Chapter 1296: Ancient Celestial Whale
Chapter 1296: Chapter 1296: Ancient Celestial Whale
Jiuli, ranked fourth among the Dao Soul Clans.
This clan is notorious for daring to hunt even the Heavenly Dao Souls and frequently preying on other Dao Soul clans, seizing their luck, disrupting their fate, acting lawlessly, resulting in countless enemies.
In the Realms, many paradises of green hills and fresh water have blacklisted Jiuli, but not all—such as the Enlightenment Tree Consciousness Realm, which has not explicitly forbidden this matter.
Thus, whenever Jiuli connects to the Enlightenment Tree, it often causes disturbances: either Jiuli initiates trouble, or Jiuli is hunted by others for revenge.
In the Dao Realm, all beings are fish, but only Jiuli has cat teeth, possessing an innate advantage. Even if others wish to take revenge on Jiuli, it is not easy. Cats restrain fish, an established rule by the Great Dao, and here, this restraint is magnified more than tenfold!
Fish with Thirty Thousand Calamity Mana can only inflict Three Thousand Calamity damage when attacking Jiuli; the same Three Thousand Calamity Mana from Jiuli can bite a fish akin to a strike from a Three-Era Sage!
Thus, it is not difficult to understand why the fish are horrified at the sight of Jiuli’s fangs—with common reasoning, as long as Jiuli is present, today’s insight will not be peaceful.
Even in this realm, a few Saint Fish are wary of Ning Fan.
"The prohibition of selling Three Realms Dao Tea Dao Fruit to Jiuli is a standard practice, yet this fox still manages to connect to the Enlightenment Tree?"
"A Third Order Quasi-Saint cannot even resist slightly but is directly devoured..."
"Though dying in this realm does not damage the true body, one will lose the hard-earned opportunity for enlightenment... With this fox’s cultivations, it is enough to harm the Initial Saint, truly troubling..."
"There is no need to provoke this fox, and I hope this fox does not provoke me, otherwise..."
Ning Fan is oblivious to how his Jiuli fangs cause fear among the fish.
Instead, he thinks that cultivating steadily is too slow, and killing and plundering treasures is faster.
"’Bitter cultivation’ for eight hours has only yielded three thousand Yin-Yang Qi; eating a Third Order Quasi-Saint Fish directly grabs seven thousand... The method of overnight riches has only ever existed in the Heavenly Decrees."
"If only I could rob all the fish in this realm... Hmm, this is quite unrealistic. Ordinary fish may be unable to defeat me, but if the situation is unfavorable, they can sever the consciousness connection and escape this realm... Besides, there are several Saints in this realm, if I act too wildly, it may provoke anger, possibly leading to a siege, where two fists are hard to combat four hands..."
So, how can one net all the fish here...
With a fish spear, a single stab may harvest some, but it will surely scare the fish away; but if bait is set in the net, encouraging the fish to come voluntarily...
"I only had three thousand Yin-Yang Qi, which attracted fish wanting to kill me; now I have ten thousand Yin-Yang Qi, so surely those who covet will increase, if used as bait... Hmm? Strange..."
Ning Fan suddenly feels perplexed.
When he only had three thousand Yin-Yang Qi, he sensed six or seven killing intents secretly locked onto him—the Third Order Quasi-Saint who attacked him was only one of them, there should be several more who harbor greed but have not made their move.
However, now, despite having more Yin-Yang Qi, all those killing intents have retreated, not increased, but diminished.
"Could it be because I killed a big favor-level existence too easily, scaring those fish so they dare not act rashly?"
"Admittedly, I just casually devoured him, without using any formidable skills, yet easily killed a big favor-level existence... Are they truly so weak? Although I have over a hundred thousand consciousnesses now, there seems to be a deeper factor that favors me and disadvantages the opponent, causing this result..."
In this inconceivable world, the Unity of Heaven and Man is greatly restricted, so Ning Fan cannot easily discern causes like usual. He doesn’t know that at this moment, his fusion with Jiuli’s consciousness grants him a nearly divine restraint over other fish.
Fish that desire ten thousand Yin-Yang Qi dare not provoke a Jiuli at the Immortal King level.
Saint Fish that can potentially defeat the Immortal King Jiuli wouldn’t covet mere ten thousand Yin-Yang Qi, nor provoke a formidable enemy for petty gains, thereby hindering their enlightenment.
And if the opponents do not come individually to cause trouble, lining up to deliver themselves, Ning Fan has no reasonable excuse for self-defense. Before hundreds of fish, he does not readily resort to blatant robbery—primarily worried that the commotion would be too large, scaring the fish away before robbing a few.
"If I exhibit difficulty when killing the opponent, or pretend to be a tough victory after mutual damage, perhaps many fish would seize my weakness and attack now..."
"I haven’t deceived anyone for a long time, feeling a bit rusty, which isn’t good, contradicts my master’s teachings..."
[A demon must know deception, or he cannot survive in the world!]
[What cannot be obtained rightly, seize it reversely! What cannot be seized openly, attain it secretly!]
[Either dominate the world or deceive the world!]
At this moment, Ning Fan, facing hundreds of fish alone, recalls Old Monster Han’s earnest teachings.
Whether wanting to hunt hundreds of fish alone, or wanting to rewrite reincarnation and destiny alone, it is not something achievable with mere passion—if power is lacking, then one must resort to any means, being born a demon, one can deceive, one can ambush, one can disregard noble virtues, but must never compromise with fate...
As the Moral Sage, it seems reasonable for him to have a flexible moral baseline, right?
