Chapter 604: Refining You into a Weapon Spirit |
“Here.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Gu Yueying’s voice sounded.
When he looked again, he realized she had somehow already moved behind Ning Qi.
At that moment she held a Profound Sword in her hand and swung it down toward Ning Qi’s back.
If it struck him, it would surely cut him in two.
“Master, be careful.”
The Pill Spirit hurriedly warned.
Ning Qi’s pupils constricted as he looked at Gu Yueying, then he suddenly sprang backward.
“Can you run?”
She pursued him, and the Profound Sword in her hand showed no mercy as it came down toward Ning Qi’s head.
It was about to land.
“Go!”
Ning Qi suddenly produced his folding fan and flung it toward Gu Yueying.
Whoosh!
A fierce gust of wind poured out from his fan.
Under that gust, Gu Yueying was sent flying like a lone leaf on the water.
When he looked again, she had already stumbled backward and her figure soon vanished from sight.
Whoosh!
Ning Qi did not let up. He drew a deep breath and then gave chase.
While pursuing, he continued to wave his fan.
That added support to his speed, and quickly he closed the distance with Gu Yueying.
“How about that?”
“My fan is fun, isn’t it?”
Ning Qi taunted as he chased, “You only have good bloodline. If you were an ordinary person, you wouldn’t pull off so many tricks.”
“Hmph, as long as I can kill you, that’s enough.”
Gu Yueying snorted lightly, then abruptly produced a compass and slammed it against her chest.
Her Immortal Power ignited it and steadied her stance.
She activated the compass again.
The compass swelled to a size of thousands of zhang and rolled like an oppressive dome toward Ning Qi.
“What is that?”
Ning Qi stared at the sky-covering compass and could not help but exclaim.
“Master, be careful, I sense something sinister about that thing.”
The Pill Spirit looked at the compass and urgently warned Ning Qi.
Whoosh!
Ning Qi began to retreat at high speed.
He could feel the compass’s power.
“Can you run?”
Seeing him try to flee, Gu Yueying coldly snorted.
She formed hand seals, and brilliant Immortal Power began to coil in her palms.
Under her control, it burst forth and poured into the compass.
The compass abruptly accelerated.
At the same time it continued to grow, much faster than Ning Qi could escape.
Whoosh!
Ning Qi saw it was about to catch up and suddenly sped up.
He wanted to break free from the compass’s pursuit entirely.
However, his speed could not match the compass, especially after being enshrouded by it.
He felt his body being constrained, as if bound.
“Bad.”
Ning Qi cried out; continuing to flee was impossible.
A beam from within the compass enveloped him, and he was sucked into the compass.
Whoo.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself in an unknown space.
“Where is this?”
Ning Qi looked around at the surroundings and said.
It was pitch-black everywhere, with a phantom quality to the reach of his hand.
Occasional gale-force winds brushed his face.
“Master, we are inside this compass’s inner space.”
The Pill Spirit had come to Ning Qi’s shoulder and explained, “It’s similar to our Bronze Mirror.”
“This girl pulled us in.”
“Oh? The compass has an inner space?”
Only after hearing the Pill Spirit did Ning Qi react.
A tearing, burning sensation had just overwhelmed him and caused him to lose consciousness.
When he came to, he discovered he had arrived in this strange space.
“That’s right.”
The Pill Spirit replied, then continued, “We have to find a way out. It feels like she’s trying to refine us. I sense her driving the space’s force here.”
“Refine us?”
Ning Qi frowned and said gravely, “She’d better be dreaming.”
“Master, if we can’t get out, she might very well refine us.”
The Pill Spirit said with worry.
“Shi Xiaokun, come out!”
Ning Qi shouted directly.
Shi Xiaokun from his Consciousness Sea suddenly appeared.
“Master.”
Shi Xiaokun bowed respectfully.
“Do you understand our situation?”
Ning Qi didn’t explain and instead asked.
“Yes, I know.”
Shi Xiaokun hurriedly answered.
“Then do you have a way out?”
Ning Qi nodded and asked in a low voice.
“Master, that’s easy.”
“We have the Bronze Mirror; we can project this space.”
“Leaving is merely a matter of intent.”
Shi Xiaokun smiled after hearing Ning Qi.
“All right, then you do it!”
Ning Qi agreed and told Shi Xiaokun to proceed.
“Yes!”
Shi Xiaokun nodded, summoned his Bronze Mirror, and began to activate it.
Once the mirror was stirred, it started to vibrate.
“How long will it take?”
Ning Qi watched Shi Xiaokun and asked.
“Master, it should take about one shichen.”
Shi Xiaokun thought for a moment, then replied earnestly.
“Good, do it. I’ll guard you!”
Ning Qi nodded and added, “This woman is likely exploring with Spiritual Sense.”
“Yes.”
The Pill Spirit agreed seriously.
“At once, Master!”
Shi Xiaokun acknowledged the orders and began to focus.
Ning Qi instructed the Pill Spirit, “Protect him here. I’ll draw this woman’s attention.”
“Yes.”
The Pill Spirit understood the urgency.
After agreeing, it immediately began to guard Shi Xiaokun seriously.
Ning Qi looked around, then activated his own aura.
He fixed his gaze in one direction and darted off.
In the blink of an eye, he distanced himself.
After what seemed like the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he sensed a fluctuation in the space.
He stopped abruptly to investigate.
After careful observation, he indeed detected Gu Yueying’s aura stirring nearby.
“Come out.”
Ning Qi halted and addressed the space in front of him in a low voice, “Since you came, why hide?”
“Oh, you found me.”
Gu Yueying suddenly appeared from the void.
Mockery filled her eyes as she regarded Ning Qi.
“Hmph, just a couple of little servants, and you think you can hide from me.”
