The Four Techniques of the Dark Ancestor, including the Finger Diagram Furnace Wheel, have always been the secret art of the Dark Clan. Few within the clan are qualified to practice these techniques, and even fewer can truly master them.

Among the numerous clan members, only Hei Sheng has succeeded in mastering the first three techniques simultaneously, and coupled with his special status, it’s no wonder that the Five Saints of the Dark Clan hold Hei Sheng in such high regard, believing Ning Fan is destined to lose.

If Ning Fan were to win, that would be truly surprising, considering even the Quasi-Saints within the clan can at most fight Hei Sheng to a draw...

...

In the void of the Dark Control Position, Hei Sheng frowned, looking at his hand paralyzed by poison power, silent for a long time. He was unwilling to admit it, but he had to admit that he had been unwittingly tricked by Ning Fan’s clever little scheme.

That mouthful of poisonous blood he coughed out was a warning of his carelessness; but so what if he was careless? Just one mouthful of blood, and even if he were to cough hundreds of thousands of mouthfuls, it would not be fatal.

"What a dull tactic, poisoning the Flooded Bottle to lure me into grabbing it... Hmph! Quick-witted indeed, and the poison power not bad. If it were any average Immortal Emperor caught by your poison, they’d suffer some injuries. But you don’t realize that I am not like those worthless scraps; such an insignificant trick is useless against me!"

Hei Sheng snorted disdainfully, and suddenly blood-red light emanated around him, causing countless ancient tree silhouettes to appear throughout the void of the Control Position. Each silhouette of an ancient tree exuded a tremendous life aura, vast as the mountains and seas; however, it wasn’t long before the silhouettes dissipated one after another.

Neither the blood light nor the ancient tree silhouettes were Divine Skills; instead, they were phenomena formed by the massive vital essence within him moving the heavens and earth.

The poison power invading his body, he forcibly refined them clean despite risking backlash, and naturally, his palm felt no more paralysis, restored as before, while he looked at Ning Fan and lazily yawned.

"... Though insignificant tricks, it seems even Illusory Art holds little meaning for you; even a Thousand Dragon Mirage couldn’t harm you in the slightest. Thus, I’ll exert slightly more effort; I’ll use ten percent of my strength to fight you."

What a contemptuous tone!

This time, Ning Fan did not become angry at the contempt but remained deeply shocked, his gaze suddenly changing! With his composed nature, he rarely experienced such astonishment since his cultivation began, yet he had to make an exception this time.

The fleeting ancient tree silhouettes in the void seemed to be... life ancient tree phenomena recorded in some ancient texts! These ancient tree silhouettes numbered no less than a thousand—a thousand life ancient trees. Could it be...

That blood light enveloping Hei Sheng, it was entirely the glow emanating from his enormous vital essence within, right! What a massive vital essence! What thriving life force! How can such a monster exist even among the second step!

If the life aura of an average Immortal Emperor felt like an ocean to Ning Fan, then Hei Sheng was like the vast starry sky, like the primordial universe, completely another magnitude!

The vastness of this Hei Sheng’s vital essence was at least... a thousand times that of an average Immortal Emperor!

Had his poison attack failed?

No, not that...

If the damage from his poison attack could inflict one percent of the vital essence damage on a typical Immortal Emperor, then for Hei Sheng, it would be less than one ten-thousandth of the damage, so negligible it could almost be ignored...

He is a monster, a true monster, whose existence utterly defied cultivation common sense. Inflicting sufficiently severe wounds upon him is exceedingly difficult! Attempting to kill him is as hard as ascending the heavens, equaling the difficulty of killing a thousand Immortal Emperors!

"Haha, this inheritor of Ancient Chaos seems to be scared silly by Hei Sheng’s enormous vital essence," a Dark Saint outside shook his head dismissively.

The other saints similarly laughed.

"Also, it’s not surprising this inheritor of Ancient Chaos is so dumbfounded; likely, it’s his first time seeing a creature with such vast vital essence. Let alone Hei Sheng himself, just speaking of his monumental life force alone is several thousand times that of a regular Immortal Emperor. The life ancient tree phenomena appear only when someone’s vital essence is excessively powerful; the stronger the vital essence, the more tree shadows appear within the phenomenon. Even for us Quasi-Saints, this phenomenon is hard to manifest, yet Hei Sheng can create a thousand trees. Monster is indeed not just a name."

"Suppose a certain magic successfully hits, potentially causing a deadly blow to an average Immortal Emperor; this attack would need to hit thousands of times before possibly slaying Hei Sheng, and meanwhile, Hei Sheng’s body mustn’t be given the chance to heal automatically..."

