

He clearly perceived that the sheep-headed demon that had moved forward dozens of zhang in an instant was just an illusion. The real sheep-headed demon was still dozens of zhang away.

This kind of ghostly thing was what Heavenly Masters feared the most.

Because the demonic qi was confusing, Heavenly Masters could not distinguish the true from the false of the demonic art.

But he didn’t have time to speak. He moved.

The long Beast-Slaying Saber, still stained with the fresh blood of the ox demon, drew a semi-arc, and with a wide and sweeping straight slash, it swept towards a certain point in the air behind Chou Nu.

There was clearly nothing in the air, but his saber still slashed over extremely quickly.

Just as it was about to hit.

An extremely ear-piercing hum of a weapon sounded.

Dang!!!

In the air behind Chou Nu, a transparent outline appeared.

It was a strange white ape, tall, with a snow-white body, fur five inches long, a pale face, and its eyes were full of evil and lewdness. The metal long rod in its hand was pressing against Ning Xuan’s saber.

The sheep demon attracted, and the monkey demon launched a sneak attack.

The monkey demon twisted its neck, its evil eyes staring at Ning Xuan, and said with a “tsk tsk,” “Strange.”

As soon as the words fell, Chou Nu was not slow.

The golden seal in the sky immediately moved over and smashed down on the monkey demon.

The monkey demon let out a strange cry, and its tail whipped the ground like a long whip. With a “thud,” it exerted force, and at the same time, the rod in its hand pressed down hard. The two forces carried it quickly backwards. Its figure flickered, and it was about to disappear into the air.

The seated Chou Nu’s ghost mask was grim. He pressed his two fingers together and said coldly, “Suppress!”

The large seal instantly expanded, getting bigger and bigger, until it became a golden mountain.

The golden mountain pressed down on the monkey demon.

The monkey demon had nowhere to hide. Its eyes were filled with horror, and it screamed, repeatedly crying out, “Still not making a move?! Still not making a move!!!”

Ning Xuan’s gaze shifted slightly. The huge sheep’s head in the black wind teleported over again.

Fake.

He made a judgment.

It came again.

Still fake.

He made another judgment.

However, the third time, he moved.

Because in the rolling black wind, the sheep demon had really come.

He stepped on the ground, not looking at the monkey demon.

Big Brother’s strength was far beyond his imagination. In today’s great battle, it could be said that Big Brother had pressed all the demons to the ground, letting him slash them one by one at will.

This made him even more certain of the unfathomable depth of this dynasty.

The demons were certainly terrifying, but the dynasty was even more terrifying.

A demonic forbidden land like Manfeng Mountain was originally… just a game at the prefectural level. It wasn’t that they couldn’t move, or that they were unable to move, but that it wasn’t time to move.

If it was time, they could be wiped out in such a crushing manner.

Today, it was just Big Brother hastily bringing him to the scene. If it had been properly arranged, there would not have been much suspense.

The common people were afraid, the soldiers were nervous, the Fangshi were worried… but, the Heavenly Masters and the truly high-ranking officials had always known clearly: everything was still as stable as Mount Tai, and the foundation had not been shaken in the slightest.

Many thoughts flashed through his mind, and Ning Xuan’s saber had already met the sheep demon opposite him.

But just then…

Just at this moment, he smelled the human smell.

Not Big Brother, but two extra ones!

Those two were downwind. If not for that, he should have smelled them earlier. Smelling them at this moment meant that those two people were already very close.

A doubt just arose in his mind, and a golden light appeared before his eyes.

A golden light rose from not far away, turning into a large seal, and suppressed him straight and fast.

The sheep demon screamed, and a residual image was pulled out in the black wind, and it fled in a panic.

Just kidding, it couldn’t even beat one large seal, and now there was another one?

Ning Xuan’s slash missed.

The next moment, the large seal fell, but it did not fall on the sheep demon, but on Ning Xuan!

Bang!

With just one blow, Ning Xuan was smashed until he was dizzy and saw stars. He felt that his soul had been smashed out, and his whole body went limp and fell down.

The seal was pressing on him.

On the other side, Chou Nu’s seal also suppressed the monkey demon.

Although it was unexpected, the sheep demon was so scared that it didn’t dare to stay, and fled for its life.

In the distance, two figures appeared.

One was in a purple robe, and the other was a burly man with a crazed expression and bloodshot eyes.

The purple-robed Heavenly Master sighed lightly, “I wanted to suppress him and let the demon kill him. Taoist boy, you make a move.”

The burly man did not hesitate. He raised his hand and flipped it, and with extreme speed and skill, he took out a giant crossbow as tall as a person from his back, then pulled the giant crossbow, and pulled the trigger at the colleague who had been knocked unconscious.

An arm-thick crossbow bolt shot out with a bang!

Chou Nu had just suppressed the monkey demon, and at this time, it was too late to attack the burly man again.

What’s more, the burly man had already shot the arrow.

He couldn’t be bothered to control the Heavenly Master’s Seal anymore. He suddenly opened his eyes and roared, “No!!”

Ning Xuan was the hope of the Ning family.

The eyes behind the ghost mask instantly turned red. The earth-遁 (dì dùn – earth escape) technique required at least three breaths to activate, and during a great battle, there was simply no time to use it.

He rushed towards Ning Xuan, wanting to block this arrow for him.

After confirming that Ning Xuan had the qualifications to become a general, Ning Xuan’s importance was ranked ahead of his.

He could die, but Ning Xuan could not!

Ning Xuan was constantly changing the Heavenly Demon Record.

After changing to the [Incense-Stealing Mouse] Heavenly Demon Record, his “spirit” suddenly changed from “1” to “5.5.”

When his spirit reached “5.5,” he felt his soul instantly return to his body.

Sure enough, the Heavenly Master’s attack was a soul-suppressing attack.

He stood up.

He stood up in the horrified gazes of the burly man and the purple-robed man opposite him. He raised his hand and grabbed the crossbow bolt that had shot over and was already in front of him, then he grabbed the tail of the arrow and stabbed it fiercely into his own chest.

Bang!!

The Swallow’s Cry Power exploded, and the crossbow bolt shattered.

Ning Xuan raised his head and let out a crazed laugh of “huff ha ha ha ha.” The next moment, he exerted force with his palm, and the Swallow’s Cry Power sounded wildly. He threw the Beast-Slaying Saber out with a mad force.

The saber’s shadow was like a long rainbow.

It arrived in an instant.

One slash, two pierced.

The purple-robed man and the burly man not far away were pierced together and flew high into the air.