A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 144 Ning Dao Arrives
As soon as the giant blood-red eye appeared, Yin Zhong trembled all over, as if he had been targeted by some ferocious beast. He circulated his true energy throughout his body, and the feeling slowly disappeared. He glanced around and saw that most people were standing still, their robes being pulled towards the Heavenly Finger by a suction force.

Upon seeing this, Yin Zhong immediately let out a deep shout, planted his sword in the ground, and swiftly unleashed several palm strikes, resembling a dragon with its head held high and roaring. An invisible wave of energy immediately shook everyone present.

"What's wrong with me?"

Everyone was jolted awake by the palm wind. Looking at the giant blood-red eye in the sky, they immediately broke out in a cold sweat. They had only glanced at it casually before losing consciousness. If it weren't for the palm wind, they would probably have already fallen into the trap.

"Thank you, Master Yin." Seeing Yin Zhong withdraw his palms, those who were nearby immediately understood what was going on and bowed with their fists clasped in thanks.

"Don't look at that giant blood-red eye. This thing is strange; it can bewitch and confuse the mind. Everyone, stay focused and guard yourselves. Do not let your guard down."

Yin Zhong gave an order, protecting himself with his true energy, his eyes fixed on the giant blood-red eye in the sky. Elder Sun, standing to the side, had an unusually solemn expression. This thing had come about strangely, and even he had almost fallen into its trap. If Yin Zhong hadn't intervened, more than half of the people present would have been trapped.

"Everyone, do not act rashly. Master Yin is right; take good care of yourselves."

Upon hearing Yin Zhong's words, Elder Sun immediately echoed, "If one's cultivation is insufficient, looking directly at this object will inevitably lead to a loss of mind."

Upon hearing this, everyone sat down cross-legged, closed their eyes, and circulated their inner energy, creating a moment of tranquility at the city gate.

"Senior, this blood-red eye must have been created by the Blood God, but is it merely a trick to bewitch the mind, or is there another purpose?"

Wei Feng glanced at Meng Yu and Wang Xiao, who were meditating with their eyes closed, then approached Yin Zhong and sincerely asked Elder Sun for his opinion.

"This thing is very strange. According to my guess, this is just a small test. But let it use whatever moves it has, and we'll take them all on."

Although Elder Sun couldn't figure out the secret, he knew that the other party wouldn't have such a simple trick up their sleeve. However, this move was very clever. After fighting the Blood Puppet, the opponent was exhausted, which was a good opportunity to take advantage of the situation. If they succeeded, it could cause chaos in the entire Nine Mountain City.

Upon hearing Elder Sun's words, Wei Feng nodded slightly, glanced at Yin Zhong who was deep in thought, and said nothing more, quietly waiting for the enemy's next move.

On the city tower, Elder Zheng looked at the motionless blood-red giant eye in the sky and immediately opened the golden light shield. He had never seen this thing before and did not know what it did. For safety's sake, it was best to open the formation. As for the damage to the earth veins, he could not worry about it now.

The formation was activated, but the Heavenly Blood Eye remained motionless. Elder Zheng did not relax; instead, he remained vigilant. Just then, the Heavenly Blood Eye suddenly closed, and the entire sky darkened instantly. The blood moon disappeared, and even the starlight seemed to be swallowed up, leaving only a pitch-black night sky.

Only the Nine Mountain City below shone brightly, standing out against the night sky. Just as Yin Zhong and the others were on guard, the blood moon reappeared in the sky, but what was terrifying was that the blood moon was replaced by a blood-red eye.

The moment his eyes opened, a drop of blood fell from the sky, followed by more and more drops of blood raining down on Jiushan City, like meteorites falling from the sky, carrying sparks, with a fierce momentum.

"A well-thought-out plan"

When Elder Zheng saw the scene created by Blood Eye, his heart sank. He snorted coldly and immediately activated the formation. Golden circles of light rose from the ground, forming a golden light tower. Daoist chants resounded, and countless rays of light burst forth, shooting out golden swords that soared into the sky. Those blood-colored light spots were shattered in mid-air by the golden sword light and scattered into fragments. They were swept away by the air waves and disappeared without a trace.