"With the royal clan bloodline of a divine spirit, even if only a demigod, it’s beyond common sense to grasp... Not to mention this inheritor of Ancient Chaos; even we Quasi-Saints, who can truly kill Hei Sheng? Probably only the ancient great cultivator, capable of exterminating Hei Sheng, hence Hei Sheng fears only the ancestor in our clan, and is on a pedestal higher than everyone else, a divine sovereign before anyone else..."

"From ancient times to now, only the Immortal Emperor is comparable in life force to such a monster within the second step. To suppress the royal bloodline spirit with an immortal bloodline—that is true strength..."

Realizing Hei Sheng’s terror, Ning Fan did not succumb to fear, but his heart could not remain calm.

He originally thought that the so-called descendant of the Dark Ancestor would be the greatest foe he encountered at the same level throughout his life, but unexpectedly, the opponent wasn’t even on the same plane, instead... far beyond!

Even if Hei Sheng stood still and let him hit, how many years would he need to kill Hei Sheng!

"Don’t get distracted; let me enjoy myself a bit, even though I’m only using ten percent of my strength, that is already something to be proud of. You should know that even in my clan, an Immortal Emperor at the sixth tribulation level can only make me use half my strength. Next, I won’t use Illusory Art, just my master’s renowned ultimate technique, enough to kill you."

Hei Sheng slowly raised his finger, and limitless black energy roared and converged from heaven and earth onto his fingertip, forming black fire. That black fire was not flames, but rather the ultimate transformation of the power of the dark control position!

The gigantic black sun emerged behind Hei Sheng, exuding an ancient aura!

The malevolent dark aura suddenly spread, corrupting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Without a certain level of dark defense, no one dared to absorb the force of heaven at will.

This is the Obsidian Finger, part of the Dark Ancestor’s four techniques. Ning Fan had once seen Senluo use it. With Senluo’s cultivation, he had seriously injured the Jiuyou Great Emperor with just one finger back then. Hei Sheng’s power far surpassed Senluo, and as a holder of the Dark Control Position, the Obsidian Finger he unleashed was several times more powerful than Senluo’s!

It was enough to seriously injure an ordinary Sixth Calamity Immortal Emperor with a single strike!

Was such a terrifying finger really only one-tenth of Hei Sheng’s strength?

Ning Fan’s expression was as deep as water. At this moment, he knew deeply that no matter what, he would probably not be able to defeat Hei Sheng on this visit to the Dark Clan. It seemed that even an ordinary Quasi-Saint could not make Hei Sheng lose...

But even knowing that Hei Sheng was unbeatable, Ning Fan refused to admit defeat. He was fighting on behalf of the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor, and he could not lose to Hei Sheng!

In an instant, Hei Sheng’s finger pressed down!

At the fingertip, the black fire extinguished!

Yet the enormous black sun behind him instantly shattered into countless fragments of black flame, which then transformed into thousands upon thousands of black fire crows. Gathering together, the fire crows transformed into a gigantic black fire finger, overshadowing the sky as it headed for Ning Fan.

"Divine Sword Annihilates Dao!"

Beneath the Cross Halo, Ning Fan waved his large hand, and the Yin-Yang Five Swords were activated, transforming boundless mana into a thousand-zhang divine sword, slashing towards the giant finger.

This giant finger was condensed by the power of the Palm Position Path, and using the Severing Dao Divine Sword to slash it, theoretically, could result in significant damage augmentation.

But that was just theory!

It was all because Hei Sheng’s strength was too overwhelming. If Senluo had used the Obsidian Finger, Ning Fan might have been able to obliterate the technique with one sword, but with Hei Sheng using it, the situation was different.

The Severing Dao Divine Sword only managed to cut a small wound on the Obsidian Giant Finger before being completely devoured by the dark force on the finger!

Afterwards, the sky-obscuring finger light transformed into a boundless sea of black light, engulfing Ning Fan. The piercing noise, a sizzling sound, was the countless black lights, grinding away at Ning Fan!

"The Five Chaotic Swords, said to be unbreakable, in your hands only possess this much power. What a letdown... I don’t know if it is because you are too weak or if this Divine Skill is inherently not strong enough..."

Hei Sheng looked at the sea of black light formed by his finger light, feeling quite disappointed.

In his view, as Ning Fan had not blocked the finger light, being struck by it head-on, he most probably would die. It was a shame that having finally decided to exert one-tenth of his strength for Ning Fan, he concluded the battle with just that!

The inheritor of Ancient Chaos is very weak.

The Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor probably isn’t much stronger, just an empty reputation.

"...Compared to you, I indeed cannot be called strong, but the only weak one is me. The Yin-Yang Five Swords are absolutely not half a point weaker than your Obsidian Finger!"

In the sea of black light, a Golden Flame Giant gradually appeared. That was Ning Fan, no longer holding back, transforming deliberately into the God-Slaying Giant.

