Chapter 133: The Dragon Whale King

Nearby, Muzi Suo could not help but chime in: "Senior Brother Ji Ning, Senior Brother Yun is extremely wealthy, so do not refuse him. You certainly need liquid elemental essence for your cultivation! I also have a few hundred catties of liquid elemental essence right here. Take it all. If you feel bad about it, just share some magical treasures with me later. Anyway, we can exchange them for liquid elemental essence once we return to Antan City."

Extremely wealthy? Yun Tian could not help whether to laugh or cry. After watching Ji Ning and Muzi Suo divide the liquid elemental essence and magical treasures, and sending the group of humans kept in captivity by the monsters to the Raindragon Guard's encampment in the Yushan Great Wilderness, he prepared to find a place for Ji Ning to enter secluded meditation, refine the liquid elemental essence, and break through to become a Wanxiang Adept.

Choosing a desolate mountain free of monsters, Ji Ning entered a cave to cultivate, while Yun Tian and Muzi Suo took charge of guarding him.

Ji Ning's breakthrough proved to be quite swift and smooth. Once the breakthrough was complete, both Yun Tian and Muzi Suo presented him with some magical treasures as congratulations.

In the blink of an eye, over half a month had passed since Ji Ning's breakthrough into a Wanxiang Adept. Amidst billowing clouds and mist, a dragon-prowed warship drifted leisurely forward. Far ahead, spatial distortions could be dimly discerned, accompanied by faint rifts. Beyond these rifts lay a gray expanse of nothingness. Even though they had witnessed this spectacle multiple times, Ji Ning and Muzi Suo still felt their hearts palpitate at the sight.

Yun Tian, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes and gazed calmly at the distant distorted spatial rifts, clearly perceiving the violent spatial forces at work there. Such might was formidable enough that even Primordial Soul Daoists would likely be killed by the turbulent spatial energies if they drew too close; perhaps only Immortals could barely manage to protect themselves!

Naturally, for Yun Tian, who had fully comprehended the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, that twisted and chaotic space could not possibly inflict even the slightest harm upon him.

As they pressed onward, the trio noticed another warship flying toward them from afar. Ji Ning cautiously probed with his divine sense, and from the conversation between the two immortal cultivators aboard that warship, he overheard information concerning the Azure-Green Serpent.

Recalling the Azure-Green Serpent of Yanshan, Ji Ning could not help but urge Muzi Suo to steer their vessel closer. They probed the other party to learn the location where the serpent had been encountered, and after mentioning it to Yun Tian and Muzi Suo, the three of them jointly decided to head over and investigate. In any case, they had three months of time to spare, and having already secured the corpse of a Wanxiang monster, they had no pressing matters elsewhere.

As fate would have it, when Yun Tian, Ji Ning, and the others arrived at Monster Lotus Mountain, they happened to encounter a group of Wanxiang monsters laying down a Space-Locking Formation in an attempt to slay the Azure-Green Serpent.

These Wanxiang monsters were led by the Dragon-Whale Monster. The Dragon-Whale Monster enjoyed immense fame in the vicinity of Monster Lotus Mountain; he was a powerful monster who practiced Fiendgod Body Refining and possessed innate divine abilities, boasting astonishing combat prowess. With dozens of Wanxiang monsters taking him as their leader, even human immortal cultivators were reluctant to foolishly provoke this Dragon-Whale Monster.

Once his divine sense confirmed that the Azure-Green Serpent was indeed the one from Yanshan, Ji Ning acted without hesitation. Given Ji Ning's strength, how could those Wanxiang monsters possibly be his match? First, he used the Soul-Shaking Art to plunge them into a daze, and then, combining his sword formation with Muzi Suo's assistance, he effortlessly slaughtered all the Wanxiang monsters under the command of King Dragon-Whale.

***

King Dragon-Whale was initially consumed by boundless fury, but he quickly regained his composure. Having lived for over ten thousand years, what had he not seen? He was certainly not going to be frightened of Ji Ning.

Rumble... King Dragon-Whale vanished from his spot into thin air, transforming into towering billows of mist that directly condensed in mid-air into an unimaginably massive exotic beast. The beast possessed the head of a dragon and the body of a whale, its dragon whiskers alone measuring a hundred zhang in length, while its entire body exceeded a thousand zhang. As the watery-green radiance on its skin surged brightly, its body slowly expanded once more, reaching a staggering three thousand zhang.

The colossal three-thousand-zhang dragon-whale hung suspended in the firmament, instantly blotting out the heavens and plunging the land below into darkness. A boundless, ferocious aura permeated every corner, causing hearts to tremble.