Seeing that the formation had activated a second layer of defense, Elder Sun said in a deep voice, "It seems that the Blood God is not a mindless fool. He is going to reveal all the formation's trump cards one by one. He is truly cunning."

Currently, it seems that both sides are evenly matched, but our formation is built on the earth's veins. If we overdraw the earth's veins' power multiple times, even if the formation artifacts can support it, the earth's veins will be overburdened. In that case, the formation will become useless.

Upon hearing this, both Yin Zhong and Wei Feng wore solemn expressions.

At this moment, the blood spots in the sky had been swept away by the rosy light. The thousands of golden swords controlled by the formation rushed to the blood eye, but they seemed to be stuck in the quagmire. They were soon eroded by the blood color, scattered into countless light spots, flickered a few times, and quickly disappeared.

The blood-red eye twisted a few times, and the surrounding space collapsed instantly, revealing a black gap in the sky. Its opening faced Jiushan City directly, and a powerful suction force was released from the black hole, lifting everything on the ground. Many rocks and trees were sucked into the sky and torn to shreds before they even got close to the center.

"not good"

Not only Elder Zheng, but also Yin Zhong and others at the city gate felt something was wrong. Even inside the formation, they could feel the suction force. Some people with low cultivation were immediately sucked up. If it weren't for the golden light shield, they would have been dead by now.

"Everyone, hurry and save them!"

Yin Zhong and Elder Sun spoke at the same time, and the others who were not affected immediately took action to pull their fellow practitioners down from above.

Yin Zhong and Elder Sun exchanged a glance, their swords clashing. An invisible force rapidly spread out, enveloping everyone present in just four or five breaths. Wei Feng pointed his fingers and chanted an incantation. With a shout, he flicked his wrist, and talismans swirled in the air, quickly forming chains that bound everyone present.

The Daoist talisman lock connects heaven and earth, and the trembling golden light shield immediately stabilizes. Elder Zheng, who is in charge of the formation, senses the change in the formation mechanism and immediately casts several hand seals. The "Nine-fold Dispersing True Gourd" shines brightly with golden light, and golden auspicious clouds fly out from the gourd's mouth, spreading in all directions of Nine Mountain City, forming a dense and impenetrable wall of light.

Nine Mountain City remained as solid as a rock, unmoved by the suction force of the black hole. However, the area around Nine Mountain City was now a depression, sinking several feet into the ground.

Seeing that it had failed to absorb Nine Mountain City, the Blood Eye flashed rapidly a few times, then the black hole disappeared, followed by a red light that poured down from the Blood Eye, like a river of blood descending from the sky, quickly filling the four depressions. Blood Fiend Power immediately squeezed in from all directions, and the golden light shield of Nine Mountain City seemed unable to bear the burden, emitting a chilling sound.

Elder Zheng, who was in charge of the formation, was severely injured. His face turned red, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His face looked extremely ugly. The golden light on the treasure gourd flashed rapidly, illuminating the city tower with a golden light, as bright as day.

Elder Zheng immediately took out the Yuan Dan given to him by Gu Xu and swallowed it. After half a breath, his turbulent blood and qi gradually calmed down, and his complexion returned to normal.

"This fiend actually wants to trap and kill Jiushan City!" Elder Zheng looked at the blood river surging all around from the city tower. The heavy blood evil power was constantly eroding the golden light tower. Every time the blood river surged, the golden light would dim a little. Although there was the support of the earth veins, this would give the blood evil power an opportunity to take the opportunity to erode the earth veins. Under the attack of the two, the damage to the earth veins was unimaginable.

Just as the Blood River surrounded Nine Mountain City and the Blood Eye confronted the formation, a treasure map suddenly flew in from the horizon, unfurled in the wind, and quickly turned into a black curtain that covered the sky. The Blood River released from the Blood Eye was immediately drawn towards the treasure map by the suction force.