The God-Slaying Giant walked amidst the light sea, and no matter how severely the surrounding light sea tried to harm him, it couldn’t cause him even a bit of harm. Its defense was truly formidable.

"This is... a Heaven-Opening Artifact! This kid actually possesses such a precious treasure!" The Five Saints of the Dark Clan in the outside world gasped in shock.

Although they didn’t directly recognize the God-Extinguishing Shield, they managed to sense a hint of the aura of a Heaven-Opening Artifact, and greed flared up in each of their eyes.

"It truly is Heaven-Opening! Impossible! How could this kid have such an item? It is not something the Ancient Chaos could grant him! Even Ancient Chaos isn’t worthy of it!" In the first layer of the Great Dark Heaven, within a huge coffin, Dark Ancestor’s eyes trembled, and then a flash of greed passed through his eyes as well.

Facing a Heaven-Opening Artifact, who wouldn’t be tempted? Even the strong, like the ancient great cultivators, would covet it!

Because of this, Ning Fan was unwilling to reveal the existence of the God-Extinguishing Shield in front of these greedy old monsters, even if there was the slightest possibility. But the situation had developed to this point, and he didn’t want to worry about so many things anymore. Without using the God-Extinguishing Shield, he had no confidence in fighting on equal terms with Hei Sheng, who was... overwhelmingly stronger!

But no matter what, he didn’t want to yield to Hei Sheng, or let the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor be looked down upon by Hei Sheng!

In the name of Ancient Chaos, even if this battle could not be won, he would never allow himself to suffer defeat. No matter how strong your vital essence is, he would fight until your vital essence was exhausted!

"You actually have a Heaven-Opening!" Hei Sheng, who had always maintained an aloof attitude, finally changed his expression, displaying strong shock.

The Heaven-Opening Artifact... Such a heavy treasure, how could it appear in the hands of a cultivator at the second stage, not even a Third Step Saint truly deserves to own it!

No, it’s not a complete Heaven-Opening Artifact... But even if it’s just a fragment, it shouldn’t rightfully be held by someone at the second stage!

Moreover, for some reason, the aura emanating from Ning Fan’s Heaven-Opening Artifact gave Hei Sheng an extremely unsettling feeling. He couldn’t recognize the God-Extinguishing Shield, but he felt a hint of danger from it...

"If one sword isn’t enough, how about ten swords, or a hundred swords!"

The God-Slaying Giant wielded the Reverse Sea Great Sword, slashing one sword after another, carving a vacuum path in the sea of dark light, wherever the sword light reached, any black glow there would be obliterated.

Under the Cross Halo, Ning Fan didn’t need to worry about the depletion of mana, the only thing to be concerned about was the exhaustion of his mental power.

Fortunately, in his grain sack, there were heaps of God-Returning Rice Grain piled like mountains. Hidden inside the God-Slaying Giant, whenever Ning Fan’s mental power fell short, he could immediately consume the rice to recover.

"You have a fragment of the Heaven-Opening Artifact, which indeed shocked me, but at this moment, you are not enough to drive out more of my power... Twin Extremes Black Yao!"

Hei Sheng pressed down a second finger, and suddenly another gigantic black sun appeared behind him. It collapsed and transformed into a second dark sea of light, flooding towards Ning Fan.

The power of the sea of light suddenly surged more than double, the crackling dark force turned into bolts of lightning, striking the God-Slaying Giant’s body, almost hundreds of strikes hit the God-Slaying Giant every second, but could only cause circles of golden halos, unable to break through the God-Slaying Giant’s defense by a fraction.

The God-Slaying Giant said nothing, silently slashing the sword, using the Yin-Yang Five Swords which had not yet reached their most advanced level, to contend against the fully mastered Black Yaw Finger.

Whether in terms of strength or skill proficiency, Ning Fan didn’t have the upper hand. But there wasn’t a single reason for him to lower his head in defeat!

In dire situations, one often makes breakthroughs, which is why some people are fond of challenging powerful figures, as the more perilous the battle, the greater the rewards frequently are.

Here and now, Ning Fan was in such a situation, scenes of him using the Severing Dao Divine Sword in the past surfaced in his mind. The more critical the moment, those memories became quieter, clearer. For the Yin-Yang Five Swords, he suddenly had an unprecedented understanding.

Yin-Yang Five Swords, each sword breaks a law...

The essence of breaking is inherent in it, and this notion of breaking seems to resonate with the Ancient Demon Annihilation Dao...

Wasn’t the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor of old inspired by the three cultivations of Dao, Ghost, and Demon, to create the Yin-Yang Five Swords due to insights into the Ancient Demon Annihilation Dao...

Annihilation, annihilation...

The Yin-Yang Five Swords, break all things, how does one break, how does one annihilate...

The Severing Dao Divine Sword released by the God-Slaying Giant began to change.

