Nightmare Immortal Era

Chapter 104: Annihilating Manla

Yang Ning plucked some leaves from the tree and wove them into a huge umbrella. As he rode on Avanti, swaying towards the village, the residence of the outer disciples welcomed a young girl dressed in a red dress, with a touch of makeup, looking clear and bright.

"Yun Lang, I've come to see you!"

"Yuan Xi?" Yun Lang smiled when she saw the person, and most of the female cultivators in Extreme Eternal were maidservants. Lin Yuanxi was one of the few exceptions, so the few female cultivators naturally became good friends.

"Aren't you always staying in the outer sect and rarely going out? How come you have time to come see me?" Yun Lang asked with a smile.

"Oh, I occasionally come out to enjoy the scenery!" Yuan Xi smiled awkwardly, then looked around at the surroundings. They were in a spacious hall, which was the registration hall of the outer sect.

"The scenery in the outer sect is not as good as that in the inner sect!" Yun Lang pouted and asked again, "By the way, can you sing?"

"Of course, everyone can sing, but there are not many who can sing so well, and your songs are all original." Yun Lang asked softly, "Who is Yang Jian, the lyricist and composer in your songs? Why haven't I heard of him?"

"Oh, he's just a friend!" Yuan Xi mumbled.

This was ancient times, an era of strict separation between men and women. Even if Yuan Xi became a cultivator, marriage still had a certain degree of autonomy, but not much.

She dared not expose her love affair, at least Yang Ning had to come and propose first.

"Oh, a friend!" Yun Lang nodded, "If you don't want to say, forget it. I also want to ask him to write a few songs for me. I feel like I also have the talent for singing!"

Yuan Xi smiled, but sneered in her heart. How could that be!

Yang Jian belongs only to me!

"By the way, I heard that you just brought back an outer disciple from Immortal Ascension Academy?" Yuan Xi asked casually.

"Yes, I told the dean to let him come with the graduates in half a year, but the dean refused, saying it would delay the time of the geniuses!" Yun Lang shrugged, "There's nothing I can do, so I brought him back!"

"Oh, is that so!" Yuan Xi nodded and asked again, "What about him? Has he settled in so quickly?"

"Not yet!" Yun Lang's eyes lit up as she said, "That child said he wanted to participate in the entrance test, so I sent him away!"

"What?" Yuan Xi was stunned, her face instantly turned black, "Are you saying that because there were too many deaths and shattered Dao hearts, no one participated, so they changed the trial to an entrance test?"

"Yes!" Yun Lang nodded.

"How could you do this? He knows nothing, he hasn't even learned the outer sect's techniques!" Yuan Xi suddenly became anxious, "You're harming him!"

"Look at what you're saying. If he knew, how could he possibly be willing to participate? If he had already made an appointment with our outer sect's techniques, he wouldn't be able to participate in the trial!" Yun Lang shrugged his shoulders. "And this doesn't really harm him, does it? If his Dao heart is firm and his strength is strong, he might be able to pass the trial. As for the treatment he receives in the sect after passing the trial, you also understand!"

"He doesn't even know the information about the trial, which shows that he comes from a small family. It's his luck to have such an opportunity to give it a try!"

Speaking up to this point, Yun Lang suddenly felt something was off. "No, it's not right. You suddenly came to find me, and even argued with me about an outer sect disciple. Could it be that you know that outer sect disciple?"

At this point, Yuan Xi couldn't hide it anymore. "He's not from a family at all, he's from a commoner background. How could he know these things? It's my fault, it's all my fault. Why didn't I tell him?"

"So you really know him, and from the looks of it, you even like him?" Yun Lang was shocked. Lin Yuanxi, who came to Extreme Eternal Sect to escape marriage and had nothing else in his life besides cultivation, was actually in love?

"Mhmm!" Yuan Xi nodded heavily, then whispered, "But you must not tell anyone about this. By the way, is there any way to get him out?"

"I'm just a small outer sect elder, how can I interfere with the entry trial rules set by the 'Taiyi Agreement'? I still want to live a few more years!" Yun Lang rolled his eyes.