In an instant, Ning Fan came up with more than a dozen cunning plans to lure the fish to bite...
But plans cannot catch up with changes!
Yet an unexpected twist happened before the plan!
Didn’t Ning Fan snatch seven thousand Yin-Yang Qi, causing the Yin-Yang Qi within him to surpass ten thousand?
With the surge in Yin-Yang Qi, a spark of epiphany suddenly appeared in Ning Fan’s mind — blessed with extraordinary insight, he unintentionally grasped a bit of the Dao method of this realm.
In a flash, Tianren Green Light flickered in Ning Fan’s eyes, and around him were surrounded by the light of thousands of Sun Essence and moonlight.
The form of the solidified Yin-Yang Qi was, indeed, the sun and the moon. At this moment, Ning Fan was surrounded by the sun and moon, sacred and untouchable. With a small turn of his hand, it seemed he could seize the sun and moon.
But that is not the focus here. The focus is that the thousands of sun and moonlight began to condense into something, consuming continuously. In just a few breaths, the ten thousand Yin-Yang Qi that Ning Fan snatched and painstakingly cultivated was completely used up!
The consumed Yin-Yang Qi condensed into a gold paper.
The gold paper was initially golden, but as soon as it touched the outside world, it immediately weathered into stone, turning into a stone paper.
Inside the stone paper seemed to be sealed with some Dao techniques, which cannot be directly viewed but require special means to read its content.
The only thing visible directly is the small number on the corner of the stone paper — written in ancient Immortal Spirit language, the number "twelve".
"Did the ten thousand Yin-Yang Qi in my body disappear? Condensing into a stone paper? This paper seems to have the breath of ancient Immortal Spirit Dao techniques..." Ning Fan’s fish brows furrowed.
"So that’s it, this item is one page of the Ancient Spirit Dao Scroll." Despite the unknown big restrictions, Ning Fan still understood what this paper was.
He had the Ant Lord’s consciousness fused in him, and the Ant Lord understood this stone paper in detail.
For Ning Fan, coming to this Dao realm was only to refine the Yin-Yang Qi; but for other Dao seekers, what is truly precious in this realm is actually the ancient Immortal Spirit Dao techniques hidden here!
Others come here to refine Yin-Yang Qi just to comprehend the Immortal Spirit Dao. If someone with extraordinary insight, the mere act of refining tens of thousands of Yin-Yang Qi here might coalesce the remnants of the Immortal Spirit Dao.
The fragments vary in quality; good remnants can move a Saint, while the bad ones are enough for an Immortal Emperor to fight over.
Yet the more one desires something, sometimes the harder it is to acquire.
For Ning Fan, who came without desire for this realm’s Immortal Spirit Dao techniques, even feeling it would be a pitfall; yet, epiphanies care not for reason, with only ten thousand Yin-Yang Qi, he managed to condense out a piece of scrap paper... an Immortal Spirit remnant page...
Suddenly, six or seven hundred spirit senses locked onto Ning Fan! Though the Immortal King Jiuli is strong, when the price is right, even a Saint would do the dirty work for you!
"How lucky is this Jiuli! Just ten thousand Yin-Yang Qi could produce an Immortal Spirit remnant page?" Some fish were envious and resentful, harboring greed.
"Is it luck, or is this Jiuli’s insight far beyond the ordinary? Common folks need tens of thousands of Yin-Yang Qi to have a slim chance of achieving something; this Jiuli only needs ten thousand to do it?" Some fish sighed at Ning Fan’s prowess and harbored greed.
Even some Saint Fish were secretly locking onto Ning Fan at this moment, but upon realizing that Ning Fan obtained only the mere twelfth page remnant, the Saints withdrew their spirit senses.
The twelfth page Immortal Spirit remnant wasn’t that precious. They had obtained it before — perhaps by their own cultivation or snatched from others... This fragment was useless to them, not worthy of taking action.
Gradually, more and more fish saw the serial number on Ning Fan’s remnant, feeling regretful, and after hesitating, withdrew their spirit senses.
But there were still four or fifty fish steadfastly locking onto Ning Fan, poised to snatch it openly at any moment.
"Pleasant surprise, this remnant is the best bait... Seeing this way, it can’t really be called scrap paper..." Ning Fan reacted quickly. Upon sensing many fish locking onto him, a complex expression of "surprise" and "concern" appeared in his eyes, as if he wanted to immediately sever ties and leave this realm.
Frightening those ill-intentioned individuals, causing them to hurriedly withdraw their lock, not daring to show their malice too openly, fearing it might scare Ning Fan away, losing the chance to kill and seize the treasure.
Seeing the other’s malicious intent quieting down, Ning Fan, who originally planned to leave the Dao realm, seemed a bit hesitant again. After all, the opportunity for insight was tough to come by, and ending too soon would be quite regrettable.
But he couldn’t stay here and be schemed against!
So Ning Fan swept his fishtail, swimming towards the depths of the white mist, seemingly wanting to hide in an unknown place, and quietly continue to gain insights in this realm.
After Ning Fan left, the greedy fish did not immediately follow. Instead, they waited until Ning Fan swam to a distance that was neither too far nor too close, then quietly followed.
There were fifty-one fish following, considering the difficulty of dealing with Jiuli. These fish did not have internal strife but reached a tacit understanding after looking at each other.
First, they would gang up to get rid of this troublesome Jiuli, then rely on their abilities to compete for this Immortal Spirit remnant page!
If there were only three or five fish, they wouldn’t have the confidence to defeat an Immortal King like Jiuli. But if fifty-one Immortal Venerables, Immortal Kings, Immortal Emperors, and Quasi-Saints join forces, this Jiuli will surely fall!