In the past, when Ning Fan wielded the Severing Dao Divine Sword, it often had a touch of righteousness and peace, but this time, the Severing Dao Divine Sword he released bore an air of demonic nature, a boldness, an unreasonable attitude, sheer aggression.

This was Ning Fan forcibly infusing his understanding of the Ancient Demon Annihilation Dao, his lifetime insights into the Demon Dao, into the Severing Dao Divine Sword!

Slash!

Slash!!

Slash!!!

In front of the Ancient Demon, there stands no obstacle, all who block the path are executed!

The God-Slaying Giant fought with the sword, repeatedly slashing the black lightning emerging from the dark sea of light, its momentum growing stronger and stronger.

The dark sea of light’s attacks couldn’t harm Ning Fan, yet with each sword strike, Ning Fan could obliterate a vast swath of the sea of light.

Ten swords, twenty swords, thirty swords...

After more than seventy swords, the God-Slaying Giant completely annihilated the contiguous sea of light, emerged unscathed, and swung a sword across immeasurable distance towards Hei Sheng.

It seemed like a provocation, or a form of proof!

My Chaotic Ancient Ultimate Study is not weaker than your Black Yaw Finger by a bit!

"You only broke two of my fingers, are you so pleased with that!"

Hei Sheng snorted coldly, using the Black Yaw Finger to conjure a black sun, slamming it down towards Ning Fan.

Ning Fan executed another seventy-odd successful strikes, shattering the black sun to pieces. With another swift move, he suddenly drew closer, swinging the heavy Reverse Sea Sword at Hei Sheng, with the weight of seven Cultivation Stars.

Hei Sheng felt the strong wind from the Reverse Sea Sword, but he disdainfully refused to dodge, directly catching the heavy sword edge with his bare hand.

The sealing effect of the Cross Halo was ineffective on him!

The weight of seven stars did not cause Hei Sheng’s body to move even an inch, he remained steady as a mountain, effortlessly blocking a slash of the Reverse Sea Sword with his bare hand, the hardness of his body and his immense strength startled Ning Fan. Throughout his cultivation journey, it was the first time he had encountered an opponent who could unblinkingly catch the Reverse Sea Sword!

Fortunately, this sword wasn’t everything; the moment Hei Sheng caught this sword, hundreds of divine skills took shape within the Cross Halo and struck Hei Sheng’s body.

Hei Sheng sneered, neither dodging nor evading; the fusion of thousands of divine skills was enough to deter some Immortal Emperors, but hitting Hei Sheng’s body only slightly scorched his skin, hair, and his leather skirt. The damage wasn’t nearly enough to harm his vast vitality.

"As the inheritor of Ancient Chaos, is this your full strength? Truly too weak!"

Hei Sheng flicked his right hand, tossing away the Reverse Sea Sword along with the God-Slaying Giant who wielded it, spreading immense force that left slight cracks on the God-Slaying Giant.

To break the God-Slaying Giant’s defenses bare-handed... What incredible might this Hei Sheng possesses! 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Yet this wasn’t the credit of the Black Yaw Finger, but intricately because of Hei Sheng’s powerful body itself.

A tremendous force transmitted through the God-Slaying Giant’s Yang blood rust, hitting Ning Fan, making him feel as if his insides were being torn apart, causing him to cough up blood.

The gap is simply too vast...

But this battle, it cannot be feared, and retreat is not an option!

Roar!

Ning Fan’s fighting intent became fiercer; the enhancement from battling Yin and Yang caused Ning Fan’s will to remain as solid as a rock, unshakable in front of any formidable adversary.

"Prison Thunder Rope!"

Ning Fan silently called for the name of the Prison Thunder Rope, anchored somewhere in the void, it immediately responded, appearing suddenly and binding the unsuspecting Hei Sheng tightly.

Hei Sheng was startled, then let out a cold laugh, the surge throughout his body snapped the Prison Thunder Rope, destroying this innate treasure!

Linked in mind and heart, Ning Fan coughed up another mouthful of fresh blood, experiencing backlash, but fortunately, due to the astonishing recovery of the Cross Halo, all injuries were instantly mended.

Losing an innate treasure could certainly leave an ordinary Immortal Emperor heartbroken, but for the treasure-laden Ning Fan, it wasn’t that big a deal.

Hei Sheng broke free from Ning Fan’s Prison Thunder Rope and was about to mock him when he suddenly paused, coughed up another mouthful of poisonous blood, and became enraged!

He had fallen for the same trick by Ning Fan twice; this Prison Thunder Rope was also... poisoned!

"I told you! Your insignificant trick is useless against me!" Hei Sheng, both angry and embarrassed, couldn’t maintain composure after being tripped up twice by the same pit.