"It's the 'Blood Map of Ten Thousand Spirits'!" Wei Feng exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the strange change in the sky. This treasure map was one of the three supreme treasures of the Dao, and it had the power to devour all spirits. Almost nothing that was covered by it could escape.

Hearing Wei Feng's words, Yin Zhong felt relieved. It seemed that someone from the Supreme Dao had arrived. Judging from the power of this treasure, which had taken away the entire Blood River, the newcomer must be extraordinary. On the city tower, Elder Zheng, seeing a turning point, immediately gathered his remaining true energy and activated the formation to its limit. In the quiet night, a beam of golden light soared into the sky, illuminating the surrounding hundred miles. The remaining Blood Rivers vanished as if facing a natural enemy, and even the Blood Eye in the sky was pierced and firmly nailed down by countless golden light swords. Golden chains extended to the city tower's formation platform.

When the Blood Eye was pierced by the golden sword, it trembled violently. Drops of blood flowed down from it, carrying a corrosive power as they fell toward Nine Mountain City. However, the blood was blocked by the Myriad Spirits Blood Diagram halfway down, and the power of the blood evil failed to work, thus becoming a tonic for the treasure map.

The treasure map trembled slightly, its size shrank, and it transformed into a three-foot-long crimson scroll, which landed in front of a middle-aged Taoist priest.

Seeing the sealed Blood Eye, Ning Dao's eyes sharpened. He then formed hand seals and chanted incantations. A giant pool of dark red water appeared within the Myriad Spirits Blood Diagram, containing hidden secrets. With a command, the treasure map rose up, pulling the Blood Eye closer.

The Blood Eye, sealed by the Daoist talisman and restrained by the treasure map, began to shake violently. The Blood Moon, which had been swallowed, was released and was about to be sucked away when a blood-red smoke lock suddenly rushed from the direction of Xiyuan Prefecture to retrieve the Blood Eye.

But before the crimson smoke could bind the Blood Eye, a lightning sword aura struck like thunder, shattering it in a single blow and splitting the Blood Eye in two. The treasure map seized the opportunity to collect it.

With the blood-red eye absorbed, the newcomer seemed to know he was powerless. He immediately exploded the blood-red smoke lock, scattering it in all directions. Meanwhile, the lightning light soared through the air, dispersing into hundreds and thousands of sword lights, each stirring up the blood energy. Then, they gathered together and slashed at the sky with a single sword light, instantly brightening the originally dark night sky.

"It was the Supreme Being who made the move."

The disciples of Zhenwu Hall exclaimed in surprise, their faces filled with excitement. They were all too familiar with this sword light.

Yin Zhong and Wei Feng stared in astonishment at the sword energy and lightning that stretched across the sky. Just a single sword energy possessed such power; they wondered just how powerful the true master had become.

"Heh, since you've made your move, my goal has been achieved. I'll let you live a little longer," the Blood God sneered as he looked at the lightning sword energy on the horizon. With a flick of his sleeve, boundless blood energy converged, transforming him into a giant blood cocoon, with strands of earth vein power continuously gathering towards it.

The moment the blood-red eye disappeared, Elder Zheng immediately stopped the formation. Upon inspection, he immediately sensed something was wrong. The "Nine-Turbulent True Gourd" was unharmed, but the earth vein power had been reduced by 40%. In the future, if he wanted to use the formation again, its power would definitely decrease by a level.

"Regardless, this crisis has finally been weathered."

The lightning and sword energy in the sky had long since dissipated. Elder Zheng sighed inwardly and looked at Ning Dao and the others descending from the sky. Elder Zheng straightened his appearance slightly and went to greet them.

"I am Zheng Kuang, an elder of the Zhenwu Hall. May I ask how you should address me, friend?"

"My name is Ning Dao, currently the Chief Inspector of the Supreme Dao. Greetings, Elder Zheng."

