Chapter 1154: Chapter 1154: The Power of a Big Favor!

The world spun, and the space before his eyes turned pitch black!

Ning Fan felt as if he were swallowed whole by something, as if he had been directly swallowed from the top of the Sealing Tower into another dark space. The presence that swallowed him was extraordinarily powerful, exuding an aura comparable to that of an Ancient Great Cultivator.

The smell of acid and decay filled his nostrils. It seemed that the dark space he was in was the stomach of that Ancient Great Cultivator.

Ning Fan narrowed his eyes, silently contemplating whether the Ancient Great Cultivator who swallowed him could be the true cause of death for the many skeletons atop the tower...

The continuous elevation of his mindset allowed him to remain calm and composed in the face of an Ancient Great Cultivator.

He still had the crucial task of repairing the Immortal Emperor Seal, and the mission was not yet complete; how could he be devoured by this mysterious great cultivator!

"Finally, I have awakened... Young one, I have just awakened and I am very, very hungry. Would you be willing to become nourishment in my stomach?" A hoarse voice echoed continuously in the dark space, accompanied by the enormous aura of an Ancient Great Cultivator. The heavy pressure bore down, attempting to crush Ning Fan directly.

This supreme existence merely considered Ning Fan an ordinary Immortal King of the Decline. Even an Immortal Emperor of the Decline would struggle to withstand such an oppressive aura, let alone a little Immortal King.

It had just awakened and was currently at its weakest state, making it the best opportunity for Ning Fan to escape from its stomach!

The voice contained a strong power of persuasion, causing Ning Fan’s divine sense to sway, and he subconsciously wanted to agree to become its food.

Fortunately, Ning Fan had a substantial resistance to illusory arts, and in an instant, he sobered from the bewilderment. A mighty demon roar shattered the beguiling voice that reverberated in the dark space!

He activated his divine skills again, and a light radiated from his body, illuminating the dark space: walls of writhing intestines surrounded him; indeed, this place was the stomach of the supreme being!

"What? You, a mere little Immortal King, can actually break my illusory arts..." The entity was evidently taken aback.

Ning Fan remained silent, flipped his hand to summon the Treasure-searching Compass, identifying the weakest spot in the supreme being’s stomach.

He then summoned the Reverse Sea Sword and, without a second thought, stabbed towards that weak point.

Clang!

With the weight and sharpness of the Reverse Sea Sword, stabbing the supreme being’s soft stomach wall did not pierce through; instead, it emitted the sound of metal clashing.

Though he didn’t pierce through the stomach wall in one strike, Ning Fan managed to cause immense pain to the supreme being, who was still in a weakened state.

Roar!

Inside the Sealing Tower, an angry roar, like that of a bull or beast, erupted, carrying the oppressive force of an Ancient Great Cultivator. This pressure triggered torrents in the waters, instantly using the Sealing Tower as a center, sweeping through the Heavenly Shadow Clan ruins crazily!

Emperor Jin Heng and others guarding outside the tower felt the oppressive force of the Ancient Great Cultivator emanating from within, their faces drastically changing, realizing that something had gone amiss inside the tower and Ning Fan faced an unknown peril.

They wanted to rush into the tower to support Ning Fan immediately, but they couldn’t enter. Instead, due to their inferior strength, they were directly swept away by the enormous water pressure surrounding them.

Whether it was Emperor Jin Heng and the three Immortal Emperors repairing the tower or Emperor Xukong and the four formation guardians, all were swept out of the Heavenly Shadow Clan ruins by the water pressure, barely stabilizing themselves, their blood and energy surging, heart pounding.

The Four Corners Formation, previously set around the ruins, was shattered in an instant by the water pressure released by the Ancient Great Cultivator, appearing utterly vulnerable!

"Damn it, what exactly happened inside the tower! Ning Daoist must not come to harm!" Emperor Jin Heng and the others looked extremely grim.

Additionally, they felt a sense of dread.

No one had anticipated that while repairing the Immortal Emperor Seal in the tower, they would encounter perils of an Ancient Great Cultivator level. Only Ning Fan managed to barely protect himself in the face of such a crisis, had they entered instead, they might have been wiped out by the Ancient Great Cultivator at the first encounter...

At this moment, Ning Fan’s aura was still present. The emperors, though separated by the Sealing Tower, could still sense Ning Fan’s survival, which slightly relieved those concerned for his safety, like Emperor Jin Heng and the others.