...
Two hours later.
Ning Fan returned, "covered in wounds," looking terrified, fortunate, and resentful, an extremely complex expression.
The fish that pursued him did not return, seemingly killed by Ning Fan or perhaps for another reason.
"Hiss! Even fifty-one of the ancients and Quasi-Saints combined couldn’t capture an Immortal King Jiuli?" Some fish were frightened.
"Strange, I just secretly marked this person’s Immortal Spirit Remnant Page, but now that mark is undetectable. I see, although this Jiuli escaped by chance, he was robbed of his Immortal Spirit Remnant Page and no longer carries it... Once realizing he was outnumbered, this person decisively abandoned his Immortal Spirit Remnant Page and thus avoided further encirclement. The other fish did not return, most likely due to fighting over the remnant page, leaving casualties; the final person who secured the remnant page chose to disconnect from the consciousness realm and left..." Some fish saw through the "truth."
But upon sensing the number of Yin-Yang Qi within Ning Fan, these fish looked displeased once more.
"Fifty-five thousand strands! The number of Yin-Yang Qi within him has increased to such an extent!"
"I see now, this Jiuli is truly cunning! Facing a siege, he knew he couldn’t win and wisely abandoned the remnant page, inciting mutual slaughter among the crowd, while he did not flee immediately but instead launched a secret attack, snatching others’ Yin-Yang Qi amid the melee, eventually seizing fifty-five thousand strands! His injuries are the result of this venture. Thus, although he lost an Immortal Spirit Remnant Page, he gained even more! After all, he only used ten thousand strands of Yin-Yang Qi to condense the remnant page..."
Those who come here to seek enlightenment are mostly renowned old monsters, all deeply scheming individuals. With just slight clues, they can reconstruct many details of the events.
But what if the clues they saw were intentionally displayed by Ning Fan?
The real truth is that after leading those fish away, Ning Fan did indeed throw out the Immortal Spirit Remnant Page as bait, causing the fish to fight each other. But amidst his dishonorable surprise attack, all the fish were wiped out, none escaped, and the Immortal Spirit Remnant Page was reclaimed by him.
The fish extracted Yin-Yang Qi with varying efficiency, carrying more or less Yin-Yang Qi on them. After killing fifty-one fish, Ning Fan only seized forty-five thousand strands of Yin-Yang Qi.
However, Ning Fan crushed the reclaimed Immortal Spirit Remnant Page, using it to condense strands of Yin-Yang Qi, but to his surprise, through the intricate technique of Yin Yang Transformation, he converted them back.
This is the story behind him currently possessing fifty-five thousand strands of Yin-Yang Qi.
Due to Ning Fan intentionally providing misleading clues, those seeking enlightenment here have not seen through his true prowess, and most do not believe Ning Fan has the power to take down fifty-one ancients and Quasi-Saints.
Thus, he gains more space to maneuver, to deceive the next wave of people and continue his fishing enforcement.
"Such waste! You are wasting immense resources! That was the remnant page of the Ancient Spirit Dao Scroll! And you just crushed it..." The Ant Lord lamented. She treasured the Immortal Spirit Remnant Page, but Ning Fan smashed it like garbage, solely to convert the remnant page back into "valuable" Yin-Yang Qi—only this fool Ning Fan would think Yin-Yang Qi is more precious than the Immortal Spirit Dao Law! Truly, buying the contents while returning the pearl, a reversal of priorities!
"Your spirit is connected with mine, you should understand my concerns. The Immortal Spirit Dao Law inherited here may have issues, I do not intend to learn it..." Ning Fan explained in his heart spirit.
"I know you have many misunderstandings about Ancestor Hongjun, but I can vouch for him! The Immortal Spirit Dao Law left by the Ancestor in this realm has absolutely no problems! If there were issues, wouldn’t it harm all Immortal Spirit cultivators of the Three Realms? What do you take the Ancestral Power Talisman for?" The Ant Lord grumbled with annoyance. She holds immense respect and faith for Ancestor Hongjun, who she regards as her life mentor and cannot tolerate others maligning him.
"Naturally, I take the Ancestral Power Talisman as a good person, just like myself..." Ning Fan.
"What makes you think you too, are a good person?" The Ant Lord was speechless.
Ning Fan had no concrete evidence to hammer that the Dao Law here had pitfalls; all his reasoning arose from his extraordinary intuition and instincts, hence he refused to randomly cultivate the Immortal Spirit Dao Law here, nor did he continue to argue with the Ant Lord.
The dispute was tentatively set aside.
Only in Ning Fan’s deep heart remains a trace of sympathy and pity for the Ant Lord.
Upon unlocking the Third Realm of Tianren, Ning Fan witnessed too many causes and effects, too numerous to express. Among some of the causes and effects he witnessed, to whom the Ant Lord regarded as her mentor, Ancestor Hongjun, seemed not to sincerely treat her, rather left certain arrangements on her... this being the reason for his sympathy.
And as for pity...
Upon understanding the gravity of the smile left by the sword ancestor, he genuinely grows more sincere when regarding those smiles.
Many smiles left by the sword ancestor transformed into countless reincarnation shadows, appearing around him in various forms: some became his Dao companions, others under the malice of destiny, became his enemies, his Cauldron Furnace...
Even possibly... among some of the enemies he has killed and harmed, there might be someone who is a reincarnation shadow of the sword ancestor...
