Chapter 603: I’ll Lay My Cards on the Table |
"Then prove it with your strength."
Gu Yueying shouted sharply, an Xuan Sword already appearing in her hands.
This sword gleamed coldly all over, with surges of fiery light rippling across its surface.
In the void, it emitted sharp, scorching sounds.
"Master, be careful, this is a fire-attribute Xuan Sword."
Pill Spirit reminded him within his dantian.
"It seems their intelligence was wrong."
Ning Qi acknowledged, "This Sacred Maiden's strength is even a bit stronger than Wang Meng's."
"Prepare to die."
"Hmph, still thinking you're impressive."
Ning Qi snorted coldly, then directly used his Chaos Sword to tear the void before him.
"Shhh!"
For a moment, fierce and blazing Fierce Winds erupted here.
"Master, what are you doing?"
Seeing this, Pill Spirit immediately became puzzled.
"Shake them off, take her somewhere else to fight."
Ning Qi smiled, then continued, "This way, when we act against her later, Zhao Shilin and the others won't know the final outcome."
"Oh, I understand, we're feigning retreat."
Pill Spirit immediately grasped the plan.
"Where do you think you're running!"
Gu Yueying had no idea of Ning Qi's plan.
Seeing him tear space to leave, she immediately gave chase.
"Commander Zhao, what do we do? This woman is stronger than we imagined. Even Commander Lei isn't her match."
At this moment, someone noticed the problem and hurriedly came to remind them.
"Damn it, pursue."
Zhao Shilin gritted his teeth and also hastily gave chase, "Help Commander Lei, we can't let anything happen to him."
He clearly understood Ning Qi's identity; if something went wrong with him, they were finished too.
"Yes!"
"Kill!"
.......
The group of Demonic Race members all responded, then hurriedly gave chase.
By now, however, Ning Qi had long since vanished without a trace.
Still, he had a sense of proportion, always allowing Gu Yueying a chance to catch up to him.
But every time she was about to catch him, Ning Qi would suddenly accelerate again.
Thus, one chased, the other fled.
They quickly shook off all the others.
Just like that, they continuously darted and weaved within this torn space, soon arriving at an unknown location.
"Master, isn't this enough? We should have shaken off all of them by now."
Pill Spirit, within Ning Qi's dantian, hastily reminded him.
"Mmm, it's time."
Ning Qi acknowledged, then suddenly stopped.
"Whoosh!"
At this moment, fierce Fierce Winds howled all around. If not for their Celestial Immortal strength, they would have long been shredded by the winds.
"Why stop running? Realize you can't escape?"
Gu Yueying also stopped, a pair of cold eyes fixed on Ning Qi.
Her face was full of a teasing expression.
"Oh? Well, have you considered the possibility that I deliberately lured you here?"
Ning Qi smiled, then slowly moved closer to Gu Yueying.
"Hmph, so what? With your mere Third-Rank Celestial Immortal strength?"
Gu Yueying could clearly sense Ning Qi's power level.
Looking at his strength, she simply didn't take him seriously.
Especially in those eyes of hers, filled with disdain.
"Oh, have you heard of demonic cultivators?"
Ning Qi smiled, then stopped before her, "Ones who possess both Immortal Power and Demonic Power simultaneously."
"And, they don't conflict with each other."
"Hmph, I've heard of them, but they're still just evil cultivators."
Gu Yueying scoffed at this, "Don't tell me you're one too?"
"To be honest, I am also a member of the Immortal Race."
Ning Qi smiled, then with a flash of movement—
"Whoosh!"
Amidst a gust of forceful wind, he abruptly transformed back into his original appearance.
At this moment, he also took advantage of the situation to activate the Immortal Power within his body.
The aura of the Immortal Race erupting from his entire body was in no way inferior to the Gu Yueying before him.
"Huh? You're also from the Immortal Race!"
"And, you even carry the bloodline of the Immortal Ancestor."
Gu Yueying recognized Ning Qi's aura at a glance.
"Correct, I am of the same clan as Di Xi, even of a slightly nobler lineage than him."
Ning Qi nodded, smiling as he spoke, "Though, compared to you, I still fall short."
"Hmph, of course. I am an Immortal Race member whose kind has been extinct for ages."
"Even if Di Xi came, he'd have to bow his head in submission."
Gu Yueying gave a proud hum, her eyes brimming with arrogance.
"True. However, since you possess such a noble bloodline, why aren't you in the Immortal Realm, instead coming to a place like this?"