However, their expressions remained clouded with gloom.

The reason being, to Emperor Jin Heng and the others, the hope for Ning Fan to survive against the peril of an Ancient Great Cultivator was minimal. Moreover, they believed repairing the Immortal Emperor Seal amidst such peril was utterly impossible.

Today’s operation seemed destined to end in failure. More worryingly, this failure might cost Ning Fan, the strongest of the Allied Forces of Boundary River...

"What to do! Given the incident within the tower, should we abandon the plan and retreat immediately?" Emperor Xukong sighed.

"We cannot leave! If we depart, Ning Daoist alone would find it hard to survive inside the tower. The oppressive force of the Ancient Great Cultivator in this tower carries a hint of the Heavenly Bull’s aura, and this tower now feels like a living being, possessing its own breath... I somewhat understand the peril Ning Daoist is facing, though it seems impossible! The Heavenly Bull Clan clearly contracted with the Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign, how could they betray, how could they attack a cultivator restoring the seal..." Emperor Jin Heng’s expression was extremely grim, uttering words that Emperor Xukong and the others couldn’t understand.

"Only one person can enter the Sealing Tower at a time; if we cannot enter, how can we assist Ning Daoist?" Luo Hou frowned, asking.

He owed Ning Fan a great favor and didn’t mind repaying it with his life if Ning Fan faced danger.

The issue was how to repay it!

There seemed to be more to the anomaly in the Sealing Tower, an inside story that Emperor Jin Heng, familiar with the secrets of Boundary River, appeared to have discerned some of.

Thus, Luo Hou sought a solution from Emperor Jin Heng.

"Destroy this tower directly! This tower betrayed its duty! We have no possibility to use this tower as a medium to repair the Immortal Emperor Seal, today’s plan was a mistake from the start, my miscalculation, failing to foresee the emergence of a Heavenly Bull traitor over the Long River of time!" The intricacies in Emperor Jin Heng’s words were still beyond the comprehension of the group.

But they understood the essence of Emperor Jin Heng’s meaning.

It turned out they had to destroy the painstakingly repaired Sealing Tower again to save Ning Fan! This...

"Everyone, attack the tower!" Not allowing time for hesitation, Emperor Jin Heng was the first to charge out, ignoring the suppression brought by the vast water pressure around, forcefully rushing back into the Heavenly Shadow Clan ruins, back outside the Sealing Tower, launching an assault on it.

Luo Hou followed closely behind Emperor Jin Heng, rushing back towards the Sealing Tower, launching an attack.

Bai Yulou and the others didn’t hesitate for long and ultimately charged back into the Heavenly Shadow Clan ruins, joining the assault on the Sealing Tower.

Inside the tower, an illusory man with bull horns replaced Ning Fan, standing beside the formation pattern etched by Ning Fan, collecting the roar of pain, and laughed in anger.

It was he who launched a sneak attack, swallowed Ning Fan whole, now Ning Fan was in his stomach.

He thought killing an Immortal King of the Decline would be effortless, but unexpectedly, the opponent broke free from his illusory arts and brazenly attacked his stomach.

Hehe, painful indeed. The young one’s sword is somewhat impressive, but to pierce through his stomach with it, the fire is still lacking!

"A remarkable Immortal King of the Decline, but that’s all! In front of me, a great cultivator from eons ago, an Immortal King is but an ant! Digestive fluids into a sea, ancient immortals into food! Reincarnation borrowed, Purple Dou atmosphere!"

In the stomach wall space, a foul sea wave manifested out of nowhere, surging toward Ning Fan.

That wave wasn’t just anything, but the gastric acid refined over years by this supreme presence, highly acidic, posing a great threat to Ning Fan.

Originally light red, the gastric acid sea, somehow, could absorb a small amount of reincarnation power left by the Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign in the Sealing Tower, using it for its benefit.

Thus, upon absorbing some of the purple-golden atmosphere, the gastric acid sea suddenly soared with purple intent, elevating the threat level posed to Ning Fan unexpectedly by several folds.

Practically delivering a life-threatening danger!

Ning Fan’s body instinctively realized the mortal peril from this now glowing purple gastric acid sea, knowing he couldn’t let it engulf him, he had to block these waves from looming closer.

"Manifest Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle!"