[A thousand loneliness, one life of emotions, watching fallen red become dust; beauty like clouds hard to part, part as friends, part as foes]
Once he obtained a marriage divination, hence reflecting back, feeling an aphorism fulfilled.
Ning Fan saw many causes and effects, knowing throughout the long reincarnation, countless swords and blades had pierced the sword ancestor from behind, causing her pain, injuries, coldness, and despair...
Ning Fan just cannot confirm, if among those swords and blades, there exists one of him in an ignorant, self-important life...
Just thinking about this possibility, Ning Fan found it hard to breathe... He had cultivated for a lifetime, yet until now, he truly understood how insignificant and powerless one’s strength was in the face of the vast reincarnation.
He didn’t know if he had the right to blame those who hurt the sword ancestor... He only knew that he didn’t want to see such things happen again.
Whether the Immortal Heir’s trial in the Northern Barbarian Kingdom was real or fake, he didn’t want to disappoint that girl again...
"Is it necessary? It’s just a few arguments with you, and your mood has sunk to such an extent..." Through the connection of thoughts, the Ant Lord could only vaguely sense Ning Fan’s heavy mood.
But gradually, she began to lose sight of what was actually weighing Ning Fan down...
There was a rare but resolute inconceivable force hiding the deepest emotions in Ning Fan’s heart, a new power that emerged after he consumed the Desolate Blood. Though not much, it was very practical.
If the enemy were an all-knowing destiny, then Ning Fan understood that he must become the Riddle Man, must seal off all his thoughts, must have vacant eyes and a mouth full of lies, walking between life and death, truth and falsehood, only then could he qualify to play against the Reverse Saints and others, could he find a glimmer of possible hope in the endless impossibilities. For every step he took at this moment might have been calculated thousands of times by others. He couldn’t outplay others in chess, nor could he turn the entire table over, so he needed to deceive...
"You are overthinking, I just think there’s some truth in what you said, I shouldn’t have been so arbitrary to directly crush the twelfth page of the Immortal Spirit Remnant Page. I should have recorded all of its content before crushing it... Whether to cultivate it or not, the choice is mine, but even if the Immortal Spirit Dao Law has issues, it still has its trade value, it can be sold to others. Even if it’s a scam, it’s better the other Daoists get hurt than me, it doesn’t harm me..." Ning Fan said.
"Tch, regretting now seems a bit late..." The Ant Lord seemed unwilling to let Ning Fan feel more depressed, this time, she didn’t continue to argue over whether the Dao Law had problems, fearing Ning Fan might become overly fragile again.
Ning Fan: "It’s not too late. How I crushed the Immortal Spirit Remnant Page just now, I can also condense it back later..."
Ant Lord: "That’s impossible! The Ancient Spirit Dao Scrolls exist like the Dao Scripture, only an Inverse Saint can write or create one, it is the topmost treasure between heaven and earth, you can’t break it apart and condense it again!"
Ning Fan: "Though I’m unable to do that, Miss Remnant Page just agreed to play a good performance with me of being crushed, later she will condense back by herself, I’ve done this, she can do it... After all, we’ve done this and that, she shouldn’t breach the agreement."
Ant Lord: "Impossible! In this unspeakable world, you can’t communicate with external items!"
Ning Fan: "I just need to establish a connection with her spirit. She was initially reluctant, quite arrogant indeed. But after my Yin Yang Transformation technique, such and such, after 43 times like this, she fainted... no, she agreed."
First using some indescribable technique to make her faint and forcibly establish a spirit connection with her; then communicating across unspeakable barriers, establishing agreements... Though difficult, wasn’t it reasonable?
Also, with an inconceivable force shrouding this matter, the Ant Lord couldn’t even notice what Ning Fan was doing behind her back.
If only it wasn’t so hard to knock out the entire Enlightenment Tree Consciousness Realm, Ning Fan might even...
Ant Lord: "Be a human, Ning the Immortal... she’s just a piece of paper, yet you bullied her 43 times, are you a demon!"
Nanke: "Be a human, little friend! Please, don’t do such things to the Enlightenment Consciousness Realm, otherwise, I really will kick you out!"
Hundred Thousand Cauldrons: "Master, don’t wrong yourself! If there’s really a need, we can handle it!"
Chiwei privately messaged you: [I don’t care what you do with the Ancient Spirit Dao Scroll Remnant Page! But if you dare touch the Chiwei Six Path Scrolls, I’ll roast you into a chestnut!]
Black Evil Sect, Little Dust: "Master defies nature! Whatever master does is right!"
The Heart Spirit chat room instantly filled with a joyful atmosphere, only Ning Fan was misunderstood by the world he created.
His words were seven parts true, three parts false, he really didn’t do anything excessive to the Immortal Spirit Remnant Page.
But as long as everyone believed this event, then this event would become the truth circulating in the world. You can’t defeat an Inverse Saint, let alone the Reverse Saints in their entirety, but if it’s just deception, then why not...
...
Because of the agreement with the Immortal Spirit Remnant Page, with the Yin and Yang Qi surging around Ning Fan, as the brilliance of the sun and moon shone, suddenly ten thousand strands of Yin-Yang Qi were consumed, condensing once again into an Immortal Spirit Remnant Page.
This was actually still the previous page, the sequence number should indeed be "twelve".
But because Ning Fan had communicated with the Immortal Spirit Remnant Page, the Dao law stored within this Remnant Page had not changed, but its sequence number was cunningly falsified by Ning Fan, changed to "forty-three".
This was his deliberate reason for crushing the Remnant Page.
The appearance of the first Immortal Spirit Remnant Page was merely a random event, who could guarantee that Ning Fan, possessing fifty-five thousand Yin Yang Qi, could smoothly condense a second Immortal Spirit Remnant Page?
