Chapter 40

Iron Mu Zhan and the great beast An were both greatly startled. Iron Mu Zhan hurriedly activated his Yin-Yang Dual Qi Array and shouted loudly, "Be careful of his control over water and fire! The water and fire controlled by the innate divine beings of the *Chi Ming Nine Heavens Chart* are especially powerful. Once they come together, even ordinary innate beings can be killed!"

The reason he shouted loudly was because the great beast An had already transformed into its true form and started to dodge and flee upon seeing the water and fire. At a distance, they could no longer communicate telepathically. However, how could the speed of the beast's escape compare to the speed of the water and fire?

*Boom~* A huge water dragon instantly entangled the beast An, causing ice to form on its surface. At the same time, another fire dragon also entangled the beast's body. One water dragon and one fire dragon wrapped around it, the water dragon being infinitely cold, and the fire dragon being infinitely hot.

One cold, one hot.

*Crack! Crack! Crack!*

The beast's fur began to tear, revealing the red muscles underneath, which quickly charred.

*Roar~* The beast An roared.

"Still not dead!" Ji Ning's gaze turned cold.

The water dragon that had originally entangled the beast An instantly loosened and rapidly transformed into a large water lotus leaf. At the same time, the other fire dragon also quickly transformed into a fire lotus leaf.

The water lotus leaf was below.

The fire lotus leaf was above.

And the beast An was in the center. No matter how it struggled to escape, the two lotus leaves followed it.

"Water and fire lotus, refine!" Ji Ning's will urged, and immediately the two lotus leaves began to slowly rotate, like two terrifying grinding wheels slowly crushing something. Previously, when Ji Ning unconsciously invoked the power of heaven and earth to form a protective lotus, the power was already so great. Now, Ji Ning used the water and fire he could control as the foundation, and then invoked a thread of the Dao's meaning... the power increased a hundredfold, a thousandfold.

As the water and fire lotus leaves rotated, the beast An, in the center, felt one cold and one hot, even more unbearable than before! His entire body seemed to lose all sensation! At the same time, the water and fire intersected, and wind spontaneously arose, with a powerful cutting force directly descending upon the beast An.

*Crack~* The charred body of the beast An, like a porcelain doll, cracked into pieces. Its eyes still held a look of confusion, and then it lost its luster.

The great beast An, dead!

"Surprisingly so powerful," Ji Ning was pleasantly surprised, "Using the water and fire I control as the foundation, and then performing the protective water and fire lotus I previously comprehended, I directly killed a mid-stage innate great beast, and it had no resistance at all."

Though it sounds slow, the battle between strong beings is incredibly fast.

Ji Ning used the water and fire lotus to grind the great beast An to death in less than a breath.

*Boom~* The Yin-Yang Dual Qi Array, which covered a mile, completely erupted, with black and white qi streams directly enveloping Ji Ning.

The great beast An was so easily killed, and Iron Mu Zhan was also startled. He then revealed a fierce expression and roared, "Within my Yin-Yang Dual Qi Array, no matter how you are a once-in-a-thousand-years genius of Yan Mountain, you are certain to die! Die!"

Black and white qi streams, like pythons, instantly pounced on Ji Ning.

"Hmph."

Ji Ning just willed it, and water and fire instantly appeared around his body. These water and fire transformed into lotus leaves, and two large water and fire lotus leaves were gently undulating up and down. When the black and white qi streams attacked... Ji Ning willed it, and these water and fire lotus leaves quickly closed together!

Like a flower bud, these lotus leaves closing upwards formed a lotus bud several zhang tall, instantly enveloping Ji Ning completely.

*Bang bang bang~* The black and white qi streams attacked.

Although the water and fire lotus leaves closed into a bud, they still slowly rotated, with the inner fire lotus leaves and outer water lotus leaves rotating in opposite directions. Despite the repeated attacks of the black and white qi streams, they barely broke through the outer water lotus leaves, which then quickly returned to their original state.

After all, water and fire are not physical substances and can gather and disperse at will. Even if there were occasional damages, Ji Ning could restore them with a thought!

"What?" Iron Mu Zhan was greatly startled, "How is this possible? My Yin-Yang Dual Qi Array is also an extremely powerful array. With my strength, even if I encounter a fully mature innate being, I am not afraid at all. How can it not even break through this Ji family boy's protective lotus? What is this protective lotus, something I have never heard of?"

Iron Mu Zhan did not know that Ji Ning had already reached the realm of unity with heaven and earth. The greatest achievement of his enlightenment the previous night—this protective lotus—already contained a thread of the true meaning of the Dao.

The innate beings cultivated from the *Chi Ming Nine Heavens Chart* are already incredibly powerful. The water and fire they control are much more powerful than those controlled by ordinary great beasts. Now, Ji Ning performed the 'water and fire lotus' containing the true meaning of the Dao. Resisting a mere array was naturally not a problem.

"Iron Mu Zhan, you have relentlessly pursued me. Now, I will repay you and send you on your way!"

Ji Ning, inside the lotus bud, could vaguely see the figure in the distance through the water and fire lotus leaves. And with his mind and spirit united with heaven and earth, he could naturally sense the aura of the surrounding objects and clearly perceive Iron Mu Zhan's position.

"Die."

Ji Ning willed it.

