"All of you are mine!"
Just as Ning Fan's voice fell, he immediately summoned his Eight Black Burning Wings and disappeared without a trace with a single step forward.
The five young girls who were originally laughing merrily immediately became vigilant when they saw Nin Fan vanished.. Their small faces completely turned cold.
"Humph! Are you trying to sneak attack us? You're still too green! Kill him!"
Even though the five girls had petite bodies, they were fast and ruthless. Each of them raised their hands and sent out sword rays in five different directions.
They were sword spirits by nature. Their tiny hands were much sharper than common flying swords. With just a wave of their hands, they could produce sword light comparable to a Void Pierce Stage attack. They were undoubtedly extremely strong..
In the sky above, the five rays of sword light cut through where Ning Fan's afterimages emerged in succession.
Ning Fan had altered the direction of his flight five times in an instant. However, a sword light would fly toward him every time he stopped, preventing him from approaching the five girls.
The five girls had really sharp senses. Worthy of being sword spirits of immortal swords.
Ning Fan touched his glabella, summoning the Separation Slayer Sword. With the sword in his hand, he instantly made nine successive steps, becoming one with the great momentum of heaven and earth and wielding the sword to parry the five sword rays. Naturally, those attacks did nothing to him.
When the five little girls saw that their sword lights were ineffective on Ning Fan, their small faces turned solemn.
"AnImmemorial Divine Weapon Flying Sword… Tong Tong, crush his sword!" The sword spirit in golden robes said with a cold expression.
"A…A…Alright!"
The fifth sword spirit was called Tong Tong. She was clad in yellow clothing. As soon as she heard the command, she began making hand seals with her tiny hands. Her eyes twinkled with dazzling sword rays.
Then, an extremely terrifying sword intent shot out from her body which instantly filled the entire heavenly dwelling space. The entire space shook.
That sword intent contained a domineering intent that could destroy every kind of flying sword!
Under the sword intent of the fifth sword spirit, a cracking sound suddenly echoed in the air!
With no warning, the Separation Slayer Sword in Ning Fan's hands trembled violently. A small crack formed on it which was spreading out like a spider web…
The dignified Two-Star divine weapon that not even a full-powered attack of a Void Fragmentation Realm expert could destroy was actually brought on the verge of breaking by the sword intent of a mere little girl!
Ning Fan's eyes were filled with astonishment for the first time. The sword intent from the fifth sword spirit was too powerful. It could actually crush a person's flying sword, including Immemorial Divine Weapons!
Even though the Separation Slayer Sword was a Two-Star divine weapon, it would certainly break if the little girl attacks it again with her divine intent…
"Yi…Yi..Yi…" The fifth sword spirit who stuttered put on a confused look upon seeing Ning Fan's flying sword which had not been completely crushed.
The other sword spirits, on the other hand, covered their mouths with their small hands and said in surprise.
"It's actually a Two-Star divine weapon!? So that's why it wasn't broken despite taking a direct hit from Tong Tong… However, there is no need to be afraid. Let Jing Jing shatter his sword force!"
The sword spirit who was called Jing Jing was the eldest among the five girls, the first sword spirit that was in golden clothing.
She made a series of hand seals using her tiny hands and gave off a sword intent that was completely different from that of the yellow-robed sword spirit. In an instant, it filled up the whole heavenly dwelling space.
The moment her sword intent spread, the sword force that Ning Fan obtained by fusing his Nine Steps, Sky Treader with heaven and earth suddenly collapsed!
Shock filled Ning Fan's eyes.
These five little girls are truly heaven-defying.
"The sword spirit in yellow robes can break one's flying swords while the sword spirit in golden robes can crush one's sword force… I'm afraid the other three sword spirits also have their own respective abilities…"
Ning Fan dispersed his force and kept his Separation Slayer Sword. Then, he gently inhaled and began to think.
After a brief moment, he slowly raised one of his fingers and pointed it at the five girls. A sword light was produced at his fingertip.
When the sword light was about to take form, the second sword spirit that was clad in green robes made some hand seals and unleashed her sword intent.