But he wanted to create this illusion: his Immortal Spirit Remnant Pages were easily snatched, and he could easily condense new Immortal Spirit Remnant Pages.
Even if all this was just a lie, as long as there were fishes willing to believe it, that’s all that mattered.
"Impossible! The first Remnant Page is easily condensed, but the difficulty of the second will double! How could this Jiuli be favored by the Ancestral Power Talisman again, bestowed with a Remnant Page!" Some fish were envious and greedy.
"Forty-three! The Immortal Spirit Scroll has three thousand pages, this page isn’t particularly valuable, but compared to the twelfth remnants page, it is much stronger. It’s worth taking action for..." Some fish were intrigued and greedy.
In an instant, six or seventy fish were focusing on Ning Fan’s movements again, but given their previous experience, they were less brazen than before.
Ning Fan seemed pleasantly surprised; he didn’t expect he could condense a second remnant page. Having learned from the painful experience of losing a remnant page before, now with the treasure in hand, he didn’t want to linger here even for a moment. Yet, he was also reluctant to forgo the precious opportunity of enlightenment. Hesitating, he fled towards another direction in the white mist, as if the previous siege had left a significant psychological shadow on him.
The fishes, however, were much more cautious. The earlier incident had made some of them suspect Ning Fan’s cunning: while they coveted the opponent’s Immortal Spirit Remnant Page, the opponent might also covet their Yin-Yang Qi.
But considering that Ning Fan was "seriously injured" at the moment, it wasn’t very likely that he could replicate the previous gains again.
Eventually, seventy-seven fishes still followed Ning Fan.
Two hours later.
Ning Fan returned "breathless and exhausted," claiming he had "lost" the Immortal Spirit Remnant Page again, and that he only had thirteen thousand strands of Yin-Yang Qi left, not only not gaining more but seemingly having much taken from him, looking rather miserable and pitiful.
The real situation, however, was that this time he had seized even more Yin-Yang Qi, reaching a total of one hundred and thirty thousand strands! But the art of war is deception; appearing to lose might actually be a gain. Ning Fan hid most of the Yin-Yang Qi and feigned misery to meet everyone’s psychological expectations.
Of course, some people saw through the oddity in the situation.
But when Ning Fan condensed the Immortal Spirit Remnant Page for the third time, with the serial number unexpectedly being "204," some were still willing to venture towards the tiger’s den.
Thirty-five fishes tracked Ning Fan once more.
Two hours later, only Ning Fan returned again, "hanging by a thread."
When Ning Fan condensed the Immortal Spirit Remnant Page for the fourth time, even Saints were losing their seats.
This time, Ning Fan simultaneously condensed two remnant pages! One was fake; he casually changed the serial number to "365," while the other was real, numbered exactly "1000."
The Ancient Spirit Dao Scroll consisted of three thousand pages, with the first thousand pages containing the Lesser Celestial Spirit Method, the middle thousand pages containing the Middle Celestial Spirit Method, and the last thousand pages containing the Greater Celestial Spirit Method.
The first thousand-page remnant page that Ning Fan inadvertently condensed this time held a crucial position.
Though it belonged to the Lesser Celestial Spirit Method, it was the strongest among the Lesser Methods!
Even Saints found it hard to resist temptation. However... Saints are insightful; how could they not see the oddity in Ning Fan’s actions? If Ning Fan were easy to deal with, it would have been fine, but he was as cunning as a Nine-Tailed Fox. Even the Initial Saint wasn’t entirely confident of taking Ning Fan down...
After some pondering, the Saints extinguished their greed and decided to continue observing to see how many more tricks Ning Fan might pull.
If their suspicions were correct...
"I fear the previous fishes all fell victim to this Nine-Tailed Fox. At this moment, he not only possesses numerous strands of Yin-Yang Qi but also holds a total of five Immortal Spirit Remnant Pages... If left unchecked, this fox could possibly loot more Yin-Yang Qi, developing more Immortal Spirit Remnant Pages. In such a scenario, it would be best to strike when the mantis catches the cicada, and the oriole lurks behind, ensuring the greatest and most assured gain..."
The Saints believed they had seen through everything. In truth, their reactions were all within Ning Fan’s plan.
The unexpected aspect outside Ning Fan’s plan was the sudden emergence of the first-thousand-page Immortal Spirit Remnant Page.
Fortunately, Ning Fan had long considered the possibility of inadvertently condensing a second Immortal Spirit Remnant Page and had a countermeasure in place. Even if things spiraled out of control and attracted a siege by the Saints, he had already reaped abundant rewards. He could disconnect from the Enlightenment Tree anytime without loss, not necessarily taking out all the fishes here.
And during this time, when even Saints were covertly scheming, there was only one person in the entire arena who never felt an ounce of greed towards Ning Fan’s Immortal Spirit Remnant Pages.
It was a Yin-Yang fish on the verge of becoming a Saint, whose eyes seemed to conceal a vast purple-hued starry sky, seeing through everything in secret.
This fish was none other than the Ziwei Demon Monarch, who had seized the North Pole Mountain in a certain timeline and entered seclusion to become a Saint!
The Enlightenment Consciousness Realm is not bound by time or space and shares the same origin as the Ancient Kingdom Trade Array, allowing connections across different timelines.
Thus, many encounters that were otherwise impossible became possible here.
Yet under the veil of the unknown, no one could unravel such encounters, nor could anyone disrupt the arrangements of destiny. All existing matters were justified by the calculations of fate.