Ning Qi coldly snorted with disdain as he faced her.
“You’re already my captive and still so insolent!”
“Do you want to see me refine you into my Artifact Spirit?”
Gu Yueying said to Ning Qi in a low voice.
“You? You’re not qualified.”
Ning Qi heard her and laughed as if it were the biggest joke.
“Then keep being arrogant. You’ll cry later.”
“I will refine your Soul and make it my Puppet.”
“You’ll lose even your own consciousness.”
“You’ll be trapped forever inside my compass.”
Gu Yueying’s words had no anger, only amusement.
“Try it then.”
Ning Qi let her finish speaking with an indifferent look, “I’d like to see how you turn me into a puppet.”
“All right, since you demand it, I’ll oblige.”
Gu Yueying agreed, and her Spiritual Sense flickered as she abruptly vanished, clearly returning to her body.
After she left, Ning Qi showed no intention of leaving. He waited quietly for her to act.
A few breaths later, the space became like a furnace.
Flames surrounded the area, raging in all directions.
Those flames swept toward Ning Qi without exception.
Clearly, they intended to directly refine him.
“Hmph.”
Ning Qi snorted and activated his Armor.
This was armor capable of defending against attacks on the Soul.
Once activated, the flames that met his form instantly calmed.
A chill radiated around his body, isolating Ning Qi from the surrounding environment.
No matter how the flames raged, they could not move him an inch.
He stood there quietly and allowed Gu Yueying to attempt to refine him.
“Master, we’re nearly done. How are you holding up?”
At that moment, the Pill Spirit’s voice transmission came through.
“I’m restraining Gu Yueying. She hasn’t discovered our plan yet.”
Ning Qi replied calmly, “Don’t make a sound. Take it slow. I’m fine here, no need to worry.”
“All right, we’ll continue!”
The Pill Spirit agreed and fell silent.
Ning Qi remained, quietly letting Gu Yueying attempt to refine him.
At first, nothing changed, but then Gu Yueying seemed to realize something.
She reined in her refining and directly appeared before Ning Qi.
Her eyes fixed on him.
“So. Giving up so quickly?”
Ning Qi scoffed as she stared, “Keep going. I haven’t had enough fun.”
“Ting, your armor can defend against Soul attacks.”
“Refining you here is futile.”
Having come closer, Gu Yueying clearly discovered the issue with Ning Qi.
She stared coldly at him, showing curiosity as she looked at his armor.
Its ability to defend against Soul attacks had captured her attention.
“Since you know that, let me out.”
“In consideration of you letting me go earlier, I might consider not harming you.”
Ning Qi looked at Gu Yueying and said, “If I get out by myself, I promise to imprison you for a thousand years.”
“I will not set you free before then!”
“Oh? We’ll see if you have the ability.”
Gu Yueying seemed to find it amusing; her eyes showed utter indifference.
“Try it then.”
Ning Qi ignored her and stood quietly.
“Since you can’t refine my Soul, then you’ll become part of this place.”
“I’ll trap you here forever and prevent your cultivation from advancing even an inch.”
“When my power grows, I’ll come back for you.”
Gu Yueying had made her decision.
She would continue her own cultivation breakthroughs so she could return to kill Ning Qi later.
Ning Qi couldn’t cultivate here.
“People say the most poisonous is a woman’s heart. Looks like they weren’t wrong.”
Ning Qi shook his head and said, “Since that’s the case, go ahead and try.”
“I already warned you. Not letting me go now will make you regret it later.”
“I never regret my actions.”
“Just wait!”
Gu Yueying snorted coldly, then in a flash she vanished.
For a time, only Ning Qi remained.
He observed for a while to confirm Gu Yueying had indeed left, then relaxed.
Whether they could leave depended on Shi Xiaokun.
This time Ning Qi did not linger; he returned along the same path he had come.
After flying for a stretch, he rejoined Shi Xiaokun and the Pill Spirit.
By then the two had already begun to synchronize their resonance.
“Master!”
“...”
They greeted Ning Qi as he returned.
“How goes it? Can we get out?”
Ning Qi asked when he arrived.
“We can. We can leave at any time.”
Shi Xiaokun nodded, then added, “Our Bronze Mirror can reflect everything in this place.”
“As long as we break through it, we can get out.”
“Good, do it!”
Ning Qi did not hesitate and told him to start.
“Yes.”
Shi Xiaokun agreed and immediately activated their Bronze Mirror.
Hum!
As the Bronze Mirror was triggered, the space began to tremble.
After a bout of rippling, a wave spread outward.
“Master, we can get out from here.”
Shi Xiaokun pointed and told Ning Qi.
“All right! Then let’s go!”
Ning Qi agreed and they left at once.
Shi Xiaokun followed closely; the Pill Spirit was already standing on Ning Qi’s shoulder before they departed.
Once they left, the place grew empty again.
Whoosh!
The next instant Ning Qi and Shi Xiaokun appeared at the exterior.
This space still showed the rips Ning Qi had made.
It was empty now.
“What happened? Where’s Gu Yueying?”
Ning Qi looked around but found no sign of Gu Yueying.
“Master, we essentially tore open the space to get out.”
“We can’t locate her. Perhaps she left a while ago.”
Shi Xiaokun came over and explained.
“Oh? That’s letting her off easy.”
Ning Qi looked around regretfully, “Too bad. I wanted to meet her outside.”
“Master, there will definitely be other chances to meet her later!”
“Let’s go back to look for Zhao Shilin and the others now.”
The Pill Spirit remembered and quickly reminded him.
“All right, let’s go.”
Ning Qi sighed, then fixed his gaze toward the direction they had come from.
He turned into a streak of light and sped off.
Shi Xiaokun returned to Ning Qi’s Consciousness Sea, and the Pill Spirit went back to his dantian.