Chapter 1155: Chapter 1155: Mistaken Affection...

Under normal circumstances, an Immortal King has no qualifications to battle against an Ancient Great Cultivator.

Did you not see how when Yin Mo Ancestor battled the Eye Orb Monster in the past, many Immortal Emperors were easily dealt with by Yin Mo Ancestor? Even the leaders of the Four Oceans Sect and the True Dragon Clan were not opponents for an Ancient Great Cultivator.

Ning Fan knew well he was not a match for the horned man, but to ignore the fall of the Severing Ties Sword as if nothing had happened was absolutely impossible!

Losses cannot go unavenged!

Loyal servants cannot die in vain!

Activate Cross Halo!

Fix!

Seeing the horned man intending to strike again after breaking the Severing Ties Sword with one punch, a cold light flashed in Ning Fan’s eyes as he abruptly activated the Cross Halo, enveloping the entire tower top within its range!

Ink marks fluttered, and black light flickered!

The horned man, unlike those other race powerhouses, didn’t have the Pingdong Talisman to counter the Heaven Sealing Art, and was directly locked in place by the Cross Halo, his face showing slight astonishment.

Ning Fan took the opportunity to snatch the fallen broken sword, then retreated swiftly within the narrow tower top, warily watching the horned man. If his perception wasn’t mistaken, his Cross Halo seemed insufficient to completely immobilize this person...

With the broken sword in hand, Ning Fan suddenly raised an eyebrow, sensing something peculiar within it, his expression turning a bit strange. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"What is this halo, actually integrating the Heaven Sealing Art of that old Ancestral Demon of the East? Interesting, but you targeted the wrong person! If it had been the Ancestral Demon himself casting it, perhaps he could have locked me for a short while, but with your negligible cultivation, it’s hard to restrain me even for an instant! Such an insignificant trick, don’t embarrass yourself! Heavenly Bull Hide Pattern, Space Pattern!"

The horned man snorted with laughter, exerting force to instantly break free from the immobilization of the Heaven Sealing Art. Once again, he employed the Heavenly Bull Space Skin Pattern, intending to draw Ning Fan to him for a powerful strike.

Ning Fan’s Golden Flame True Body flared dramatically, his eyes flashing with azure spike, and in that instant, the horned man’s movements with the Heavenly Bull Space Skin Pattern became exceedingly slow in Ning Fan’s vision, with every motion and detail becoming clear.

Hiss hiss hiss!

The intangible spatial suction emitted a hissing sound, and in a flash, drew Ning Fan from his place, unable to break free.

"Die, insect!"

Boom!

The horned man wore an expression of disdain, hurling a punch forward; it was his third time swinging a fist at Ning Fan, confident that this punch could take Ning Fan out.

But it struck air!

No one was before him!

Ning Fan, who should have been drawn to him by his space pattern to receive the beatings, was mysteriously absent!

Rip!

The space behind the horned man unexpectedly tore open, and Ning Fan’s Golden Flame True Body charged out, each hand clutching a fragment of the Severing Ties Broken Sword, stabbing fiercely at the horned man’s back.

He faintly perceived the pattern laws of the Heavenly Bull Hide Pattern’s remote suction and managed to break this art, not only avoiding being sucked to the horned man’s front, but leveraging it to instantly appear behind the horned man for a sneak attack!

This was the moment the horned man’s attack missed and revealed a weakness!

This was a perfect stealth attack, impossible to evade!

"Heavenly Bull Hide Pattern, Evasion Glyph!"

The horned man’s face turned ugly, infuriated by Ning Fan’s appearance. He hadn’t expected Ning Fan could shatter his space pattern using just the power of an Immortal King. Practically by instinct, he activated the Evasion Glyph to enhance his physical defense, attempting to withstand Ning Fan’s broken sword strike with the flesh of his back!

Such confidence!

It’s surprising enough that Ning Fan could break his space pattern with the power of an Immortal King. However, Ning Fan’s stealth strike and broken sword attack posed such a low threat that he didn’t take it seriously at all.

After all, even the intact Severing Ties Sword couldn’t give him any sense of crisis. The attack power of the Severing Ties Sword, at the Innate Mid-grade level, was merely ordinary and couldn’t easily harm an Ancient Great Cultivator. Moreover, now that the sword was destroyed, its power was less than one percent remaining, making it impossible for Ning Fan to harm him using this sword.

And he had also activated the Evasion Glyph to bolster his flesh defense!

If under such conditions he still got pierced in the flesh by Ning Fan with the mere broken sword, it would truly be... laughable...

Crack!

The sound of the broken sword piercing skin, penetrating flesh!

The horned man’s face changed dramatically, and just as the pain at his back transmitted, he felt a great danger and instantly flickered tens of feet away. Fortunately, his reflexes were quick enough, only slightly breaking the skin at his back, without a deep stab, the injury was almost negligible.

Yet, the horned man’s forehead still sweated a drop of cold sweat, and when he looked at Ning Fan again, his eyes carried a certain fear.