To achieve perfect sainthood, the Ziwei Demon Monarch chose to compromise, agreeing to accept the Immortal Spirit Path arranged by the Archane Saints but secretly connecting to the Enlightenment Tree at the critical moment of becoming a Saint, attempting to mend the flaws in the Immortal Spirit Path.
The Enlightenment Consciousness Realm is peculiar; even the Archane Saints couldn’t fully predict its occurrences, granting the Ziwei Monarch a chance to rewrite destiny.
Others entered this realm to comprehend the Celestial Spirit Methods; he came for a different purpose, not for the Celestial Spirit Methods.
He certainly would not harbor greedy thoughts towards the mere remnant pages in Ning Fan’s possession because, in his hands, he already held the "complete" Ancient Spirit Dao Scroll.
Though said to be complete, it was merely an altered defective version, which he didn’t care about.
The only legend in this Dao Realm that mattered to him was about a certain... a legend about the [Ancient Celestial Whale]!
Messengers of the Endless Sea, the Ancient Celestial Whale! If we can find it, we can find the Origin Sea of the Endless Sea, and there, witness a perfect and flawless immortal spirit inheritance!
The Primordial Scroll is submerged there! This matter may be hidden from most, but it cannot be hidden from those with an inquisitive mind!
"Slaying devil spirits, cultivating immortal spirits, is my compromise with this world, but perhaps the immortal spirit I cultivate need not be flawed! There is still half a day until the Ancient Celestial Whale appears here... This is the result of tens of millions of calculations I’ve done, with many of my arrangements secretly facilitating this matter. Even if there are errors, they will be minimal. The celestial whale will definitely appear; only then can my immortal’s path be complete... However, it’s not just me who covets the origin of the Endless Sea; there are also the Big Dipper Immortal Cultivators... Once I take action, even if I am in the unknowable world, that Immortal Emperor will likely still detect the celestial whale’s anomaly... No, perhaps the Big Dipper Immortal Emperor has already arranged for the appearance of the celestial whale. Among the four Initial Saints here, perhaps one or two are Big Dipper Immortal Cultivators... It will not exceed three, because the celestial whale does not permit it..."
Ziwei Demon Monarch secretly calculated the identities of the four Saint Heirs, but under the influence of the unknown, naturally, nothing useful could be deduced...
...
Half a day later.
Ning Fan completed his ninth fishing deception; he had tricked and killed four hundred and fifty-five fish in this realm, and by this point, no foolish fish believed in Ning Fan’s trickery anymore.
However, tacitly, all the fish had secretly locked onto Ning Fan, and the moment Ning Fan attempted to break the connection, someone would immediately stop him.
"This Jiuli has taken down so many people and must have at least three to four hundred thousand yin-yang qi on him; he also has thirteen Immortal Spirit Remnant Pages. It’s not easy to fatten him up; we can’t let him escape!"
In fact, Ning Fan only had five Immortal Spirit Remnant Pages, numbered "Twelve," "One Thousand," "One Thousand Two Hundred," "One Thousand Five Hundred," and "One Thousand Eight Hundred." His trick of pretending to crush the remnant pages had not been exposed, and some still believed Ning Fan currently possessed thirteen remnant pages.
"Any complete set of one hundred pages is crucial; this person has many crucial remnant pages, including the particularly precious page number one thousand eight hundred among the Middle Celestial ranks. It’s worth it for me to make a move!" Two saint fishes had already secretly locked onto Ning Fan, prepared to blatantly rob him.
But there were also two saint fishes who, despite being tempted, seemed somewhat distracted, glancing around as if worried about something more important.
"The concentration of yin-yang qi in this realm is starting to change, but how is this possible? Why would the Ancient Celestial Whale appear twelve days prematurely? It turns out the Immortal Emperor was right! Someone is conspiring in secret over the Ancient Celestial Whale!"
These two saints were both Big Dipper saints; although they were here to seek enlightenment, they also had the duty of monitoring the celestial whale’s pilgrimage.
Concerning the Ancient Celestial Whale, even if they coveted the treasures on Ning Fan, they couldn’t neglect their duties at such a crucial moment and eventually chose to ignore the conflict, moving far away with no intention of getting involved.
This greatly surprised Ning Fan.
He had thought that in the final act of the deception, he would provoke a joint attack by four saints. Although he was no match for four saints, he was fully confident of retreating unscathed...
But now, it seemed that only two saints intended to besiege him... Perhaps the script needed some revision?
Under normal circumstances, Ning Fan didn’t believe he could take on two saints at once. However, after so many battles, Ning Fan had long understood why he could easily vanquish great cultivators.
Jiuli!
Having merged with Jiuli’s consciousness, he could exert ten times his power in this realm; when others attacked him, their power would diminish by ninety percent for no reason. With one increase and one decrease, even if a saint faced him, they might only exert one percent of their strength.
Of course, even one percent of a saint’s power was not something he could casually provoke, but he had another important helper.
Ant Lord!
On Ning Fan’s side, a saint was assisting him. Unfortunately, the Ant Lord was merely a remnant soul of a ten-epoch saint...while the two ill-intentioned saints had profound cultivations beyond several tens of epochs.
Ant Lord: How dare they look down on my ten-epoch cultivation? Should I leave then?
Ning Fan: You’re mistaken. If your injuries recover, you certainly won’t lose to those two at less than one percent of their strength. I have great confidence in you!
Ant Lord: Tch, I don’t need your confidence! But considering you helped me with my injuries, it’s not impossible for me to assist in this matter! After the event, we’ll split the yin-yang qi from the two saints fifty-fifty!