Ning Fan summoned the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle, deploying its sea-stabilizing divine skill, and instantly, the tumultuous gastric acid sea calmed down due to the needle.

The needle’s ability to restrain water-based divine skills was exceedingly formidable! Even if Ning Fan’s power differed greatly from that of the Ancient Great Cultivator, he still managed to stabilize the opponent’s gastric acid sea upon encountering it with the needle.

With one successful strike, Ning Fan’s confidence surged, his daring grew immensely.

So what if you’re an Ancient Great Cultivator, daring to swallow him, you must pay the price!

"Ruyi Rod! By my command, Ning Fan, grow bigger, grow longer! Break through this person’s stomach!"

At the command, the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle grew larger and longer, and in an instant, the tip of the needle reached the top of the stomach space, continuing to extend as if trying to break through the sky by force!

Bang!

A loud noise resounded, and Ning Fan, relying on the expanding power of the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle, pierced through the intestines of that supreme being and took the opportunity to escape from its stomach space.

At the top of the Sealing Tower, the figure of the bull-horned man turned pale suddenly, groaning as a bloody hole burst open on his abdomen.

Ning Fan, holding the now-shrunken Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle, escaped through the blood arrows spraying from the wound, landing on the ground with the rod poised across his chest, cautiously observing the bull-horned man before him.

The man also scrutinized Ning Fan, surprised that Ning Fan, a mere Immortal King, could escape from his stomach. When his gaze fell upon the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle, he understood how Ning Fan managed the escape.

"It’s actually the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle! Haha, interesting, a little Immortal King of the Decline actually qualifies to use such a divine artifact! Seems I underestimated you a bit!" The bull-horned man chuckled coldly, his eyes filled with greed and apprehension as he looked at the needle.

Clearly, he knew the fame that the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle earned in suppressing the Nether Dust Sea.

"Senior, who are you, and why did you ambush me while I was repairing the Immortal Emperor Seal!" Ning Fan outwardly questioned the bull-horned man, while secretly activating the power of Poisonous Yin-Yang, merging his toxic force with the dim light at the top of the tower to stealthily attack the bull-horned man.

"Hmph! What do you count as, daring to question my identity! I am..."

The bull-horned man was interrupted halfway through his words, suddenly surprised, as he shut his mouth. In the next moment, without any warning, he sputtered a mouthful of poisonous blood.

His eyes narrowed slightly, not expecting that he, a dignified Ancient Great Cultivator, would be poisoned by Ning Fan, an Immortal King.

"Using light as a medium to poison, huh, an insignificant trick! In the face of absolute power, all schemes are useless! Transform!"

The bull-horned man executed his great cultivator-level mana, forcibly refining the toxin within him, causing Ning Fan’s expression to change.

It’s known that Ning Fan’s poison power now incorporates a bit of Red from the Realms and the complete Jade Wave Fire Poison, with strength incomparable to before; even a First Order Quasi-Saint would suffer upon contact with this poison.

Yet, this bull-horned man managed to forcibly refine the poison power within him.

Is this the power of an Ancient Great Cultivator! Exceeding a First Order Quasi-Saint by far!

Even more incredible to Ning Fan was the fact that the damage caused by the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle to the man’s intestines was healed in an instant with a flash of light from his abdomen!

Even the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle couldn’t leave this person injured?

Ning Fan is not a hot-headed person; his calmness makes him incredibly aware of the huge disparity between himself and the bull-horned man before him.

This bull-horned man, has power no weaker than Blood God Geng Wu! If it weren’t for this person just awakening with a weakened aura, Ning Fan might have been unable to escape his stomach space, possibly even directly digested within his intestines!

Seems today’s plan to repair the Immortal Emperor Seal has to be abandoned. This person clearly does not want Ning Fan to repair the seal, and with him around, merely protecting oneself is already an issue; where is the strength to fix the seal!

He must retreat from this place and seek an opportunity to repair the Immortal Emperor Seal from the other two Sealing Towers!

Compared to the Sealing Tower guarded by an Ancient Great Cultivator, whether it’s the tower guarded by the Foreign Clan Great Deity Director or the tower guarded by the three Quasi-Saints of the Holy Lotus Clan, the chances are greater...

"Illusory Art, explode!"

At Ning Fan’s command, a hidden strand of illusory art power suddenly invaded the bull-horned man’s divine sense.