"You also said you would only use ten percent of your strength against me, but I don’t think your ten percent strength could break my Golden Body Realm, destroy my innate treasure." The God-Slaying Giant said coldly.

Hei Sheng was even more furious, feeling Ning Fan’s every word striking him right in the face.

Indeed, seeing Ning Fan break his Black Yaw Finger, unknowingly, he had exerted full strength— otherwise, how could Ning Fan, even with a Heaven-Opening Artifact, be suppressed by him?

In cultivation duels, there’s no speaking of integrity, no talk of despicability; he was no benevolent person and would not think anything wrong with breaking promises, but being called out by Ning Fan on the spot still irked him!

"It’s just empty bragging, truly a wretch!"

Hei Sheng filled with killing intent, waved his large hand, turning the endless dark energy into a gigantic Ink Splashing Immortal Painting, fiercely sweeping towards Ning Fan.

This Ink Splashing Immortal Painting was the second technique of Ancestral Dark Arts—Black Water Chart.

Despite its lack of grandeur in name, the Black Water term implies endless killing intent. Even an unremarkable Immortal Emperor swallowed by this chart could turn into black water within a short moment, dreadfully potent.

Though Ning Fan was confident that his God-Slaying Giant was strong enough, he wouldn’t willingly be swallowed by this chart. Controlling the God-Slaying Giant, he slashed over ninety swords, using the Severing Dao Divine Sword to chop the Black Water Chart into pieces.

Ning Fan, who has mastered Dark Yin Yang, is extremely familiar with the laws of darkness. If this Black Water Chart was constructed from other Dao laws, he would definitely be unable to easily shatter it with the Severing Dao Divine Sword. But fortunately, with Dark Yin Yang, even if he is not Hei Sheng’s opponent, he still has some means to protect himself.

Having successfully landed a hit, Ning Fan seizes the opportunity to pursue relentlessly, commanding the God-Slaying Giant to punch with the Ancient Demon Mountain-Shattering Strike towards Hei Sheng, one punch after another.

The successive blows fell like a torrential downpour, yet Hei Sheng took all the punches directly with his physical body. It wasn’t until the eight hundredth consecutive strike that he vomited blood and dared not receive the Ancient Demon Mountain-Shattering Strike head-on anymore.

Thus, whenever Ning Fan’s Ancient Demon Mountain-Shattering Strike reached a certain number of consecutive strikes, Hei Sheng would use the Heaven Sealing Art to hold Ning Fan still for a short time, breaking the momentum of Ning Fan’s consecutive strikes, making it impossible for Ning Fan to deliver high consecutive strikes and inflict effective damage...

"Even the ancestor’s second art can’t suppress this person?"

"Clearly this person’s strength is inferior to Hei Sheng, yet he repeatedly breaks the ancestor’s arts..."

"Could it be that our Dark Clan Ultimate Study is really inferior to the Chaotic Ancient Ultimate Study? I don’t believe it!"

"Hmph! If Hei Sheng didn’t use the ancestor’s divine skills and just used his physical body to fight this kid, he would have probably killed this kid already..."

"Be careful with your words! If the ancestor hears you, it’ll be bad!"

The Five Saints of the Dark Clan outside could not remain calm.

They originally thought Ning Fan could only hold on for a short time in Hei Sheng’s hands, but considering everything carefully, Hei Sheng has already been fighting Ning Fan for nearly an hour and still hasn’t taken him down!

An hour of intense battle would undoubtedly take a heavy toll on Ning Fan’s heart and spirit, especially knowing that during this hour, he was continuously fighting Hei Sheng under the Cross Halo. Hidden within the God-Slaying Giant, he had to consume large amounts of God-Returning Rice to recover his spirit every now and then.

In just an hour, he consumed over a thousand catties of God-Returning Rice. Although there were still more than eighty thousand catties of new rice in his sack, if he continued to consume like this, he might not last until the end of the duel with Hei Sheng.

Hei Yao Finger attacked continuously!

Severing Dao Divine Sword blocked continuously!

Twelve charts of the Black Water Chart suppressed simultaneously!

Severing Dao Divine Sword merged a thousand swords in a strike!

On the surface, Ning Fan seems evenly matched against Hei Sheng in combat, but Ning Fan knows very well that although his opponent is using all his strength, he is insistent on using the Dark Clan Divine Skills against him. Ironically, the opponent’s Dark Clan Divine Skills are entirely counteracted by what Ning Fan has learned, which is why the opponent cannot land a fatal strike against him.

If the opponent were to directly use his terrifying physical body to engage in a brawl, Ning Fan wonders how many rounds he could endure...

The God-Slaying Giant might be blown apart by just a few dozen punches from Hei Sheng...

If my cultivation was one step further, facing this Hei Sheng might not be as strenuous... I have fifty thousand Immeasurable Pills at hand, and three ten-thousand-year Age Towers yet unused, if...