The speed at which the Ant Lord could refine yin-yang qi was far from sufficient for healing, but who told Ning Fan to snatch tens of thousands of yin-yang qi in this realm?
In advance, ten thousand strands of yin-yang qi had been allocated to help heal the Ant Lord, showing extreme generosity that made the Ant Lord feel uneasy and very uncomfortable.
But this time, Ning Fan’s generosity was not to gain the Ant Lord’s repayment... His mind was becoming deeper, and the Ant Lord simply didn’t understand what Ning Fan was thinking now.
Despite being enemies along the way, even though their relationship had somewhat softened after numerous events, when it came to dealing with each other, there was still more exchange based on interests...
Ant Lord: Suddenly being so gentle to me for no reason, it really is too strange.
Ning Fan: I’m sorry, next time I’ll be meaner to you, just like to that Immortal Spirit Remnant Page...
Ant Lord: You, you dare... Hmph! I thought you became a good person, but you’re still a jerk!
Black Evil Sect: You can’t speak ill of the master! The master even gave Black Evil Sect fifty thousand yin-yang qi. The master is so gentle! Black Evil Sect feels blessed! Master, master, Black Evil Sect’s bloodline seems to have elevated a bit...
Little Dust: Sob, sob, I’m too weak; I could only consume three thousand strands of yin-yang qi, and I can’t do anything... hiccup...
Hundred Thousand Cauldrons: Master, master, we have greatly enhanced our cultivation, how about your cultivation, has it also improved with the relic connection?
Despite being surrounded by nearly two hundred fish, among which were two Saint Fish, Ning Fan felt not the slightest sense of being cornered.
It is not you who have surrounded me but rather me with tens of thousands of women surrounding you!
In this unspeakable world, killing others and snatching treasures happen without conversation; actions speak louder than words.
Having the name Fishfu, the Saint Fish opened its mouth, and torrents of crimson water spewed forth, submerging Ning Fan. Within the crimson waters, a phantom of an ancient bronze kingdom flickered into existence and extinction.
That crimson water was none other than the essence blood of this Saint, unleashed as an offensive strategy. Having inherited the immortal God Silkworm bloodline from the Shushanx Clan, this Saint’s essence blood was inexhaustible, coupled with poisonous properties of the silkworm hidden within. Even a mere drip could poison an Immortal Emperor to death. Should this essence blood be unleashed like an ocean, even a Saint would not dare to immerse in it, capable of piercing through an entire realm!
"Though my strength lies in my physical defense, spells are not my forte. Yet to annihilate merely an Immortal King Nine-Tailed Fox, my essence blood alone is sufficient," Fishfu Sage mused inwardly.
Even against the Nine-Tailed Fox, the power of this technique would reduce by ninety percent but still rival the strike of a Five-Era Sage.
If Ning Fan himself were to retaliate, he would have to spare no effort against it.
"But now, it’s my turn to shine! Ning Xiaofan, step back!" With Ning Fan’s assistance, the Ant Lord’s injuries had healed significantly. She grew stronger, even inflated, starting to command Ning Fan with authority from within her Heart Spirit.
At this moment, she could unleash power rivaling a One-Era Sage in a short time, though it would weaken to half an Era Sage over time.
Yet with the amplification of the Nine-Tailed Fox, a One-Era attack would rival a Ten-Era one!
In this scenario, there’s no difference from my peak strength!
Cold Eyes Freeze Heaven!
The Ning Fan Fish taken over by the Ant Lord — now the Ant Lord Fish — did nothing but gaze skyward with frosty eyes, instantly freezing Fishfu Sage’s bloody mist. The ancient bronze kingdom within transformed into a frozen domain, even turning Fishfu Sage himself into an ice sculpture, unable to move, his heart trembling.
"This Nine-Tailed Fox strikes with the power of a Sage. You tell me it is an Immortal King? Bad! My mountain and sea got frozen by this person’s mere glance, even my Yin-Yang Fish illusion struggles to move under this gaze... I’m about to be struck by their next blow!" Fishfu Sage found it unbelievable.
Though a body cultivator, unskilled in spell duels, as a Sage, his prowess couldn’t be lower than the Second Step of spell casting. Yet, reality showed the opponent’s finesse in manipulating spells far outstripped his own! Some technical details in casting were beyond normal Sage capabilities, akin to having experienced Reverse Sage’s meticulous guidance...
"This person must have received teachings from an Inverse Sage!" Fishfu Sage contemplated.
Yiqing Thunder Art!
Having frozen Fishfu Sage in one strike, the Ant Lord Fish’s hands moved like lightning, swiftly unleashing a hundred thousand thunder strikes to deal further damage.
But perceiving several Quasi-Saints attempting an ambush from behind, she had to quickly shift her stance, directing the thunder strikes toward them.
In an instant, ten thousand divine thunders crashed down, reducing a few unlucky Quasi-Saints who tried the ambush to flying ashes, with the aftermath sweeping through, slaying over ten Immortal Emperors and Quasi-Saints.
The fish were dumbfounded, is this a battle we can engage in? It was claimed to be an Immortal King Nine-Tailed Fox, why does its battle strength resemble that of a ferocious Sage Nine-Tailed Fox!
Flee!
Ordinary fish dared not linger, each wishing to sever the connection and escape this realm. Yet the Ant Lord’s icy gaze alone froze them into blocks, even Saint Fish couldn’t withstand it; how could these small fry resist?
Cold Eyes Freeze Heaven, terrifying indeed!