Ning Qi, on the contrary, grew curious, looking at her as he asked.
"That's none of your business, you traitor to the Immortal Race."
Upon hearing Ning Qi's words, Gu Yueying showed no intention of answering him, instead mocking him.
"I came here as a spy."
Ning Qi spread his hands, then explained further, "I revealed my true form precisely to tell you the truth."
"To avoid us continuing to fight amongst ourselves!"
"Oh? You think pretty words can fool me?"
"Those who join the Demonic Race have all sold their souls."
Upon hearing his words, Gu Yueying didn't believe him in the slightest, directly exposing him.
"Truly failing to recognize a good heart."
Ning Qi shook his head, "I originally intended to persuade you kindly. It seems if I don't beat you into submission, you won't listen."
"Then, come at me."
"Let me see your true strength!"
Gu Yueying beckoned to Ning Qi, already prepared for battle.
"Killing you is but a matter of a single thought."
"If you weren't a member of the Immortal Race, I would have killed you long ago!"
Upon hearing her words, Ning Qi couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
At first, he had thought about helping Lei Shan and the others earn merit, but after learning she was also from the Immortal Race,
Ning Qi changed his mind.
If he could establish connections with someone from the Immortal Race, it might help him later when he goes to the Immortal Realm.
That's why he deliberately lured her here, wanting to spare her and leave her owing him a favor.
However, he never expected that even after revealing his hand, Gu Yueying remained unyielding.
"Master, no need to waste words on her. We don't need to curry favor with her either!"
Pill Spirit was also indignant, reminding him within his dantian.
"Don't worry. Since she remains obstinate, I have no intention of wasting more breath on her."
After acknowledging, Ning Qi suddenly fixed his gaze on Gu Yueying.
By now, she had already unleashed all the aura within her body.
Especially the bloodline of the Immortal Race caused golden lights to erupt within a radius of several dozen zhang,
illuminating this pitch-black void rift.
"Prepare to die!"
Gu Yueying gave a proud hum, already leaping towards Ning Qi.
In her hands now appeared a long Ribbon.
Wherever the Ribbon passed through the surrounding void, it would be sliced open.
Within, surges of fiery light also churned, clearly no ordinary item.
"Master, this is an Immortal Artifact!"
Pill Spirit was the first to notice the problem, hastily reminding, "Take it! It will be useful to us too!"
"Good, then let's take it!"
Ning Qi acknowledged, then immediately moved into action.
This time, he directly activated both his Immortal and Demonic Powers.
For a moment, he erupted with strength far surpassing that of a Fifth-Rank Celestial Immortal.
His power, under the dual enhancement, was still climbing.
In the blink of an eye, it directly climbed to the level of a Ninth-Grade Celestial Immortal.
And it showed no sign of stopping, seemingly about to break through the Ninth-Grade.
"Whoosh!"
However, at this point, Ning Qi suddenly stopped.
He had no intention of revealing his true strength, instead controlling his power at the Ninth-Grade level.
Now, his body was wreathed in an aura that fused black Demonic Energy with golden Immortal Energy.
This caused these streams of aura to take on a murky gray color.
Within this grayness, a hint of golden light also surged.
And by now, Gu Yueying had already charged forward.
She also noticed Ning Qi's change, but didn't pay it much mind.
"Putting on a mysterious show!"
Gu Yueying retorted, and the Ribbon in her hand was already sweeping towards Ning Qi.
"Whoosh!"
"Rip!"
For a moment, Ribbons were everywhere around him, as if he had fallen into some kind of formation.
Looking at everything before him, Ning Qi couldn't help but frown.
Then, he directly drew out his Chaos Sword and slashed down at the nearest Ribbon before him.
"Clang!"
"Shhh!"
However, it wasn't directly severed as he had imagined.
Instead, under his slash, the Ribbon simply contracted slightly.
It directly dodged his attack.
"It has an artifact spirit!"
Pill Spirit was the first to think of a possibility.
If controlled by a person, it absolutely couldn't have dodged like that.
The only possibility was that it possessed an artifact spirit.
"Not bad, it actually has an artifact spirit!"
Ning Qi also became interested.
A Ribbon as a weapon was already rare.
Add to that an artifact spirit within, and it truly became a rare treasure.
Then this Ribbon, today, must return to its rightful owner.
"Master, if this comes into our hands, we'll have another combat asset!"