Ning Dao noticed that although Zheng Kuang's aura was unstable at the moment, his cultivation level was genuine and no less than his own. Although the Zhenwu Hall had not been established for long, its strength was not weak.

"So it's Chief Commander Ning. Thank you for your help, fellow Daoist. Otherwise, Nine Mountain City would already be a sea of ​​blood."

"Fellow Daoist, you are too kind. I dare not accept credit for this. If it weren't for your assistance, even with the Myriad Spirit Blood Diagram, I would have been powerless."

Ning Dao was speaking from the heart. If Gu Xu hadn't intervened and shattered the Blood Eye with a single sword strike, he wouldn't have been able to deal with the Blood God on his own. When the Dao Lord handed over the treasure map to him, did he already foresee this situation?

"Fellow Daoist, you must be tired from your journey. Please come with me to pay your respects to the City Lord."

"Elder Zheng, please."

Ning Dao and Elder Zheng walked down the city wall side by side, while He Fang and Zhou Chen followed behind.

As soon as the four of them stepped down from the city wall, Yin Zhong and the others came to greet them. When Wei Feng and the other disciples of the Supreme Dao saw that it was their master who had come in person, they immediately stepped forward, bowed, and stood behind him.

Elder Zheng introduced them to Yin Zhong and the others: "This is Chief Ning Dao of the Supreme Dao. Chief Ning, this is City Lord Wang Hao of Jiushan City, this is Manor Lord Yin Zhong of Yujian Villa, and these two are Elder Sun and Elder Zhao from our sect..."

Listening to Elder Zheng's introduction, Ning Dao greeted each of them, and they hurriedly returned the greeting. This person's background was obviously extraordinary. If the disciples of the Supreme Path were so powerful, then their superiors must also be extraordinary.

"Chief Ning, you must be tired from your journey. Why don't you rest at the City Lord's Mansion first? The calamity has passed, and we can rest peacefully for a few days."

Upon receiving Elder Zheng's signal, Lord Wang immediately took over the conversation, saying sincerely, "Elder Zheng is quite right. Chief Commander Ning might as well come to my residence to rest for a while. In the future, when we face disasters, we will need your help."

Upon hearing this, Ning Dao immediately nodded and said, "When in Rome, do as the host says. I'll leave everything to the city lord."

Wang Hao said happily, "Chief Ning, there's no need to be so polite. Everyone, let's go together."

Yin Zhong gave Tie Zheng a briefing, and the latter nodded. The rest of the group dispersed and returned to their respective residences. Only Elder Zheng, Yin Zhong, and the others followed them to the City Lord's Mansion.

"Elder Zheng, I, Ning, have come to lend you all a hand at the request of the Dao Master. In the battle just now, that Blood God was truly extraordinary. If it weren't for Daoist Gu Xu's intervention, things would have been quite dangerous."

"Fellow Daoist Ning is right. We were relying on formations to deal with it before, but who would have thought that it would have figured out the secrets of formations, which is why it caught us off guard."

At this point, Elder Zheng paused, looked at Ning Dao, and said, "Fellow Daoist Ning, you must have come prepared. If you have any plans, please share them so we can discuss them and perhaps change our current passive situation."

Ning Dao looked at everyone's gaze, put down his teacup, and said calmly, "Instead of passively defending, it is better to take the initiative to attack. Before I came here, I received news that the Blood God was gathering spiritual energy in an attempt to break through the barrier. If we can delay it for a while and make it miss the opportune moment, its divine power will definitely have flaws. At that time, it should be easy to deal with it."

After hearing Ning Dao's words, Yin Zhong and Elder Zheng exchanged a glance and remained silent in thought, while City Lord Wang was startled. This Taoist priest's courage was even stronger than Elder Zheng and the others, and he actually wanted to take the initiative to attack. Thinking of this, he recalled the fate of those who had taken the initiative to attack before.

(End of this chapter)