Ning Fan clenched his fists, having made a decision, knowing that if he didn’t make any changes and continued to fight head-on like this, he was bound to be defeated.

"Yin Sha Furnace!"

Hei Sheng, having no other choice, finally even used the third supreme skill of the Dark Ancestor, materializing an endless giant furnace with divine skills, directly trapping the God-Slaying Giant within.

The yin fire burned fiercely within the furnace, seemingly intending to refine the God-Slaying Giant into charcoal!

However, it didn’t take long for this Yin Sha Furnace to be split open by Ning Fan with thousands of slashes, escaping from within.

This is because the Yin Sha Furnace is a supreme skill of the Dark Ancestor, a divine skill running on the power of darkness, fundamentally unsuitable to deal with Ning Fan.

"Even my master’s third art cannot harm you. Unfortunately, I don’t know my master’s final move [Imitation Dark Saint Ring], otherwise killing you wouldn’t be hard..." Hei Sheng frowned.

Illusory arts couldn’t kill Ning Fan.

Spells couldn’t kill Ning Fan.

Indeed, I can only rely on my most adept physical skills...

Hiss!

Hei Sheng stepped forward, instantly appearing beside Ning Fan with a speed not inferior to Ning Fan, without a word, he raised his hand for an unreasonable punch.

This punch gave Ning Fan an incredible feeling, as if the power of the entire Palatial Void was added to the punch. Moreover, since this punch’s force was unfathomable, as it landed on the God-Slaying Giant, it directly punched through the giant, smashing Ning Fan inside into a mist of blood.

Something is off, the sensation is wrong... Hei Sheng’s frown deepened.

Damn, I am supposed to be the one occupying the Dark Authority. How did I get caught in this person’s illusory art again!

"Dispel!"

As soon as Hei Sheng dispelled the illusion, he saw a large cauldron exuding a thunderous aura from above, enveloping him within.

It was the Primordial Thunder Cauldron!

Feeling the Innate Mid-grade aura of the cauldron, Hei Sheng couldn’t help but be startled. He would have never expected Ning Fan to have two pieces of Innate Mid-grade Treasures.

Then it occurred to him that Ning Fan even had Heaven-opening Fragments, so he felt no surprise. Although this treasure is strong, it’s not enough to kill him!

Bang!

The Eastern Mountain Divine Thunder exploded within the cauldron, followed by Hei Sheng’s muffled groan.

Yet, a moment later, came the sound of several more iron fists pounding. The Primordial Thunder Cauldron was punched with a hole by Hei Sheng, and then Hei Sheng transformed into a dark gleam, escaping from the cauldron and landing in the void. His lips carried a slight trace of blood, yet his expression remained unchanged.

It seems the loss of vital essence is still extremely slight, even damaging an Innate Mid-grade Treasure couldn’t inflict a significant wound...

Ning Fan sighed, not waiting for Hei Sheng to attack again, he suddenly operated the God-Slaying Giant to tear open a rift in space and slipped inside.

Hei Sheng was startled, then sneered incessantly, thinking Ning Fan was really foolish. He thought he could escape into the Void Realm because he couldn’t beat him? The Yin Yang Locket is useless in such a high-level duel!

"I’ll just chase you into your Void Realm and kill you there!"

Hei Sheng’s figure flickered, transforming into a black gleam and slipped into the Xuan Yin Treasure’s interface fracture, but just as he entered halfway, he was forcibly blown out by an intense punch.

Soon after, an aging Ning Fan walked out from the Xuan Yin Treasure, his face marred with the frost of thirty millennia.

The last three Ten-thousand-year Age Towers were completely used up...

His bone age increased to one hundred seventy thousand years.

His cultivation... has drastically changed!

"What did you do, why do I feel something different about you..." Hei Sheng spoke with slight solemnity.

The Ning Fan before him seemed to have undergone a significant cultivation change, though this change still wasn’t enough to demand his attention, as he still felt like an Eternal Immortal Venerable...

Yet, for some reason, Ning Fan felt unprecedentedly dangerous, as if something on him could pose a lethal threat!

Yet barely a moment passed, this person entered a Void Realm, yet emerged moments later, why does he now feel worlds apart from before!

"I spent thirty thousand years to gain some power and during those thirty thousand years, I understood some things."

"What thirty thousand years? What are you talking about? Are you out of your mind already?"

Hei Sheng frowned at Ning Fan, vigilantly, his instincts pricking up—it was an omen sensing danger.

"Previously, engaging with you was too sudden, leaving me no time to consider some peculiarities about you, but afterward, I figured it out. If you really are the type of being I suspect, it’s possible... I could kill you."

"Nonsense! Pretending to be mysterious doesn’t change the fact that you are weak and I am strong!"