Under her sword intent, Ning Fan's sword light immediately dispersed.
"The sword spirit in green robes can break one's sword light and sword shadow, huh…"
As if he was deep in thought, Ning Fan activated his Heart Formation Technique and used the Eastern Profound Sword Formation which he had not used for a long time.
Before the sword formation could take shape, the fourth sword spirit in red robes also made a few hand seals to release her sword intent.
Instantly, Ning Fan's Eastern Profound Sword Formation that had yet to completely condense was broken…
Just as the sword spirit in red robes stopped, the third sword spirit in blue clothing started making hand seals and emitted her sword intent.
Her sword intent was warm and gentle like water. However, Ning Fan could feel that all of his sword intent was quickly being drained away under the effect of this sword intent!
His eyes flashed with mild surprise. He now knew the abilities of the five sword spirits.
"The sword spirit in red clothing can shatter one's sword formation while the sword spirit in blue clothing can crush one's sword intent…"
"If the five of them are gathered together, no sword cultivator below the Void Fragmentation Realm can fight against them. Even sword cultivators at the First and Second Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm might not necessarily be their match…"
The astonishment in Ning Fan's eyes did not evade the five girls' observation.
When they noticed his surprised expression, their faces were filled with satisfaction.
"Humph! This elder sister's sword intent specializes in breaking all kinds of sword force. Are you scared now?!"
"Humph! This second elder sister's sword intent specializes in crushing all kinds of sword light. Are you scared now?!"
"Humph! This third elder sister's sword intent specializes in shattering all kinds of sword intent. Are you scared now?!"
"Humph! This fourth elder sister's sword intent specializes in destroying all kinds of sword formations. Are you scared now?!"
"H…H…Humph…"
"Tong Tong, you are a stutterer. Don't always imitate how we speak!!!"
"O…O…Oh…"
While the five girls were feeling proud of themselves, Ning Fan dismissed the look of surprise on his face and said with a smile.
"The five of you are really interesting. If I have all of you by my side, I suppose all of you will become useful even when I battle against a Void Fragmentation Realm sword cultivator in the future… For now, I'll capture you all and make you submit next time."
"Bah! We've already seen through your sword techniques and abilities. There is no way you can subdue us with just you alone!"
"Do you want to try it out…?"
*Chi*
Ning Fan transformed into a long ray of light, approaching the five girls at once. He was not a pure sword cultivator and had many other ways to deal with the five of them.
The five girls were not planning to show any mercy to Ning Fan at all. They tried to raise their hands to send out sword light and attack him.
However, Ning Fan did not give them a chance to unleash their sword lights as he directly pointed a finger at them, using his ultimate technique.
All of a sudden, the faces of the five girls turned pale. They realized that they could not move their bodies.
In the next second, countless blood threads spread out from within their bodies, tightly binding them in midair and securing them up above the clouds!
The blood threads were produced from the Heaven Sealing Technique!
One breath later, Ning Fan's figure appeared ten zhang* (3.33m per zhang) away from the five girls. He summoned a Yin Imprisoning Rope with a flick of his finger and swung it at them. The rope split into five fine threads that were as thin as a strand of hair halfway to its targets, tying up the five sword spirits.
Because the five sword spirits were only as big as a thumb, the Yin Imprisoning Rope that had bound them were miniature versions of the original.
Before they could break free from the Heaven Sealing Technique, they were restrained even more tightly by the Yin Imprisoning Rope.
It was still possible for them to break free from the Heaven Sealing Technique but they were then subsequently bound by the Yin Imprisoning Rope which sapped them of all their strength, eliminating all of their chances of breaking free.
"T-This is cheating! These blood threads could actually restrain my movements?!" The golden-robed sword spirit's face was full of panic.
"My body feels soft, weak, feeble… I can't use any of my strength after this thin rope got me…" The sword spirit in green robes nearly fell face down due to weakness.
"This is unfair! This is really unfair! Your body is so huge while ours are so tiny. This is clearly a one-sided battle! Let's do it one more time! I request to redo our fight one more time!" The face of the sword spirit in red clothing turned reddish as she protested against their capture.