Pill Spirit, within Ning Qi's dantian, began to cheer.
"Since that's the case, then I'll get serious."
"Although having an artifact spirit gives it resilience, I possess the Chaos Flame that can burn all things!"
As he spoke, Ning Qi already opened a hand.
From within his dantian, he directly activated his Chaos Flame.
A wisp of murky gray flame appeared in his palm, which Ning Qi then directly flung towards Gu Yueying's Ribbon.
"Sizzle!"
After the Ribbon was engulfed by the Chaos Flame, it emitted sharp, sizzling sounds of being burned.
The Ribbon, which had been moving with effortless grace, lost its spirituality at this moment.
Wrapped in the Chaos Flame, no matter how it twisted, it couldn't escape being consumed.
"Go!"
Gu Yueying refused to be outdone.
She directly unleashed a blast of forceful wind.
The strength of a Fifth-Rank Celestial Immortal erupted abruptly, directly dispersing Ning Qi's Chaos Flame.
In just that instant, his Chaos Flame was shaken off the Ribbon.
"Oh, not bad. You have some skill, actually managing to knock away my Chaos Flame."
Looking at her action, Ning Qi couldn't help but show a hint of appreciation.
"Hmph, you think this Chaos Flame is strong?"
"In my eyes, it's just a bit of fire!"
Gu Yueying gave a proud hum, though by now she had lost her previous arrogance.
She could also sense that Ning Qi's strength had far surpassed her own.
She couldn't understand how Ning Qi had done it.
To erupt with the aura of a Ninth-Grade Celestial Immortal in such a short time.
"Is that so? Then you should just surrender quietly!"
Upon hearing her words, Ning Qi suddenly moved.
He charged directly towards Gu Yueying.
This time, he didn't use any weapon, intending to subdue her through hand-to-hand combat.
To make her understand the gap in strength from a psychological level.
"Don't even think about it!"
Gu Yueying immediately saw through Ning Qi's intention.
She directly activated her armor.
As her armor activated, bursts of blazing light erupted from her entire body.
After circling her body twice, this blazing light began to coalesce into form.
From a stream of blazing light, it transformed into a fire phoenix soaring into the sky with a cry.
After this fire phoenix appeared, its feathers began to burn.
It quickly transformed into a barrier formed from coalesced wings, firmly protecting Gu Yueying within.
Looking at the situation before him, Ning Qi couldn't help but grow curious.
"Master, this woman really has quite a few tricks!"
"Our attacks probably won't break her defense."
Pill Spirit also noticed the problem immediately.
His eyes were full of gravity.
Clearly, he never expected Gu Yueying to have such a move.
"Hmph, well then, let's just use the God-Slaying Bow!"
Ning Qi snorted coldly, then directly took out the God-Slaying Bow.
Drawing the bow and nocking an arrow, all in one fluid motion.
Then, an arrow condensed upon the bowstring.
"Whoosh!"
Ning Qi took a deep breath, then poured all his Bloodline Power into this arrow.
After he released it, the arrow shot forth abruptly.
In an instant, it tore through the void.
Carrying a gust of Fierce Wind, it shot towards Gu Yueying before him.
"Ssss!"
The moment it made contact with her defensive barrier, sharp, blazing sizzling sounds erupted.
Her defensive barrier began to gradually crack. Where the two forces met, a gap visible to the naked eye had already appeared.
It seemed about to be broken by Ning Qi.
"Shhh!"
The next moment, the arrow directly broke through the final line of her defensive barrier.
It shot directly towards the space between Gu Yueying's eyebrows.
"Master, she's going to be killed."
Pill Spirit hastily reminded.
Originally, he didn't think Ning Qi intended to kill her, but given the situation, he couldn't overthink it.
That's why he hurriedly reminded Ning Qi.
"Whoosh."
However, before Ning Qi could say anything,
an unexpected situation occurred with Gu Yueying.
Ripples began to spread out from her entire body, her whole person becoming like a drop of water.
Just as the arrow pierced through her body, the drop of water that Gu Yueying had become also abruptly shattered.
Looking again, where she had just been, there was no trace of anyone.
"An illusion technique!"
Ning Qi focused his gaze and suddenly realized the situation.
It turned out Gu Yueying had long since dodged far away.
In reality, from the moment she realized Ning Qi's bow and arrow were extraordinary, she had already thought of escaping.
"Where is she?"
Pill Spirit, within Ning Qi's dantian, began searching.