His body’s instincts told him that if he hadn’t dodged in time, Ning Fan could have slain him with a single cut of that broken sword, even though he was an Ancient Great Cultivator, it wouldn’t be enough to withstand the broken sword’s might from Ning Fan!

This was incomprehensible to him!

The intact Severing Ties Sword couldn’t harm him, so why could it, after breaking, with significantly diminished power, so easily breach his defenses!

In the horned man’s widened eyes, the sword intent from the broken sword in Ning Fan’s hand dispersed, blooming into ancient, immaculate white lotuses shrouded in mist around Ning Fan.

"Hiss! It’s actually ’Sword Intention Generates Lotus’! Impossible! How could such a legendary ancient sword intent be mastered by an Immortal King!" The horned man’s expression changed drastically with horror.

’Sword Intention Generates Lotus,’ was a supreme sword intent that could only be mastered by Third-Grade Sword Cultivators in the legends! A Saint dies with the bloom of a Lotus Sword, truly unparalleled in power!

How could such an ancient sword intent be understood and wielded by an Immortal King like Ning Fan!

No wonder he was easily harmed by the broken sword!

Sword intent capable of killing a Saint could indeed easily handle an Ancient Great Cultivator like him!

"Despicable! You deliberately let me break your sword to make me underestimate it and lower my guard; then used the supreme sword intent hidden within the broken sword to ambush and kill me when I was unprepared! Truly a good strategy, a truly good strategy! If I weren’t cautious by nature, I might really have been slain by your sword! So detestable!" The horned man cursed angrily while instinctively retreating, not daring to venture too close to Ning Fan’s Lotus Sword Intent.

Furthermore, he dared not casually use the space pattern to draw Ning Fan again. What if Ning Fan takes advantage of the power of the space pattern to fly to his side for another stealth attack with that supreme sword intent...

"..." Being regarded as an imminent threat and denounced as underhanded by the Ancient Great Cultivator, Ning Fan was slightly speechless, feeling utterly innocent.

The truth was, Ning Fan himself didn’t know that within the Severing Ties Sword lay a strand of ancient sword intent shaped like a lotus. He hadn’t known anything about Sword Intention Generates Lotus or anything of the sort prior; it was only after the sword broke that he discovered its peculiarity.

Within this Lotus Sword Intent lies the power of the third-step Sword Cultivator. Due to the deliberate restrictions placed by the Sword Cultivator who crafted this sword, the deep-seated Lotus Sword Intent can only see the light of day upon the breaking of the Sword of Severing Bonds. This isn’t Sword Intent inadvertently left in the sword by ancient Sword Cultivators but rather Sword Intent intentionally nurtured by them.

Indeed, such a thing as Sword Intent can be nurtured!

It was rumored that every ancient Sword Cultivator was a master at sword casting, and one of their favorite pastimes was nurturing swords! The bloodthirsty would feed their swords with human lives, while the insane would even use their own lives for nourishment. Of course, there were also some Sword Cultivators who disliked killing, so they nurtured Sword Intent through crafting sword embryos.

The true identity of the Sword of Severing Bonds is not a tool for killing, but a sword embryo. Its existence serves as a vessel to nurture the ancient Sword Intent known as "Sword Intention Generates Lotus." When the Sword Intent within matures, this sword will self-destruct to release the mature ancient Sword Intent inside.

Self-protective?

Don’t be ridiculous!

This sword has little affection for Ning Fan, so how could it possibly protect its master on its own? That’s impossible! It simply wants to find a suitable occasion to self-destruct, releasing the matured ancient Sword Intent inside to fulfill its mission.

For ordinary people, attempting to destroy an Innate Mid-grade Treasure is not an easy task.

But as an Ancient Great Cultivator, the horned man can achieve this with ease, which is why the Sword of Severing Bonds would sacrifice itself to fulfill its mission.

It was indeed loyal; the initial master who forged it could sacrifice their life to release the ancient Sword Intent within.

But its object of loyalty has nothing to do with Ning Fan at all... Ning Fan was angry over the sword’s destruction, entirely being sentimental...

Ning Fan’s face appeared calm, but inwardly he was speechless. Once he sensed the Sword Intent inside the Severing Sword, he faintly guessed the truth.

He foolishly felt touched by the sword’s loyalty and was ready to fight the Ancient Great Cultivator to the death for it, only to realize he was overthinking...

The horned man, wary of Ning Fan as if facing a formidable enemy, gradually realized that the third-step Sword Intent Ning Fan manifested was not from his own comprehension, but rather something hidden in the Severing Sword.

Ah, it turns out it’s a sword embryo. No wonder a broken sword is more powerful than an undamaged one...

The horned man understood the key point yet dared not underestimate Ning Fan.

He could tell that the Lotus Sword Intent within the Severing Sword wasn’t much. He had actually made a fuss over nothing. While Ning Fan’s Sword Intent amount was absolutely insufficient to kill him, it posed a significant threat to his foundation...