"I'm wrong. Please don't catch me. I'm scared…" The eyes of the blue-robed sword spirit became red. She was so frightened to the point of crying.
"P…P…Please…" The sword spirit in yellow robes wanted to plead to Ning Fan. But because of her stuttering, she could not speak a complete sentence, which made her extremely nervous.
Ning Fan pulled the thin rope into his hands and dragged the five tiny sword spirits into his palm. Then, he shook his head and smiled.
These five sword spirits had great capabilities. However, they behaved just like children. Even though they were mischievous and troublesome, they were extremely timid yet innocent and genuine… If Ning Fan could get a higher-level 'sword seal' and plant it on them, they would certainly not dare to rebel against him and would serve him as their master for the rest of their lives because of their timid nature.
A sword seal is a common type of restrictive seal. Generally, every flying sword that had developed their spirituality would be planted with a restrictive seal to prevent them from escaping on their own.
What a sword seal controls is not the flying sword itself but the sword spirit within it.
The Separation Slayer Sword was Ning Fan's one and only natal flying sword which did not have a sword spirit.
Ning Fan knew many styles of sword seals. However, their levels were too low as most of them were meant for Nascent Soul Grade and Divine Transformation Grade flying swords.
He could not control the sword spirits of immortal swords using the power of those kinds of sword seals…
"From today onward, the five of you will become my sword spirits. There are still things I need to deal with at this moment. When I have time, I will look for a high-grade sword seal to officially subdue you all. For now, I will let all of you take a long nap."
Ning Fan activated the power of his Yin Plucking Finger and touched them consecutively, putting all five of them to sleep. Then, he kept them in his storage pouch.
Right afterward, he threw a punch at the heavenly dwelling space to destroy it entirely and returned to the outside world. In the next instant, he reappeared above the sea of clouds in the Great Heaven Realm.
From Ning Fan entering the heavenly dwelling space to returning to the outside world, it actually did not take a very long time.
Ordinary cultivators had no idea where Ning Fan had gone. Lu Yu, on the other hand, was fully aware of the truth. He knew that Ning Fan had been 'captured' by the five spirits into their heavenly dwelling space.
Upon seeing Ning Fan leave the heavenly dwelling space safely, Lu Yu let out a long sigh of relief.
He was very worried that Ning Fan might be tormented half to death by the five sword spirits.
When he saw that Ning Fan was still safe and sound while the five sword spirits were nowhere to be found, he was relieved.
Well, he did not know that Ning Fan had actually captured the five sword spirits. He only thought that Ning Fan had become their new human pet and said to him with a sympathetic tone.
"*Sigh* A storm might arise from a clear sky while human fortunes are as unpredictable as the weather. White-Robed Marquis, my condolences… The five little ancestors are fond of torturing people but they aren't bad in nature… When you live with them in the future, just tolerate them as much as you can…"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Ning Fan was confused, finding Lu Yu's words difficult to understand.
"*Sigh* White-Robed Marquis really is an open-minded person… Anyway, let's go. I'll now bring you to the inner part of the mountain to take a look at the rain stele.
Lu Yu did not have the strength to capture the five sword spirits and could only let them bully him.
Ning Fan, on the other hand, was not afraid of them at all and he was the one who would be bullying them in the future.
To Lu Yu, being abandoned by the five sword spirits was something to celebrate.
To Ning Fan, however, getting the five swords spirits was a welcomed surprise.
The two of them went inside the mountain. After an incense stick of time, Ning Fan left the Great Heaven Palace.
Sensing Ning Fan's travelling light that was gradually leaving into the distance, Lu Yu heaved a deep sigh.
"My five little ancestors, all of you have to go easy on White-Robed Marquis. Please don't torture him to death… Speaking of which, I still need to thank him. If it wasn't for him, the five of them would never leave me alone… From today onward, there will be no more disturbance. I can finally get a good and peaceful sleep…"
"But I feel a little unused to it without them making noises around me…"
…
The first realm of the Heavenly Cloud Country – Vast Heaven Realm!