At the place where Iron Mu Zhan stood, a fire lotus leaf and a water lotus leaf also appeared out of nowhere. One above and one below, like grinding wheels crushing Iron Mu Zhan.

"Array, help me." Iron Mu Zhan was startled. His subordinate, the great beast An, had died this way. He immediately controlled the surrounding large amounts of black and white qi streams to wildly circulate around his body, to resist the crushing power of the water and fire lotus. This way, he barely managed to hold it off, even if occasionally water and fire penetrated, his innate true essence could still protect him.

"How can he simultaneously perform two lotuses?" Iron Mu Zhan was full of fear, "Such a powerful move should require a lot of mental effort."

He did not know...

Ji Ning's divine soul, at the age of four, could already match a Purple Mansion cultivator. Now, in terms of divine soul alone, he far surpassed a Purple Mansion cultivator. Simply dividing his attention to perform two water and fire lotuses was effortless.

"Still not dead!" Ji Ning, protected by the lotus bud, quickly flew toward Iron Mu Zhan.

"Run." Iron Mu Zhan's face changed with fear, and he gritted his teeth.

Escape!

This decision was not without decisiveness. After all, he was from the large tribe of the Iron Mu clan and knew very well that once the *Chi Ming Nine Heavens Chart* was cultivated to the innate stage, its power was hundreds of times greater than other divine beings. Although Ji Ning was at the early stage of the innate realm, he could match the late stage of other divine beings!

Iron Mu Zhan was merely a late-stage innate cultivator. To engage in close combat with a divine being at the same level was courting death!

Previously, he relied on the fact that Ji Ning had no magical treasures, but even the Yin-Yang Dual Qi Array could not harm his opponent. If he fought Ji Ning, it would be suicide.

"A genius who just entered the innate realm and can match a fully mature innate being, the Ji family has produced such a genius. I must report to the ancestor and eliminate him as soon as possible. Otherwise, he will be a great disaster for the Iron Mu clan in the future!" Iron Mu Zhan was completely terrified, especially by the water and fire lotus, which was too powerful.

An array still needs to be set up in advance. Ji Ning's water and fire lotus could be performed with a thought, and its power was even stronger than his array. This was too...

"Must eliminate him." Iron Mu Zhan thought of reporting to his ancestor upon returning.

Whether it was the Iron Mu clan or the Ji family... all six major powers on Yan Mountain had Purple Mansion cultivators, which was why they were recognized by the Great Xia Dynasty and became vassals of the Great Xia Dynasty.

"Divine Speed Talisman!" Iron Mu Zhan flipped his hand, and a black strip of paper with leaf-like veins appeared. The veins on the paper resembled human blood vessels, and there was a strange ancient character drawn on it, faintly emitting a mysterious aura. Iron Mu Zhan sent a stream of innate true essence into the talisman in his hand.

*Whoosh!*

The talisman instantly transformed into a shadowy character, merging into Iron Mu Zhan's body.

"Run!" Iron Mu Zhan immediately turned into a streak of light, quickly fleeing, even abandoning the Yin-Yang Dual Qi Array.

Iron Mu Zhan knew very well that he still needed the Yin-Yang Dual Qi to protect him from the water and fire lotus, and recovering the eight array flags would waste time. If he were caught by this terrifying Ji family youth, he would not only lose the eight array flags but also his life.

"Escaping?" Ji Ning also pursued. His innate divine body, combined with the unity of heaven and earth, made his movements even faster, turning into a streak of light.

"Just a bit slower than me?" Iron Mu Zhan was startled, "Before he broke through to the innate realm, my speed was already faster than his. Now, using a precious Divine Speed Talisman, I am still almost on par with him." Iron Mu Zhan, unable to bear the pain, gritted his teeth and took out another ancient talisman with veins, activating it with innate true essence.

Another shadowy character merged into his body.

Light Body Talisman!

*Whoosh!* Iron Mu Zhan turned into a wisp of smoke, quickly fleeing.

"Can't catch up." Ji Ning's eyes showed a hint of frustration. As a divine being, his speed was already astonishing. However, Iron Mu Zhan used two talismans, one Light Body Talisman and one Divine Speed Talisman... although these were far less precious than the 'Ten Thousand Mile Traceless Talisman,' they still greatly increased Iron Mu Zhan's speed.

Ji Ning, first, had no talismans, and second, even if he had talismans, he could not use them, as talismans and magical treasures could only be used by innate cultivators.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Iron Mu Zhan escaped the range of the Yin-Yang Dual Qi Array, increasing the distance between them. Ji Ning could no longer use the water and fire lotus on him. The water and fire lotus was based on the water and fire he controlled, and the range of an innate divine being's control over water and fire was limited. At such a distance, it was already beyond the range.

"Ha ha ha..." Iron Mu Zhan breathed a sigh of relief. Without the threat of the water and fire lotus and with the distance increased, he truly relaxed, followed by hatred for Ji Ning, as he had lost the Yin-Yang Dual Qi Array.

"Ji family boy, let you have your moment. I will definitely report to the ancestor and the Snow Dragon Mountain! The Ji family is the mortal enemy of the Iron Mu clan and the Snow Dragon Mountain. Such a genius will be eliminated as soon as possible by both the Snow Dragon Mountain and the Iron Mu clan." Iron Mu Zhan was filled with hatred.

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{Piao Tian Literature}