Unprepared, the bull-horned man was momentarily bewildered by Ning Fan’s illusory art, but due to his strong cultivation, he awakened almost immediately from the brief confusion.

This was a strand of illusory art hidden within the poison power; the previous poisoning was not the goal, leveraging the poison to secretly embed an illusory art inside the bull-horned man to gain time for leaving was the true purpose!

Though the bull-horned man was only bewildered for an instant, that moment was enough for Ning Fan to escape far, already from the top to the first layer of the tower, and reached the tower entrance.

Enraged and humiliated, the bull-horned man seethed!

Amongst his skills, although illusory art was not the strongest, it was by no means weak, yet he was sneakily tricked by a junior using it—truly disgraceful!

"You, will not escape! Heavenly Bull Hide Pattern, Spatial Pattern!"

The bull-horned man laughed coldly, his face, hands, and all exposed skin gradually revealed mysterious patterns resembling palm prints.

It turned out to be the Heavenly Bull Hide Pattern that Ning Fan had seen once in the Golden Bull Palace!

The fame of the Golden Bull Palace is inseparable from the Heavenly Bull Hide Pattern. Ancient texts record that on the day a certain ancient emperor attained the Dao, celestial intent transformed into the Sword of Severing Bonds, severing half a palm, which transformed into the Heavenly Bull Clan; manuscripts also mention the reverse pattern of the Heavenly Bull, akin to Reverse Saint Palm Patterns, reflecting its immense origin.

Ning Fan had not anticipated that the bull-horned man would possess the divine power of the Heavenly Bull Hide Pattern.

Furthermore, he had not foreseen that upon activation of the pattern, his body would involuntarily transport through space.

Originally, he had seized the chance to escape to the tower entrance, but now, he was drawn back to the top by a spatial force, pulled to the side of the bull-horned man again.

The bull-horned man used the power of the Heavenly Bull Hide Pattern to reel Ning Fan back, then thrust a punch intending to reduce Ning Fan to powder.

In desperation, Ning Fan activated his Eternal True Body. Given the vastness of the Sealing Tower, it could indeed contain his true form.

Though possessing high defenses with his Eternal True Body, under the bull-horned man’s mighty fist, all defenses shattered and crumbled.

Ning Fan spewed blood violently, sent flying backwards, crashing heavily into the wall of the top floor.

This was the first time since acquiring the God-Extinguishing Shield that Ning Fan was bested with a single blow!

This bull-horned man was too powerful; facing him, Ning Fan hadn’t a shred of chance. Though this being wasn’t as formidable as the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor, he likely remained unmatched among second-step cultivators, classified as a reverse-heaven-level Ancient Great Cultivator!

"Interesting, you weren’t killed by my punch. Your reaction is swift; during spatial conversion, you managed to unfold a defense. Such reaction speed suits the cultivation of the spatial pattern of the Heavenly Bull Hide Pattern. Alas, alas. If it were back then, before my hatred for Purple Astral Immortal Cultivators, I might not have minded accepting you as a disciple of Purple Dou’s lineage, and imparted you my methods. However, the Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign deceived me! I am unwilling, so unwilling! This damned Dreamland Realm, and you damned descendants of Purple Dou—all deserve to die, all deserve to die!"

Heavenly Bull Hide Pattern, Spatial Pattern!

The bull-horned man activated the divine skill once more!

In an instant, Ning Fan’s position shifted spatially back to the bull-horned man’s side, his vision darkened, confronting yet another punch!

Unavoidable!

This person’s Heavenly Bull Hide Pattern was too bizarre. Even if Ning Fan fled to the ends of the earth, this person could drag him back here to be struck!

Swoosh!

A sword light shot in, flew into the Sealing Tower, narrowly shielding Ning Fan.

It was the Sword of Severing Bonds from the Heavenly Shadow Clan ruins, sensing its master’s peril, it came to protect!

For an ordinary fist, the Sword of Severing Bonds would suffice to block it, but this was the punch of an Ancient Great Cultivator, the Sword of Severing Bonds cracked with a crunch, shattered into pieces by the bull-horned man’s blow!

The Sword of Severing Bonds emitted a mournful cry, its power obliterated, it fell.

Ning Fan’s gaze suddenly filled with anger.

He had never paid much attention to the Sword of Severing Bonds, but at that moment, its devoted act moved him!

The result of the sword’s demise for him, angered him!