"What should we do?" Yuan Xi looked worried. After all, she knew some things about the trial that previous disciples of Extreme Eternal who participated in the trial became inner sect disciples.

This trial is a comprehensive test of personal will, spirit, mentality, and combat power. Since its establishment, no one has been able to pass it perfectly. Can Brother Ning do it?

"What code name did he choose, and how is his performance now?" Yuan Xi asked.

"He's called Bai Qi, he just entered and should have... huh?" Yuan Xi brought over a jade screen and after some operations, she said in surprise, "He has already collected three stones!"

He encountered enemies as soon as he landed, and he successfully killed them!

"Three stones, so he only needs seven more to come back?" Yuan Xi breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Brother Ning is capable!

After saying that, she clasped her hands together and began to pray, "May Brother Ning be successful in all endeavors and have a smooth trial."

Yun Lang reminded her from the side, "It's useless. That area has been prohibited by a powerful being, and the blessings of Qi Heaven's Word Magic can't reach there!"

"This..."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Yang Ning lay on the camel, seemingly relaxing, but he was multitasking, conducting research, studying techniques, and controlling ants to compete with Zhang Qizi in a battle of wits.

After a while, the two of them finally arrived at a small village.

The signboard of "Yuntang Town" was almost illegible due to the erosion of wind and sand. After careful identification, they realized that this was not a village, but a town.

However, this town was too small, with only a few hundred households. The houses were low and all made of yellow mud and sand.

The villagers wore thick clothes and scarves on their heads. The men had dull expressions and dark skin, while the women had the same dull gaze and red faces.

To Yang Ning, it felt like he had arrived in an extremely impoverished countryside without water, electricity, or education.

How many years has he not seen such a scene? Even in the countryside of Yue Kingdom, it's not this miserable!

Seeing an outsider approaching, a young man squatting at the village entrance brightened his eyes and shouted, "Camel, a camel!"

Saying that, he rushed towards Yang Ning, but not at a fast speed, and limping.

Yang Ning glanced at the injury on his leg and swung his sword from a high position.

So the sequence of events is very clear. Sun Huo robbed his camel and also gave him a sword.

"Ah Feng!" A roar sounded behind the young man, and another middle-aged man ran out from behind the wall, catching up with the young man in three or two steps. He hugged him and nodded and bowed to Yang Ning, saying, "It's okay, sir. He's just foolish. He thinks every camel he sees is his own. I'll take him away now!"

"Camel, a camel!" Ah Feng persisted and wanted to chase after the camel. The camel under him also recognized Ah Feng and walked towards him.

"Ah Feng!" The middle-aged man angrily slapped Ah Feng's face, leaving the crazy Ah Feng stunned.

"Stop howling, your camel is already dead!"

"I..."

Yang Ning was speechless. This camel was the one he had snatched from the robber. Now it seemed like he was the robber himself.

This Sun Huo as well. How much can a camel be worth? You have hundreds of thousands of taels in your storage bag. Just give him some money, isn't that enough?

"Fellow villager!" Yang Ning took out a silver piece from his storage bag, about 20 taels, and threw it over. "This camel should indeed belong to Ah Feng. Consider this money as buying his camel. See if it's enough?"

"It's enough, it's enough!" The middle-aged man felt the weight of the silver and immediately shouted.

With money, Ah Feng stopped shouting as well. After all, a camel is ultimately a productive tool, not a loved one. With money, he can buy another one.

"By the way, let me ask you something. Where is the nearest city around here?" Yang Ning asked.

With the nature of a cultivator, it's impossible for him to eat dirt in the desert. He must find a big city. Yang Ning also needs to go to a place where cultivators gather to collect Purple Heart Stones.

"Um, go in that direction. There's a wooden city 200 miles away," the middle-aged man pointed.

Yang Ning was speechless. That's the direction he came from.

He didn't even look in that direction when he experimented with spiritual manifestation. He actually missed it!

"Alright!" Yang Ning mounted the camel and was about to move forward when he suddenly thought of something and said, "Forget it, I'll go into the village first and have a drink of water. Is that okay?"

"Of course!" the middle-aged man replied with a smile.

They knew how strong the person who snatched Ah Feng's camel was.

Now the camel was under this person, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was obvious that this person was even more formidable than the previous one.

How dare they try to stop him?

"I'm called Ah Fu, and he's called Ah Feng," the middle-aged man introduced the town to Yang Ning on the way. "It is said that the village used to be different. We had abundant water and grass here, and there was a pond that looked like a cloud. But that was hundreds of years ago."

"Those who had the ability in the village have already left. Now only a few dozen households are barely surviving here."

"Why don't you leave?" Yang Ning asked. "I see that you and Ah Feng are quite strong. It shouldn't be difficult to make a living, right?"

"We can't all leave as laborers. Otherwise, there won't be anyone to do the heavy work, and the whole village will perish in a sandstorm!" Ah Fu brought Yang Ning to a house.

Having been accustomed to living in a spacious house created by the Jiezi Xumi technique, Yang Ning couldn't get used to this small room of thirty square meters.

But Yang Ning still sat down.

Before long, a girl wearing a red cotton jacket with messy hair but a somewhat pretty face came in carrying a bowl of water.

"This is my younger sister, Ah Ru!" Ah Fu looked at Yang Ning, who was about to drink the water, with a concerned expression. "If the adult stays here tonight, let Ah Ru accompany you!"

"Poof!" Yang Ning had just taken a sip of water and sprayed it all out. He quickly wiped his mouth. "That won't be necessary."

"Don't feel embarrassed. It's our custom to have our own sister entertain the most esteemed guests here!" Ah Fu smiled. "By the way, please drink the water. Although we are in the desert, the water is from deep wells and tastes sweet!"

"Oh, I see!" Yang Ning picked up the bowl and brought it to his mouth. Ah Fu's expression suddenly became concerned.

But after thinking for a moment, Yang Ning put it back down, and Ah Fu's expression instantly became somewhat unpleasant.

Pick up, put down, pick up, put down.

Concerned, unpleasant, concerned, unpleasant!

After a few times, Ah Fu finally felt that something was wrong. "You bastard, are you messing with me?"

"How am I messing with you?" Yang Ning laughed. "Can't I exercise my biceps before drinking water?"

Ah Fu didn't know what biceps were, but he pulled out a dagger from his waist and slammed it heavily on the table in front of Yang Ning. "Let me tell you, you have to drink this water today, whether you want to or not!"

"You were afraid of me just now. Why aren't you afraid after I entered the house?" Yang Ning asked. "Is it that thing that gives you confidence?"

Afu turned his head and looked around the room, which was filled with shabby furniture and bowls with missing corners. Surprisingly, there was a square and exquisitely designed wooden box placed at the entrance, which seemed out of place.

"That's right!" Afu nodded. "This thing is called the cultivation detection box. It can detect the cultivation level of outsiders. You don't even have any spiritual energy. You're just an ordinary person. I can't believe I was scared by you just now!"

"I don't have any cultivation?" Yang Ning laughed and asked, "Then what about that camel? The person who tried to steal the camel should be a cultivator, right?"

"Who knows what you did. Maybe you used some kind of conspiracy or trickery. But let me tell you, all conspiracies and trickeries are useless in the face of absolute strength!" Afu coldly tapped the table and said, "Drink some water!"

"I found it!" Yang Ning whispered.

"What?" Afu was stunned for a moment, and then he felt a flash of white light. Immediately after, his head was split in half.

Looking into the split head, it was covered with white brain matter, the size of rice grains, translucent white, with only a hint of red at the tip, resembling a flat six-legged insect like a spider.

"Ah!" The scream from beside Afu had just sounded, but she had already followed in Afu's footsteps.

Her brain was also filled with these insects!

Yang Ning's trypophobia was triggered, and he instantly got goosebumps all over his body.

He pointed his finger, and an electric current surged, electrocuting all the insects.

Yang Ning quickly ran out of the room, and on the way, he encountered Afeng, who was untying the camel from a pillar. He killed him with a single sword strike.

After landing, he created a gust of wind with his feet and ran out of the village, heading in one direction!

"Oh no, I've been discovered!" In the sand dunes 140 kilometers away, a chubby man suddenly stood up and turned to run.

But soon, he heard the sound of explosions like cannonballs behind him. The chubby man dared to look back and was terrified, "Flying through the air? Who the hell is this, a prince from some family?"

When Yang Ning's physical body reached the Fifth Layer of the Hundred Transformations Realm, he was already able to fly through the air, but that didn't mean this technique was simple.

Because flying through the air required precise control of qi and blood, it required extremely strong computational power, which was purely a mathematical talent!

Not to mention ordinary Physical Body Realm cultivators, even some cultivators who had manifested their spiritual energy and opened their Divine Sea still couldn't do it!

Not being able to fly through the air didn't necessarily mean weakness, but being able to do so definitely meant strength!

Running on the ground was no match for flying in the sky, especially for a chubby man.

After running for dozens of meters, he finally realized that he couldn't escape. He found an open space, stood still, and took out various jars and cans to sprinkle on the ground.

Until Yang Ning arrived in front of him, the panic on his face had disappeared without a trace, replaced by a confident expression!

"Brother, you are a strong warrior. There is no need for us to fight like two tigers. It's completely unnecessary!" Xiao Pangzi looked at the person and reached out to take out a piece of glassy blue stone. "This is a piece of Fei Jing, worth ten spiritual stones. Spare me, and this spiritual stone will be yours!"

"Heh, even if I kill you, the Fei Jing will still be mine!" Yang Ning said coldly.

"I admit that I am no match for you in a direct fight, but you have allowed me to settle here for half an hour. I have already set up a trap around me. Even if you kill me, you will suffer heavy damage yourself. How will you face future enemies?" Xiao Pangzi said, "But if you spare me, not only can you get the Fei Jing, but you can also gain my friendship. My name is Manla!"

"Manla, from the Man family in the South Sea?" Yang Ning asked.

"That's right!" Manla nodded proudly. The Man family is a Transcendent Level force, occupying a territory larger than the Southern Wilderness where the Hundred Nations Battlefield is located. It is also the leading family among the four major families outside the sect.

The other three families are the Yuan family in the North Sea, the Mu family in the North Sea, and the Tan family in the South Sea.

Apart from a few rare forces, who wouldn't bow their heads when they see someone from the Man family?

"We disciples of the Extreme Eternal Sect are not allowed to reveal our identities, but you small sect families don't seem to hide anything at all," Yang Ning said. He didn't know the reason, but he could only attribute it to the fact that it's easy to provoke the king of hell but difficult to deal with little ghosts.

"What did you do to the people in that town? What is that six-legged bug?" Yang Ning didn't dare to recall it. Whenever he recalled it, he would feel nauseous.

"That's not a bug, that's called the Red-Tailed Mind-Control Gu, it's a Gu!" Xiao Pangzi said proudly.

"What's the difference between a Gu and a bug?" Yang Ning asked again.

"A bug is something that is naturally bred, while a Gu is something that our Man family refines with blood and qi, and cultivates generation after generation with refined spiritual energy. It has various magical abilities!" Xiao Pangzi said with a proud look, completely unaware that he had already touched upon the secrets of the Man family.

"What's special about the water?" Yang Ning remembered that both the Inch Fire and the villagers were very eager for him to drink water.

"I added Sha Ke to the water, a kind of addictive drug!" Manla said.

Yang Ning was shocked. Such a thing exists in this world?

Looking at the chubby boy in front of him, Yang Ning's eyes became even calmer and deeper.

"What else have you set up here?" Yang Ning asked again.

"Hmph, you have no idea!" Xiao Pangzi shrugged. "In front of me, there are things that you can't see or touch. It's the Man family's secret: the Jinlin Bug. This bug can eat anything, even steel, and leave a hole!"

"There are also Bai Bo Bugs set up under the sand. These bugs not only gnaw on the sand, but also release poisonous gas. If you dare to enter this range, you will be stunned, and even your Ninth Layer physical body won't work!"

"And..." Xiao Pangzi was about to continue, but suddenly felt something was wrong.

His eyes turned, and he immediately regained his clarity. When he recalled what he had just done, his mind went blank. "What did you just do?"

"I didn't do anything. It's not that you suddenly wanted to show off and explain it to me?" Yang Ning shrugged.

"How is that possible? These are all secrets of my Man family!" Manla's face turned pale with anger.

Gu worms are powerful and effective, but they also have obvious weaknesses. They fear fire, thunder, and some even fear water.

Therefore, they have always been used for stealthy attacks, and even the effects of the gu worms must be kept secret. Otherwise, once leaked, the enemy will have a way to counter them.

Even someone at the Ninth Layer of the physical body, let alone someone one or two realms lower, would not easily fall for it once they were on guard.

After the fat boy's actions, decades of research by the Man family were wasted!

Unfortunately, he couldn't find any problems. He didn't notice any traces of illusion techniques, as if he really wanted to show off from the bottom of his heart!

"You!" The fat boy angrily pointed at Yang Ning. How could he admit that it was his own problem?

It must be Yang Ning's doing!

"One last question, is there a solution to the Red-Tailed Mind Control Gu?" Yang Ning asked.

"No solution!" The fat boy angrily said, "They have already taken root in the human brain. Even if you remove the surface worms, the seeds that have been planted will continue to reproduce. It's impossible..."

"That's fine then!" Yang Ning waved his hand, and a flash of electricity passed by. Manla's head went blank, but he surprisingly didn't die!

"You, there's a worm in your brow?" Yang Ning finally noticed that there was a flat, hard-shelled worm hidden under the fat boy's brow!

It was this worm that blocked his Thunder Needle!

"Hmph, I have Heart-Protecting Gu in all the vital points of my body. Come and try to kill me!" The fat boy grinned, "And, do you think I only have this kind of trap-setting gu worm?"

"Flesh Parasite Gu!!"

Yang Ning didn't hear clearly what he shouted, but after he shouted, his skin instantly turned black all over.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't that his skin turned black, but countless tiny worms were crawling out of his pores!

And because of the worms crawling out, the fat boy's obese body was visibly slimming down at a rapid speed.

In just fifteen seconds, he transformed from a chubby boy into a slender and handsome young man!

"I guess not many girls would want to learn this move!" Yang Ning remarked.

Seeing the swarm of black worms rushing towards him like black oil, Yang Ning marveled.

This move was actually quite powerful, especially in the Physical Body Realm. Even disciples of the Extreme Eternal Sect and the First Heaven Sect couldn't learn such an unparalleled divine ability.

In other words, even though disciples in the Physical Body Realm of major sects like the Extreme Eternal and the First Heaven Sect were strong, they wouldn't be much stronger.

And the physical body cultivation techniques of the Physical Body Realm included techniques to control water, fire, and thunder, but their range was limited, making it quite difficult to deal with such a large group of worms.

If it were ordinary disciples of the Extreme Eternal or the First Heaven Sect, they might really have a hard time dealing with this move!

But Manla was facing Yang Ning!

He raised his hand and a surging thunder light scattered like a clear radiance.

His thunder technique was extraordinary, capable of breaking through the Purple-Gold Coiling Dragon Body. Naturally, it was invincible against worms that were only a few micrometers in size, instantly clearing the field!

"This!" Manla widened his eyes, "How is this possible?"

With such thunder techniques, you must be at the Qi Refining Stage!

But how could a Qi Refining Stage cultivator participate in the trial?

Or is he a local?

The fat boy stared with his eyes wide open, and with a thought, a gu worm quietly crawled out of his foot and burrowed into the sand.

I am destined to die, but you won't live either!

"Boom!" Even more powerful thunder engulfed the young and handsome figure.

The spreading thunder even drilled into the ground through the cracks in the gravel, taking away the gu worm that Manla had released to transmit information!

"Hmph, treating my spiritual manifestation as a decoration!" Yang Ning chuckled.

Not to mention his extremely keen spiritual perception, he had read thousands of novels and watched hundreds of episodes of Conan in his previous life. How could he not be on guard against messages left behind by this person before he died?

After killing the fat boy, Yang Ning reached out and grabbed something, raising an eyebrow.

Purple Heart Stones, 5 of them!

Adding the 2 in Inch Fire's hands and his own, that makes 8.

Is it not difficult to get 10?

(End of this chapter)