Hei Sheng took a step forward, intending to utilize his speed to close in on Ning Fan and execute an instant kill.

After all, Ning Fan seemed quite careless at the moment, inexplicably not activating the God-Slaying Giant nor using the Heaven-opening Artifact... surely, he couldn’t even withstand a punch from him.

But just as the step was halfway taken, he suddenly saw a dark golden body-protecting light flow within Ning Fan’s body.

The moment that golden light appeared, it gave Hei Sheng a feeling of hair-raising fear, causing him to stop dead in his tracks, standing there dumbfounded.

That body-protecting golden light brought him an eerie sense of familiarity.

That body-protecting golden light seemed to be... seemed to be the light from Ning Fan’s Heaven-opening Artifact, but why would it emanate from Ning Fan’s skin, blood, and bones...

Wait a moment!

This kid seemed to have stolen the Melting Refinement Furnace in the Great Dark Heaven’s Twelfth Layer earlier!

Ancient Deities have four essential treasures: Refining God Cauldron, Melting Refinement Furnace, Vital Essence Gourd, Divine Consciousness Grinding Disc... Only true gods with strength above the Divine Spirit Wasted Body can use these treasures to quickly enhance their divine power.

Could it be that this boy actually...

"You, you refined your Heaven-opening Artifact fragment into divine liquid and ingested it!" For the first time, Hei Sheng was bewildered, raising his finger disbelief, pointing sharply at Ning Fan.

"Indeed, you managed to figure it out? It seems you’re indeed a demigod." Ning Fan smiled. It would be ideal if the opponent really were a demigod. In that case, the Eternal True Body he had newly formed with the Melting Refinement Furnace could truly prove useful.

"Then, could it be... you’re a true god! After all, if a demigod, not even a first-generation demigod like myself, could gain this furnace’s acceptance with diluted divine blood... It’s my furnace, left to me by my father. Give it back to me, return it to me! You cannot use it!"

"Enough talk, let’s continue the battle from earlier!"

Silently, Ning Fan activated his Eternal True Body, his physique gradually growing larger, turning dark gold, covered in armor, with a shield in his left hand...

Over the long three-thousand-year course, he had long since condensed his own Eternal True Body once he successively broke through the Eternal Zero Calamity in divine demon cultivation.

Moreover, due to certain unexpected gains, this Eternal True Body possesses a unique ability called [God-Slaying]...

It’s a pity about the Ancient Kingdom’s God-Destroying Shield...

Now, within Ning Fan’s Dantian, there was no longer the Ancient Kingdom’s God-Destroying Shield. It had been refined into divine liquid by Ning Fan, integrated into his skin, blood, and bones...

His Eternal True Body was actually identical to the God-Slaying Giant manifested by the Ancient Kingdom’s God-Destroying Shield!

However, unlike before, the previous God-Slaying Giant was merely an illusory appearance created by the God-Destroying Shield, whereas the present Golden Flame Giant was Ning Fan’s flesh and blood body.

In terms of physical defense, it was not at all inferior to the earlier God-Slaying Giant, and in fact, due to swallowing other innate treasure divine liquids, surpasses it...

"I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it! You can’t be a true god, I don’t believe it!"

"Even if you are a true god, so what! Killing you would still be a piece of cake! You have yet to truly mature, while I have endured millions of years of hard cultivation over you. You cannot possibly be my match!"

"If I devour you, perhaps I can advance to a true Divine Spirit Wasted Body! I’m going to eat you, eat you!"

Hei Sheng transformed into a black lightning bolt, shooting straight at Ning Fan’s position.

In the instant he charged, the voice of the Dark Ancestor, tinged with excitement, simultaneously echoed,

"Good disciple! Don’t kill this Divine Spirit Wasted Body! Capture him alive and spare his life; your teacher needs him to remove the black rod from your teacher’s body!"

It’s unfortunate, but the Dark Ancestor’s excited voice came a moment too late.

Hei Sheng’s punch exhausted all his strength, even burning an immense amount of vital essence, to amplify the power of this strike.

This was an attack infinitely close to the Nine Tribulations Peak Immortal Emperor’s power!

It was scarcely weaker than a true Quasi-Saint’s strike!

But even with such a punch, when struck against Ning Fan, it merely created a dent in Ning Fan’s chest.

It was like a copper man’s chest had been dented, refusing to rise back.

"Ah, that hurts. You truly are formidable. Despite my physical defense being so strong, you can still injure me. It seems if my Eternal True Body lacked a special ability, defeating you would indeed be difficult..."

"I acknowledge that my entering the Tower of Years to fight opportunistically is unfair. Hence, let’s consider this duel a draw between you and me."

Boom!

In front of Hei Sheng’s nearly dazed gaze, Ning Fan instantly activated the cross halo, countering with a punch.