Since the day Ning Fan set out from the Scarlet Heaven Realm which was the third realm of the country, he had challenged the palace lords of the six palaces. Now, only the Vast Heaven Palace and the Yang Heaven Palace were left on his list.
After the fourth prince died, the Yang Heaven Palace became the weakest division of the nine great palaces. Its palace lord was merely a Void Glimpse Stage expert called Zheng He and he died during the war of the one hundred sects…
Now, the Yang Heaven Palace was becoming even weaker that it became too insignificant to mention. That being so, Ning Fan only needed to pay attention to the Vast Heaven Palace.
Ning Fan's eyes were filled with seriousness. According to what he had heard, the Vast Heaven Palace Lord was an Absolute Void Stage expert as well as the strongest of the nine palace lords.
If he defeats him, he would finish studying all the rain steles of the nine palaces.
Stepping on his ancient golden sword, Ning Fan travelled swiftly within the Vast Heaven Realm, passing by multiple cultivation countries and crossing tall mountains. The cloud mountain was already visible in the distance after some time.
On top of the ninety thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) tall cloud mountain, a short and scrawny old man stood with a slight hunch in his back while tightly closing his eyes.
All the inquisitive cultivators from the nine realms had gathered all around the cloud mountain.
Those with discerning eyes were aware that the Yang Heaven Palace was weak and insignificant. As long as Ning Fan could defeat the Vast Heaven Palace Lord, he could be said to have defeated all the other eight palaces of the Rain Palace.
Countless cultivators were guessing and betting whether the Vast Heaven Palace Lord who was at the Absolute Void Stage or Ning Fan who had remained undefeated throughout all his previous fights would come out victorious…
"You've arrived…"
The short old man suddenly opened his eyes which contained endless rain intent.
While looking at the golden sword light that was constantly approaching, his face slowly turned ice-cold.
"According to the Four Rain Summoning Elders, you've protected the criminal, Wu Chen, and let him run free… Is that true?!"
*Huff*
An extremely strong rain intent spread across the area, causing rain to fall within several hundred thousand li* (500m per li)!
As for the old man's Absolute Void Stage aura force, it literally condensed into an illusory palm imprint which fell down directly toward Ning Fan's head!
"I am Yun Ling, the palace lord of the Vast Heaven Palace! With me around, you should stop thinking about having the chance to look at my Vast Heaven Rain Stele!"
Ning Fan stopped flying and floated above the sea of clouds. After keeping the ancient sword, he raised his hand and threw out a punch, crushing the incoming palm imprint of aura force.
His fist went slightly numb…
This Vast Heaven Palace Lord is a genuine Absolute Void Stage expert. It seems like I can't underestimate him.
"What if I insist on taking a look at your Vast Heaven Rain Stele?!" Ning Fan asked with a fearless and dignified tone.
"Simple! Defeat me and you can take a look at my rain stele! However, you won't be able to do that!"
*Chi*
When the old man took a step forward, he disappeared without a single trace. At the next instant, he appeared above the sea of clouds and disdainfully snorted.
"Even though I have yet to convert my unital magic power to yuan, defeating you is still as simple as raising my hands!"
Yun Ling taunted Ning Fan in front of several hundred thousand cultivators. He then slapped his storage pouch and a shiny silver pagoda emerged in his hands right after.
When the pagoda appeared, a rain intent that was filled with boundless baleful qi rushed toward Ning Fan, making his expression grim.
Those cultivators who recognized the origin of the pagoda cried out in disbelief.
"This is… the Rain Sealing Pagoda!"
The pagoda not only sealed the rain but also countless dead spirits of demons and devils that the Rain Palace had slaughtered in the past tens of thousands of years…
That pagoda was once the natal treasure that the Rain Sovereign had personally given to the fourth prince. It now belongs to Yun Ling!
"With this pagoda, I'll only need ten breaths to defeat you! Ning Fan, you aren't my match. Hurry up and leave so that you will avoid bringing humiliation to yourself!"
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel
