Chapter 266: Two Fifth-Rankers, and a Divine Object!

Chapter 266: Two Fifth-Rankers, and a Divine Object!



In the courtyard where the wind and snow showed no signs of stopping, Jiang Ning's mind suddenly focused.

"That... is... Jiang... Ning?" He faintly heard scattered voices carried by the wind, and his heart skipped a beat.

The next moment, he slightly stirred his thoughts, maximizing his five senses.

Then, he abruptly heard the conversation of two people in the distance, their voices blending with the howling wind.

Divine Embryo?

Hearing these two words, Jiang Ning was secretly astonished.

Could it be...

He immediately thought of the divine statue within the golden box, a three-headed, six-armed, and four-legged statue.

"Is that divine statue the Divine Embryo?"

He pondered for a moment.

At this moment, he had no interest in observing the changes within his body after the bone-forging process.

Suddenly, a change occurred, causing his spirit to surge with intense concentration.

Just then, his mind abruptly focused once more.

Even with his eyes closed, his vision was pitch-black, but he still sensed a finger a kilometer away, exuding a strong divine essence.

That finger seemed to appear out of nowhere in the endless darkness, like a glowing object in his closed eyes.

An object emitting a deep crimson light.

This item stood out vividly in his dark vision.

Even though he was currently facing away from that direction, and the location of the finger was a kilometer away, he still clearly saw the finger appear in his perception system, filled with sinister red aura.

"Such powerful divinity!"

"Such a strong attraction!"

Jiang Ning couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.

The mysterious attraction made him instantly understand.

That finger must be related to the Flesh and Blood God.

And because he possessed the authority of the Flesh and Blood God, there was now this mysterious attraction.

"If that's the case, then when I encounter the Flesh and Blood God of the Idolatry Sect in the future, there will definitely be a battle for divine authority."

"Perhaps, in the end, only one deity can possess the same divine authority!!"

This realization dawned on him.

At this very moment, he also fully understood who was targeting him.

It must be someone from the Idolatry Sect.

As for the Divine Embryo, after a brief thought, he identified the statue from the golden box.

Currently, that statue lay quietly in the Infinite Ring he held.

Previously, without the nourishment of Hundred Spirit Blood, he felt that the statue was gradually losing some vitality.

Later, after touching it, he absorbed the remaining divine authority from the statue, and it became a truly lifeless object.

It no longer exhibited any divine anomalies.

The change in the statue within the golden box corresponded with the conversation he overheard about the destruction of the Divine Embryo.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ning calmly opened his eyes.

Then, he turned to look in the direction of Luoshui.

His gaze swiftly scanned the area where the voices came from.

As his pupils slightly narrowed, resembling an eagle's, his vision suddenly enhanced several times over.

With his extraordinary five senses, as his martial path level increased, his senses became even more keen.

With a quick glance, relying on his photographic memory, his gaze covered everything, as if a super high-definition camera had recorded it all.

In his mind's eye, Jiang Ning quickly located the two people's position based on the direction and the distance of the sound.

They were on a high spot about a kilometer away.

The two people blended seamlessly with the snow beneath their feet, like chameleons, making them extremely difficult to spot.

If not for his exceptional five senses, photographic memory, and the fact that he had already pinpointed the general area and direction of the voices, he wouldn't have been able to locate them so quickly.

Looking towards Luoshui, Jiang Ning's thoughts turned in his mind.

Then, his body leaped, and he soared like a soaring phoenix, riding the wind and snow over the tall courtyard wall, gliding towards the rocky beach beyond.

On the other side.

This scene also caught the attention of the two people.

Seeing this, the Wind God Envoy's pupils constricted slightly, and he exclaimed, "What an exquisite body technique!"

The Star Guardian beside him spoke up, "Wind God Envoy, should we follow him?"

"I was planning to wait until the New Year's Eve when all the strong cultivators return home, leaving the area vulnerable, before making my move!" The Wind God Envoy slowly said, "Since he's voluntarily heading towards a place rarely visited, let's follow him for now and see if there's an opportunity."

"Understood!" The Star Guardian responded promptly.

As his words fell, the Wind God Envoy's body moved, and he descended from the tall building like a willow catkin in the wind.

"Star Guardian, be mindful of your footsteps and maintain a distance!"

"Yes!" The Star Guardian replied softly from behind.

On the rocky beach.

Jiang Ning stood on a smooth reef.

He soon became aware of the two people quietly following behind him.

"As expected, they're here!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

His heart also calmed down a bit.

From their conversation, he knew that these two were here to cause trouble.

In this situation, he had no choice but to take action.

Escape was no longer an option.

All he could do now was to choose the battlefield.

If they fought in his mansion, it would easily affect his older brother, sister-in-law, and his nieces and nephews.

Additionally, being close to the residents would hinder him from fully utilizing his true abilities.

After all, some of his skills were not meant to be revealed to others.

The various divine abilities he had mastered had made his strength far surpass the apparent Martial Sixth Stage.

This was also why he had previously revealed his realm without fear.

But these abilities could not be easily exposed to the public.

That was his true reliance.

Only by hiding these abilities would his enemies underestimate his strength based solely on his realm, thus misjudging his abilities and power.

By doing so, he could easily catch them off guard.

Therefore, he chose to leave the courtyard and lead the two towards the surface of Luoshui Lake.

Selecting a place rarely visited by people as the battlefield would allow him to fight without much restraint and freely display his skills.

Furthermore, at this point, he also wanted to find a suitable opponent to test his strength. After unleashing his full potential, how powerful would he truly be? These two individuals from the Idolatry Sect, based on his prior knowledge of the sect's members, were just what he was looking for.

From their conversation, he learned about their status and level within the Idolatry Sect.

One was a Guardian, and the other was a Divine Messenger, who the Guardian addressed with respect.

When the Inspection Office assigned the task of exterminating the Idolatry Sect, he had obtained intelligence about the sect.

According to the intelligence:

The highest-ranking members in the Idolatry Sect were the two main leaders, the Grandmasters.

The intelligence estimated that both Grandmasters were at the Fifth Stage Apex.

This was the same level as Lu Qingshan, the leader of Yaowang Valley.

Their inner breath had condensed into a powerful force, capable of striking down a thousand armies, a true Fifth Stage Apex.

The intelligence also hinted that one of the Grandmasters might have surpassed the Fifth Stage, entering the Fourth Stage of the Martial Path.

Beneath the two Grandmasters were the four Guardian Deities.

The Wind, Fire, Mountain, and Forest Guardian Deities.

Compared to the limited information about the Grandmasters, the intelligence provided more detailed and clear information about these four Guardian Deities.

Among the four Guardian Deities, the strongest was the Fire Guardian Deity, also known as the Wind Divine Messenger within the Idolatry Sect.

However, this person was merely at the Fifth Stage, with an inner breath described as vast like the sea.

The remaining three Guardian Deities were slightly weaker, also at the Fifth Stage, but their inner breath had only reached the level of a river.

An inner breath like a river was the same level as his current inner breath.

Beneath the four Guardian Deities were the Guardians.

In terms of Martial level, there wasn't much difference between the ordinary Guardians and the Guardian Deities within the Idolatry Sect.

Most of them were at the Fifth Stage, making them the main combat force of the sect.

The biggest difference between the ordinary Guardians and the Guardian Deities was their ability to transform into a Divine Descendant.

The Guardian Deities had been blessed by the deity worshipped by the Idolatry Sect, bathed in its blood, and absorbed its power.

When transformed into a Divine Descendant, they would take on the form of a four-legged, six-armed being.

So, from their conversation, Jiang Ning had a rough idea of the strength of the two who were plotting against him.

One was a Guardian Deity, the Wind Divine Messenger.

The other was an ordinary Guardian, the Star Guardian.

Thus, both of them were at the Fifth Stage.

Although Jiang Ning was only at the Sixth Stage Mysterious Bone Realm, he had cultivated both his inner and outer self, and his inner breath had reached the level of vastness like the sea.

Compared to the Wind Divine Messenger, he was not at a disadvantage.

The only thing lacking was the strength of his physical body.

The first four stages of the Martial Path focused on tempering the skin, flesh, and bones.

His bones had just been strengthened, and he had yet to forge jade bones.

However, all Fifth Stage practitioners, despite not having achieved perfection in tempering their skin, flesh, and bones, and not yet possessing flawless golden bodies, had already forged jade bones.

Therefore, in terms of physical strength, both the Wind Divine Messenger and the Star Guardian were slightly ahead of him.

But Jiang Ning was not afraid.

After all, his strength could no longer be measured by his Martial level.

After cultivating his techniques for so long and breaking through his limits multiple times, his foundation had become incredibly deep.

The next moment, as he sensed the two people quietly following behind him, Jiang Ning raised his hand and unleashed his inner breath, instantly causing a section of bamboo behind him to fall to the ground.

A kilometer away, the two, who had been stealthily tailing him, witnessed this scene. The Wind Divine Messenger's eyes widened in surprise once more.

"Cultivating both inner and outer self, with an inner breath that transforms the void into reality!"

Unlike the Wind Divine Messenger's astonishment, the Star Guardian's expression remained unchanged.

On that day in Jiang Ning, as he eradicated the Idolatry Sect's stronghold, he witnessed the prowess of Jiang Ning's Inner and Outer Cultivation.

This was also the reason he chose to retreat.

Martial Path's Sixth Stage, the pinnacle of Inner and Outer Cultivation.

Once engaged in combat, although Jiang Ning might not surpass him, it wouldn't be a quick and easy victory.

If they delayed too long, the high-level experts from the Inspection Office, those commanders, would arrive, and it would be difficult to fight off four hands alone.

If Hong Minghu were to show up, even the chance of escaping alive would become slim.

At that moment, Jiang Ning weighed the pros and cons and chose to retreat, abandoning that stronghold.

On the vast and boundless Luoshui River.

Jiang Ning stepped on a long bamboo pole, swiftly gliding forward in the snowy terrain.

At this moment, he was like a soaring eagle, heading towards the barren island in the lake.

The two figures behind him seemed to float like ghosts above the ice layer.

Their powerful Inner Breath Control had brought their Martial Technique to a level almost akin to the Snow-Free Footwork.

After a while...

In Jiang Ning's sight, the familiar barren island was covered in thick snow, with only bare trees devoid of any greenery.

Seeing this familiar island, Jiang Ning couldn't help but smile.

"You're quite patient!"

The two figures behind him had been maintaining a distance of about a kilometer.

They had blended so well with the snow that even with Jiang Ning's extraordinary vision, it was nearly impossible to detect their presence.

Their patience had far exceeded his expectations.

It was worth noting that by this time, Jiang Ning had already ventured quite far from the Luoshui County's shore.

Even if a huge commotion occurred here, those in Luoshui County would not sense any disturbance.

Initially, Jiang Ning had assumed they would lose patience and make a move during the journey.

He hadn't expected their patience to be so profound.

They were even more patient than him!

"You have patience, but I don't!" Jiang Ning said, glancing back at them.

He focused on the towering and smooth cliff ahead, his gaze momentarily sharpening.

This was the battlefield he had chosen.

After sensing the divine nature within that finger and its attraction towards him.

He had already made his decision.

He must obtain that finger and use it for experimentation, to see if it would significantly aid him.

This was crucial.

Because if it were as he anticipated.

In the future, he and that flesh-and-blood deity would be natural mortal enemies!

A war for Divine Authority.

There could only be one Divine Throne.

If that were the case, then he and that flesh-and-blood deity would become natural mortal enemies!"

Jiang Ning turned to look back at the two figures behind him.

Even though they were blending with the environment, his powerful vision still locked onto their presence.

At this moment, the two figures remained a kilometer behind him.

Even as they walked on the snow, they left only shallow footprints.

Without careful observation, one wouldn't notice their traces.

Jiang Ning glanced at them and then withdrew his gaze.

Behind him...

"Have we been discovered?" The Wind Divine Messenger's eyes narrowed slightly as he muttered.

Although Jiang Ning was still a kilometer away, he could clearly feel that Jiang Ning's gaze was directed at them without hesitation.

At this point, his powerful Sixth Sense never failed him.

"Have we been discovered? Really?" The Star Guardian beside him showed surprise.

"Most likely!" The Wind Divine Messenger said, looking at Jiang Ning's back.

Then...

He saw Jiang Ning stepping on the bamboo pole, approaching the barren island's rocky shore.

The next moment...

Jiang Ning discarded the bamboo pole beneath his feet, his body leaping up, instantly resembling a soaring eagle, flying straight towards the smooth cliff ahead.

"Such exquisite Martial Technique!" The Wind Divine Messenger exclaimed.

He was known as the Wind Divine Messenger due to his exceptional Martial Technique.

Among those of the same cultivation level, his Martial Technique was unparalleled.

But every time he witnessed Jiang Ning's Martial Technique, he couldn't help but marvel.

This Martial Technique, like a soaring eagle, was even beyond his capabilities.

What kind of strength did he possess?

The Fifth Stage Apex, with Breath Control as vast as the sea.

Moreover, he had been bathed in the blood of the divine, becoming a lofty divine descendant.

In the future, as that divine being continued to condense its divinity and authority, and after reclaiming the Divine Throne, he would also attain the Grandmaster's position.

Yet, in Jiang Ning's eyes, he was merely a junior, and in terms of Martial Technique, he was almost on par with him!

This was why he hadn't rushed to take action.

Such exquisite Martial Technique.

With the foundation of Inner and Outer Cultivation, if Jiang Ning decided to fight, even if Jiang Ning wanted to escape, he wouldn't dare say he could thoroughly defeat him in a short time.

Precisely because of this, he hadn't rushed to act.

The deeper they ventured into the lake, the farther they were from Luoshui County, and the more space they had to kill.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end