"Half of your Yin-Yang Qi belongs to me. None of you think of escaping!" The Ant Lord thought disdainfully.
With a flip of her hand, she unleashed thunder strikes again, indiscriminately attacking all frozen fish, even Fishfu Sage among them.
If any fish were defeated, the extracted Yin-Yang Qi would be collected by the Ant Lord; there’s nothing more exhilarating than killing others and claiming treasure!
At this moment, the other Saint Fish, who had remained passive, finally acted!
She hadn’t engaged in the battle, not out of indifference, but accumulating Mana for a tremendously powerful formation!
"Zhang Wan Yan Sha Ling!"
Named Taiku Saint, the elderly woman of the Fire Fish Clan gathered forty-seven era’s worth of Mana into her mouth, spewing out volcanic magma.
Within the magma, countless hideous Fire Quails flew out, forming a grand formation with array map arranged in the words of Suffering, Accumulation, Extinguishment, and Path, possessing infinite capability of creation and destruction, the pinnacle formation of the Fire Fish Clan.
Upon its emergence, the formation instantly entrapped the Ant Lord, initiating an endless slaughter.
But the Ant Lord had already been on guard against the second Saint’s sneak attack, secretly establishing a Dao Spirit Barrier that remained unscathed amidst the endless slaughter.
With a flick of the hand, she conjured shadows of a hundred thousand Light Ants. In just a dozen breaths, countless gaps appeared in the Fire Quail Array Map.
However, the Ant Lord was ultimately trapped for some time, unable to deal any damage to Fishfu Saint. By the time she broke through the Fire Quail Array Map, Fishfu Saint was freed from the icy confinement, and officially joined forces with Taiku Saint.
The two Saints, though unspeakable, needed only a glance to reach a tacit understanding: this Jiuli is too strong, unless we join forces, it is unbeatable!
With the combined might of the two Saints, the Ant Lord lost her advantage and could only fight on even terms.
However, the scale of the Saints’ duel was immense; even a casual ripple spreading would smash the frozen fish, scattering Yin-Yang Qi in all directions.
Even the two Saints of the Big Dipper, who were far away, were swept into the ripples several times, their expressions displeased, yet they still considered the bigger picture, unwilling to get caught in the trouble, and retreated further.
Likewise, even the Ziwei Demon Monarch was affected by the ripples.
With his abilities, though not Saint-level, he wasn’t hurt by the Saint’s aftermath, yet his gaze was deep, silently taking note of the cause and effect here.
"Immortal God Silkworm, Fire Fish Clan, Jiuli... if you dare disrupt my plan for the Ancient Celestial Whale, I shall settle scores in the future..."
...
The Ant Lord was immersed in the battle pleasure—she hadn’t felt such a state in full flourish for many years.
But at this moment, a low, ancient whale song suddenly resounded, echoing within the Realm Gates.
In this unspeakable world, how could any creature produce such a sound? It was inconceivable!
This whale song seemed to have a supreme effect of calming and regulating the psyche. Upon hearing this sound, the Ant Lord felt her battle intent completely pacified, all anxiety cured, her limbs relaxed, wanting only to become a fish, to leave the tumultuous world and return to lakes and seas, never to concern herself with worldly affairs...
Fishfu Saint and Taiku Saint were similarly calmed by the whale song. Against this sound, no one could muster any battle intent or engage in conflict, for within the whale song flowed a supreme Inverse Saintly Path.
[Unbeatable]
If I do not permit, there shall never be flames of war in this world.
Under the compelling force of the unbeatable power, the fishes who were joyously fighting, including the Ant Lord, were forcibly made to cease hostilities, unable to fight any longer.
Within the Realm Gates, there was no distinction between heaven and earth.
Yet in the position the sky usually occupies, endless golden light suddenly descended, and from the golden light, emerged a five-colored giant whale larger than the starry sky.
The whale’s left eye was the sun, the right eye the moon, and inside was the endless starry sky. Its back carried countless cities turned to stone by winds, within which numerous Enlightenment seekers had become stone statues, even including some Saint statues.
The whale had forgotten everything, only sang blankly, emitting an ancient whale song, soothing the world’s sadness and anger. The true reason all ceased fighting was due to this whale.
"This is, the Ancient Celestial Whale..." Ant Lord, Fishfu, and Taiku’s gazes trembled, then they were overjoyed.
The Two Saints of the Big Dipper and Ziwei Demon Monarch grew serious at this moment.
Almost the instant the Celestial Whale appeared, all the fish spared no effort to swim toward it, except Ning Fan.
Ning Fan regained control over his body.
The Ant Lord wanted to chase the Celestial Whale, but was stopped by Ning Fan.
"Why do you stop me from pursuing it! That’s the Ancient Celestial Whale, do you even know what this means!" The Ant Lord was speechless, not understanding why Ning Fan would ruin her plans at such a crucial moment, when pursuing the Ancient Celestial Whale would be incredibly beneficial to both of them.
"Didn’t you hear what the whale is singing? The whale has been warning continuously not to pursue it." Ning Fan felt even more speechless.
This overwhelmingly powerful Ancient Celestial Whale had been constantly warning "Seekers of the Sea, I grant you death", and you still stubbornly want to chase it? You can’t even withstand a single whale song, do you think you can defeat it? Are you chasing it to die?
"What are you saying? You can understand the whale’s song?" The Ant Lord was shocked.
"Can’t you understand it? I see..."
It turned out that no one here could understand the song of the Ancient Celestial Whale, only he who could communicate with all things could understand...
So, to him, the song seemed like weeping history, akin to ancient kingdom epic, yet to others, was merely crying...