"Ji clan's boy, can you handle him?" the Azure-Green Serpent, now transformed into a woman in green, could not help asking nervously.

Muzi Suo glanced at Yun Tian. Before Muzi Suo could speak, Yun Tian calmly said, "Rest assured, if Ji Ning cannot handle him, I will make a move."

"Hey, who is he? Is he very strong? Is he even stronger than the Ji clan's boy?" the girl in green nudged Muzi Suo and asked in a low voice.

"He is my Senior Brother. As for whether he is strong or not, you will find out soon enough." Glancing sideways at the girl in green, Muzi Suo turned his gaze forward to see that Ji Ning had already engaged the Dragon-Whale Monster in battle.

Although Ji Ning's Soul-Shaking Art was formidable, the Dragon-Whale Monster was uniquely endowed by nature. Having lived for over ten thousand years, with a Dao-heart tempered over long ages and a powerful spirit, he was not someone Ji Ning could easily subdue.

Ji Ning proceeded to deploy his sword formation. Though he managed to wound the Dragon-Whale Monster, the creature's body was simply too massive to inflict any substantive damage upon it.

Next, Ji Ning unleashed his divine ability, *Law of Heaven and Earth*, and gripping his Northdark Sword, prepared for close-quarters combat with King Dragon-Whale.

This fierce battle was truly spectacular. Unleashing his full might, Ji Ning fought his way directly inside King Dragon-Whale's body. However, King Dragon-Whale's divine power was so immense that before Ji Ning could damage the vital spots within its brain, King Dragon-Whale decisively detonated its own head, blasting Ji Ning out before regenerating a new head.

After exchanging another blow of raw might with Ji Ning, the Dragon-Whale Monster transformed into a streak of light, taking flight in preparation to retreat. Having witnessed Ji Ning's strength, he knew he could not defeat him, and continuing the fight was pointless.

***

At that very moment, Yun Tian, the corners of his lips curving slightly upward, made his move. Spatial translocation placed him directly in the path of the Dragon-Whale Monster. In an instant, a terrifying Dao-might caused the space itself to freeze, while a massive amount of biting cold gathered between heaven and earth. The minor dao domain of the Ice-Cold Dao deployed by Yun Tian instantly locked the Dragon-Whale Monster's figure in mid-air as if it were frozen solid.

Swoosh... Following closely behind, Yun Tian, wielding an ordinary Earth-grade high-grade flying sword, casually slashed forward with what seemed like a routine strike. Instantly, space warped and tore apart, and an invisible sword light flashed straight into King Dragon-Whale's head, cleaving both its skull and body in twain. The terrifyingly fierce sword qi surged and rippled within its body, instantly obliterating King Dragon-Whale's spirit.

Gasp... Ji Ning, Muzi Suo, and the green-clad Azure-Green Serpent all widened their eyes in disbelief as they gazed upon this scene. Heavens! That was a peak Wanxiang monster who practiced Fiendgod Body Refining and possessed innate divine abilities! Even weaker Primordial Soul Daoists could do nothing to him—yet he had been slain by Yun Tian with a single sword strike?

"Junior Brother Ji Ning, Junior Brother Suo, I wish to venture deep into the Yushan Great Wilderness for a while, so let us part ways here." After slaying King Dragon-Whale, Yun Tian did not even bother to collect the monster's storage treasures. With a faint smile and parting words to Ji Ning and the others, he vanished with a single teleportation.

After Yun Tian departed, Muzi Suo, only just snapping back to his senses, swallowed hard and stammered, "No wonder Senior Brother Yun was so reluctant to make a move earlier; his strength is terrifying! This is unbelievable—he is also at the Wanxiang realm, so how can his power be this formidable?"

"Senior Brother Yun must be immensely powerful in Fiendgod Body Refining, and his comprehension of the Dao far surpasses ours. That sword strike just now, seemingly simple, must have contained the profound mysteries of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, allowing me to sense the aura of the Dao," Ji Ning said, drawing a deep breath.

The green-clad Azure-Green Serpent blinked and hurriedly asked, "Hey, is he really your Senior Brother? He feels even more terrifying than a Primordial Soul Daoist!"

"Of course. My Senior Brother is a reincarnated Immortal. The disciples of our Black-White Academy are all monstrous geniuses," Muzi Suo said proudly.

Upon hearing this, the girl in green curled her lip and retorted, "Monstrous geniuses, my foot. I think you fall far short of your Senior Brother Yun. Even the Ji clan's boy, though very strong now, is still worlds apart from your Senior Brother Yun!"

"My name is Ji Ning!" Ji Ning gave her a somewhat helpless look; the Azure-Green Serpent seemed to have grown far too accustomed to calling him the Ji clan's boy.