Just having awakened, his aura was already weak, and he was eager to feed and recover his strength. How could he allow Ning Fan to harm his foundation at this point?

Thus, even though Ning Fan didn’t possess much Lotus Sword Intent, weighing the pros and cons, he was unwilling to continue the fight.

Rumble!

The entire Sealing Tower suddenly started shaking violently, as Emperor Jin Heng and others were attacking the Sealing Tower from the outside, attempting to rescue Ning Fan.

The horned man’s previously darkened face suddenly turned bright, and he laughed heartily, telling Ning Fan,

"Good, good, good! You, with just the body of an Immortal King, managed to wound me slightly. You have the right to go on living! Feel the shaking of the Sealing Tower? It seems your companions outside are eager to rescue you, what a reliable bunch they are. Young man, you’re quite impressive! I appreciate you! I won’t kill you today, you may leave!"

The horned man spoke with a tone suggesting "I’m generously letting you go" and "young man, I’ve got high hopes for you."

Ning Fan’s expression was bemused as he looked at the horned man, speechless at his shamelessness.

This guy clearly feared the Lotus Sword Intent from the Severing Sword yet could claim it was a generous act—his audacity was unmatched.

In truth, Ning Fan didn’t mind making peace with this horned man. He originally didn’t want a life-and-death struggle against such a formidable opponent; his previous anger stemmed from mistakenly thinking the Severing Sword’s protection was genuine loyalty...

Unfortunately, that sentiment was misplaced...

There seemed to be no reason left to continue fighting the horned man.

Although the Lotus Sword Intent was an unexpected and powerful gain, the amount was clearly insufficient to kill the Ancient Great Cultivator; barely enough even to kill a Second-Grade Quasi-Saint...

Unable to deliver a fatal blow to the horned man, Ning Fan naturally didn’t plan to exhaust the precious Lotus Sword Intent he had unexpectedly obtained.

Without sufficient benefit, why should he expend the valuable Lotus Sword Intent? It was the prize he got in place of the Severing Sword after all!

The Sealing Tower shook violently, indicating Emperor Jin Heng and others’ eagerness to rescue him from outside, warming Ning Fan’s heart a little.

Having companions to fight alongside is quite a good feeling, even if those companions are quite weak...

Nevertheless, he didn’t intend to leave just yet.

Actually, once he was able to break the Heavenly Bull Space Skin Pattern’s suction force, he could already ignore the horned man’s pursuit and escape on his own.

Certainly, he wasn’t the horned man’s match, but now familiar with the skin pattern’s Divine Skills, if Ning Fan wanted to escape, the horned man couldn’t stop him.

Furthermore, he had unexpectedly acquired a Lotus Sword Intent that could be used to intimidate the weakened Ancient Great Cultivator.

Exactly! It was because this person was in a weakened state that he dreaded such an amount of Lotus Sword Intent!

If this person were at full strength, the Lotus Sword Intent in Ning Fan’s hands might not suffice to inflict a significant injury to the foundation, let alone intimidate.

"Young man, I had intended to let you go; why are you still here? Do you plan to repair the Immortal Emperor Seal?" This is non-negotiable! I have a grudge against the Immortal Emperor, Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign deceived me. I won’t allow you to repair the seal; I’d love to see those Ziwei Descendants chase you Purple Astral Immortal Cultivators out of the waters!" The horned man, seeing Ning Fan still not leaving, expressed dissatisfaction and snorted coldly.

This person indeed seemed to have a grudge against Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign, hence the hostility towards all descendants of Zidou. However, after witnessing his shamelessness and flexibility, Ning Fan felt this person might not be stubborn after all; rather he seemed adaptable. Dealing with such a person, there ought to be room for negotiation.

"Is it really non-negotiable?" Ning Fan asked thoughtfully, looking at the horned man. After breaking the opponent’s Space Skin Pattern, he no longer feared this man, which also gave him more confidence in their dialogue.

"Hmm, it’s not entirely non-negotiable. How about this, if you give me the broken sword in your hand, I’ll allow you to repair the Immortal Emperor Seal here, how’s that?" The horned man suddenly changed his tone, greedily eyeing the broken sword in Ning Fan’s hand.

"Senior, you must be joking!" Ning Fan frowned.

That broken sword was one of his current life-saving assets against the horned man—how could he possibly hand it over!?

He’s not an idiot!

"Hmph! Not an ounce of sincerity; in that case, repairing the seal is non-negotiable! With me here, I will never let you fix the seal!" The horned man said it’s non-negotiable, but his eyes twinkled, and he chuckled slyly.

Looks like there’s room for negotiation... Ning Fan thought to himself.

"May I inquire the respected name of Senior and what grudge you bear with my Purple Astral Immortal Cultivators?" Ning Fan suddenly asked.

"My name is Niu Manshan! As for the grievance between me and your Purple Astral Immortal Cultivators, why bother asking when you already know the answer!" Upon mentioning the past grudges, the horned man’s tone turned somewhat unfriendly, as if recalling unpleasant memories.