Hei Sheng felt the Golden Flame Giant’s massive fist closing in on him, smashing onto his whole body with a punch that, in terms of sheer power, should not severely wound him, but carried an eerie God-Slaying force transmitted through the punch, entering his body, making his organs feel like they were about to collapse, vomiting blood crazily, and darkness overwhelmed his sight, directly losing consciousness and fainting.

Ning Fan knocked out Hei Sheng with a single punch, but truly killing Hei Sheng was somewhat problematic.

Given Hei Sheng’s formidable vitality, Ning Fan would at least have to use the Ancient Demon Mountain-Shattering Strike to attack him continuously for days to kill him...

Unfortunately, the members of the Dark Clan would not give him the chance to kill their clan’s monster...

Hiss hiss hiss!

Five figures of the Dark Clan Quasi-Saint simultaneously broke into this palatial void, one person rescuing and safeguarding Hei Sheng, and the other four encircling Ning Fan firmly.

"What, wasn’t your clan saying they wouldn’t send Quasi-Saints to duel with me? It seems you were deceiving me after all."

Ning Fan slightly frowned, scrutinizing the five Dark Saints. He knew well that although his own cultivation in four aspects stepped into the Eternal, and even shaped the Eternal True Body, his combat power had not climbed much, at most under extreme circumstances, from instant-killing the Sixth Calamity Immortal Emperor, ascended to struggling against the Seventh Calamity Immortal Emperor, barely prevailing against the Eight Calamities.

It was still insufficient to truly duel with a Quasi-Saint!

Even knocking Hei Sheng unconscious with a punch was still based on opportunism, leveraging the God-Slaying power brought by the God-Destroying Shield; in an equivalent engagement, his enhanced cultivation, fighting desperately, would not have more than a ten percent chance of victory...

"Never could have imagined you, a mere ant, would also be a monster, more true than our clan’s, a genuine monster. Hence, come with us for a while; our ancestor has a small favor to ask you."

Led by a Second Rank Dark Saint, speaking without room for refusal.

"What if I refuse?"

Ning Fan sneered.

He wasn’t convinced that the favor these five Dark Saints sought was well-intentioned.

His gaze seemed to perceive something, glancing at a certain direction within this palatial void, slightly mocking, and in a flash, relying on his speed, directly bypassed the sight of several Dark Saints, broke open this palatial void, and escaped.

Just as he escaped, somewhere in the palatial void, suddenly, a dry, black rod-stuck hand reached fiercely at where Ning Fan had been standing.

Seeing the grasp missed, An Yuanchen’s cold voice instantly spread throughout the entire Dark Clan.

"Capture this boy, dead or alive! The duel between inheritors, this old man does not require. As long as taking this boy down, this old man can be reborn, reappear in the heavens and earth, personally challenge Ancient Chaos! Whoever obtains this child’s whole corpse will receive everything in our clan as a reward!"

The entire Dark Clan, those informed and uninformed, became uproarious because of their ancestor’s sudden order!

Subsequently, countless escape lights spared no expense in rushing towards the direction of the second heavenly layer!

Ning Fan had just fled the palatial void, and continued fleeing all the way towards the lower layers of heaven. He sighed slightly, lamenting that he followed the protocol to respond to the Dark Clan’s combat invitation, and although he barely claimed victory, he still had to tear face with the Dark Clan once again...

"He had thought that as an ancient great cultivator, the Dark Ancestor would follow some martial rules, but now it seems he was thinking too highly. Under heavy benefits, even ancient cultivators would break their promises..."

"What reason convinced him to break his vow, the inheritor’s defeat, or that I refined the Heaven-opening Artifact fragment, or perhaps... it’s the fact that I’m a Divine Spirit Wasted Body..."

In the Xuan Yin Treasure, he had diligently cultivated for thirty thousand years, but the outside world only experienced a fleeting moment; the memory of these thirty thousand years of hard training was vividly clear, seemingly near yet also distant...

Over these thirty thousand years, what exactly did Ning Fan do to cause such a massive transformation?

It turns out that as soon as Ning Fan entered the Xuan Yin Treasure, he traversed heaven and earth, flew into a Ten-thousand-year Age Tower, starting to ingest the Immeasurable Pill, allowing his divine demon cultivation to break through to the Eternal Immortal Venerable...

He used ten thousand years, ingesting the Immeasurable Pill, allowing his divine demon cultivation all to break through to the newly ascended Immortal Venerable realm.

After ten thousand years passed, he immediately entered the second Ten-thousand-year Age Tower, attempting to refine the Eternal True Body.

It was during this time that his body underwent dramatic changes, inadvertently stealing the Melting Refinement Furnace in the Great Dark Heaven’s Twelfth Layer, altering his cultivation path...